REVIEWS Archives - Page 382 of 560

<strong>A Christmas Carol – Buxton Opera House</strong>

17Nov

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

A Christmas Carol – Buxton Opera House

Charles Dicken’s famous ‘Christmas Carol’ is one of the most memorable and most loved Christmas stories of all time and the Chapterhouse Theatre’s latest touring production of Dicken’s famous festive offering is a true to the book recount. Staged inside the Smaller Pavilion Theatre at Buxton Opera House, The Chapterhouse Theatre have returned once again with their Christmas Carol Production for another year keeping true to the 19th century tale and as a result; it’s the perfect production to go and see if you’re studying Christmas Carol at school or college. It’s quite a stripped back production with quite sparse hand painted props and backdrops which may seem reminiscent of a school production, but this adaptation has real heart and the team use what props and sets they have to get ...

<strong>Opera North: La Traviata – The Lowry</strong>

17Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: La Traviata – The Lowry

Director Alessandro Talevi’s production is much aided by Madeline Boyd’s sumptuous set and costume design as it relishes its traditional 19th Century roots. At its heart lies a love story which draws upon Alexandre Dumas the Younger’s real-life doomed love affair with well-known courtesan, Marie Duplessis. We open with Violetta (Alison Langer) aided by her friend Flora (Victoria Sharp) hosting a lavish party where she is introduced by Gastone (Gavan King) to his friend, Alfredo Germont (Nico Darmanin), a fervent admirer, who is more concerned for her failing health than her escort, Baron Douphal (James Cleverton). When Alfredo declares his love for her she wonders if he could be the one amidst her desire to be free to live her life. A year on and Alfredo (Oliver Johnston) and Violett...

<strong>La Clique – The Leicester Square Spiegeltent</strong>

16Nov

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

La Clique – The Leicester Square Spiegeltent

La clique is wonderment, burlesque and excitement. It brings together popular music, extraordinary acrobatic movement and risqué entertainment all in one place. Before the show began, you could sense the enthusiasm and excitement ripe in the air. As the red curtains fall with the Guillaume Tell Overture, we dial back to a forgotten era of charm, poise and curiosity. Clique revels in the forbidden with many classy acts, a burlesque Jesus, a unicyclist putting his clothes on the move, trapeze artists who spin in abandonment, anti-gravity-defying Chinese pole play, and a clown who balances four parasols are some of the magical acts that will leave you spellbound during the show. Each performance bends prim and proper rules; drinking is encouraged in the tent with lots of popcorn and che...

<strong>Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – Liverpool Empire</strong>

16Nov

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

North West

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – Liverpool Empire

It actually felt like I spent an evening at Carnegie Hall, instead of the Liverpool Empire last night. Beautiful tells the story of Carole King. How she became who she was, the peaks and troughs of her career as a songwriter and how that led to her becoming one of the most instantly recognisable artists of all time. The show starts with her famous performance at the prestigious Carnegie Hall, in New York City in June of 1971. We then get taken back to a teenage Carole Klein, writing songs and begging her mother to allow her into the city (from their home in Brooklyn) to try and sell her songs. She manages to sell the song which makes it to number 106 on the Billboard Charts when sung by Bobby Vee. We go through her career and relationship with Gerry Goffin, their friendship and competit...

<strong>Elf The Musical – The Brindley, Runcorn</strong>

16Nov

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Elf The Musical – The Brindley, Runcorn

Centenary Theatre Company’s Director Dan Grimes must have thought all his Christmas’s had come at once when Dean Callow walked in an auditioned for the part of Buddy! As all I can say is WOWSER as I am sure Dan Grimes did too, what a fabulous charismatic actor Dean Callow is, he has as much energy as one human being can possibly have without spontaneous combusting! Dean Callow was definitely on fire on opening night, unfortunately the programme does not tell me anything about Dean (or any of the other cast members), so I do not know any of his previous theatre credits etc. However, I would recommend this show on Dean Callow’s performance alone as he is the perfect Buddy the Elf, who will keep you entertained throughout the evening with his Elf moves, perfect comedy timings and pitch perfec...

<strong>Glory Ride – The Other Palace</strong>

15Nov

By Maani WayNo Comments

London

Glory Ride – The Other Palace

A brand-new musical, Glory Ride, makes its first world appearance at The Other Palace in a staged concert performance. Based on the true story of a heroic conspiracy to rescue children from fascist Italy by bicycle, Glory Ride is a tale of passion, friendship, grief and pride. Glory Ride centres around the beloved Italian athlete Gino Bartali (James Darch), a household name in Italy, who cycled across European countries delivering falsified identity cards to Jewish fugitives in order to save their lives. Darch’s soft baritone voice fits perfectly with the tone of the musical. He portrays the complex and conflicted nature of Gino admirably, making the audience root for the character and feel a sense of familiarity. Gino and his relationship with his family pulls on the heartstrings espec...

<strong>Ainadamar – Edinburgh Festival Theatre</strong>

15Nov

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Ainadamar – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Ainadamar (The Fountain of Tears) is a fusion of dance, visual technology, voices and orchestra, knitted together in bold, beautiful, installation-style art. The opening, a monochrome projection of a bull, is instantly intriguing and the intermittent visual representations cast to the shimmering circular curtain continue throughout the opera, lending depth and coherence not afforded by the libretto (David Henry Hwang). The curtain is easily penetrated and moved aside, suggesting power and vulnerability at one and the same time. The chainmail bullring conceals scene changes and reveals the action with the cast free to move between the interior and the exterior. This metaphor translates to traditional Andalucia and its gypsy customs of Flamenco and bullfighting, which Lorca endeavoured to...

<strong>An Evening with Ms Sharon LeGrand & Friends – unity Theatre</strong>

15Nov

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

An Evening with Ms Sharon LeGrand & Friends – unity Theatre

The theme for this year’s Homotopia festival - Queer Joy Is A Protest! - could not be more accurately represented than in An Evening with Ms Sharon LeGrand & Friends. Liverpool’s annual LGBTQIA+ arts showcase is the UK’s longest running celebration of queer culture and it just seems to go from strength to strength. This year, fresh from causing outrage in the nation’s capital, drag queen Sharon LeGrand returns to her native Merseyside to host an evening of cabaret at the Unity Theatre. Sticklers for the Trade Descriptions Act might be a tad disappointed. There appear to be more friends of Ms LeGrand in the audience than on the stage with her. Each introduction only happens thanks to a shouted reminder from the wings of the next act’s name. Even our host declares the show shoul...

<strong>The Mother Sh*t – Pleasance Theatre</strong>

15Nov

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

**The Mother Sh*t – Pleasance Theatre**

The Mother Sh*t is a genre-bending delight. After their sell out run at Camden People’s Theatre with Frills and Spills, magicians of Stumble Trip Theatre who manage to craft beatboxing, physical theatre and personal stories of 50 participants verbatim in an hour! Part heart-warming, part heart-wrenching Mother sh*t has you in splits while weeping uncontrollably. I have never heard the audience break out in so many giggles throughout a show. Grace Church and Chloe Young are like a rubber band, connected at the hip; you can’t distinguish where one begins and the other ends. Their vibrancy is infectious. Their sense of play and curiosity is grounded by the diversity of stories they have collected. The background score is improvised by Conrad Murray, Lakeisha Lynch-Stevens and Dunja Botij who ...

<strong>All My Sons – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse</strong>

15Nov

By Helen JonesNo Comments

North West

All My Sons – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

It is seventy-five years since Arthur Miller’s play All My Sons was first produced on Broadway. Three quarters of a century later it is as powerful as it was in the late 1940s. Miller’s writing and crafting of the plot is exceptional. Unlike many of his later plays it also feels the most personal. The family set up is similar to that of his own growing up, with himself as the younger brother, and the story is based upon a true tale told to him by his mother in law. It was also his last chance to write a successful play before he gave up playwrighting altogether. Thankfully it was a success and Miller continued writing until not long before his death in 2005. The play takes place over a period of twenty-four hours. Joe Keller is a ...