REVIEWS Archives - Page 482 of 548

5Oct

By Clare ChandlerNo Comments

London

Hamlet – Young Vic

Cush Jumbo is the big draw in this production of Shakespeare’s classic play, whipping up a storm as the tempestuous Prince of Elsinore. Cross gender, or gender blind, casting of this legendary protagonist is not a new fad, indeed the first ‘female’ Hamlet graced a London stage in 1796 - when Elizabeth Powell took on the role. There is also a 12th century Danish legend that states that he was in fact a she, and that Hamlet’s gender had been hidden by their mother to protect their claim to the throne. In Greg Hersov’s production Jumbo’s ‘unmanly grief’ is the undoing of Elsinore as Hersov’s edited text (which still runs at over three hours) aims for a mystery thriller flow to bring the piece alive for a contemporary audience. At its most successful the performance is an absolut...

The Lady in the Van – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

5Oct

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

The Lady in the Van – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

In common with most people who love the theatre, I adore the prodigious output of plays, books and diaries that Alan Bennett has produced over the course of the last half century, however, I have never really subscribed to the view that he belongs in the pantheon of comfortable personalities that make up our 'National Treasures'. Bennett himself despises the term, and there has always been as much vinegar as sugar in his writing as he wryly chronicles the state of the nation, so to bracket him with as characters as bland as David Beckham and Joanna Lumley, is to give a somewhat distorted view of his place in modern Britain. His style is perfectly exemplified by his 1999 play 'The Lady in the Van', which started its week long run at the Garrick Playhouse in Altrincham this evening, in this ...

4Oct

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

REVIEWS

Going the Distance – Online Stream

We were all waiting for the musical and play adaptation of the Handforth Parish Council Meeting last year and it seems like Going the Distance will be the closest we will get for a while. March 2020 and the theatres have all gone dark. What happens to all those local theatres that rely on donations and local productions to get them through? Going the Distance takes us through how Matchborough Community Theatre plans to survive the global pandemic. We start with a familiar scene – the first Zoom meeting, synonymous with the ‘I can hear you, can you hear me?’ – and we are introduced to Frank (Matthew Kelly), Maggie (Penny Ryder) and Rae (Sarah Hadland). They discuss finances and ways in which they can continue to make money, despite the pandemic trying to have other ideas. They settle on ...

Dracula: The Untold Story – Leeds Playhouse

4Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Dracula: The Untold Story – Leeds Playhouse

For over a century Count Dracula has been part of our popular culture so it’s smart of imitating the dog to make him a peripheral figure in his own play. Instead, they cleverly switch the focus to Mina Harker who in Bram Stoker’s gothic classic not only had her neck bitten but pulled together all the threads to create the myth of the immortal Transylvanian bloodsucker. They’ve also updated the story to 1965 as Harker walks into a London police station confessing a murder to two police officers, and we learn that she has used her immortal superhuman power for what she thinks is the greater good as the Count lurks around the piece as the embodiment of eternal darkness. As usual the team deploys a wide range of high-tech digital tricks, including two video cameras and stage side gree...

Derren Brown: Showman – Blackpool Winter Gardens

2Oct

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Derren Brown: Showman – Blackpool Winter Gardens

‘Showman’ is Brown’s first brand new theatre show in six years; his one-man shows have received wide critical acclaim and more Olivier wins and nominations than any other in history. The award-winning mentalist and illusionist closed his successful Broadway show, ‘Secret’ in January this year. Brown is known worldwide for his numerous television appearances, including the series Trick of the Mind, Mind Control, and his Netflix show Pushed to the Edge. After enjoying watching Derren Brown many times on TV, I was eagerly awaiting seeing his live theatre show. I wanted to be enthralled, amazed and left literally speechless. As I took my seat in the packed theatre, I kept my fingers crossed. The theatre was packed to capacity, audience members being mainly in the 23–...

2Oct

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Snowflakes – Old Red Lion Theatre

A man awakes in a hotel room, unsure of how he arrived there. He is agitated, struggling to make sense of his situation when two strangers arrive with a deadly mission. The hotel door is locked, and it will stay locked until the job is done. In Snowflakes, writer Robert Boulton presents a thought-provoking piece of theatre, exploring a number of issues that have been tackled in recent popular fiction, including programmes like Black Mirror and the Saw films. In a society where so many feel unjustly treated, where is the line between right and wrong, judgement and punishment and criminality? Who is the real ‘bad guy’, and how far will people go to see that justice is done? If it’s not an entirely unique plot – I found the ending satisfying if not a little predictable – what really sto...

Legally Blonde – Champness Hall Function Room

2Oct

By Alison BainesNo Comments

North West

Legally Blonde – Champness Hall Function Room

OMIGOD you guys! Legally Blonde, one of my favourite modern musicals has been undertaken by Rochdale Musical Theatre Company. The hit movie starring Reece Witherspoon brought to life on stage, accompanied by a brilliantly vibrant soundtrack with endless showstoppers. It tells the story of fashion-savvy Malibu girl, Elle Woods, who finds her life turned upside down when she’s dumped by boyfriend Warner. In an effort to win him back she finds out she’s more than just a pretty blonde as she heads to Harvard and takes on a journey of self-discovery where she learns “being true to yourself never goes out of style”. If you’re not familiar with the stage show, it’s a high energy explosion of pink and girl power! It’s a show that requires a large cast full of triple-threats as it’s packed wi...

How To Survive An Apocalypse – Finborough Theatre

1Oct

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

How To Survive An Apocalypse – Finborough Theatre

"No-one wins the end of the world." This just about sums up Jordan Hall's witty and timely rom-com-drama "How To Survive An Apocalypse" which tracks a millennial couple's sudden financial collapse and how this leads them to question their smart urban lifestyle and adopt a survivalist mentality. Realising that they are not at all prepared for a natural disaster or catastrophic failure of society, they start to learn what they will need to survive. They quickly find that Jen's skills of running a lifestyle magazine and Ben's coding ability have left them remarkably lacking when it comes to survival in a potential post-apocalyptic world of no food, water or electricity. They can just about buy bottled water and tinned goods with their maxed-out credit cards, but becoming hun...

The Mountaintop – Royal Exchange, Manchester

1Oct

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

The Mountaintop – Royal Exchange, Manchester

In 2009, the Memphis born playwright Katori Hall was unable to secure a venue in the United States for her new play 'The Mountaintop'. Instead, she brought it to London, where it received huge acclaim for the portrayal of Dr Martin Luther King on the eve of his assassination in April 1968. Now Roy Alexander Weise, the new Artistic Director of the Royal Exchange, has chosen this blisteringly funny and timely play for his debut here, and launches the Autumn season with an absolutely stunning production. The difficulty Hall had with this play in the US, centres around her portrayal of Dr King; rather than the hagiographic figure of grainy newsreel footage, we see King as a fully rounded human being with all the faults and foibles that entails. He smokes constantly, is unfaithful to his wif...

Witness For the Prosecution – London County Hall

30Sep

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Witness For the Prosecution – London County Hall

‘Witness For the Prosecution’ started its life as a short story called ‘Traitor Hands’. Agatha Christie herself thought the story wasn’t anything special, but her theatre producer Peter Saunders, thought he could develop the story into a courtroom drama for the stage. Christie challenged him to adapt the story into a play and he took her up on it. She dismissed his attempt but went ahead and wrote her own version which became one of her greatest achievements as a dramatist. The play received its West End debut at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1953 and the following year opened on Broadway. The setting at the London County Hall could not be bettered for its authenticity. The courtroom feel, fits perfectly with the play’s location at the Old Bailey, where the ...