REVIEWS Archives - Page 409 of 549

<strong>Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Winter Gardens, Blackpool</strong>

27Jul

By Rebecca CaseyNo Comments

North West

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Winter Gardens, Blackpool

A magical evening at The Winter Gardens Blackpool. Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is in town this week. I have seen the show previously but even if this is the case for you, this performance was a whole new experience. This is the perfect show to bring the children to, it’s short energetic, engaging and full of fun. The performance started at 7.30pm and was over by 9.30pm with a short interval. With a mesmerising score form Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice this musical never fails to fill the theatre. It was so nice to see The Winter Gardens so busy. The cast and creatives have done a superb job putting this tour together and keeping the piece fresh. Choreography by Joann M Hunter, Direction from Laurence Connor and Musical Director John Rigby, a winning team. ...

A Bunch of Amateurs – Frinton Summer Theatre

27Jul

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

South East

A Bunch of Amateurs – Frinton Summer Theatre

In a world where everything is so complicated and heavy with subtext, there’s something to be said of a play that offers light hearted relief. ‘A Bunch of Amateurs’ by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman is a disarmingly simple comedy ripe for community theatres and a summer where we all need a bit of a lift. Fading Hollywood star Jefferson Steele (Nigel Barber) has been duped by his agent to thinking he’s taking a gig at the infamous birthplace of Shakespeare. Only when he arrives from the USA, he discovers he’s playing the lead role of King Lear at a tiny Suffolk village called Stratford-upon-nowhere with a bunch of am dram characters trying to save their village theatre from developers – while Jefferson is trying to save his career. Dorothy the director/ driver/ fool/ insert multiple roles...

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em – Regent Theatre

27Jul

By Angela KellyNo Comments

West Midlands

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em – Regent Theatre

Fans of the original sit com in the 70’s, when we only had three channels on the TV, will be intrigued to observe the stage version of ‘Some Mothers do ‘ave ‘em. With some vague recollection of a time when Michael Crawford was the very accident prone, hapless ‘Frank’, with his facial expressions that often required no words, any stage version certainly has a lot to live up to. Written by Guy Unsworth and Raymond Allen and directed by Unsworth himself, the delivery of the comedy itself must be applauded. The writers ensure that there is a consistency to the energy in the entire performance and jokes come fast and are plentiful. Occasionally it felt as though there was almost ‘too much’ to laugh at as there were so many comedic lines delivered by all the cast throughout the entire perform...

Mother There Art Thou – King’s Arms, Salford

27Jul

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Mother There Art Thou – King’s Arms, Salford

Most plays, essentially, are about families and that age-old conflict between kids and their parents. If you go back to ancient Greek drama and myth Oedipus and Electra have complexes named after them. A child’s view of the world is created by their parents. They can, if they want, make it seem to be a scary place their kids should hide from, or they can say it is wonderful and should be embraced and enjoyed. The set-up for this darkly comic play is that a domineering rule-setting, brutal, mother has died, and her son and daughter are left to ponder how they want to live their lives. There is no mention of a father in the piece, so it is assumed the mother brought up the children on her own. Within the family dynamic son Charlie is clearly willing to follow the rules and is extrem...

The Allesley Silas – Belgrade Theatre Coventry

27Jul

By Annette NuttallNo Comments

West Midlands

The Allesley Silas – Belgrade Theatre Coventry

Originally performed in a circus marquee in Allesley as part of the Coventry City of Culture 2021, The Allesley Silas has a short run at the Belgrade Theatre. This production is a version of the George Eliot’s novel Silas Marner. It plays heavily on the local connection, the setting of Raveloe is actually Allesley and the Rainbow pub features many times in the story. Continuing the local feel, the play was devised by a production team that has connections to the area. It features professional actors alongside local community performers. Silas Marner lives in Raveloe, mixing as little as possible with the locals. This raises questions as to why and what he does. When he is robbed people’s opinions start to change. Everything is turned around even more for Marner when an orphan come...

25Jul

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

Taking Up Space – Twenty Twenty Two

New queer writing has the potential to be pioneering, invigorating: something that challenges conventions and introduces an attention-grabbing LGBT+ narrative to a wider audience. This wearisome offering from The Empathy Club instead decides to go down the well-trodden path of perpetually unhappy gays. ‘Taking Up Space’ follows university students Jasreena (India Erlam), Saffy (Megan Webber) and Gia (Sarah Hutchinson) as they navigate the varying relationships between each other. A dry script littered with all the tropes and cliches queer storytelling has been plagued by for decades attempts to tackle far too many issues at once, resulting in a surface-level toe-dipping into the story’s deep themes from sexuality to depression to marriages of convenience. Dialogue is clunky- all c...

24Jul

By Maani WayNo Comments

London

The Gunpowder Plot – Tower Hill Vaults

“Remember, remember the 5th of November” The Gunpowder Plot is a new, innovative and immersive experience set in the heart of tourist London. The experience takes place in the Tower Vaults, at the UNESCO World Heritage Tower of London. At once, you feel immersed in history as the vaults under Tower Hill are famous for where much of the prelude to the Gunpowder Plot took place. As an immersive experience, there was huge anticipation before the show started and a tense atmosphere. The introduction by one of the cast members provided much excitement, giving a background to the lead up to the Gunpowder Plot and to life in London in 1605. The show’s concept is for the audience to live history, instead of watching it. This is not an ordinary format for a show, and for the majority of th...

A Spoonful of Julie – The King’s Arms, Salford

24Jul

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

A Spoonful of Julie – The King’s Arms, Salford

Some shows need no explanation. The title does all the work. A Spoonful of Julie delivers exactly what it says on the tin. Morsels of goodness from the life and career of one of the greatest actors and singers of all time: Dame Julie Andrews. Opera singer Nicola Mills is the brave soul stepping into Andrews’ shoes. She’s accompanied on her whistle-stop tour of classics by musical director George Strickland on keyboard. Andrews’ repertoire is littered with collaborations with extraordinary lyricists and composers. From the Sherman Brothers and Lerner & Loewe to Sandy Wilson and Rodgers & Hammerstein. Yet their music was taken to another level courtesy of the voice of the young woman from Surrey. Mills can certainly belt out the operatic highs but her performance lacks some of ...

Kitty: Queen of the Washhouse – Shakespeare North Playhouse

24Jul

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Kitty: Queen of the Washhouse – Shakespeare North Playhouse

Kitty Wilkinson is the only female statue in Liverpool’s St George’s Hall, and she is brought to life by Samantha Alton to take us back to 1830’s Liverpool in a captivating one-woman show that tells an against all odds story of how a working-class Irish migrant girl, whose life was laden with poverty, loss, and hardship, fought the cholera epidemic and became a community champion. Shakespeare North Playhouse’s Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden provides the perfect backdrop for this intricate tale from celebrated local writer John Maguire which, told with humour and kindness, brings Kitty’s story centre stage under the direction of Margaret Connell as we are immersed in the world of a true heroine of the North. White sheets draping the open set provide the perfect backdrop for the narra...

The Liver Bird – Shakespeare North Playhouse

23Jul

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

The Liver Bird – Shakespeare North Playhouse

What if the Liver Bird really did exist? Charlie J (Tom Browning) has heard all about Liverpool’s famous Birds from his Grandma’s (Samantha Alton) stories but are they real? Has anybody seen one fly? When things start to get difficult at school and just when he needs it most, Charlie is visited by a very special creature… Shakespeare North Playhouse’s Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden is well and truly brought alive by this enchanting modern-day fairy-tale from writer John Maguire, adapted here for stage by Jessica Mae Buxton of The Bookworm Players and directed by Margaret Connell. Using the simplest of sets, our two talented actors bring all of their skills to the fore through mesmerising performances with mime and puppetry added in for good measure. There is a high level of interact...