REVIEWS Archives - Page 375 of 458

3Dec

By Hannah WildeNo Comments

North West

Peter Pan – Octagon Theatre

Peter Pan is a classic – whether you know it as the original children’s book by J.M Barrie, the Disney animation, or any of the other cinematic adaptations that have come since. The problem with a popular story that has been told and retold again is that oftentimes, there is no originality left – you’re so familiar with the story, that there’s nothing new or innovative. However, the audience of The Bolton Octagon’s production of Peter Pan have no such worries – this show has the reassuringly familiar storylines and much-loved characters; yet has been staged so dynamically (and features new musical numbers) that it almost feels like watching it for the very first time. Adapted for stage in 2018 by Sarah Punchon, this production has been brought to life in Bolton by Artistic Director L...

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – The Troubadour Theatre

3Dec

By Pooja SivaramanNo Comments

London

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – The Troubadour Theatre

I was twelve years old when I first entered Christopher Boone’s world in the pages of Mark Haddon’s widely celebrated novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Fifteen years later and a decade after the play first premiered, I sat in the audience of the Troubadour Theatre in a pool of nostalgia as passages from the story vividly made their way back from my memory. Christopher’s detective journey across the United Kingdom was my first introduction to neurodiversity as a young adult. Traveling through his narrative altered my very singular understanding of touch, sound, and emotion in a way that fifteen years later, staged within the deft craft of Simon Steven’s playwriting, held even more value. This play has been taken all around the world. It has excellent reviews and a...

Sleeping Beauty – Edinburgh King’s Theatre

2Dec

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Sleeping Beauty – Edinburgh King’s Theatre

Allan Stewart and Grant Stott star in the King's Theatre Panto as Queen May and Carabosse. with Jordan Young as Muddles; Sia Dauda as Princess Beauty, Nicola Meehan as The Good Fairy and Clare Gray as Narcissa. It was written by Alan McHugh and directed by Ed Curtis. The programme says that production company Crossroads Pantomimes has spent £1.5 million on sets and costumes (which necessitated 20 makers) for this year's London Palladium pantomime, which will be seen in cities such as Birmingham, Wimbledon and Bristol in the years to follow. In the King's Theatre's Sleeping Beauty the budget is definitely on show through its multicoloured costumes (by Mike Coltman), lavish sets (designed by Ian Westbrook) and the odd Giant Flying Vampire Bat, motorcycle and pyrotechnics (special effects ...

Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress –Liverpool Empire

2Dec

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress –Liverpool Empire

The art historian in me jumped at the chance to see William Hogarth’s most-celebrated caricature brought to life in Stravinsky’s opera with a libretto by none other than celebrated poets WH Auden and Chester Kallman, and a classic cross-hatched set design from David Hockney providing a very fitting tribute to the original satire. Under the direction of John Cox, we open to our hero Tom Rakewell (Frederick Jones) with his very literal Anne Trulove (Soraya Mafi) in the garden of her father (Stephen Richardson). The devil makes work for idle hands and it’s the appearance of Nick Shadow (Sam Carl) who delivers a Faustian-like pact, but one very much of the devil’s making, that sees our rake’s progress well and truly begin as we move from the brothel education of Mother Goose (Fiona Kimm) to...

1Dec

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Grease – Leeds Grand Theatre

It’s great that this production carries on the classic movie’s proud tradition of having twentysomethings playing teenagers about to leave Rydell High School for the real world. It’s a bit odd the thick American accents the relatively inexperienced cast deploy seem to be from Brooklyn rather than the tough working-class area of Chicago the original theatre production was set in. The voice coach should have dialled it down a bit which would have helped with the sometimes wayward diction. It’s probably fair to say most of the audience were looking for a scene by scene recreation of the beloved movie, and to that extent they do get well staged versions of all songs they had grown up loving. But the producers claim to have retained the darker elements of the rawer early 1970s scrip...

1Dec

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

The Drifters Girl – Garrick Theatre

Jonathan’s Church’s brand-new musical The Drifters Girl focuses on Faye Treadwell, the female manager of The Drifters, one of the biggest R&B groups of all time. Through some of their greatest hits, the jukebox musical follows Treadwell’s journey from a Southern-born teacher to the world’s first African American female music manager as she recounts her story to her daughter. Singing sensation and Queen of British Soul Beverley Knight, stars as Faye Treadwell alongside four extremely talented singers – Adam J Bernard (Dreamgirls), Tarinn Callender (Hamilton), Matt Henry (Kinky Boots) and Tosh Wanogho-Maud (Showboat). Packing in plenty of high-energy and fun, the cast performed classics such as ‘Kissin’ in the Back Row of the Movies’, ‘Rat Race’ and ‘You're More than a Number In my...

The Railway Children – Hull Truck Theatre

1Dec

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Railway Children – Hull Truck Theatre

Once in a while, a theatre event comes along that, in the words of Mary Poppins, is “truly scrumptious”. Those two words perfectly sum up the festive concoction served up by the Hull Truck Theatre, with its production of The Railway Children. This magical experience tells the story of three quite posh children from London, who find themselves living in poverty in Yorkshire. The children - Roberta, aka Bobby (Gina Jamieson), Phyllis (Robyn McIntyre) and Peter (David Fallon) - included us in the audience from the off, as they were the storytellers describing their own young lives. This inclusive concept was a stroke of genius. I usually hate audience participation but, in this case, these crafty little monkeys reeled us in so cleverly, I found myself quite happily waving at an im...

30Nov

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Old Bridge – Bush Theatre

British-Bosnian writer Igor Memic's debut play 'Old Bridge' seeks to shine a light on the on the armed conflict that took place in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Winner of the 2020 Papatango New Writing Prize, Memic situates the narrative around the Stari Most (also known as Mostar Bridge and Old Bridge), a 16th-century bridge in the city of Mostar that was destroyed during the conflict. The play is an intimately layered exploration of love, religion and identity during war and follows a group of friends whose lives get relentlessly entangled in the fallout. This production at the Bush Theatre is directed by Selma Dimitrijevic and designed by Oli Townsend, with Amela Beha as cultural advisor and George Turvey as dramaturg. The play opens at the site of the 'Ol...

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – Hull New Theatre

30Nov

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – Hull New Theatre

It’s not surprising everybody is talking about Jamie. I’ll be talking about him for a long time, to anyone who’ll listen. Well, not Jamie exactly, but the show Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, which came to the Hull New Theatre on Monday night. Based on a true story, it recounts the trials and tribulations of 16-year-old Sheffield schoolboy, Jamie New (Layton Williams), who has always liked to dress up in women’s clothes and who decides to wear a dress to his school’s prom. Disowned by his dad, who once caught him in his mum’s dress at the age of eight and ridiculing and bullying by some of his school pals, doesn’t deter the young teen from fulfilling his dream of becoming a drag queen when he leaves school. Luckily for Jamie, his mum, Margaret (Amy Ellen Richardson), embraces ...

Jazz Meets Flamenco – Sadler’s Wells Theatre

30Nov

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Jazz Meets Flamenco – Sadler’s Wells Theatre

Professional dancer and singer Karen Ruimy took to the Lilian Baylis Studio at Sadler’s Wells Theatre to bring together two of her passions – Flamenco and jazz music. In this show, she brings together exciting, foot-tapping numbers from her album ‘Black Coffee’ with a live musical ensemble, including Flamenco dancers and musicians, from Spain and the United Kingdom. Released earlier this year, her EP 'Black Coffee' features a selection of covers in English, French and Spanish, blending Jazz ballads with a distinctive Latin flavour. Collaborating with the late producer Phil Ramone, Ruimy accesses musical influences from different cultures and fuses them together in what proved to be a thoroughly enchanting production. The show opens with first three songs of the evening, namely 'Black Co...