REVIEWS Archives - Page 389 of 458

Northern Ballet: Merlin – Hull New Theatre

14Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Northern Ballet: Merlin – Hull New Theatre

I wonder if professional ballet dancers, after a performance, head straight for the Voltarol to rub on to their aching limbs. Well, after watching the ballet Merlin, on Wednesday night, at Hull New Theatre, I really felt I, too, would be heading for the Voltarol, to rub onto my aching arms - so vigorously had I applauded. Luckily for me, pain relief wasn’t needed, but my goodness, the Northern Ballet company has really gone to town with this production. A read through the programme informs us Merlin brings together a creative team working with Northern Ballet for the first time. And, with no disrespect to any of the company’s other productions, this new input really has worked its magic. The story of the mythical wizard is told in such a way, I didn’t know what to concentra...

Dracula: The Untold Story – Liverpool Playhouse

14Oct

By Carole BaldockNo Comments

North West

Dracula: The Untold Story – Liverpool Playhouse

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and here we are on Route 66 (or should that be 666?), since that's their year (read on...), and a young lady has just walked into a police station to confess to murder. But she says her name is Mina Harker... And goodness, can she name drop - an affair with Picasso? And literally, because many of the people she encounters hit the deck. But is she as it were victim turned vigilante, seeking to rid the world of evil? Or does Dracula actually have a hand in this, not that the title isn't a dead giveaway. Yet having slayed Dracula, she is seemingly possessed by him. Mina travels the world hunting down the people from her nightmares who are plotting some kind of uprising. The police officers are bewildered by the murder of unknowns (keep rea...

13Oct

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Magic Goes Wrong – Sheffield Lyceum

What a hilarious evening the audience at the Sheffield Lyceum had, as Mischief Theatre presented ‘Magic Goes Wrong’. Magical mayhem with two hours of silliness and laugh-out-loud moments, Co-writers Henry Lewis, Jonathon Sayer and Henry Shields collaborated with the legendary Penn and Teller to offer the next instalment of the … Goes Wrong series. A perfect vehicle, to be honest, as who doesn’t watch a Magic show with a little bit of them, hoping something does indeed go wrong! Or, we gasp at what appears to go wrong does actually redeem itself in gloriously spectacular fashion. The set resembled a very glitzy, sparkly version of The Royal Variety Show/ Live at the London Palladium mixed with the most elaborate gameshow you could imagine. Magic Goes Wrong is not quite the heavi...

The Woman in Black – Edinburgh King’s Theatre

13Oct

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

The Woman in Black – Edinburgh King’s Theatre

To put it simply, Susan Hill's 1983 novel The Woman in Black is both a masterpiece and a classic, and we are not only fortunate to have it but also the masterpiece and classic it has inspired... No, not the underrated 1989 TV film starring Harry Potter's dad. No, not the 2012 cliché starring Harry Potter. No, definitely not the execrable 2014 sequel Angel of Death. Why don't you stop saying these stupid things and just let me finish? I am of course referring to Stephen Mallatratt's 1987 stage version, now the second longest-running non-musical play in West End history (after The Mousetrap). In it, and in every other version of the story, a lawyer named Arthur Kipps finds himself in deep marsh-water when he is sent off to foggy Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral and sort the papers...

Dirty Dancing – The Alexandra, Birmingham

13Oct

By Annette NuttallNo Comments

West Midlands

Dirty Dancing – The Alexandra, Birmingham

Originally performed in London in 2006 this show has toured numerous times. It’s a joy to see it back on the road once again. The Houseman’s spend their vacation at Kellermans resort where everyone is shown a good time. Baby is entranced by the dancers Penny and Johnny and soon gets caught up in their world. This will be a summer she will never forget. While the storyline may not be the most in depth it still manages to touch on peoples’ preconceptions, unwanted pregnancy, racism and growing up. Of course, the main theme is love and redemption. Musically this is a blend of soundtrack and live music performed by the onstage band and company. Colin Charles (Tito Suarez) opens act 2 in style whipping the audience into an even higher state of excitement and Samuel Bailey (Billy Kostec...

Grease the Musical – Manchester Opera House

13Oct

By Hannah WildeNo Comments

North West

Grease the Musical – Manchester Opera House

If, like me, you’re a lifelong fan of the 1978 titular film Grease, then the touring production of Grease the Musical is not to be missed. Like its namesake, this production is as slick as you like. It has got everything a good show should have: a toe-tapping soundtrack, mesmerising choreography, and - quite literally - an all-singing, all-dancing cast. The performance I had the pleasure of attending starred Dan Partridge as the leading man Danny Zuko, and understudy Ellie Kingdon as his leading lady, Sandy. I was a bit apprehensive to see an understudy in such a prominent role - especially one who is making their professional debut in this show - but I needn’t have worried: Kingdon was incredible. Far from being “oh so scared and unsure” like her wallflower character Sandy, Kingd...

13Oct

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

Ballet Black: Double Bill – The Lowry

Dance is often referred to as the performing art that provides a form of communication when words are no longer enough. However, this double bill from Ballet Black is performed to a soundtrack of poetry, spoken word performance, and songs with lyrics. Initially, this took a little getting used to; I am not used to ballet being performed to this kind of soundscape and, if I’m honest, I did find it difficult at the start to decide what to focus on: the meaning of the words or the movement... However, when I relaxed and watched these two pieces as a whole, they really were extremely impressive. The words and the choreography, at times underscored by music, ebbed and flowed and became beautifully complementary. Despite the company comprising only eight dancers, they had such a great presenc...

13Oct

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

REVIEWS

King Lear – Scenesaver Online

Jo Emery's modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s play starts off with Lear as a CEO of a property development empire who is in the process of stepping down from his leading role and is dividing the business up between his three daughters. Before he does this though, he sets them a challenge to see how they can express their love for him. The two elder daughters give extremely flattering answers in praise of their father, but the youngest daughter, who actually loves him the most, remains silent as she cannot put into words the depth of feeling she has for her father. This greatly angers the king, and he banishes the youngest daughter and divides the business between the two eldest daughters. As the narrative develops, we are introduced to more characters whose individual stories are woven ...

13Oct

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Empty in Angel – Bloomsbury Theatre

‘Empty in Angel’, I soon discovered, is courier talk for “I am in (Angel) and I currently have no goods to collect or deliver”. An original play by James Woolf, Empty in Angel looks at the fight to improve workers’ rights in the so-called ‘gig economy’ and the common struggles faced by its community. Our narrator and protagonist is ‘Watsy’ (‘cos she’s from Watford. She has a friend called ‘Brighton’. She moans a lot) who is ably portrayed by the very energetic Darcy Willison. Alongside the central role, Willison takes on all bit-parts in this hour long one-(wo)man show and slips between characters with ease. She also manages to pull off a couple of pretty impressive raps and some genuinely moving monologues that at one point put a bit of a lump in my throat. Holding an audiences’ attent...

Priscilla Queen of the Desert – Manchester Palace Theatre

12Oct

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Priscilla Queen of the Desert – Manchester Palace Theatre

The world’s most flamboyant road trip has rolled into Manchester as we’re invited to step aboard a ‘Budget Barbie Camper’ named Priscilla and lip-sync our way through a jukebox of disco hits with the best of them. Based on the cult 1994 film, and co-produced by its original West End star, Jason Donovan, tonight’s show takes us deep into the Australian outback as we join drag queens Tick/Mitzi (Edwin Ray), and Adam/Felicia (Nick Hayes) and transgender Bernadette (Miles Western) on their trip from suburban Sydney to Alice Springs. Our ‘ladies’ are set to perform at a local casino as a distraction from their current woes. Unbeknownst to Adam and Bernadette, it will also give Tick the chance to meet his son, Benji. Along the way they tackle weighty issues of grief, bigotry and what it...