REVIEWS Archives - Page 498 of 548

The Windsors Endgame – Prince of Wales Theatre

11Aug

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

London

The Windsors Endgame – Prince of Wales Theatre

To try and summarise just how outlandish The Windsors is as a stage show, imagine if the writers of Spitting Image found a file labelled ‘Daily Mail Royal Fan-fic’ and gave it to the editors of Viz magazine, after getting them spectacularly drunk and sitting through a marathon of ‘Carry On’ movies. Based on the satirical Channel 4 show, by Bert Tyler-Moore and the late George Jeffrie, and featuring many of the show’s original cast, The Windsors imagines a world where the Queen, weary of public life after the death of her beloved Phillip, has abdicated in favour of the world’s longest-serving intern, Prince Charles. Charles - played by Harry Enfield with the perfect sense of tired pompousness that one would expect from someone waiting 70 years for a work promotion – promptly goes powe...

Carousel – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

10Aug

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Carousel – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Walking into the atmospheric surroundings of an open-air theatre is always a joy, never more so than with the anticipation of seeing one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's most popular musicals. Carousel is undoubtedly a classic and was even voted the best musical of the 20th Century by TIME magazine. Written in 1945, the story is a simple one: young millworker Julie Jordan meets bad-boy and serial womaniser carousel barker Billy Bigelow and is immediately smitten. So much so that she risks her livelihood just as he's also given the sack. Living on the generosity of family and friends, their situation goes from bad to worse when Julie tells Billy she's pregnant and he becomes desperate to provide for his family and is willing to risk, and lose, all. Carly Bawden is a charmingly innocent Julie...

10Aug

By Alison BainesNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Heathers – Leeds Grand

Take a trip to Westerburg High School to join the class of 2021 on a twisted tale of romance, fun and a bit of bitchiness too - I promise you won’t be disappointed. Heathers, the dark comedy/rock musical first hit the stage in 2010 in New York following and based on the great cult classic movie of the same name starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. The modern musical begins its UK and Ireland tour at Leeds Grand Theatre. If you’re not already familiar with the soundtrack I urge you to go and listen to it. Written by the award-winning team Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy, the music could not suit the cult classic story any better: with heart wrenching ballads and vibrant ensemble numbers, the soundtrack doesn’t have a bad song and promises to have you singing them for days aft...

9Aug

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

RENT – Hope Mill Theatre

After almost three years in the making, a short run in 2020 which became a casualty of COVID-19 and a very successful online run, RENT at Hope Mill is back and it is explosive, imaginative and full of character. The stage is open with a very minimal set, but it needs no more as the storytelling fills the space and makes the room feel full. As the cast enter and take their seats around the edge of the stage area, you can feel the buzz and excitement in the room, a full capacity audience ready to soak in the story, the music, the love. As soon as the song ‘Rent’ began, you could feel the electricity in the room as the whole stage came to life and we were taken on a journey of friendship, love, life and loss. The cast were visible the whole time, whether on the stage or not and th...

8Aug

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Love, Liverpool – Liverpool Playhouse

Love, Liverpool, created by Chloë Moss and directed by Nathan Powell, is a tender and varied homage to Merseyside and its people. Combining video, stage performance and a vibrant soundscape, this is a love letter to a city and its surrounding areas, which exposes the high points and the low points, the good days and the bad, and focuses in on the core of love and hope which is left when all is said and done. Before the show opens, snippets of recordings of people’s memories of Liverpool, curated by Sound Designer, Xenia Bayer, play as a map is projected on the stage with the words “I love Liverpool” is various languages alternate over it. The play opens with a projected image of a Merseyrail train, and simple setting creating the journey from New Brighton to Liverpool. The first of a...

6Aug

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Singin’ In The Rain – Sadler’s Wells

I saw the film Singin’ in the Rain when I was about 14 and some of the songs lodged themselves in my head to the extent that whenever anyone says “good morning” to me, I sing “good morning, we’ve talked the whole night through” silently to myself. If the musical numbers from the film stayed with me, the plot and performances definitely didn’t - but fortunately the same can’t be said of last night’s production. Don Lockwood (Adam Cooper) and Lina Lamont (Faye Tozer) are lighting up the Hollywood silent movie scene on and off screen, but all is not as it seems. Dom has fallen for unknown performer Kathy Seldon (Charlotte Gooch) and the dawn of the ‘talkies’ spells trouble for Lina, whose talents aren’t quite as wide-reaching as the audience has been led to believe. Together, Dom, Kathy an...

5Aug

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

All That – King’s Head Theatre

All That is a deliciously funny and heart-warming take on how convoluted modern relationships can get when their very foundation is threatened. Written by Shaun Kitchener (Hollyoaks, Positive) and directed by James Callàs Ball, this production at the King’s Head Theatre, staged as part of their popular Queer Season, is a delightful watch. Through the lives of four housemates – two couples with wildly different outlooks on life – we witness a hilarious evening of misunderstandings, confessions and secrets unfurl as they try to salvage the lives they’ve built together. The show additionally explores themes of love, sex, monogamy and the fallacy of the “right” way for LGBTQ+ couples to manifest their relationships in the public eye. At the centre of the drama is a decision made by suburban...

Masks and Faces or, Before and Behind the Curtain – Finborough Theatre

3Aug

By Donna M DayNo Comments

REVIEWS

Masks and Faces or, Before and Behind the Curtain – Finborough Theatre

Masks and Faces or, Before and Behind the Curtain is a comedy of errors and mistaken identities, written by Charles Reade and Tom Taylor in the 19th century. This version, directed by Matthew Iliffe, assisted by Myles O’Gorman, is an online performance, filmed by each of the actors individually in a table read style. The play tells the story of Ernest Vane (Will Kerr), a country gentleman in London who has been frequenting a theatre and become charmed by actress Peg Woffington (Amy McAllister). When his wife, Mabel (Sophie Melville) suddenly arrives in London, she and Ernest are dragged into the farcical world of the theatre as hearts are broken, identities swapped, and small mistakes lead to big problems. The play opens with actors, Kitty Clive (Madison Clare) and Quin (Robyn Holdaw...

Wonderville Magic & Illusion – Palace Theatre

3Aug

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Wonderville Magic & Illusion – Palace Theatre

The West End has new wizards in town. While Cambridge Circus awaits the return of Harry Potter in October, Wonderville, a new family-friendly show packed with magic and illusion, is keeping his place warm. Wonderville is a throwback to the type of vaudeville magic show of old, featuring an eclectic range of acts. Alongside the regular performers, there's also a set by a guest artiste, one of a number performing at different shows. The energetic bowtie-wearing Chris Cox, a star on both Broadway and the West End, hosts and provides the links between the acts. Cox is an excellent MC, affable and funny. He's also a brilliant mind-reader, producing some stunning moments of "How did he know that?" and gasps from the audience as he follows in the footsteps of Derren Brown, but wit...

I Could Use a Drink – Vaudeville Theatre

3Aug

By Sophie GrahamNo Comments

London

I Could Use a Drink – Vaudeville Theatre

“I Could Use a Drink”, and couldn’t we all after the year we’ve had? Originally a successful streaming event, tonight Drew Gasparini’s “I Could Use a Drink” made it’s west end debut at the Garrick Theatre, London. First released in 2013 as a contemporary Musical Theatre album, exploring a range of themes from love and heartbreak to teen pregnancy, producers Liam Gartland and Alex Conder (of Gartland Productions) transform this album to a staged production. Whilst the original album features an array of Broadway’s biggest names, this cast certainly gives a well overdue opportunity to showcase some of the young west end stars of the future. And what an exciting cast this is: Ahmed Hamad (Rent), Billy Nevers (& Juliet, Jesus Christ Superstar), Caroline Kay (Daisy, The Space Between), L...