REVIEWS Archives - Page 439 of 549

Giovanni Pernice: This is Me – Bridgewater Hall

9Apr

By Hannah WildeNo Comments

North West

Giovanni Pernice: This is Me – Bridgewater Hall

For those who are not well versed in the Strictly Come Dancing universe, Giovanni Pernice is one of the most loved professional dancers on the BBC show, having started his Strictly journey in 2015 and only last year managing to win the series with Strictly’s first ever deaf contestant, Rose Ayling-Ellis. Giovanni has long been a programme and an audience favourite, with his suave good looks, his sensual dance moves, and his Italian cheeky-chappy persona. With all this in mind, I was under no illusions that Giovanni, a natural-born performer, would put on a great show - and oh, he did. From the beginning I did question the choice of venue for this production - I didn’t feel the Bridgewater Hall was able to contain the amount of energy and exuberance that a show like this would h...

9Apr

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

Me & Thee – Empty Space

Salford based theatre company Farewell Theatre opened their show Me & Thee at the Empty Space Theatre last night for a two-night run. The show was written by James Ward making his writing debut with this piece. Based on true events set in a flat after a night out. One played by Ross Thompson and Two played by Reece Hallam, had come home a bit worse for wear from a few cans of larger it also appeared after a few drinks they had become involved in a fight. Now we’ve all got friends who are a bit.. well.. eccentric and that was definitely Two. Two opened up about his past and the decisions he made, he wanted to see his son again, but he had to prove he had changed by going on the straight and narrow and not get involved with scams or drugs. Whilst One gave his account of what it was like ...

A Good Time Was Had by All – The Hope Theatre

9Apr

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

A Good Time Was Had by All – The Hope Theatre

A black box theatre, dimly lit, with a lack-lustre dinner table placed at the centre, invites the audience to settle on chairs laid on nearly all four sides of the room. The suspenseful score foreshadows the action in the play and Liz (played by Bethany Monk-Lane) inconspicuously starts setting up the table, arranging it with precision and control. Her serious demeanour yet again foreshadows what is to unfold- stark, bizarre, and powerful. Written and directed by Sam Smithson, A Good Time Was Had by All poses important questions about exercising justice and blows the extent to which one can go to take a stand - “I acted when it mattered.” A dinner party hosted by Liz, who has recently returned from a war zone, for a bunch of university friends quickly turns into a surreal amalgamation o...

Bourgeois & Maurice: Pleasure Seekers – Soho Theatre

9Apr

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Bourgeois & Maurice: Pleasure Seekers – Soho Theatre

As people ponder eating their pets due to a cost of living crisis, and war crimes bleed from the airwaves, it was a cheering prospect to spend the night with Bourgeois & Maurice and their new show, ‘Pleasure Seekers’. The habitually dark and subversive cabaret assassins burst onto the stage with unhinged glee and in their opening song, promised to serve unbridled hedonism, positivity and joy to a world drowning in sadness. They didn’t disappoint, with lyrics that pledged taking ‘sixteen pills’ at a rave in Berlin and adopting hedonism as a ruling strategy. The Friday night, Soho crowd lapped up this ecstatic decree and clapped along with bawdy delight, but we were lulled into a party vibe that was about to curdle and veer into darker pastures. Essentially, the show is...

Say Yes to Tess – Camden People’s Theatre

9Apr

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Say Yes to Tess – Camden People’s Theatre

When I arrived at the Camden People’s Theatre on Thursday night, despite having been there several times before, I walked straight past it. It has had a lovely post-pandemic spruce up and the space felt clean, calm and inviting. Then, my heart sank when I saw the promotional poster for the show. “Say Yes to Tess - A New Musical”. Now don’t get me wrong, fringe theatre is very much my bag, and the description I’d read of the piece had really appealed to me, but goodness me… a musical in an intimate setting is the stuff of my nightmares. I’m pleased to report, though, that I was very pleasantly surprised and had a genuinely uplifting and enjoyable evening. Say Yes to Tess is Tess Seddon’s autobiographical retelling of her experience standing as a candidate for the Yorkshire Party in the 2...

9Apr

By Coral MourantNo Comments

Wales

Milky Peaks – Theatr Clwyd

Every once in a while, a new musical comes along that is so compelling you want to run around and scream about it to your friends. Milky Peaks gained a deserving standing ovation on its press night, and I reckon it’ll be gaining many more. The small Welsh town of Milky Peaks is on the brink of ruin, but can it be saved by the most unlikely of heroes? This fantastical musical brings together drag queens, community spirit, fascists and My Fair Lady. It’s as chaotic as it sounds but in the best way. Composer and writer, Seiriol Davies (How to Win Against History) also stars as our young wannabe hero, Dewi. Portrayed with a hilarious tongue-in-cheek naivety and a knowing grin, Davies’ charisma is enticing from the get-go. Whilst searching for his “people”, Dewi comes across the local dow...

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy – Royal Court

8Apr

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy – Royal Court

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy by Ryan Calais Cameron is a powerful, overwhelming and utterly entrancing piece where a group of individuals recall to their past as a way to understand each other and eventually succumb to the help they need and deserve although never being able to ask for. My only warning from Twitter was to take tissues and I pass that on as the topics discussed here are so painfully important and unfortunately not discussed enough in our theatres today. This piece was a privilege to watch but I would also describe it as one of the most essential pieces I have ever watched in my life. The company started their journey with this piece at the New Diorama, which created such a stir and therefore was commissioned for Royal Court. They...

8Apr

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Dirty Corset – The Pleasance

Bang Average Theatre’s playful restoration comedy follows a troupe of actors, Mary Moralless, Isabinda Mclovealot and Neil Hasbeen and their drama both on and off the stage. From shifting dynamics between the three to bickering, grief, unrequited love and disease, there is mayhem throughout. We are transported to the grimy 17th century with crude snippets of the past, featuring an animated skincare routine and multiple dance sequences. I loved the minimalistic staging with undergarments hung on a clothing line around the room and the imaginative use of props for swift transitions. The script, written by the performers had fresh, witty dialogue that felt spontaneous as it bounced back and forth. Some of the first scenes were slightly confusing without context but they were then easy t...

8Apr

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Tosca – Opera House, Manchester

Tosca is an opera in three acts by Italian composer Puccini, structured as a through-composed work, with arias, recitative, choruses and other elements musically woven into a seamless whole. Set in Rome in June 1800, the city is threatened by the advancing army of Napoleon Bonaparte. In the inside of the church of Sant' Andrea della Villa, Cesare Angelotti (Eugeniu Ganea), former Consul and now an escaped political prisoner, has taken refuge. He hides on the arrival of a Sacristan (Valeriu Cojocaru) before the painter Mario Cavaradossi (Vitalii Liskovetskyi) appears to continue work on his portrait of Mary Magdalene, based on a blonde-haired woman who is in fact Angelotti's sister, and he compares her to his dark-haired lover, the singer Floria Tosca (Elena Dee). Cavaradossi promises...

8Apr

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Lava – Soho Theatre

A small asteroid hitting London is the context for James Fritz new play now showing at the Soho Theatre. Rather than causing global annihilation, it is a relatively local event although causing significant death and the large-scale displacement of populations. It throws together 4 characters whose relationships are the substance of the play. The central character is Vin played by Don Parr who appears to have been struck dumb by the grief caused by the event. His mother Vicky (Kasey Ainsworth) and friend and workmate Rach (Bethany Antonia) struggle to understand and maintain their relationships with him, especially when the more charismatic and certainly more voluble Jamie (Oli Higginson) arrives. The setting was simple on a bare stage with a large circular well in the middle...