REVIEWS Archives - Page 423 of 549

We Will Rock You – New Wimbledon Theatre

31May

By Lewis DownhamNo Comments

London

We Will Rock You – New Wimbledon Theatre

It’s hardly 'A night at the opera' as Queen and Ben Elton’s musical We Will Rock You stomps into New Wimbledon Theatre. This jukebox musical features all the classic Queen songs you know and love intertwined with a quirky and futuristic storyline. The show is set far in the future in a dystopian world where children choose to live their lives through social media. They forget what it means to live in the real world and how to make real friends that aren’t just followers online, while listening to new and upcoming autotuned state-controlled songs. However, the bohemians lead by 'Cliff’ (Michael Mckell) slowly learn of the musical legends from the past and make it their mission to bring rock and roll back into the world. This show falls into the trap that many juke box musicals follow,...

Bow & Arrow: The Ghost of Sherwood – Epstein Theatre

30May

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Bow & Arrow: The Ghost of Sherwood – Epstein Theatre

There’s a saying in elite army regiments: big boys’ games, big boys’ rules, and tonight City Theatre stepped up to the big stage but sadly, despite passion and well-meaning, it didn’t come off. Set in the days of Robin Hood (Shaun Herr) and Maid Marian (Alex Rochford), we were almost halfway in before the plot was revealed with ghost hunters Bow (Rebekah Jayne Moreland) and Arrow (Johnny Sedgwick-Davies) having not paid their taxes to caretaker Sheriff Maxwell (Graham Lyne) who is supported by some oddball characters in Gob (Louis Cashin-Harris), Miss Thorn (Anna Chan), and Ursula (Dee Patricia). So far so bad but lining up for the goodies are King Lincoln (Leo Hewitson) and his niece Princess Elle (Lydia Pearl), yet still questions remain unanswered: will Friar Tuck (Sean Campbell) be ...

The Canterville Ghost The Musical – Hope Street Theatre

27May

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

The Canterville Ghost The Musical – Hope Street Theatre

Every now and then a gem of a show comes along and leaves you thinking about it after like a dramatic hangover. This is that show. Unique, creative and hilarious, The Canterville Ghost – The Musical is based on Oscar Wilde’s renowned text. Be a fly-on-the-wall and witness the arrival of the brash, American Otis family as they arrive at Canterville Manor. Disrupting the peace of the Mrs Umney the housekeeper (Lizzy Paes) and the Butler (Luke Furlonger-Copeland), the Otis’ and their three daughters make themselves at home. Mr Otis (Omar Hussein) and Mrs Otis (Neve McLaughlin) are sceptical about warnings of the malicious Simon de Canterville (Jack Royens) ghost. Their mischievous twins, Stars (Frankie Fleming) and Stripes (Katie Moncaster) are also not fazed by the resident ghoul but t...

Tomorrow May Be My Last – Old Red Lion Theatre

27May

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Tomorrow May Be My Last – Old Red Lion Theatre

In the Second Summer of Love, during the late ‘80s, I went full-tilt psychedelic. I tie-dyed my clothes, listened to Janis Joplin’s Pearl and read the infamous sex and drugs memoir, ‘Going Down with Janis’ by Peggy Casserta. Unlike Janis, I lived to tell the tale. In post-modern 2022, that teenage flirtation with psilocybin and flares seems very distant. Tomorrow May Be My Last delivered a patchouli flavoured flashback to my flower powered youth and is probably the nearest one can get to experiencing a Janis Joplin live show. Nobody sings like Joplin. That’s a fact, but Collette Cooper brings an impressive range to the table in this one-woman show, exploring the life and work of the iconic rock goddess. It’s a tall order, but at times, Cooper totally nails the vocals, esp...

26May

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

Rambert Dance – The Lowry

Rambert is a contradiction of dance. Britain’s oldest dance company, created at the turn of the 20th Century, with a 40year legacy of some of the best examples of modern, contemporary dance within the dance world. Whilst Rambert is putting the finishing touches to a new tour of an adaptation of Peaky Blinders, tonight we have a company exposed (almost literally in one piece), showcasing three pieces of pure dance, stripped of any in-depth narrative, instead a celebration of the art form they have dominated for decades. Our first piece, Eye Candy, choreographed by Imre and Marne van Opstal, is an exploration of modern beauty standards and its positive and negative impact on us. Dancers wearing specially designed body suits to give the impression of nudity (minus private parts) kick an...

The Scandal at Mayerling – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

26May

By Melissa JonesNo Comments

Scotland

The Scandal at Mayerling – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Considering the months of uncertainty, the arts have faced after the past two years, Scottish Ballet’s Scandal at Mayerling is not just a feat of performance, but a tremendous achievement. Delivering such an astonishing piece of performance art is no small undertaking, and in doing so, the company demonstrate their strength as world leading company. The scandal of the ballet’s title rocked Europe. In a small shooting lodge on the outskirts of the Viennese woods, the politics of Europe changed forever- it’s the rarely spoken catalyst of World War I. A Crown Prince with divergent political views could have changed the course of history if he had inherited the crown, but here he is, as the ballet ends, reliant on morphine, obsessed with his mistresses and lying dead with his lover. This is...

Legally Blonde – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

26May

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

London

Legally Blonde – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

It’s inspiring when women want to be more than a pretty face, which is the popular appeal of Legally Blonde. Based on the 2001 movie, Lucy Moss has revamped the story for today’s audience, while still keeping the nostalgia cues alive for those who love the original. The plot is simple: boy ditches girl because she’s not clever enough for him and his glittering Harvard Law School career. Girl decides to prove him wrong and turns her fun, party life around securing a place at Harvard where the plan is to win back the douche-bag by proving she’s not an air-head, but a totally ass-busting-legal-whizz. For me, that’s the first (of many) yawning stereotypes and a source of friction, but I tried to set my morals aside and get into the fizzy, fun time. This is a big stage production and the ...

Wuthering Heights – King’s Theatre Edinburgh

26May

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

Wuthering Heights – King’s Theatre Edinburgh

Wise Children’s Wuthering Heights takes its form as a creative and all together magical adaptation of the 1847 Emily Bronte novel: Wuthering Heights. It’s serves to tell the story of two young lovers whose social status, race and upbringing become their own downfall. Heathcliff (Liam Tamne) is a young man found and adopted at Liverpool docks only to live his life in the shadows due to his ethnic background and darker features, when he meets adoptive sister Catherine (Lucy McCormick) he falls in love with the strange and mentally unstable young lady. Unfortunately, Catherine has other ideas and instead of pursuing her romance with Heathcliff she marries another man to attain her rank in society and so Heathcliff vows to get his revenge on those he blames for the loss of his happiness. This ...

26May

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

As You Like It – Liverpool Playhouse

In their 30th anniversary production, Northern Broadsides, under the direction of Laurie Sansom, bring a bold approach to Shakespeare’s most musical and much-loved comedy. Unfortunately, we are met more with a misguided fantasy than a great production. In a stylish but stifling court, where the Duke (Tom Shaw) is all powerful and brute strength is championed over basic human decency, the high-spirited Rosalind (Em Williams) and devoted cousin Celia (Isobel Coward) are no longer welcome. When they escape into the forest in disguise, accompanied by Touchstone (Joe Morrow), they bump into the recent object of Rosalind’s affection, Orlando (Shaban Dar), who has fallen foul of Oliver (Aron Julius) but is supported by Adam (Claire Hackett), leading to an elaborate game of fluid identity wh...

26May

By Coral MourantNo Comments

Wales

Boeing Boeing – Theatr Clwyd

London Classic Theatre has brought back a West End and Broadway hit, and the famous Marc Camoletti play feels fresher than ever. With a new tour production directed by Michael Cabot, Boeing Boeing is farcical and outrageous in all the right ways. Paris, 1962 and Bernard has it all. An architect with a fancy apartment, he boasts of his perfectly organised life. Most organised is his love life. Never wanting to be bored, Bernard has three fiancées, all air hostesses with different airlines (so as never to overlap). But on one stormy evening, Bernard is in for a night of shock and surprises. With the maid having to stay on top of the lies, and the return of an old friend in the apartment, can Bernard keep his wits about him and the ladies none the wiser? The award-winning comedy has a l...