REVIEWS Archives - Page 4 of 629

18Sep

By Natalia PrucnalNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Mamma Mia! – Sheffield Lyceum Theatre

Take a chance on the fantastic touring production of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’ ‘Mamma Mia!’, which features, what I would argue to be, the most phenomenal vocal talent I’ve had the pleasure of seeing live this year. Under Phyllida Lloyd’s watchful direction, this is certainly a show you shouldn’t let slip through your fingers! Mamma Mia! is set on a Greek island and follows Sophie Sheridan and her mother Donna as they prepare for Sophie’s wedding to Sky, with a soundtrack based on ABBA. What Donna doesn’t yet know is that, in Sophie’s desire to find out her father’s identity, she invites 3 of Donna’s lovers from years ago to her special day. Will this end in a long-lost love being reignited, or a shipwreck, when all is said and done? Jenn Griffin as Donna Sheridan was certai...

Some Explicit Polaroids – The Tower Theatre

18Sep

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Some Explicit Polaroids – The Tower Theatre

Some Explicit Polaroids, written by Mark Ravenhill and directed for Tower Theatre by Nick Edwards, was first performed in 1999. The play follows Nick, a political activist released from prison after 15 years, returning to a Britain that has changed considerably in his absence. He encounters Helen, his former partner, and a younger generation of Nadia, Tim and Victor, whose lives are shaped by sex, drugs, consumerism, identity and the search for belonging. Across these encounters, Ravenhill examines connection, disconnection and the changing social and political landscape of Britain at the turn of the century. There is something fascinating about encountering a play written at the end of the 1990s and seeing how its questions around identity, desire, consumerism and connection resonate t...

17Sep

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

Sufficient Merit – Canal Café Theatre

Sufficient Merit is a new play by Emma Paige Baker. This short play focusses in on four actors Tess, Emma Baker, Eleanor, Alia Lahlou and Ted, T’ai Hartley and their landlord Bob played by all three characters. Oh, and a fictional Chihuahua; whose lives are entwined through their work, their living arrangements and a shared desire to create the next best play. Their world is turned upside down when Bob delivers the bad news, the not so bad news and the good news to the trio. Their home, and theatre company is under threat from an external investor, AI creatives that could replace everything they had ever known. The foundation of this play is centred around the real challenges faced by the actors of trying to put on a play “which keeps getting roadblocked” by bad news. So, they decide...

17Sep

By Adam CraddockNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Fences – Leeds Playhouse

Last night I had the delight of being invited along to the wonderful Leeds Playhouse to review the press night performance of “Fences”, a play by August Wilson directed by the brilliant Daniel Bailey. Fences is a brilliantly real story. Set in 1957 we follow the character of Troy Marxson and his family in a changing world. We see the ups and downs for the family, from Troy receiving a promotion to his infidelity getting discovered and all the emotional twists and turns in between. Photo: Tyler Fayose Ray Fearon leads the cast as Troy Marxson. Fearon is phenomenal in this role. He is wonderfully real, with real emotions manifesting themselves in real ways. He had just a touch of menace to his portrayal but completely appropriate for a father in this period. The monologues Fearon...

17Sep

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Deep-Heat Rivalry – The Other Palace

This is a farcical musical parody of the popular Canadian TV series Heated Rivalry. It is about two ice hockey players who, while playing for competing teams, actually have a great homosexual attraction for each other. The writers Trevor Ashley and Phil Scott make no claims other than their intention to write an outrageous, adult, raunchy comedy. It was clear from the press night audience that this is exactly what most of them had come for, but for anyone unfamiliar with the Canadian TV series the point of it was baffling. From the very beginning the tone was set by the MC (Ross Chisari) in the role of “Puck”, dressed in a costume revealing his pectoral muscles and bottom. He was hyper-camp with a self-satisfied smug expression most of the time, which rapidly became wearing. Casting him...

The Departure – The Lion & Unicorn Theatre

16Sep

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

The Departure – The Lion & Unicorn Theatre

In The Departure we encounter Lily, an emerging scientist returning from her mother’s funeral, who discovers Ross, a stranger staying in her flat seemingly without reason. We later discover that Ross knows Lily’s roommate Jules, who had offered him the flat, but a mix-up over the dates means the two strangers unexpectedly find themselves sharing the space. Ross is waiting for his new passport to arrive at the flat, before taking a flight to move to Australia for a job. Trapped together for the evening, they gradually begin to talk, revealing more about themselves and the grief they are hiding within. Ross has learned to deal with pain through avoidance. He puts his problems into his pocket watch, compartmentalising them so that he can keep moving. Lily has become deeply anxious after ye...

Million Dollar Quartet — Arts Theatre, Marble Arch

16Sep

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

Million Dollar Quartet — Arts Theatre, Marble Arch

The first thing that strikes you is the incredible attention to detail in the staging and lighting. It instantly transports you back to the rockabilly era, a time when rock ’n’ roll was exploding onto the music scene. There’s a real sense of authenticity in the way the period is brought to life, making you feel as though you’ve stepped back in time and are right there experiencing the excitement of those early days of rock ’n’ roll. Million Dollar Quartet is centred on the 1956 recording session at Sun Records that encapsulates the coming together of 4 greats from the Rock and Roll Hall of fame. Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis; an encounter brought about by Sam Phillips. At the heart of this production is Darren Day’s compelling portrayal of Sam Phillips and...

16Sep

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

Wales

Handbagged – Theatr Clwyd

Written by Moira Buffini, we are taken back between 1979 and 1990 during Margaret Thatcher’s three terms as Prime Minister and her weekly meetings with Queen Elizabeth 2nd. Theatr Weston is in the round for this performance with the stage in the centre. A raised round stage with cleverly laid props and costume pieces laid on stands around the lower part of the stage, those of which are used throughout the show by the two male cast members to help transform them in to numerous characters with a lot of help from our imagination. The play starts with Alexandra Mathie entering the stage waiting for one of the men to bring her a chair. She doesn’t need a chair, but she doesn’t want them to know that. She is followed closely by Meriel Scholfield as Queen Elizabeth 2nd, dragging a chair beh...

The Ballad of Johnny & June – Leeds Grand Theatre

16Sep

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Ballad of Johnny & June – Leeds Grand Theatre

The Man in Black. Very few artists are instantly identified by a simple description, but country legend Johnny Cash was one of that select group. Given the quality of his back catalogue The Man in Black was probably long overdue for a jukebox musical, so it came as no surprise that Jersey Boys director Des McAnuff was behind this show. Like that smash hit, this was a warts and all tale of Johnny’s rock and roll lifestyle where his substance abuse masks the pain of losing his beloved brother, and his tempestuous marriage to country royalty June Carter. It’s all narrated onstage by their son John Carter Cash who noted that like all fairytales there was both light and plenty of darkness as Johnny and June battled their own demons. Whilst we didn’t really learn anything new abou...

16Sep

By Phil MeikleNo Comments

London

Man to Man – The Royal Court

Casting call: Oscar-winning Hollywood actress required for an 85-minute solo performance. Costume and make-up: predominantly a string vest, bright red Y-fronts and boots. Yellow stains under the armpits, white paint encrusted across the face and body, and a requirement to guzzle beer and be showered in it. Let's be honest, there's only really one Oscar-winning actress with the nerve to take on this role eight times a week. Enter the genre-defying Tilda Swinton. Returning to the stage for the first time in nearly 40 years, Swinton revisits the role of Ella/Max, a woman who assumes the identity of her deceased husband, a crane operator, by wearing his clothes in order to survive the Nazi regime. Man to Man explores gender fluidity, conformity and grief, but Ella is denied the opportuni...