Tuesday, December 16

REVIEWS

Twenty Today – King’s Arms, Salford
2Sep By Louise KershawNo Comments
North West

Twenty Today – King’s Arms, Salford

For some reason, in the mid Eighties, my Dad started collecting plates. The sorts of plates that were regularly advertised in the back of glossy Sunday magazines. They were hideous.  Many of them were wall mounted around the house and when family parties or sisters pretending to be The Nolans got a bit boisterous, my mother could be heard crying “Watch the plates!”  I was reminded of this in the opening scene of Peripeteia Theatre’s Twenty Today in which we meet 19-year-old Peter Clapton (Joseph Harding) and his Aunt Holly ‘Dave’ Clapton (Solaya Sang) on the eve of his 20th birthday. He is preparing for his house party, she has a date. There is immediate warmth and connection between Harding and Sang as the orphaned boy-about-to-be-man and the sister of his dead mother, who has now...
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Professor Brian Cox presents Horizons: A 21st Century Space Odyssey – The 02, London
1Sep By Ely KingNo Comments
London

Professor Brian Cox presents Horizons: A 21st Century Space Odyssey – The 02, London

As someone who has always been fascinated by space, but never had the brain capacity or time to learn more, I jumped at the chance to be able to see Prof. Brian Cox live. This show may be seen as a glorified lecture to some, and Cox even referred to it as such, but this was so much more. With a huge HD LED screen at his disposal, the scientist used it to display some of the most fascinatingly beautiful images I will ever see. From real images taken from telescopes to simulations and artist renditions to live equations, this screen was used for it all. The highlights for me were when he displayed real life imagery taken by the James Webb Space Telescope and The Hubble Space Telescope, we even had the delights of seeing a ‘selfie’ from a Mars Rover! For two and a half hours the a...
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Not F**kin’ Sorry – Soho Theatre
1Sep By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments
London

Not F**kin’ Sorry – Soho Theatre

Presented by Not Your Circus Dog Collective and Access All Areas, the frank and honest cabaret ‘Not F**kin’ Sorry’ dives headfirst and unapologetically into the topic of disability discrimination in a highly provocative, hilarious, and seductive way. Not Your Circus Dog is a collective of learning disabled and neurodivergent performers who all, in their own right take command of the performance space to share their own story and those of others, and with serious content warnings, knock down all barriers on the sexuality, lifestyle, and fantasy of disabled people. The 60 minutes performance is impactful from start to finish. It is a curated piece that balances between the points of audience laughter and dancing, and points where they are stunned into silence and grim sadness. It’s a s...
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Jesus Christ Superstar – Frinton Summer Theatre
1Sep By Samantha CollettNo Comments
South East

Jesus Christ Superstar – Frinton Summer Theatre

It’s astonishing to think Jesus Christ Superstar first hit the stage 50 years ago when you watch Clive Brill’s reimagining of this iconic rock opera by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Packed to the gills with creative ingenuity this is a show worthy of any London stage and to find it in a tent in Frinton-on-Sea is mind-blowing. Opening with Jesus being portrayed as a vain cult-leader, Tim Rogers is the role to perfection with his handsome looks and aloof swagger. Enter Judas (Hugh Maynard) who’s set to bring Jesus down by betraying him to Caiaphas (Jad Habchi). Unfortunately for Jesus, despite the deep love and care from Mary (Rebecca Birch), and his followers, Judas in a delicate kiss, betrays Jesus to his enemies and seals his death with his lips. Despite being a small theatre, t...
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Ride: A New Musical – Charing Cross Theatre
1Sep By Carole GordonNo Comments
London

Ride: A New Musical – Charing Cross Theatre

In 1894, Annie Londonderry set off on a solo circumnavigation of the world by bike. That her name and this radical accomplishment is almost entirely unknown is as big a mystery as is the real story of her travels. She was born in Latvia, emigrated to the US as a child and suffered the loss of her parents, leaving her at just 16 to care for her younger siblings. She married in an attempt to achieve financial stability and had three children. But it seems it was the death of her younger brother that was the seminal moment that propelled her towards her pioneering ride around the world. There's talk of a wager, adventures with the myriad people she meets along the way, relationships developed and abandoned.  On her triumphant return to the US in 1895, following an initial wave of media a...
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Bugsy Malone: The Musical – Leeds Grand Theatre
31Aug By Paul ClarkeNo Comments
Yorkshire & Humber

Bugsy Malone: The Musical – Leeds Grand Theatre

It’s hard to believe Hollywood legend Jodie Foster’s movie career was launched in Alan Parker’s innovative gangster spoof where all the roles were played by a cast with an average of 12. For this stage production of the battle between gang bosses Fat Sam and Dandy Dan for control of the soda pop racket in 1920s New York, as hustler Bugsy Malone vies for the affections of nightclub singer Blousey, the producers have decided to cast some very young performers as the leads. This left some of the diction a little indistinct up in the gods and some of the big numbers a touch underpowered. Many of these committed young performers will no doubt go onto successful professional careers as more experienced performers have often struggled to fill this big space. Some of those issues are amplifi...
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Rock of Ages – King’s Theatre, Glasgow
31Aug Avatar photoBy Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments
Scotland

Rock of Ages – King’s Theatre, Glasgow

“Amazing!” Blondie exclaimed as she dried her hands in the loo at the end of the night, while “It’s a game of two halves,” might have been uttered by the man watching football on his mobile at half-time. What he actually said was: “It’s not great. I’ve seen it before. It must be understudies.” So, there you have it. The first half was rushed and heartless. The diction was unclear. Less than half the audience were clapping along. For an audience-participation-style show that’s not great. The second half, however, brought a smile to my face and roars of appreciation from a very loyal fan-base. The final number was brilliant and had everyone on their feet. If only there had been more of that. If only they’d played to win from the start. The Page Three depiction of females as sex obje...
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Horse Country – Assembly George Square Studios
29Aug Avatar photoBy Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments
Scotland

Horse Country – Assembly George Square Studios

Roll up! Roll up! Let’s talk car sales, magic tricks, Piaget, coercion and bedroom slippers. If you like your theatre slick, then Horse Country, directed by Mark Bell and featuring Daniel Llewelyn-Williams and Michael Edwards of Flying Bridge Theatre Company is for you. Fast paced and jam-packed with allusions to well-kent faces, films, songs and writers (Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller and F.Scott-Fitzgerald come to mind), this ode to The American Dream with all its frailties is crafted for speed and requires quality performers to do it justice. C J Hopkins has written both character, Sam and Bob, with boundless energy and buzz. They spend their time trying not to address the underlying issues of a macho, capitalist society while constantly talking around the issues of oppression, domina...
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Like a Sack of Potatoes – theSpace on the Mile
28Aug By Wendy McEwanNo Comments
Scotland

Like a Sack of Potatoes – theSpace on the Mile

This ‘hillbilly gothic tale’, written and performed by Ric Siler, draws the audience into an Appalachian farmer’s world. The space is small, intimate, with seating on two sides of the stage.  A sign with a greengrocer’s apostrophe, ‘tomato’s for sale’, hangs on a wooden crate.  The old farmer enters, in his checked shirt and worn-out jeans, and genially offers his homegrown wares to a member of the audience.  He is polite, thoughtful, welcoming.  His Appalachian accent, Siler’s own, has a gentle musicality and a stillness that makes you want to listen.  He tells us that he grows pole beans, potatoes, tobacco, and tomatoes on his farm, and that he isn’t afraid of anything – except women, maybe.  However, we learn that he is willing to do whatever it takes to...
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Boom Town – theSpace @ Surgeons Hall
28Aug By Ella CatherallNo Comments
Scotland

Boom Town – theSpace @ Surgeons Hall

‘Boom Town’ is billed as a story of family, morality and feminism. Set during the Gold Rush in a town named Crimson, the show focusses primarily on Beau Barton, the daughter of the town’s sheriff, as she tries to find where she fits in her hometown. The main selling points of this show are the performances by the actors, and the score. Vocally, it is very difficult to fault the actors, who effortlessly knock out incredible solos and ensemble numbers, with some really nice-sounding harmonies. This was also all done while singing in an accent, that was well-executed and consistent both throughout the show, and with each other. With regards to the score, Matilda Booth has managed to effectively fuse classic musical theatre with country-and-western influences, to give an end-product that do...
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