REVIEWS Archives - Page 506 of 548

Gilbert and Sullivan’s Improbable new musical:…. and Helen – Brighton Fringe

20Jun

By Angela KellyNo Comments

South East

Gilbert and Sullivan’s Improbable new musical:…. and Helen – Brighton Fringe

‘Gilbert and Sullivan’s Improbable new musical:…. and Helen’, was performed as part of 2021’s Brighton Fringe. Performed by the Coily Dart Theatre Company, written by Susan Ellerby and co-directed by both Ellerby and Norman Hockley, this was presented as an audio- show. The story centres on Helen Carte (Catherine Tuckey) and her role that is largely undocumented within the Gilbert and Sullivan Company. With references to several Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, it relays the story of Helens life with the company (with assistance from the internet and equally the imagination) and begins from the time she left school in 1867. Rather unusually for a woman in the Victorian period she was well educated and appeared to be the backbone of the Gilbert and Sullivan success. It is an extremely enj...

20Jun

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

South East

Threesome – Brighton Fringe

Devised and performed by Claudia Saavedra, Eric Silver and Philip Greenoak of Almost Professional, this is a quirky filmed play with its tongue firmly in its cheek. Threesome tells the cautionary tale of two flat mates Alex (Silver) and Eve (Saavedra) who are seeking another flat mate to share their running costs. They soon have a suitable candidate for the spare room so they set about interviewing Evan (Greenoak) with unexpected results. It’s obvious that the three actors are enjoying themselves all the way through and the dialogue in parts is quite witty and sharp, but it does suffer from a pretty slow start and it isn’t really until the third character Evan comes into the frame that things stay to fly. It’s safe to ask that why anyone would want to share a flat with any o...

20Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Everything I Own – Hull Truck Theatre

Shall I tell you the first thing that came to mind when I laid eyes on actor Gabriel Paul, on the Hull Truck Theatre stage this week? Mmm … very attractive man, muscly in all the right places, glint in his eye - obviously good fun to be around (but the vest has to go). Oh, and he is black - this last piece of info, as an afterthought. However, as this second in a trilogy of monologues at the theatre - a world premiere, no less - wore on, I realised my reaction was far from the norm experienced by Errol (Paul), in his lifetime. The central character never appears - but his presence is felt throughout. He is Errol’s dad, who has died of Covid, leaving Errol, one of his seven children, to sort out his belongings. The action takes place in Errol’s dad’s sitting room - a cosy aff...

19Jun

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

South East

Labyrinth – Brighton Fringe

This fierce and vibrant feminist monologue written by Mancho Rodriguez and performed by Marta Carvalho is an interesting and quite ambiguous piece of work. The narrator says at the very outset says that she “has killed a man – killed love” but as this unremitting and intense monologue develops we begin to realise that the woman has found herself in a labyrinth of reality and illusion brought on by her own vulnerability and emotional state. Carvalho gives a passionately physical and overpowering performance throughout and she is well served by Mark C Hewitt’s English translation of the original script by Rodriguez. The monologue itself is set in the theatre of expressionism and may not suit everyone’s taste with its intensity and bleakness; also at a running time of nearly an hour,...

18Jun

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

Electric Dreams – Norton Priory Museum

Imagine this setting, your sat on a garden chair eating a picnic and you pop open the champagne. As you relax the sun sets in front of you and the odd plane flies past above your head. You can’t help but fall in love with the relaxing setting. It was a perfect evening to watch the opening night of Electric Dreams a musical adaption of Midsummer Nights Dream (by William Shakespeare) at Norton Priory Museum and Gardens. In a creative partnership with A Place for us. A short synopsis in case you don’t know, Its Midsummer Night in 1980s Athens, four young lovers and a group of workmen 'wannabe' actors find themselves entranced and entrapped in an enchanted forest where Rock Diva Fairies rule and a mischievous sprite is hell bent on causing havoc…what could possibly go wrong? The show...

18Jun

By Johanna RobertsNo Comments

North West

Y’MAM – Everyman Theatre

Different languages express it in different ways – the straw that breaks the camel’s back, the final drop that makes the glass overflow - but all refer to the same moment of when the ‘red mist descends’ and anger takes over. We’ve all seen it – either in real life or on the screen, when ‘it all kicks off’ and a fight breaks out over nothing. Or over what seems like nothing, but as Y’MAM so eloquently explains, for the problem to exist, there must have been ‘an intro to the problem’. Y’MAM – written by and performed by Majid Mehdizadeh (aka Luke Jerdy) – is based on Majid’s own life. Both the writing and the performance are stunning, though there were some moments when the need to convey the energy means individual words were lost, which is a shame, as the use of language is remarkable. ...

Scaramouche Jones or the Seven White Masks – Wilton Music Hall

17Jun

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Scaramouche Jones or the Seven White Masks – Wilton Music Hall

“50 years to make the clown. 50 years to play the clown.” This closing remark, delivered by the centenarian clown Scaramouche as he waits for the clock to strike midnight and usher in the new millennium, is perhaps the closest to capturing the essence of this astonishing odyssey of the 20th century. Scaramouche Jones or the Seven White Masks recounts the extraordinary life of a man’s journey through crumbling empires, comic misadventures, dark episodes and tragic discoveries on a quest to understand why he is who he is. From tales of his birth in slim alleys of Trinidad and his escapades on the busy streets of Milan, to the haunting memories of concentration camps in Eastern Europe and the exhilaration of finally being on English soil, this text not only gives us a glimpse into what wen...

Opera North: A Night at the Opera – The Lowry

17Jun

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Opera North: A Night at the Opera – The Lowry

The last performance Opera North gave before lockdown in March 2020 was at The Lowry so it seems somehow appropriate that they should come out of their enforced hibernation to perform an evening of popular opera classics at the same venue. Also, this was the first time I have seen anything live since then and I have to say it was absolutely wonderful to see performers in the flesh, to feel their emotions and admire their talent. Online performances have got us through this terrible time but there is nothing like the real thing. The cavernous auditorium of the Lyric theatre was, because of Covid restrictions, mostly empty. Even though the audience was small it was extremely appreciative of a wonderful night’s entertainment. Paul Daniel, the conductor, was a charming and witty tour ...

16Jun

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

REVIEWS

Leather – Finborough Theatre

Homo Promos present this staged reading of Peter Scott-Presland’s seminal queer work that caused a lot of controversy in the early nineties. The play’s main theme resolves around gay domestic abuse both physically and mentally. It’s not an easy watch but then that’s the whole point of Scott-Presland’s outstanding piece of theatre; it leaves the audience asking many questions about relationships and offers pertinent discussion on important issues surrounding consent and non-consensual abuse. The original play, which was performed at the Finborough Theatre came up against many obstacles one of which was Thatcher’s horrendously damaging Section 28 which prevented “the promotion of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship” thus demeaning the whole purpose of what the play was try...

16Jun

By Harriet AndrewsNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Fidelio – The Lowry

The story of Fidelio is a simple one. Leonore (Rachel Nicholls) under the guise of a man (Fidelio) infiltrates a Spanish prison in order to free her husband Florestan (Toby Spence), who is a political prisoner. Meanwhile Don Pizarro (Robert Hayward), the governor of the prison and very man responsible for the wrongful imprisonment of Florestan intends to kill him before Don Fernando (Matthew Stiff) can arrive and uncover the cruelty taking place within the prison walls. The orchestra, conducted by Paul Daniel, was magnificent. Being socially distanced and taking up most of the stage, it was a different setup, and one which the musicians will have grown accustomed too, but the sound was rich, textured and balanced, and I would have been quite content to listen to it all night. O...