REVIEWS Archives - Page 393 of 548

Your Dad’s Mum: Tonight at the Social Club – Underbelly, Bristo Square

25Aug

By Dylan MooneyNo Comments

Scotland

Your Dad’s Mum: Tonight at the Social Club – Underbelly, Bristo Square

Your Dad’s Mum: Tonight at the Social Club is an intimate, audience participation-filled show that brings together actors Kevin Dewsbury and Bexie Archer as Pat Bashford and Cheri-Anne respectively. The show is filled with games and prizes and is sure to bring about many laughs. The skill of Dewsbury and Archer shouldn’t go unnoticed. They are able to consistently create a hilariously awkward atmosphere throughout the piece, with many long silences. They both stay in character throughout the entirety of the production, never breaking the illusion that they are actually playing characters. The multitude of jokes delivered by Dewsbury range from risqué to plain dreadful but every single one warranted some form of reaction from the audience, whether that be fits of laughter or groan...

25Aug

By Kat CliffordNo Comments

Scotland

Plague – theSpaceTriplex

Plague is a tongue in cheek, silly and somewhat bizarre dive into one of the darkest parts of history. The show jumps between a fuddy-duddy professor, a doctor and a Yorkshire farmer, in the modern day, explaining some of the science and history of the plague and a historic telling of the fictional village of Bogsfield set in the 1300’s. It was quite an interesting way to tell the story and helped to break up the more morbid pieces of the historic parts. The songs were nicely composed and very well performed, and this show was really all about the big chorus pieces which the large cast pulled off with skill and mastery. The composition of ‘Dance for God’ both musically and visually were very cohesive and I appreciated the symbolism of the priest commanding his desperate floc...

FR (Friendship Ritual) – Camden Fringe Online

24Aug

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

REVIEWS

FR (Friendship Ritual) – Camden Fringe Online

Offering something a little different to the norm, Friendship Ritual is a short experiential audio work to share with a friend. It is a ritual which requires each listener to think, reflect and feel. Each participant has an audio of their own. The audio opens by framing the contracts people make to each other before guiding listeners through a series of interactions, first with the ‘self’ and then with each other. It is spoken in a meditative tone of voice and is positivity focused. How often do we look at our friendships in detail? How often do we let our friends know we love them? How often do we have time with our friends to just play? Opening with a feelgood dance, participants take a moment to scan how their body feels afterwards and then observe how their friend looks. Does ...

Derren Brown: Showman – Leeds Grand Theatre

24Aug

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Derren Brown: Showman – Leeds Grand Theatre

At the end of this hugely entertaining and mystifying show Derren Brown asked reviewers not to give the game away about any of the set ups. That is a lot easier than the master mesmeriser thinks as no decent reviewer ever gives the plot away unless it's the forthcoming Titanic musical where we all know what happens. Hint…the voyage doesn’t end well. This is Brown’s first new show for five years, but his popularity hasn’t waned as it was a full house to witness his trademark mix of mind control, uncanny people reading and nifty misdirection. People come to these shows to see if they can work it out, and here’s some good news for his fans - it is still impossible. That’s all part of the fun, and there’s one part of this show where I am still utterly baffled how he pulled it off. ...

24Aug

By H.S. BakerNo Comments

Scotland

Earwig – Assembly Rooms

Impeccable timing, fine acting and sustained energy are what make this short play well worthy of a five-star rating. Too short really, I couldn’t believe an hour had passed so quickly and left the venue wanting more. This perky play, set in the silent movie era of the roaring ‘20s, tells the story of Marigold. Now a young woman, Marigold has been deaf since the age of five after contracting meningitis, she now lip reads and speaks perfectly. Although never formally qualified, Marigold has a passion for insects and has become an expert in the field of entomology. She lives with her mother, a snobbish northern woman with aspirations for herself and her daughter that have nothing to do with Marigold’s passion for creepy crawlies. She marries Marigo...

24Aug

By Dylan MooneyNo Comments

Scotland

I am Gavrilo Princip – Army @ Fringe

I am Gavrilo Princip follows the true story of the infamous, or forgotten, assassin responsible for the death of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the beginning of the First World War. A war where between 15 and 22 million people lost their lives. This play puts Princip in purgatory asking if he was really as bad as history makes him out to be. The production features two live musicians, a guitarist and a trumpet player, who, at various points, looked as bored as the audience felt. Both musicians underscore the piece, often playing far too loudly meaning writer and actor, Oliver Yellop, cannot be heard. In addition, sometimes the music is used in a very cartoonish style, such as the guitar mimicking gunfire, which detracts from the more serious themes explored in the play. Ye...

Absurd: A Live Cabaret Panel Show – PBH’s Free Fringe @ Roti

24Aug

By Kat CliffordNo Comments

Scotland

Absurd: A Live Cabaret Panel Show – PBH’s Free Fringe @ Roti

Absurd: A Live Cabaret Show was good, old-fashioned, silly fun! The show sprang into action right out of the gate and began with a good helping of audience participation! There were plenty of lighthearted, good humoured jokes about finding high quality cabaret in the basement of a restaurant. This variety show was an upbeat romp through a wide variety of acts. We had magic, stand- up comedy, sketches and singing (sort of) all loosely held together by the semblance of a TV panel show. There were heaps of audience participation with games and gentle ribbing of those chosen for various antics. The acts were random and varied either the standouts were Nira Tal who was a very funny lady and Aaron Jones was very enjoyable to watch with his mix of humour, jokes and magic and of course hi...

24Aug

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

Identical – The Lowry

This musical adaptation of Erich Kästner’s novel ‘Lottie and Lisa’- more commonly known as ‘The Parent Trap’- will have you seeing double in a tale of two ever so similarly different sisters. When Lottie (Kyla Fox) and Lisa (Nicole Fox) meet at summer camp, they go from being enemies to best friends after discovering they’re long-lost twins separated at birth. Both are curious to meet the parent who didn’t raise them, and so they decide to swap lives. The story stays loyal to the original novel’s plot, but this omits a lot of humour from the Disney film adaptations that made ‘The Parent Trap’ such a hit. Tonally, ‘Identical’ is serious and schmaltzy, with family-friendly comedy scattered throughout. While some of Anthony Drewe’s lyrics are inventive, the score by composer George S...

Treason The Musical In Concert – Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

23Aug

By Maani WayNo Comments

London

Treason The Musical In Concert – Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

Set in 1605, where “being Catholic is treason”, Treason tells the tale of the famous gunpowder plot which would have been the bloodiest event in British history. In a world completely divided between Protestants and Catholics, everything is at stake as the decision must be made whether to hide in the shadows or fight what you believe in. The story follows the plotters, Robert Catesby (Simon-Anthony Roden) and Thomas Percy (Bradley Jaden) and the famous Guy Fawkes (Sebastian Harwood), although he was not a lead. Thomas Percy’s wife, Martha (Carrie Hope Fletcher) is an essential part to the plot, knowing more than anyone what was at risk. The show opens with the Narrator (Debris Stevenson) who introduces the plot and sets the scene in Britain in 1605. The story unfolds in a rap style, ...

Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch – Underbelly, George Square

21Aug

By Kat CliffordNo Comments

Scotland

Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch – Underbelly, George Square

Can I give this show 6 stars?! Unfortunate is a phenomenal, intelligent, filthy, satirical extravaganza! Every part of this camp, queer, raunchy retelling of the little mermaid from the perspective of Ursula, the sea witch, was on point. The cast were an extremely gifted group of individuals. Ursula, played in this performance by Robyn Grant, was absolutely magnetic and had a voice that was pure electricity. Nearly the entire cast played multiple characters and their portrayals were so unique and different it really felt like watching an entirely different person each change. This is an extremely talented group of performers who have honed their craft to near flawless. The duets between Triton (George Whitty) and Ursula were exhilarating and every song in the show was performed wi...