REVIEWS Archives - Page 511 of 568

Bamalam Productions: All The Bens – 53Two

2Sep

By Alison BainesNo Comments

REVIEWS

Bamalam Productions: All The Bens – 53Two

I was lucky enough to be invited to 53Two in Manchester for Bamalam Productions’ launch of their new audio drama, All The Bens. Bamalam Productions is a company providing a platform for new and creative talent: they create a collection of audio dramas written by contemporary writers and performed by new acting talent. The company was created by James Steventon and Lauren Sturgess who, after graduating as actors from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in 2017, have gone on to produce many audio plays and podcast series, some of which have starred famous talents such as Julie Hesmondhalgh (who you might have known as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street), as well as emerging artists from across the UK. All The Bens is their latest audio play and their first back, following the two ye...

2Gorgeous4U: From Ladette To Laundrette – Bombed Out Church, Liverpool

2Sep

By Blathine MaguireNo Comments

North West

2Gorgeous4U: From Ladette To Laundrette – Bombed Out Church, Liverpool

Liverpool Theatre Festival opened its doors tonight within the stunning location of St Lukes Bombed Out Church. This festival runs for 12 nights with a variety of musicals, drama, comedy and entertainment being shown daily. What a pleasure it is to be back seeing Live Theatre and local actress Lynne Fitzgerald didn’t disappoint as she starred in the opening performance “From Ladette to Laundrette”. This slice of comedy is a one-woman show where Lynne plays a number of characters (at least 10!) to illustrate the narrative across the 70-minute performance. The story is set in present day, and it follows Claire, a beautician from Waterloo, as she stumbles through the dramas that unfold across her work, love life, family and friendships. Claire was one half of a famous pop duo back in...

2Sep

By Julia PanovaNo Comments

North West

Fruit Salad – GM Fringe Online

Cherry and Peaches, two fruits which wonderfully complement each other. Or perhaps Cherry and Peaches, the two friends who at first glance don’t seem remotely similar but at the core have a unity that’s imperishable. Or at least that’s what we thought... Fruit Salad follows a friendship that formed over their fruity names and fruity nature. We watch as the two meet up from their late teens to early twenties to catch up over cheap wine in their favourite pub. Soon enough they both move to different universities, make new friends, fall in love with new people and ultimately see one another less. Cherry seems to have it all together and worries for ‘Princess Peach’ seeing as her life is falling apart. One does wonder if their lives will ever get back on the same page, or perhaps if it’s th...

2Sep

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

At Home with Miss Angela Bra – Lock 91

“Do you have the socials?” an unsuspecting punter is asked. No, not some new contagion to be wary of, simply a way of finding out if the audience prefers Tik-Tok or Facebook. Miss Angela Bra (better known as Andy Quirk) is busy holding court on life as a part-time musical teacher, rising social media star, and owner of two cats - Pinot and Grigio - treating us to her very own brand of banter, singing and occasional costume changes. As with many drag-based acts, the success of these can live and die with the audience interaction and whilst Miss Angela (the full name pronounced like ‘Candelebra’ and just as classy she tells us) does her best with the small but warmly appreciative audience. You can’t help but wonder though how the act could develop if unleashed on a slightly rowd...

2Sep

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

North West

The Relatives! – GM Fringe Online

Growing up as part of a large family myself, I was intrigued to hear whether writer Siân Parry-Williams’ experiences of her own kith and kin came close to my own familial memories. So, as 6pm neared on Wednesday evening, I logged on to my laptop and opened my online ticket in readiness to listen to The Relatives!, part of the 10th Greater Manchester Fringe. Parry-Williams informed us she is “sure” the antics of her characters will remind us of our own relatives. Well, to be honest, nothing during the 30-minute audio event came close to anything heard or seen in my own, Yorkshire, family. But then, Parry Williams’ characters relate to folk in her Welsh background. However, comedy can cross all borders … The Relatives! kicks off with a conversation, on Skype, between mother an...

1Sep

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Salomé – Southwark Playhouse

Salomé written by Oscar Wilde, was originally written in French in Paris 1891, and was later translated into English. For many years, Salomé was banned from British theatres due to a censorship law forbidding the staging of scriptural characters. It wasn’t until after Wilde’s death in 1900, that a private performance took place in London (in 1905), and then later in 1931, the first public performance took place. Critics at the time believed that time had lessened the impact of such a play and were less than enthusiastic. Lazarus Theatre Company have taken up the challenge of staging this play, but in their own style. Their reimagining of classic tales brings a freshness to the telling of the stories and after performing Salomé previously at the Greenwich Theatre,...

1Sep

By Chris HanlonNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Tell Me on a Sunday – Sheffield Lyceum

After a long 18 months, I finally had the pleasure of returning to the beautiful Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield to watch a musical that I was familiar with but up until tonight had not had chance to see! Well, I finally put that right and wow! Am I glad I did! Tell Me on a Sunday was excellent! For those unfamiliar with the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black’s classic, Tell Me on a Sunday is a one-woman show (or song cycle) that follows the journey of an English girl newly arrived in New York. Filled with hope and eager eyed, she sets out to seek success, friendship and, of course, love. But as she weaves her way through the maze of the city and her own insecurities, frustrations and heartaches she begins to realise that – in fact – she’s been looking for love in all the wrong places. J...

1Sep

By Angela KellyNo Comments

West Midlands

Grease – Regent Theatre

It maybe rapidly approaching Autumn but there are still a few Summer Nights to be had at The Regent Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent this week. Directed by Nikolai Foster, Artistic Director for Curve, the musical classic ‘Grease’ and its infamous score are totally prepared to entertain audiences on stage with an all-new cast. For those very few individuals who may not have experienced Grease previously, it is essentially a 50’s High School love story, starring the leather clad, cool dude 'Danny Zuko' (Dan Partridge) and the innocent, girl next door, 'Sandy Dumbrowski' (Georgia Louise). They reunite in their final year at Rydell High. It may be a love story on the surface, but it is also very much a story about teenage friendships, peer pressure, sexual relationships and personal challenges. Pa...

1Sep

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Judas – GM Fringe Online

This quirky and off the wall satire on religion written and performed by BeeJay Aubertin-Clinton re-imagines the relationship between Judas and Jesus from a queer perspective. Aubertin-Clinton has written a clever and sometimes witty monologue that does not seek to offend, rather it highlights the broader issues of relationships and queer identity. All the religious tropes and stories about Judas and his special man are performed at a campy breakneck speed, occasionally stopping for very brief interludes of emotional depth, which sometimes seemed at odds with the comedic elements of Aubertin-Clinton’s dazzling and sharp script. The dialogue is crisp and fresh, and you are immediately drawn into Aubertin- Clinton’s warm and imaginative character, he holds your attention throughout and...

1Sep

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Dirty Dancing – Buxton Opera House

It’s been 21 months since I last had the pleasure of experiencing live theatre at the beautiful ‘theatre of the Peaks’ - Buxton Opera House. It’s charm and beauty hasn’t faltered one bit in that lockdown time and a trip to Buxton’s famous opera house is just as special as before, if not more so now! It helped no doubt by returning and seeing the ultimate feel-good Musical currently on tour, Dirty Dancing. I think most of us will have seen the movie, (if not, what have you been doing in this lockdown) and if you like the movie; you’ll love this show. The energy, the music, the romance - it’s a theatrical whirlwind which makes for the perfect live show experience! Any Movie purists can rejoice too as this stage adaptation stays very close to the film in terms of dialogue and scen...