REVIEWS Archives - Page 378 of 548

20Oct

By Brian MaddenNo Comments

North West

Jersey Boys – Opera House, Manchester

The swinging 60s, what a time to be alive! The first man walked on the moon, England won the World Cup, and of course Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons became international sensations. However, their journey to fame wasn’t always as slick as their harmonies, as is presented in the stage musical, Jersey Boys. As the curtain goes up, the audience are greeted with a rendition of the classic ‘Oh What a Night’, which really sets the tone for the evening. However, this has a more contemporary twist on the classic hit. On this night Frankie Valli was played by Ryan Heenan, who I was surprised to learn was the understudy for the role. He was absolutely sublime and a perfect fit for the character. Singing mostly in falsetto is very difficult, especially for a male, but he did a great job and...

20Oct

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Soweto Gospel Choir – Cadogan Hall

Three times Grammy winning Soweto Gospel choir is synonymous with energetic magnetism that has you glued to your seats from the first note. The show packs music, rhythm, history, dance, choreography and the most colourful and fashionable costumes. The show starts with bringing into the spotlight the female drummer, who sets the rhythm, the mood and the pace through the next two hours. Twenty years of being on stage, the choir has travelled worldwide to prestigious locations in North America, Australia and Europe. It continues to raise funds for the Nkosi Haven Vukani Trust. The collections after performances go to buy supplies from food for the children the charities serve, plastic tables and chairs for pre-schools and funerals, kitchen appliances for soup kitchens, and child-fee...

20Oct

By Akshay RahejaNo Comments

London

The Poltergeist – Arcola Theatre

Sasha, once a renowned child artist, is now a stationer and haunted by the artist he could never be. The Poltergeist is a play about art, family and memory. In many ways, the experience of this play felt like a good rock concert. Just as one feels the drops and hits of the distortion of an electric guitar, one is hit by the movement, switch and the strong performance by Joseph Potter who seems to be playing an overwhelming number of roles (instruments) in the play. The heavy movements of the performance resemble the sensibilities of ritual theatre made by the ingredients of the alienation of modern subjects and the rage of a failed artist. “3…2…1…” Sasha expects a response from his partner, and we wait. The performer's intensity and the rhythm of narrating the story are central t...

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – Blackpool Grand

20Oct

By Coral MourantNo Comments

North West

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – Blackpool Grand

Leicester Curve’s production of Beautiful completely changes the original blueprint of the musical. This staging is a cool, stripped-back version focusing on the music and sound that shaped one of the most successful singer-songwriters. At the start, we find an eager sixteen-year-old Carole Klein (yes, that’s right), trying to prove to her mother that she can be more than just a music teacher. The audience follows Carole through her song catalogue, all the way to her infamous performance of the Grammy award winning album Tapestry at Carnegie Hall. Set mostly in a recording studio, the stage easily shifts to more intimate spaces with simple furnishings and choreographed movements. It’s modern and almost metallic, with a giant “beautiful” sign adorning it at beginning and end. With the...

20Oct

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Commitments – Sheffield Lyceum

I had been waiting for this one, as a fan of the novel-cum-cult film by Roddy Doyle and I certainly enjoyed my evening. This musical whilst a 5-star juke box musical night’s entertainment, leaves the purists amongst us longing for a more politically developed and socially aware production. Instead of the slight nod to the issues of drugs and disillusion in the 1980’s Dublin, early comments such as ‘the Irish are the blacks of Europe’ are unfortunately never fully explained and explored. The production in effect sells itself out to the jukebox genre whilst promising to be so much more, it runs in the veins of similar productions such as We Will Rock You rather than dealing with the issues like Green Day’s American Idiot. But all that said The Commitments is was a cracking night of Rhy...

19Oct

By Hazel BumbyNo Comments

North West

Blood Brothers – The Lowry

I love Blood Brothers and have to admit Mrs Johnstone is role I dream of playing one day. With more drama than any soap, this wonderful story is set in the exciting City of Liverpool with a move to Skelmersdale later in the show. Set between the 50’s-70’s, it tells us of a young woman who met a ‘fella’ and got pregnant and in those days, children without marriage was frowned upon, so very quickly they wed…. She went on to have several children with him before he left her, and she no longer looked like ‘Marilyn Monroe’ who he had always likened her to. He left her pregnant “with seven hungry mouths to feed and one more nearly due”. Only one more turned into two more mouths… The lady she cleaned for hatched a plan and as she couldn’t have her own child, Mrs John...

Something In The Air – Jermyn Street Theatre

19Oct

By Caroline JamesNo Comments

London

Something In The Air – Jermyn Street Theatre

The world premiere of ‘Something In The Air’ by Peter Gill was staged at Jermyn Street Theatre. A beautiful and poignant reminder that no matter the age of the outer shell, the inner memories of youth remain. We arrive in a care home where we meet Colin, played by Ian Gelder, and Alex, played by Christopher Godwin. They begin to recount their youth and the boys they had loved. Meanwhile we see, what at first, feels like two younger versions of themselves acting out various scenes from the past. The most lovely moments coming between Gareth played by Sam Thorpe-Spinks and Alex, having a conversation that spans time. It would have been lovely to see more of this. Juxtaposing the reminiscences nicely were two visitors in the modern day setting of the care home. They were Alex’s niec...

The Osmonds: A New Musical – Hull New Theatre

19Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Osmonds: A New Musical – Hull New Theatre

I headed to the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday evening to review The Osmonds: A New Musical, safe in the knowledge that my financial outlay would be minimal. A free ticket and interval drink meant my only expense would be a pre-production coffee. I was absolutely certain that Donny Osmond’s recording of Puppy Love and his sister Marie’s Paper Roses (the only two Osmond songs I could recall … apart from my worst song of all time, Crazy Horses) would never, ever make it on to my ageing iPod. Well, dear reader, all I can say is I will never be rich. Back home I downloaded everything Osmondy I could find (except Crazy Horses!). From the not-so-glittery curtain up, the show grew on me by the minute. It was Jay Osmond (Alex Lodge), one of the older Osmonds, who narrated their story, writte...

Titus Andronicus – The Kings Arms, Salford

18Oct

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Titus Andronicus – The Kings Arms, Salford

When you arrive at a venue and are offered a plastic poncho and earplugs as you make your way into the theatre, you have an inkling that this production may be a little different. A bare arena stage surrounded by white curtains greets you, allowing the audience to be sat virtually on stage and witness at close quarters a ninety-minute onslaught of murder, rape, mutilation and cannibalism that is definitely not for the faint hearted. Titus Andronicus is one of Shakespeare's more problematic texts, indeed literary scholars have debated if he even wrote it at all. It fell out of favour during the 19th Century, its gory depiction of strong sexual themes making it unsuitable for the more gentrified theatre audiences of Victorian Britain. However, Cream Faced Loons are a company that love a c...

Strictly Ballroom the Musical – Liverpool Empire

18Oct

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Strictly Ballroom the Musical – Liverpool Empire

Anyone attending this show and expecting BBC TV’s Strictly Come Dancing will be disappointed; Strictly Ballroom the Musical is a musical theatre adaptation of the 1992 cult, classic, film Strictly Ballroom. The glitzy glamour and ballroom dancing is there but that’s where the similarity ends. The show was preceded by a voice-over by Director/Co-Choreographer, Craig Revel Horwood announcing in an Australian accent, jokingly, that any photographs taken during the performance are not allowed and should be instantly uploaded to as many social platforms as possible immediately after the performance. The Strictly Ballroom film directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann is a comedic satire on the cut-throat world of amateur ballroom dancing; it is regarded as an edgy, in-your-face mockumentary...