REVIEWS Archives - Page 386 of 550

5Oct

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Othello – Liverpool Playhouse

Formed in 1994 Frantic Assembly is the UK’s foremost physical theatre company. Their inimitable and often compelling style of theatre has undoubtedly elevated their reputation both at home and on the international theatre scene. They are an exciting and innovative theatre company producing work that resonates and stays long in the memory of their audience and now they turn their attention to one of Shakespeare’s darkest tales of jealousy, passion, and revenge. Of course, being Frantic Assembly, they manage to conjure up a new translation of Shakespeare’s painfully beautiful play and transport the action to a modern-day poolroom in a pub. It shouldn’t really work on paper but through audacious and complex movement alongside strong performances from the cast and imaginative direction f...

West Side Story – Rotherham Civic Theatre

5Oct

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

West Side Story – Rotherham Civic Theatre

Great gusto delivering an iconic show. A long-time favourite of many, West Side Story which is based on the concept of Jerome Robbins – as a modern day telling of Romeo and Juliet - is synonymous with Robbins famous choreographic style. Collaborating with Arthur Laurents as writer and the legendary composer Leonard Bernstein with Stephen Sondheim as lyricist; West Side Story was always going to be a hit. From its film versions in 1961 and 2021 to its innumerable stage productions the musical has engaged people for the last 65 years. Set in the 1950’s, the musical resets Romeo and Juliet onto the New York streets and the world of rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. Maria, sister of the Sharks gang leader Bernardo, falls in love with Tony, the once Jet who has drifted away from...

5Oct

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

The Crucible – National Theatre

The National sets us off right into Spooky Season with the retelling of the classic tale, The Crucible directed by Lyndsey Turner. Immediately thrown into a grand atmosphere gushing rain from the ceiling and the distant flickering of two candles placed neatly on a table on stage. It’s hard not to be in awe, a feeling that only seems to expand during your experience with this show. As a very loved, famous tale (although one I’m not familiar with myself) the audience will be very sure on the story that they will be viewing, to make this individual and give it the impact that it is capable of is certainly a task: one that they handled with edge and power. We are firstly introduced to our cast in a beautifully haunting choral song, one that follows through the performance and growing only w...

Blue Stockings – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

4Oct

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Blue Stockings – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

Every year, during the first week of October, thousands of fresh-faced young people flock to our major cities marking the start of the university year. That this annual migration forms a rite of passage for both men AND women, is largely due to the efforts of 'Blue Stockings', pioneers in the rights for women's education and equality of opportunity during the nineteenth century. In this 2013 play, writer Jessica Swale focuses on the 1896 fight by women at Girton College, Cambridge to gain the right to graduate alongside their male peers in the face of hostile opposition from faculty, fellow students and society at large. We see the prejudice and misogyny that women in education faced through the eyes of four new 'Girton Girls', Tess (Pippa Lane), Celia (Bronte James), Carolyn (Madeleine...

Only An Octave Apart – Wilton’s Music Hall

3Oct

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Only An Octave Apart – Wilton’s Music Hall

It might sound like an unlikely coupling, a world-famous opera singer and a cabaret legend described as the “the best cabaret artist of [their] generation", but Anthony Roth Costanzo and Justin Vivian Bond really do bring the magic to the stage in their two-person show ‘Only An Octave Apart’, which is currently playing at Wilton’s Music Hall. ‘Only An Octave Apart’ is a juxtaposition of styles in every way possible, vocally, stylistically, and creatively, the pair (with direction by Zack Winokur) have created a fluid and yet genuinely sincere 90-minute musical extravaganza that is truly charming, and that burrows deep to warm the soul. For those unfamiliar with the two performers, Bond, is a pioneer of alternative live performance, a true diva, a legend, with a smoky and inviting ton...

Half Measures – Shakespeare North Playhouse

3Oct

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Half Measures – Shakespeare North Playhouse

War. Corruption and power plays. Women fighting for autonomy. All very Shakespearean themes but all still very much identifiable in today’s society. Tonight, we are asked if “life itself is always worth more than the way it is lived”. One Hour Theatre has re-visited its 2016 debut play, Half Measures, written by Tim Prentki and directed by Victor Merriman. The piece melds together selected scenes from Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, with the modern tale of Nadia, an Eastern Ukrainian illegal immigrant, who seeks a better life away from her war-torn country. When Nadia catches the eye of a married hotshot footballer Angelo, she must decide how far she is willing to go to get the happiness and security she craves. By then focusing on the Measure for Measure storyline of Isabella,...

Steptoe and Son – Birkenhead Little Theatre

3Oct

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Steptoe and Son – Birkenhead Little Theatre

Perfectly timed, well-staged and loaded with laughs, the Carlton Players production of Steptoe and Son is not to be missed. Performing three episodes of the legendary TV series, the company revived the art of performance. The audiences have previously suggested which shows should be included and these are the ones that are brought to life on stage. There is a feel of the audience being part of the production as you view. Steptoe and Son, directed by Steve Youster, includes Desperate Hours; Seance in a Wet Rag and Bone Yard; and Live Now P.A.Y.E later. Before attending I wasn't a Steptoe and Son fan - I didn't think the jokes landed very well and am too young to enjoy the nostalgia factor that a show like this can bring. However, seeing the episodes brought to life on stage in this...

Dave Gorman: Powerpoint to the People – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

1Oct

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Dave Gorman: Powerpoint to the People – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Dave Gorman entered the stage greeted with a round of tumultuous applause from the audience; it was a full house of mainly 35-year-olds upwards eagerly awaiting Gorman’s characteristic brand of comedy and enlightening statistical information. He was dressed in his usual attire of checked shirt denim jeans and trainers, his trademark laptop, stage right. Gorman is known for his popular acclaimed TV series, ‘Modern Life Is Goodish’ where he has proved himself to be an exemplar, brutally revealing life’s incongruities in comedic fashion. In a show lasting just over two hours he delivers an enormous amount of interesting information in his characteristic manner; he is both fast-talking and slick, often laughing uncontrollably at his own jokes. From the offset he proceeds to ask everyone ...

30Sep

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

Wales

The Famous Five – Theatr Clwyd

Theatr Clwyd have done what they do best and brought us an original piece of theatre in the form of a fantastic musical, The Famous Five. Made Famous by the stories by Enid Blyton, Elinor Cook has created the book for this musical telling us how the Famous Five met and became who they are. With George, her dog Timmy and three cousins, Julian, Dick and Anne, we are taken on an adventure over the Summer on Kirran Island. Theatr Clwyd's Artistic Director, Tamara Harvey, has worked her magic once again, and with the help of a hugely talented cast and team, brought a wonderful story to life. And by looking around the audience tonight, it was hugely enjoyed by a wide range of people of all ages. The pre-set is fantastic with a projection of Kirran Island and the key places that we will ...

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Film Music Gala – Hull City Hall

30Sep

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Film Music Gala – Hull City Hall

It takes something special for my goosebumps to reveal themselves but, my goodness, on Thursday night, the minute the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra struck up the opening chords of the main theme to The Big Country movie, my skin erupted in ‘em. The animated conductor, Stephen Bell, was the person responsible for my eruptions, as he was the one wielding the baton, looking like he was enjoying every minute for the couple of hours the orchestra performed. This extremely talented bunch of musicians launched the hall’s Classics Season and the programme, as the title suggests, was bursting with well-known themes from blockbuster movies of the past five decades. The beautiful City Hall stage was the perfect backdrop for the immaculately dressed ladies and gentlemen and their gleaming inst...