REVIEWS Archives - Page 383 of 550

12Oct

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Sister Act – Pendle Hippodrome

North West End UK reviews both professional and amateur shows, but when reviewing Basics Junior Theatre School production’s, it is hard to distinguish which one it is as the talent and delivery is that of a professional performance year after year. Sally Murtaugh and her late husband Dennis founded Basics 35 years ago and the theatre group has delivered an annual performance since 1987 to present day, this is the first time Basics have produced Sister Act. Andy Cooke has been the principle at Basics for ten years and I have had the honour of reviewing several of his shows, one of the most striking themes throughout the years of watching the performances is the sense of pride and belonging to a family which ripples from the students to each and every member of the production team. And...

The Cher Show: A New Musical – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

12Oct

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

The Cher Show: A New Musical – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

An electric, energetic and cleaver show, the Cher Show has come to Edinburgh to educate audiences on the life of musical icon Cher. The music loud and brilliantly executed, the lights bright and the costumes are absolutely dazzling. Cher has been around for what may feel like forever, an ever-constant voice through the lives of most of us living, and through the ages neither her voice, power or face has changed all that much. For such an individual voice it takes real skill to be able to impersonate and do the legend justice, the Cher Show takes the challenge of finding one skill filled actress to fill the role and multiplies it by three, separating Cher into the three main stages of her career: the naive rising star (Babe played by Millie O’Connell) , the confident woman freeing hersel...

German Cornejo’s Tango After Dark – Peacock Theatre

12Oct

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

German Cornejo’s Tango After Dark – Peacock Theatre

Tango after dark lingers on the notes of passion from the first beat. Arriving in London after a world tour, it delivers, as promised, a show of technique and unbelievable craftsmanship. The performance expresses nostalgia and melancholy, dripping with sensual passion. Produced at Peacock Theatre by Sandra Castell Garcia with a limited run until 22nd October 2022. The brilliance of nimble, trained bodies that do not tire by the non-stop dancing have one transfixed by the agility, flawlessness and rhythm. The sustained and palpable chemistry all the dancers can create on stage transports us to Buenos Aires. From a marketplace where a chase ensues, breaking into an energetic group dance to a dimly lit bar where the slowness of each poised swish and matching notes takes one's breath away. ...

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – Palace Theatre

12Oct

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – Palace Theatre

Behind every record-breaking, chart-topping hit is a songwriter with poetical flair to spare. This jukebox musical pays homage to 60s icon Carole King, the multi-talented musician and composer of timeless classics from ‘The Loco-Motion’ to ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’. ‘Beautiful’ follows the musically-rich career of King (Molly-Grace Cutler) as she pursues a dream to enrich people’s lives with her original songs. As an autobiographical piece, Douglas McGrath’s book reveals how King’s life experiences are reflected in her far-reaching creations. The story itself may be thin, but the versatile cast proves that there is no need to overembellish a straightforward narrative when it’s the soundtrack that takes centre stage. Carole’s pop tunes are interspersed with soul and so...

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...