REVIEWS Archives - Page 433 of 549

Five Characters in Search of a Good Night’s Sleep – Southwark Playhouse

30Apr

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Five Characters in Search of a Good Night’s Sleep – Southwark Playhouse

Five characters reveal their subconscious minds as they grapple with their day-time angst and woes. They sit in chairs, each in their individual homes but sharing a temporal space in a dream-like lilac and blue clouded set designed by Agnes Treplin. Devised by Mike Alfreds, Sonja Linden and ViSiBLE, it has the feel of verbatim as the stories are inspired by the actors’ own lives. All of the cast fully inhabit their characters so that from their first few lines, you immediately get a strong sense of their personalities. The triviality of their problems and their unextravagant, ordinary lives are endearing and poetic in their realism. This and the truthfulness with which these stories are told make it easy to become invested in and hang on their words. Sally Knyvette’s Helen ...

29Apr

By Coral MourantNo Comments

Wales

The Play That Goes Wrong – Theatr Clwyd

A mishap or two can happen in a show. There may be a slight delay in an actor’s entrance, or a slip up on a line and then you'll probably get a snigger from the audience. It's understandable that we get a little light-relief from a comical mistake, but this show is a lot more than just schadenfreude. What Mischief Theatre have put together is a chaotic concoction of the most terrible onstage misfortunes. All for your pleasure. The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society are staging a 1920’s murder mystery play, and are hoping that after years of underwhelming productions, this time they get it right. As you may have guessed, they definitely do not. Falling set pieces, haphazard actors and an incompetent crew deliver a laugh a minute (or more like every twenty seconds). When you think it can’t...

Electric Rosary – Royal Exchange Theatre

29Apr

By Angela KellyNo Comments

North West

Electric Rosary – Royal Exchange Theatre

This week the Royal Exchange welcome the exhausted nuns from St Graces Convent to the stage in Tim Foleys award winning production ‘Electric Rosary’. Winner of the 2017 Bruntwood Judges Prize, this innovative production depicts the scenario when two very different worlds collide and ‘technology’, in its finest form, is introduced to a struggling Convent. Writer Tim Foley must be applauded for creating a very thought-provoking concept. Originality in abundance and a fascinating mix of a sense of ‘old school’ religion, a sense of sci-fi, and the issue of what faith means in the future, it is certainly like no other play around. In addition, it is also full of laugh out loud moments. Director Jazz Woodcock-Stewart ensured the cast carried out an exceptional role in combining the fairly ser...

29Apr

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

La Bohème – Storyhouse, Chester

Stories of love and endurance always capture the spirit and Puccini’s La Bohème is arguably one of the most famous operatic pieces on this theme. Opening on Christmas Eve in a 19th century Parisian garret, we witness the ebb and flow of two couples - Rudolfo (Thomas Elwin) Marcello (Michel de Souza) Musetta (Jenny Stafford) and Mimi (Francesca Chiejina) - with fates entwined in a storyline that stands as well today as when it was first written. Picture two lovers meeting on a snowy night against the backdrop of the famed ‘city of romance’. Where should we assume their meeting will take them in life? In this classic tale of love, friendship and mortality, the audience are faced with a stark social picture of what it’s like to live on the breadline. Be prepared to meet the highs with the ...

29Apr

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Little Wimmin – Unity Theatre

We’ve all seen warnings on theatre doors regarding theatrical gunfire, haze and flashing lights but when your show starts with an allergen warning for live use of citrus fruits, it’s clear you’re in for something a bit different. ‘Loose adaptation’ doesn’t really cover Figs in Wigs presentation of the Louisa May Alcott classic, Little Women, which instead proves to be possibly one of the most surreal and anarchic pieces of theatre you could ever witness. If you were to put Mischief Theatre, The Mighty Boosh and London’s army of street performers in a blender, you might come close to the bizarre nature of tonight’s performance. Our troupe of five, Alice Roots, Sarah Moore, Suzanna Hurst, Rachel Gammon and Rachel Porter, are astutely aware of the modern-day ironies that are laden wi...

Witness for the Prosecution – County Hall

29Apr

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Witness for the Prosecution – County Hall

A handsome husband; a beautiful, mysterious, foreign wife; a wealthy older woman, now dead; a disgruntled housekeeper. Absolutely classic ingredients for an enjoyable whodunnit, and last night’s performance was up there with the best. From the opening minutes, which were some of the most dramatic I’ve seen in a long time, you know that this production is something special. The lighting, the choreography, the pounding background music and cries of anguish – everything about this production delivers punchy blows to the senses, taking your breath away and pulling you to the edge of your seat. Even the scene changes are slick and stylised, pure poetry in motion with not a beat missed. The Chamber at London County Hall provides the perfect setting for this Agatha Christie masterpiece,...

Singin’ In The Rain – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

29Apr

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Singin’ In The Rain – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

It's 1927. Silent-film star Don Lockwood (Sam Lips) has it all, a wise-cracking best friend Cosmo Brown (Ross McLaren), fans, hit films and the most beautiful actress in town, Lina Lamont (Faye Tozer) on his arm. Then a chance meeting with a aspiring actress Kathy Selden (Charlotte Gooch) forces him to re-evaluate himself, just as the movies become the talkies, and everything must adapt or be left behind. The 1952 MGM classic this was adapted from was directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, and starred Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen. It is perhaps least famous for being the era's equivalent of a jukebox musical, having been conceived around songs written and released almost two decades previously. However, the film quickly eclipsed the songs' ...

28Apr

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

Curtain Up! – The Little Theatre

As theatre companies continue to return to live performances following enforced hiatuses from the Covid-19 pandemic, tonight’s performance possibly hits a bit closer to home than it usually would. Curtain Up! by Peter Quilter introduces us to five women who inherit a dilapidated theatre and set about trying to raise funds for its revival. They settle on hosting a charity concert, with a guest turn from the global megastar, Liza Minelli, who has shocked them by agreeing to appear. But when things go awry, the troupe go to great lengths to keep the truth from their audience. Directed by Eliane Davie, this is a gentle comedy very much reliant on the dynamic between the very different women. Carlton Players’ veteran Elizabeth Youster takes on the role of Pam, ex-wife of the theatre’s pre...

27Apr

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Sister Act – Forum Theatre

This production is based on the 1992 motion picture originally starring Whoopi Goldberg. The music was written by the prolific Alan Menken with lyrics by Glenn Slater. The original setting of the film was San Francisco in 1990s and for this production it has changed to Philadelphia in the 1970s, which enabled the musical score to develop particularly in the gospel and disco eras. The show was blest with a live band of very technically competent musicians which certainly enhanced the overall experience. A nice touch before the show started was having the nuns hand out the programmes. The storyline is based around gangster’s moll, Deloris Van Cartier (played admirably by Karina Thomlinson) who attempts to audition for a spot in her boyfriend’s nightclub. She fails at this and decides to b...

27Apr

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

Bat out of Hell – Regent Theatre

“I would do anything for love…” is probably one of Meat Loaf’s best-known lyrics, and it provides the backbone of this entire production. Bat out of Hell follows the story of Strat, a street kid whose DNA was frozen when he was 18 preventing him from ageing, and Raven, the daughter of the local power-hungry magnate. They meet by chance when Raven sneaks out from her home, desperate to experience life outside her protected bubble. With the help of a stellar soundtrack written by Jim Steinman, we see their relationship grow and then falter, we experience some of the challenges Strat and his friends face on the margin of society and we share in Raven’s frustration with her overprotective father; and then we witness a rousing finale that answers the question of just what people will do for lov...