REVIEWS Archives - Page 452 of 453

Doing Shakespeare – The Northern Comedy Theatre Zoom Live

22Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Doing Shakespeare – The Northern Comedy Theatre Zoom Live

Established in 2015 by Artistic Director Shaun Chambers and Tom Platt, the Northern Comedy Theatre have been gradually expanding their repertoire and are now working with playwright David Spicer. The theatre’s previous plays include ‘The 39 Steps’, ‘Noises Off’, ‘Abigail’s Party’, ‘The History Boys’ and ‘Dead Funny’. The first of Spicer’s plays to be performed by the company was ‘STOP! … The Play’ and they then collaborated on a second Spicer play ‘Health and Safety’ which they are hoping to tour in Autumn 2020. In a play written for theatre online, this Zoom production once again crafted by David Spicer, uses the Bard as its subject or Shakespeare’s plays to be exact. The Felching Players are to put on a play written by good old Will, but no-one appears to have thought it important to ...

21Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Peter Pan Live! – The Shows Must Go On

This continues the offerings from the “The Shows Must Go On” YouTube channel that has been showing productions throughout lockdown. Peter Pan live! is a cross between a stage and a TV production, with multiple viewing angles and large detailed scenes following on from each other but without special effects being used for the flying scenes and other TV values. Peter Pan Live! was originally shown as a live production special in America on NBC in December 2014, it followed the production of the Sound of Music the year before. The musical was first performed on Broadway in 1954, although some of the songs in this production have been taken from other revivals of the show and new songs adapted from other musicals. PETER PAN LIVE! -- Season: 2014 -- Pictured: (l-r) Allison Williams as Pet...

20Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

The Magic Flute – Royal Opera House

Mozart’s The Magic Flute is a wonderful tale of princes, giant serpents, mysterious temples and birdcatchers. An enchanting damsel in distress meets a hilarious nonsensical birdman in this vibrant opera which is one of the most performed in the world today. Conducted by Julia Jones and directed by David McVicar, this funny show has plenty of peril and drama and is performed in the original German with English subtitles. The opera opens with beautifully energetic music before we see Tamino (Mauro Peter) fighting with a giant serpent. The serpent is a well-constructed puppet, controlled by several cast members, and its appearance and the dexterity of the performers mean that it is no surprise Tamino is losing the battle. He loses consciousness before being rescued by three ladies (Rebecca...

19Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Small Island – National Theatre Live

Andrea Levy’s Small Island is one of those novels which drags you in and doesn’t let you go and Helen Edmundson’s theatrical adaptation has perfectly captured its spirit. Directed by Rufus Norris, this is a vibrant piece of drama which beautifully tells the story of Hortense, Queenie, Bernard and Gilbert and their lives in 1940s Jamaica and Britain. Opening with a vintage film about the Caribbean, the play has an immersive atmosphere from the start as the actors step out of the film onto the stage. A revolving stage and exits and entrances through the stage floor create a sense of space as the projected scenery beautifully creates the various places the characters inhabit, from the busy streets of Kingston to the bombed out landscape of London’s post-war streets. The first character ...

17Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Ben Platt Live – Radio City Music Hall

The American actor, singer and songwriter Ben Platt began his career as a child, performing in musicals such as The Music Man and Mame. He went on to appear in The Book of Mormon and originated the titular role in Dear Evan Hansen, earning a Tony award. His film credits include Ricki And The Flash, Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2. On TV he stars in the quirkily satirical Netflix series, The Politician. Netflix now bring to the screen a recording of the last night of his debut concert tour, filmed at Radio City Music Hall, New York in September 2019. If your expectation is a collection of show tunes with perhaps the odd soft rock cover to illustrate Platt’s versatility, think again. There is nothing from a musical, not even Dear Evan Hansen. The concert is composed mainly of songs co-w...

17Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Jane Clegg – The Finborough Theatre

This revival of a 1913 play was written at the time of the Suffragette Movement, which writer St John Ervine (an Ulster dramatist), had an interest in, as he supported the Suffragette’s. It is rumoured that Ervine was standing close to Emily Davison on Derby Day 1913 when she threw herself under the King’s horse. Dr Andrew Maunder from the University of Herefordshire was working on a project about performance of ‘World War I Theatre’ and the focus is to help to revive World War I plays. In this connection, Dr Maunder worked with Neil McPherson at the Finborough Theatre to stage this revival which had previously been performed at the Gaiety Theatre in Manchester (now demolished) and transferred to the Royal Court Theatre, London. Dame Sybil Thorndike took on the original role...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

16Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

London

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies and is widely performed worldwide, with one of its many delights being the three interconnected stories within one overarching theme with the further added bonus of a fourth story if you count the hilarious rendition of Pyramus and Thisbe at the end. In a cleverly choreographed battle scene opening, we meet the Duke, Theseus (John Light), and his newly conquered betrothed, Hippolyta (Michelle Terry), whose animosity crackled across the stage. Egeus (Edward Peel) interrupts proceedings to complain about his daughter, Hermia (Olivia Ross), who loves Lysander (Luke Thompson) despite her father’s preferred match of Demetrius (Joshua Silver), who in turn is unwelcomingly pursued by Helena (Sarah MacRae). Hermia’s choice ...

The Hired Man – Hull Truck Theatre Online

16Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Hired Man – Hull Truck Theatre Online

Rereading my June 2019 review of The Hired Man, my heart sank when I saw that I’d written: “For reasons I can’t explain, I found my mind wandering in the first half.” That was in the confines of the Hull Truck Theatre, so what chance did I have of stopping my mind from wandering at home, with the kettle and fridge within easy reach (my two favourite things during the coronavirus lockdown)? Well, as 7.30pm strikes, I hit the play button on YouTube. I’m going in …. As the first scene of The Hired Man comes up on my screen, the first thing I become aware of are the subtitles. Usually a pet hate of mine - I find them distracting - I found them very helpful in this case. They clarified much of what was happening and helped me remember more clearly the events as they happ...

15Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

One Good Tree – Up ‘Ere Productions

By the power of Zoom, we are transported to America’s deep South. Written by Robert Barnett, whose other plays include The Hiroshima Daughter, Olympic Notions and Supply, Luke’s Dad, Reckoning Angel and Colors. He also writes radio drama, one act plays, libretti for opera and musical theatre, indeed he is multi-disciplined and seem to be able to turn his hand to any type of writing. One Good Tree has been produced by a Salford based production company called Up ’Ere Productions, who aim to encourage local talent by performing locally and developing new work. They have adapted their strategy to include Zoom performances which enable them to put on live theatrical productions in their ‘Weekly Watch’. This play tells the story of David Onley (Nathan Lea), who is 15 years old and has kil...

14Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

These Hills Are Ours – Clougha Pike

Daniel Bye and Boff Whalley were just about to set off a national of their new show, These Hills Are Ours, exploring through stories and song the relationship between art and the great outdoors, but then the virus struck. So in lieu of those live shows they’ve been releasing a short series of videos where they take a small choir on a hike to the top of a hill singing a specially composed song on their journey to the peak. This time they’ve taken a trip from the nippy shores of Morecambe Bay through town and up some rugged paths to the top of Clougha Pike. This is a more political video as the choir tramp past Do Not Trespass signs as they sing: ‘It’s mine, but I don’t own it/and it makes me sort of sad/to know this land is parcelled and exchanged.’ Once again, the singers are a...