REVIEWS Archives - Page 381 of 547

The Importance of Being Earnest – Liverpool Playhouse

12Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

The Importance of Being Earnest – Liverpool Playhouse

Avant-garde, adventurous, audacious – and yes, artificial, but brilliantly witty, Oscar Wilde lives on in this hugely entertaining production. The cast introduce themselves by waltzing on, immediately conveying the merry-go-round of their lives with ever changing tableaux of laughter and posturing, voguing almost, and dance, like a visual representation of those many scintillating one liners which accurately skewer so much of Society - then and now. Its trivialities and shallowness are wonderfully exposed. This takes place chez Algernon, walls garnished with portraits, as well as frames which serve as portals and hatches, although strangely sparse when it comes to furniture, but for one elegant chaise longue (of course). We then move outside, into the garden of Ernest's country pile, an...

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo – Hull New Theatre

12Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo – Hull New Theatre

With names such as Helen Highwaters (aka Duane Gosa), Vavara Laptopova (Takaomi Yoshino), Maria Clubfoot (Alejandro Gonzalez) and Olga Supphozova (Robert Carter), in the programme, it was going to be difficult to take anything seriously at the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday evening, when Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo brought their male-only troupe to the city. But we in the decent-sized audience soon realised this extremely talented bunch were deadly serious when it comes to their art - ballet dancing, with a difference. Men in tutus may not sound appealing, but I can promise you there wasn’t a hairy chest, no huge biceps or a five o’clock shadow to be seen - these “ballerinas” were graceful, toned, ultra-fit and had the best legs in the business. And they danced en pointe fo...

The Proclaimers – Liverpool Philharmonic

11Oct

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

The Proclaimers – Liverpool Philharmonic

Identical twin brothers, Craig and Charlie Reid are strikingly individual in the flesh. Born in Leith in 1962, they list their influences as being early rock ‘n’ roll and country artists. After playing in punk bands they formed The Proclaimers in 1983; their first big break came in 1986 when they were invited to tour with The Housemartins. In January 1987 they appeared on Channel 4’s The Tube, singing in regional accents about Scotland, its emigration and its politics, they became a phenomenon almost overnight and the rest is history. They walked onto the stage without fuss or ceremony, both dressed similarly in black tops and jeans with the audience giving them a welcome cheer and launch into their first song, ‘Dentures Out’. Immediately that unmistakable, instantly recogni...

Daniel Sloss: Can’t – Liverpool Philharmonic

11Oct

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Daniel Sloss: Can’t – Liverpool Philharmonic

Daniel Sloss is a man on a mission. Dubbing himself the ‘Steve Irwin of comedy’ he’s on the lookout for the ‘Stingray’ joke that is going to end his career. It won’t be the one we’d expect he says, it will be something innocuous, that starts off about wallpaper. Nevertheless, he’s clearly relishes the opportunity in front of him to test the audience’s limit. In Sloss’ firing line are the death of the Queen, progressive liberals, magicians, and people who get travel sick. He loves the idea of us discovering that our fellow audience members absolutely hate him; that their discomfort will only serve to make the experience even funnier. Two Netflix specials have help Sloss hone his act, but he remains a man of two sides; one minute perching on a bar stool like he’s about to break into a ...

11Oct

By Akshay RahejaNo Comments

London

Ruckus – Southwark Playhouse

Written and performed by Jenna Fincken, Ruckus is a single-act, one-woman performance that narrates the aging of a toxic relationship. The play brings to life the experience of being with a coercive partner and interrogates the subjectivity of consent in a relationship. There are many parallels between ‘Ruckus’ and the iconic ‘A Doll’s House’ by Henrik Ibsen. Just as Torvald creates a Doll house for Nora Helmer, in Ruckus the protagonist moves in with her partner in a beachouse that she had always dreamt of. Just as A doll’s House contemplates the fracture of this house by Nora’s departure, Ruckus explores the fracture in the architecture of a house built on shallow foundations. The protagonist continues to pity and continues to live through the thicks of her relationship. But...

11Oct

By Akshay RahejaNo Comments

London

So You’ve Found Me – Lion & Unicorn

‘So You’ve found me’ did not start on the right note. When a guy comes on stage, it feels as if he is playing with pretence, not honesty, and that such energy is not sustainable. The narrative starts with a story about a Tinder date, and one felt that this experience is merely trying to be relatable and won't feature anything profound about our collective subjective human experience. Sam Moore, the playwright, and Moah Alfred Pantano, the director, proved this early assessment wrong in every possible way. Luis Donegan Brown is incredible in the show. Solo shows have a high risk of going wrong in a beat, so the performance, script, and tempo must work together to keep the audience engaged and all of the artists seemed to be sensitive and aware of this. ‘So You’ve…’ celebrates the life of...

11Oct

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

The Doctor – Duke of York’s Theatre

Almeida Theatre's production of Robert Icke's The Doctor has now transferred to the West End. The play begins as Professor Ruth Wolff, founding member and director of the Elizabeth Institute, which undertakes groundbreaking research into Alzheimer's, is caring for a young girl in the final hours of her life. A Roman Catholic priest demands to be allowed to perform final rites to the dying girl on the grounds that her parents are Catholics. The Doctor refuses, on the grounds that the girl's religious beliefs are unknown, and the presence of the priest would disrupt what would otherwise be a peaceful death. An altercation ensues, the consequences of which have profound consequences both for the Doctor and her institution. Around this simple event Icke has written a most fascinating, engag...

Tough Old Bird – Shakespeare North Playhouse

10Oct

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Tough Old Bird – Shakespeare North Playhouse

The dulcet tones of Michael Parkinson wouldn’t normally invoke a collective eye roll. But when it’s delivering the familiar lines of a certain advert touting the advantages of buying a pre-payment funeral plan you can perhaps understand why a shudder runs through the audience. It’s a perfect example of the frustrations of how society views aging. And, with ‘Showbusiness and Gin’ running through her veins, Nana Funk (AKA Angie Waller who wrote the show) along with the ever-silent Val (a marvellously restrained Claire Jones, who composed tonight’s songs), is here to hold court on the indignities of it all. Inspired by her own mum’s experience, Tough Old Bird, directed by Margaret Connell, looks at how people can, with the best of intentions, patronise and infantilise our older friends ...

10Oct

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

The Coral – Finborough Theatre

Collide Theatre’s adaptation of The Coral originally written by Georg Kaiser is as direct as it is puzzling. The Millionaire, cleverly represented with a red face, and a portrait covering his face in red, makes him synonymous with other powerful, rich men like Trump or Elon Musk. He sets up monthly meetings with struggling individuals, listening to their cases before donating generous amounts. Yet this is done to ease his conscience, as he still holds onto insurmountable wealth to protect him from the horror of poverty that he experienced as a child. Kaiser’s political stance soon becomes clear as the antagonistic Gentleman in Grey confronts the Millionaire, asking him to sign a treaty that ends the divide between rich and poor. Hints at a stylised, expressionistic world are conveyed on...

10Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Nine Night – Leeds Playhouse

As part of a large Irish family, I am only too aware of how tense a wake can get so it’s reassuring to know the same flashpoints can happen at a traditional Jamaican Nine Night. Great art takes you into worlds you have no experience of, and I had no idea that Jamaicans send off their dead off with nine nights of mourning, which is what one extended London family are doing for their mum Gloria It’s still that this funny and often emotionally raw play was Natasha Gordon’s debut, which a strong cast bring to life informed by a deep understanding of its meaning, and the Playhouse has revived it part of their Out of Many Festival that celebrates 60 years of Jamaican independence. Smartly Nine Night starts before the death as the seemingly saintly single mum Lorriane (Shereener B...