REVIEWS Archives - Page 488 of 548

Something about George – Liverpool Theatre Festival

14Sep

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Something about George – Liverpool Theatre Festival

Something about George is a concert with a difference. Written and musically directed by Jon Fellows, it utilises live musical performance, storytelling and contemporaneous recordings to tell the story of the youngest member of one of Britain’s most famous most successful and enduring bands. Opening with the iconic screams of girls hysterical over Beatlemania, and the announcement that the Beatles have broken up quickly brings a halt to the story of the Fab Four. Performed by three musicians: Daniel Taylor and Fellows on guitar and Ben Gladwin on keyboard, the show combines a showcase of George Harrison's post-Beatle repertoire with anecdotes and stories from his life after the breakup of the band. Taylor narrates the story of Harrison's life and tells us that George was both the you...

14Sep

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Peaceophobia – Oastler Market Car Park

When feminist Carol Hanisch observed that ‘the personal is political’ she could have looking into the distant future and seeing this powerful piece about the experiences of three British Pakistani men in a Britain increasingly at war with itself. One of the more depressing aspects of recent British theatre is its seeming reluctance to produce work that speaks truth to power, but that is not a charge that can be levelled at Bradford’s Common Wealth who were set up to do just that. Peaceophobia has its roots in local activism when Speakers Corner – who offer a safe space for local Asian women – ran a car meet with Bradford Modified Club to challenge Islamophobia after racist leaflets were shoved through doors. Tonight, we are huddled in a draughty soon to be demolished multi-story c...

The Laughterhouse Comedy Club – Liverpool Theatre Festival

13Sep

By Blathine MaguireNo Comments

North West

The Laughterhouse Comedy Club – Liverpool Theatre Festival

What a joy it is to be back at Liverpool Theatre Festival once again, in the beautiful surroundings of St Luke’s Bombed Out Church. Having reviewed a number of shows in this festival, it was a pleasure to return tonight to see further variety unfold in the form of pure humour from “The Laughterhouse Comedy Club”. Laughterhouse are the longest running comedy club in Liverpool having showcased thousands of sell-out shows for well over a decade. They pride themselves on understanding what makes the best comedy nights, taking their venues, acts and overall atmosphere into great consideration. The show was hosted by laughterhouse’s resident MC Chris Cairns who is no stranger to both the local and international stage. Chris’s charming welcomes and witty introductions warm the audience up nice...

Twelfth Night – Liverpool Theatre Festival

13Sep

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Twelfth Night – Liverpool Theatre Festival

The Boaty Theatre Company’s Twelfth Night is a pirate themed version of Shakespeare’s classic comedy of unrequited love and mistaken identities. Live music, physical comedy and a reinterpretation of the use of gender in the play, make this an original and fun performance which is suitable for the whole family. The set features a barrel table and bar stools, giving this version of Illyria a feeling of Nassau during the reign of the pirates, and this version of the play features its very own Pirate Queen, Captain Orsina. The Captain is deeply in love with Countess Oliva, who is grieving for her father and brother while trying to maintain order on the island with the help of her overseer, Malvolia. In the meantime, a violent storm shipwrecks twins, Viola and Sebastian, each of whom assumes...

13Sep

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

The Memory of Water – Hampstead Theatre

English playwright Shelagh Stephenson’s comedy returns to the Hampstead Theatre, where it was first staged in 1996, in a new revival directed by Alice Hamilton. The play deals with themes of grief and remembrance told through conversations between three sisters (and their partners) in the aftermath of their aged mother Vi’s death. Between managing the arrangements for the funeral and coming to terms with the reality of their mother’s demise, the sisters, namely Teresa, Catherine and Mary, begin to unpack incidents and conversations from the past. These “fleeting” strolls down memory lane are neither pleasant nor particularly therapeutic, for their confronted by personal demons and shared resentments they’ve held on to for far too long. The tension between them is characterized by the dysfu...

School of Rock the Musical – Hull New Theatre

13Sep

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

School of Rock the Musical – Hull New Theatre

There are a dozen good reasons to go and see School of Rock the Musical - the 12 super-talented children, stars every one. Actually, make that a baker’s dozen - the 13th good reason is an adult, who was the most childish of them all. Hull’s New Theatre welcomed audiences back for the first time since Covid hit, and it was Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End smash hit making its first UK and Ireland tour of the venue that had theatregoers rushing back in their droves. Based on the 2003 movie of the same name, the story centres around Dewey Finn (an energetic Jake Sharp, the man-child I mentioned above), who, desperate for rent money, takes his best friend’s identity to gain a teaching post at a prestigious prep school. Dewey - known at school as Ned Schneebly - causes havoc from the ...

13Sep

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

West Midlands

Rock of Ages – Alexandra Theatre

Part rock gig, part romp down memory lane, the new tour of Rock of Ages has landed, ready to make the UK ‘feel the noize’ and indulge in some heavy metal headbanging. Tonight, we’ve been transported from the centre of Birmingham to the heart of Los Angeles, the Sunset Strip. We meet the regulars of the Bourbon Bar; an insalubrious rock joint being faced with extinction as a villainous German duo look to demolish and develop the gritty Strip into a gleaming European vision of modernity. Underneath this shadow we meet barback Drew who is instantly smitten with the wholesome new girl in town Sherrie, and the show follows their budding ‘will they, won’t they’ relationship as they navigate the standard fare of missed opportunities and misunderstandings as well as their attempts to make it...

13Sep

By Julia PanovaNo Comments

North West

Lydia – Greater Manchester Fringe

She’s capable, skilled, eloquent. Without a doubt Lydia will go places in life. In that case why does she never reach her destination? ‘Lydia’ is an auditory gem in which we hear us our protagonist growing up solely through the voices around her. On paper everything seems like it will work out, her family has high aspirations, and she has the skills to accomplish it all. However, as her life steadily journeys downhill, we realise that some things do not stand the test of time and soon will become forgotten. The entire world the audience perceives is built up with soundscapes, voice acting and special effects. This leaves us entirely immersed through every segment and trial faced. I must commend the sound designer Raimundas Paulauskas for the gritty, unnerving, surreal atmosphere c...

12Sep

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

The Duration – Omnibus Theatre

“You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger” The printed program for Bruce Graham’s The Duration carries this simple yet moving quote by the Buddha that foreshadows what’s in store at the Omnibus Theatre that evening. Set in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the United States, Graham’s play explores the legacy of the devastating incident through the lens of a family trying to come to terms with their loss and anger. The show commemorates the 20th anniversary of the incident, at a time when there has been a resurgence in interest in the geopolitical scenario of Afghanistan. With the Taliban overthrowing the elected government last month, there is a renewed criticism of the US government’s reaction in the years that followed the bombing, tracing...

12Sep

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Bouncers – Rainhill Village Hall

Rainhill Musical Theatre Company return to the stage with a bang and a bounce with their production of John Godber’s classic 1977 play covering an evening working the doors of a nightclub for four bored doormen and their likely clientele: four young beer swilling lads hoping to get lucky, and four excitable teenage girls out for a bit of dancing, drinking, and whatever the eye might fancy, including visits to hairdressers in its build-up and fast-food vendors in the climactic come down. Other than the excellent writing, what makes this such a clever piece of theatre is that all the roles throughout are portrayed by four bouncers – Lucky Eric (Paul Robinson), Les (Ben Evans-Clarke), Judd (K. Ellis), and Ralph (Aidan Maj) – who, with the simplest of sets, the minimum of props, and no cost...