REVIEWS Archives - Page 385 of 402

5Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

RENT – Hope Mill Theatre

Seasons of Love 525,600 minutes 525,000 moments so dear 525,600 minutes How do you measure, measure a year? The opening refrain of the most iconic song in Jonathon Larson's stunning 1988 reimagination of Puccini's 'La Bohème', never felt more timely and relevant than it did last night. As the first night of this radical and exciting new production simultaneously became the closing night, due to the imposition of the latest lockdown, we were left to ponder how much more the theatrical community has to do in order to be allowed to make a living in 2020. It has been 229 days since I last was allowed to review a live piece of theatre (329,760 minutes if you're counting), and I floated on air past the temperature checks, socially distanced staff and in house screens, just so hap...

3Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Little Wars – Ginger Quiff Media

Ginger Quiff Media’s rehearsed reading of Little Wars by Steven Carl McCasland, is an emotional rollercoaster taking place against the backdrop of a literary salon in 1940s France. Gertrude Stein (Linda Bassett) and her girlfriend, Alice B Toklas (Catherine Russell) host the get together and their guests talk about everything from their lives as Jewish people during wartime to the role of female writers and their work. Directed by Hannah Chissick, the play opens with typewritten stage directions, which create a nice sense of the period and nods to the literary theme of the play. A good way to take advantage of the online format, the stage directions which appear throughout the piece create a good sense of the action that we are not seeing during the rehearsed reading. The play is ful...

3Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

What A Carve Up! – Barn Theatre

There’s nothing the public loves more than a conspiracy. “True-crime” is becoming ever more popular. Podcasts and documentaries alike feed the audience’s appetite for a scandal. A showcase of evidence with an unravelling case and the viewer thinks that they’re more informed than the judge. Barn Theatre’s production satisfies this appetite with a helping of contemporary British satire. Six members of the influential Winshaw family are found butchered in their mansion. There is one clear suspect; the writer who is about to publish a tell-all account of their corruption. The writer’s son (Alfred Enoch) takes us through the case and exposes the coincidences and revelations that he has found. Enoch is the perfect narrator; instantly captivating and convincing. He guides us through the twi...

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: The Narrator – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

2Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: The Narrator – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

The final episode of Tales from the Tombstone Tavern, the new six part podcast series written by Delmar Terblanche and directed by Jamie Boucher, is an existential meta-narrational crisis, which finds our monsters questioning their sense of reality thanks to the malevolent presence of the omnipresent and anonymous Narrator (Delmar Terblanche). An ominous musical opening dissolves into a panicked, blind and paralysed Vlad (Joshua Manning) who assumes that after a drunken evening he has managed to lock himself into his own coffin. However he soon realises there is more to his predicament than that and our Narrator begins to tell him off for his and his friends’ exploration of the deplorable genre of horror. The Narrator then begins working through the remaining monsters, pointing out t...

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: Vlad – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

31Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: Vlad – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

The penultimate episode of Tales from the Tombstone Tavern, the new six part podcast series written by Delmar Terblanche and directed by Jamie Boucher, takes a terrifying turn into the dark and murky world of the occult with a disturbing tale narrated by Vlad Dracul (Joshua Manning). This episode opens with our monsters discussing zombies and their place in the horror genre. While Wolfgang (Percival Fagent) and Vlad maintain that they aren’t scary anymore, unless they are given a gimmick, Adam (Delmar Terblanche) wonders if they have a place, otherwise why would people keep coming back to them when creating new stories? Vlad answers this question by outlining his theory that horror reflects our own anxieties and zombies are scary because they represent the worst fear of all: the loss...

31Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Midnight Tango – The Shows Must Go On

As part of the Shows Must Go On season, the 2011 production of Midnight Tango takes to the stage with a dazzling, vibrant and totally beguiling production. Framed by a simple tale of two people who meet at a seedy late night bar in Buenos Aires circa 1947 and eventually fall in love, this magnificent dance show is simply breath-taking both in concept and delivery. Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace, both from Strictly Come Dancing lead the cast of eight other professional tango dancers in a superb sequence of both traditional and Argentine tango and they both prove to be two of the finest exponents of this complicated and passionate dance. The show is produced by another Strictly legend Arlene Philips and superbly choreographed by Simone and Cacace who both brilliantly highlight th...

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: Shirley – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

31Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: Shirley – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

Episode 4 of Tales from the Tombstone Tavern, the new six part podcast series written by Delmar Terblanche and directed by Jamie Boucher, delves into the classic genre of ghost stories as we hear from one of the ironically quieter monsters around the table, Lady Shirley Edith James, the Wailing Woman (Anna Chedham-Cooper). When this episode opens our monsters are ill at ease with Adam (Delmar Terblanche), in particular, being on edge and Annie (Sena Bryer) agreeing that something doesn’t seem quite right. Coming back to the point of the challenge, Shirley brings the discussion around to what it is we actually want from horror. For her, the shock factor of Wolfgang’s (Percival Fagent) story is not enough. There needs to be more to create genuine fear, the emotional response audiences ...

Philharmonia: ‘American Dreams’ – Royal Festival Hall

31Oct

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London

Philharmonia: ‘American Dreams’ – Royal Festival Hall

After being away from their London home since March 2020, Philharmonia have come together (albeit in a socially distanced way), to stage this concert celebrating the work of Aaron Copland, Florence Price, Steve Reich and Igor Stravinsky. Conducted by the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor Designate Santtu-Matias Rouvali, this is a wonderful opportunity for the Orchestra to celebrate their 75th Anniversary and to help to raise funds to enable them to continue to produce their lively performances. The performance begins with Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, written in 1943-4, this piece was composed for choreographer Martha Graham who asked Copland to write a new ballet. The story centres around a young couple in 19th Century Pennsylvania who meet, marry and set up home ...

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: Wolfgang – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

27Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: Wolfgang – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

Episode 3 of Tales from the Tombstone Tavern, the new six part podcast series written by Delmar Terblanche and directed by Jamie Boucher, takes a violent plunge into the slasher genre, with a gruesome camp-side tale narrated by Wolfgang the Wolfman (Percival Fagent). The episode opens where we last left our group of classic monsters, with Annie, the Mummy (Sena Bryer) still enthusiastically discussing the darker sides of biology to the delight of Wolfgang and the equal disgust of Vlad Dracul (Joshua Manning). Vlad takes advantage of his supernatural powers and hypnotises Wolfgang to force a change of subject which Lady Shirley Edith James, the Wailing Woman (Anna Chedham-Cooper) eagerly supplies. But the vampire’s effect on Wolfgang does not last and he is soon once again declaring t...

The Lure (2020) Horror Short Film – Hounds of the Round Table

26Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

The Lure (2020) Horror Short Film – Hounds of the Round Table

This psychological thriller will have you on edge and avoiding your mobile phone. Hounds of the Round Table is a small, talented and resourceful independent production house from Liverpool. The Lure is where they announce their presence and their intentions to the world. The film tells the story of Toby a depressed man grieving over the death of his girlfriend Laura. Most of the action takes place in Toby’s untidy apartment where he chooses to sleep on the sofa each night and drink himself silly with only his dog, Sergeant, to keep him company. Things quickly take a bizarre twist when Laura starts calling Toby from beyond the grave. A disturbing feature of the film is the image of Toby’s phone lit up with ‘Laura calling’ and the persistent ring tone which blends in seamlessly with...