REVIEWS Archives - Page 44 of 563

16Sep

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Shotgunned – Riverside Studios

Written and directed by Matt Anderson, Shotgunned gained some very good reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe and has now transferred to the Riverside Studios. It is an engaging 60 minutes of theatre. Cleverly written and excellently performed, it tells the story of a young couple, Roz and Dylan, charting their relationship from their first meeting at a party, through its highs and lows. The distinguishing feature of this production is that the story in not told linearly but in a series of short, some very short, vignettes in a seemingly almost random order. The fascination for the audience is piecing together from these fragments how the relationship has developed. This format presents particular challenges for the actors, who have to switch mood almost instantly during the s...

Cauld Blast Orchestra – Traverse Theatre

15Sep

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Cauld Blast Orchestra – Traverse Theatre

Some reunions coast on memory, others roar into the present as if they had never left. Cauld Blast Orchestra’s return to the Traverse is firmly the latter. Born out of Communicado’s Jock Tamson’s Bairns more than thirty years ago, the band has always revelled in being unpigeonholeable. Folk, jazz, rock and classical sit in the same set, stitched with irreverence and played with virtuosity. Founding members remain the backbone. Karen Wimhurst, who first gathered the band together in 1990, is on clarinet for most of the evening, weaving intricate lines that remind you why this music still burns bright. Ian Johnstone dazzles with his versatility, moving between tuba, accordion and piano, each instrument sounding like it’s his true home. Steve Kettley, equally compe...

15Sep

By Zain RussellNo Comments

North West

Not Your Superwoman – Bush Theatre

Not Your Superwoman, stars Golda Rosheuvel and Letitia Wright; two powerhouse actresses who breathed life into Emma Dennis-Edward’s deeply moving play. The story follows a mother and daughter, Joyce and Erica, who have grown apart over the years as they mourn the loss of their family matriarch — “Mummy” to Joyce and “Granny” to Erica. At its heart, the play is about family ties strained by silence, grief, and distance, yet bound by love and memory. Using Guyana as its vibrant backdrop, Not Your Superwoman becomes more than just a family drama, it becomes a meditation on the importance of culture as both a source of identity and a bridge across generations. Through the music, the language, the food, and the rituals of remembrance, Dennis-Edward captures how culture is often the thread...

15Sep

By Zandra OdetundeNo Comments

London

Black Power Desk – Brixton House

Theatre has rarely felt this alive, urgent, and unapologetically Black. Black Power Desk, an original musical directed by Gbolahan Obisesan, is a searing, soulful exploration of sisterhood, grief, and resistance, set against the backdrop of the covert operations of New Scotland Yard’s infamous “Black Power Desk” in 1970s London. Loosely inspired by the Mangrove Nine, the play follows two sisters, Celia (Rochelle Rose) and Dina (Veronica Carabai), as they navigate love, politics, and survival in a Britain defined by racial tension and state surveillance. The result? An electrifying blend of theatre, live music, and political storytelling that refuses to soften its edges. The entire ensemble delivers powerhouse performances, seamlessly balancing individual brilliance with collective ch...

The Story of Jessie Gavin – Callister Gardens, Oxton, Birkenhead

15Sep

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

The Story of Jessie Gavin – Callister Gardens, Oxton, Birkenhead

Writer and director Pauline Fleming’s tale of Oxton’s very own Gentleman Jack in this original production from Depth Training CIC hints at the intrigue and suspense behind an array of secret relationships during the restrictive Victorian era but doesn’t really get beneath the surface of its two primary characters enough for my liking and their passionate, rule-defying romance. Jessie Gavin (Gabriella Tavini), an artist from the Wirral, escapes the expectations of her upbringing to pursue the freedom of artistic circles in London and Paris. When she falls in love with pioneering architect Eileen Gray (Alicia Brockenbrow), they create a life filled with creativity, defiance, and desire. But with the world at war, can their relationship survive societal conflicts and pressures. Comi...

12Sep

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Every Brilliant Thing – SohoPlace

Every Brilliant Thing is a one-person play that features different actors across its 14-week run. I had the chance to watch Ambika Mod take on this ambitious challenge, guiding us through the life of her character, beginning at the age of seven, when she is first confronted with her mother’s attempted suicide. This is a profoundly moving story that highlights the small joys around us and the little things that can make life worth living. From Club Penguin to the joy of sharing a book with someone and seeing them love it too, the play reminds us of the beauty in seemingly ordinary moments. Although technically a one-woman show, this production cleverly incorporates a great deal of planned audience participation. Each performance sees audience members randomly chosen to read out lines,...

12Sep

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Consumed – Leeds Playhouse

Anyone who grew up in a large Irish family like I did knows only too well that every family gathering has the potential to kick off, but thankfully I’ve never experienced anything as grim as this birthday party from hell. Four generations of a Northern Irish family have come together for potty mouthed matriarch Julia’s 90th birthday lunch, presided over by her daughter Gilly who constantly seems on the edge of a mental meltdown. Gilly’s daughter Jenny has flown over from London with her woke daughter Murieannn who was born in England, but all four women have intergenerational trauma that comes out as they really take the gloves off. And there’s another ghost hanging over this feast that offers a delicious twist as the women batter each other emotionally as all their skeletons come...

The Great British Bake Off Musical – Carriageworks Theatre

12Sep

By Phoebe Olivia Sian HobsonNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Great British Bake Off Musical – Carriageworks Theatre

This musical has a slice of action, romance, comedy, tragedy, heartbreak and social diversity, Dean Patrick certainly thought of a story line that would hit close to home for any member of the audience. A show masked as a performance filled with puns and buns, certainly unveiled many more layers as the narrative ran through. The show brought a continued sense of modernity with a touch of tradition, complimenting audiences of all ages, but also giving the Victoria sponge the credit she deserves. With vibrant lighting and warm tones of pastel across the stage lit up delightfully, presenting a sense of togetherness just as the Channel 4 show does, although things got tangled in between the strudel, as a group of regulars the contestants came together as a bunch with many differences joined...

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical – Sheffield Lyceum

11Sep

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical – Sheffield Lyceum

With everything you would expect from a show bearing this iconic name, the Sheffield Lyceum welcomed this touring production of the West End hit with aplomb. With the one and only original Tina Turner herself, at the core of this musicals creation from the first day to its initial opening on Broadway. The audience are riveted to their seats from the get-go with its biographical depiction of Tina Turner’s journey from the challenges from Nutbush to stratospheric super stardom - with its trials and tribulations. It is a story of racism, domestic abuse and abandonment laced with determination, strength, survival and an overriding, soul bearing undeniable talent. Tina Turner herself described the show as turning her poison to medicine – an outpouring. The Book written by Katori Hall with Fr...

11Sep

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Wallace – Traverse Theatre

Hero. Butcher. Myth. Will the real William Wallace please stand up? This new hip-hop musical examines a giant of Scottish history through three different lenses. Who was he really, and what does that mean for Scotland now? As “Scotsman", Dave Hook recounts the familiar tale, which has inspired generations of Scots as well as a Hollywood blockbuster. His Wallace is simultaneously "just a man standing up for what’s right “, and a heroic colossus, crushing the enemies of freedom with his humongous fists. Manasa Tagika portrays Longshanks as the gangster lord he surely was, oozing status in his blood red fur coat and indoor sunglasses. "I don't think of you much”, he tells us Scots - but he really, really needs us to know that. This was my favourite part of the show but, tellingly, I cou...