REVIEWS Archives - Page 392 of 427

7May

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

REVIEWS

I Could Use A Drink – stream.theatre

What is going on in the minds of the young people around you? Have you ever wondered? Wonder no longer… This song cycle, I Could Use a Drink, written by Drew Gasparini provides snapshots of different situations facing young women and men. Gasparini is a young American composer and lyricist, and the breadth of his writing talent is clear from this concert. Covering themes as diverse as teenage pregnancy, the fatal consequences of bullying, and all stages of relationships, I Could Use a Drink was originally released as an album in 2013, and now receives its UK premiere in the format of an audio-visual album. While the cast of talented young West End actors did a brilliant job of translating Gasparini’s music onto the screen, for me personally the presentation may have benefited from th...

6May

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

REVIEWS

A Killer Party – stream.theatre

The whodunnit musical Curtains meets everybody’s favourite video conferencing software Zoom in this nine-part murder mystery by Rachel Axler and Kait Kerrigan. Having been created and developed in America last year, it is now premiering in the UK with an array of stage stars-turned-suspects. When jaded traffic warden Justine Case (Emma Salvo) is inexplicably asked to investigate a killing, she eagerly dons her deerstalker and heads to the crime scene. There, a gaggle of outlandish guests of West End producer Varthur McArthur (Jason Manford) nervously, bitterly and/or hungrily await questioning. Annoyingly, the reason Justine is asked to step up is never addressed and, as the main character, her aversion to theatre is unfortunate. Salvo nevertheless pumps the new mystery-solver with m...

6May

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

REVIEWS

Needs Must – Alex Carr

What would you do for your children? What would you give up or sacrifice even? These questions are at the heart of this short film, written and directed by Alex Carr, with original music from Florence King and original song performed by Michael Weston King, which explores the desperation of humanity and the lengths people will go to for those they love. Mick (Shaun Fagan) and Liam (Anthony Roberts) wait frustratingly for the arrival of another man, Darren (Josh Ennis), who they don’t appear to know. There is an air of danger and these three have been brought together for a purpose, but what is it? Whilst Fagan goes off to see to the ‘business’, Roberts and Ennis are left minding the car. What do you do but talk; their backgrounds whilst different share some similarities in terms of t...

The Storm Shepherd – All Things Considered

5May

By Tracy RyanNo Comments

REVIEWS

The Storm Shepherd – All Things Considered

For eight years All Things Considered has been quietly but powerfully ploughing their own unique, socially engaged theatre furrow in Liverpool - encouraging conversations between people through intimate, participatory and immersive performance, and exploring topics from male suicide to parenthood and poverty. Their new play, The Storm Shepherd, is an extremely up close & personal, absorbing audio-kinetic/sensory/tactile and interactive experience for adults and children. And it’s brilliant! Written by ATC stalwart Stuart Crowther, The Storm Shepherd takes place in audience homes, ears and imaginations, as participants are issued with an online audio link, plus a physical storytelling pack through the post. (The initial glee I experienced unboxing the beautifully compact and colourfu...

3May

By Bethany EastonNo Comments

REVIEWS

Being Mr Wickham – Original Theatre

When Pride and Prejudice is mentioned, many of us think back to the 1995 BBC version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Now Adrian Lukis who played Mr. Wickham in that infamous adaptation returns to the role in this live streamed performance at the Theatre Royal, Bury St. Edmonds. In this one man play, Wickham is at home on the eve of his sixtieth birthday retelling what has happened in his life since his run in with Elizabeth Bennett and her family decades ago. Cleverly, this one hander is effectively produced for an online audience so that those watching can view the theatre at various moments in the show. As the theatres have been closed for so long, seeing the theatre lit up and the stage full was an exciting and heart-warming moment, even before the production had begun. Prior to the...

Eurobeat: The Pride of Europe – stream.theatre

3May

By Coral MourantNo Comments

REVIEWS

Eurobeat: The Pride of Europe – stream.theatre

Once a year we gather in front of our TV’s, expect the unexpected and enjoy a singing competition like no other. Parodying the popular tournament of talent, Eurobeat is a wacky, hilarious piece of theatre sure to appeal to the masses. After previous concern, Liechtenstein finally has its chance to host this celebration of European pop and it does not disappoint! It’s everything you wish for, and some more. There’s questionable lyrics, hidden politics (ahem, Brexit), outlandish costumes and campness galore! Marlene Cabana, (played by David O’Reilly’s Orla Board) is the glamorous host with the most, treating us to costume changes and double entendres with every appearance. Marlene also dazzles with some performances of her own, opening the show with a classic dance tune and a hil...

Tennis Elbow – Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh

2May

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

REVIEWS

Tennis Elbow – Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh

The good folk of the Nitshill Writing Circle have gathered together to eulogise the life of writer and painter Pamela Crichton Capers, but the conceit of John Byrne’s first play for 13 years is that their late mentor’s career is one of utter mediocrity at best. This is a companion piece with a gender twist to Byrne’s seventies hit show Writer’s Cramp that explored the life of another mediocrity Frances Seneca McDade. Fans of that earlier work will relish his fleeting appearances in this radio play produced by Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh as part of their Sound Stage season. Byrne traces Pam’s life story from her early days as a pretentious schoolgirl in a crummy religious boarding school where we are treated to one of her dreadful poems, and the veteran pla...

2May

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

REVIEWS

Rocky Road – stream.theatre

Having been a long admirer of Shaun McKenna’s writing for both theatre and radio I looked forward to seeing his latest thriller from Stream Theatre and I wasn’t disappointed. Filmed at the Jermyn Street Theatre in London, Rocky Road is a dark and quite intense thriller that has revenge as its central theme. Basically McKenna’s play is a powerful two-hander that explores not only revenge but the power of grief and the inability to move forward. Zoe (Kirstin Foster) moves into a new apartment and meets up with the buildings young caretaker Danny (Tyger Drew-Honey) and at first everything seems normal enough except (as we all know in any great thriller) things are not what they seem and soon we come realise the terrible crime that has brought Zoe and Danny to this place. To reveal an...

30Apr

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

REVIEWS

Money – Southwark Playhouse

Money. It makes the world go round. We all need it to live. But where does it come from, and does its source really matter? That’s the question at the heart of ‘Money’ by Isla van Tricht, a digital co-production with Southwark Playhouse. The Nyoni Youth and Community Project does great charitable work to help local people, but the pandemic has decimated its finances. Enter the Anders Corporation who have offered a large donation. Not only will it help the struggling charity and so many worthwhile causes, it will enable the charity to thrive – helping more and more people. But is it worth it? What cost does this money have? What are the implications of accepting such a large donation? How do the Anders Corporation make their money and is it ethical? The questions are real...

28Apr

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Cells – Metta Theatre

Produced entirely during lockdown, Metta Theatre brings seven-part episodic musical Cells to the small screen, with all donations supporting the recovery of the Royal & Derngate Northampton, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. The piece follows the reserved chemistry fresher JoJo (Lem Knights) and outgoing university lab technician Neil (Clive Rowe), two strangers contemplating the next chapters in their lives as their paths look set to cross. P Burton-Morgan’s script lacks originality and only provides a surface-level insight into the pair’s social struggles in the thirty-minute run time. Some of the narrative’s happenings are contrived to the point of being completely unrealistic: the function of a soiled napkin sends the plot spinning into rid...