REVIEWS Archives - Page 53 of 563

22Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Provocateur – The Hope Theatre

Welcome to the world of Letitia Delish (Tish Weinman), a mistress who will certainly put you in your place, and you will love it! But, under the veil of the dominatrix, lies a person who is exploring their gender identity, using the whip as a tool of the trade, and the persona of Letitia Delish to earn money. Written and performed by Tish Weinman, this play aims to strip back the layers of the character Letitia, to find out why she was needed, not just by the men who visit her, but why was she needed by her creator? Supported by her co-performer Alex Chorley, we follow Letitia on her journey of how she became involved in the sex industry. Letitia’s first experience is with a man whose sex-life with his girlfriend is boring, and he wished to explore a part of himself th...

22Aug

By Al CarrettaNo Comments

Scotland

Yellow – theSpaceUK @ Surgeon’s Hall

Some shows are born great, some shows achieve greatness, and some shows have greatness thrust upon them. Ponder the classic quote then ask yourself if you’re a fan of Coldplay? Do you know their classic song, Yellow? Not to say it’s overused but if not, you’re going to know it by the end of this show. There’s a yellow tie, a yellow clipboard, some yellow tracksuit trousers and potentially more other yellow objects that I missed buried away in the corner of the theatre and practically watching this show from the wings. Yellow is a snapshot of office life in ‘Hathaways’ law firm. Various characters populate the environment. We’re lectured on moralistic principles and told tales of the fraudsters they defend. All of the performers work competently and efficiently with each other. The e...

22Aug

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

A Manchester Anthem – Riverside Studios

A Manchester Anthem opens with Tommy (Tom Claxton) having it large to the 1990 dance classic ‘Anthem’ by N-Joi. He’s in underpants, dancing with the unhinged enthusiasm of a person who has no idea that anybody might be watching. It’s unsexy slapstick, totally relatable and introduces us to a character who’s about to take the audience on a one-man, one-hour trip into a messy night out in Manchester. When N-Joi released Anthem, I was at university in Liverpool and that summer, lived in a crazy rave squat in Hulme, Manchester. If you Google ‘Anthem by N-Joi Quadrant Park’ there’s a one-minute clip of the tune being dropped at the legendary Merseyside club. I was a regular at ‘The Quaddie’ and a loved-up devotee to the Hacienda too, but this show isn’t a misty-eyed flashback to ‘90s Madches...

Moulin Rouge! The Musical – Palace Theatre

22Aug

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Moulin Rouge! The Musical – Palace Theatre

Step inside Manchester’s Palace Theatre this month and you are no longer in the North West of England - you are transported straight into the beating heart of Montmartre. For its UK tour, Moulin Rouge! The Musical has transformed the venue into a lush Parisian nightspot; its boxes crowned with the glittering red windmill and a striking blue elephant symbolising Satine’s dressing room. Even before the first note is sung, the effect is spellbinding, and the theatre itself is part of the spectacle. Directed by Alex Timbers with a book by John Logan, the musical reimagines Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film for the stage. At its core lies the romance between Christian (Josh Rose), a wide-eyed, penniless songwriter, and Satine (Verity Thompson), the glamorous star of the Moulin Rouge. Christian dreams...

21Aug

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

Scotland

#KaraokeKarma – Leith Depo

The works reunion, invite sent to all and only four turn up! Five if you include the ‘only fans?’ girl. Introducing #KaraokeKarma a show focussing on the characters Vivienne, Lucinda, Barry, Nichola and Isla. A group of office staff, past and present, thrown together in a karaoke booth with its trademark blackout curtains and coloured neon lights. Sparks and discourse ensue as the dark secrets, deceit and despair play out to its own merry tune. This show written by Dylan Mooney unpicks the complexities of office politics and personal lives being affected by loss, grief and rejection. Through ‘Karaoke’ the characters lay their feelings bare through the lyrics of the songs hinged in sadness and reminiscence of the ‘good ole days’ when the tunes brought them together. A clever provocati...

The Sound of My Own Voice – Scottish Storytelling Centre

21Aug

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

The Sound of My Own Voice – Scottish Storytelling Centre

Morna Burdon is a performer and poet who writes in the Scots language. Here she shares some of her own poems, and a few others that take her fancy. Burdon creates a convivial atmosphere in the intimate George Mackay Brown Library at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. It feels as though she is welcoming us into her own home. She comments that the mention of “striking a match” on a bus shows her age, harking back to the days when passengers were “only” allowed to smoke on the top deck. A few young people in the audience gasp in horror at the degeneracy of their ancestors. At least our generation has changed some things for the better. The Living Dead conveys the widespread disgust at Sir Keir Starmer’s attempt, last year, to withdraw the winter fuel payment from millions of pensione...

Thanyia Moore: August – Pleasance Courtyard

21Aug

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

Scotland

Thanyia Moore: August – Pleasance Courtyard

Thanyia Moore is a seasoned comedian and actress who has appeared on Mock the Week (BBC) Drunk Histories Black Stories (Comedy Central) and Cats does Countdown (C4). First appearing at the Fringe in 2022 she returns with her show August. She named her show August because it was whilst she was at the Fringe she experienced a personal loss through an ectopic pregnancy which interrupted her long awaited run and resulted in her returning to London for treatment. Through comedy she tells the story of her journey and encounters from her favourite taxi driver, the NHS staff and her production team who supported her throughout. Determined to finish her run Thanyia returned and continued to what she described as not the best performance. Humble and steadfast she ploughed through to a standing ovati...

Frisky’s Reshuffle – Assembly George Square Gardens

21Aug

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Frisky’s Reshuffle – Assembly George Square Gardens

Frisky and Mannish have been Fringe stalwarts for quite a few years now, and this time Frisky has her own solo show (albeit “with the accompaniment of four accomplished musicians and a great deal of tech support”). Frisky sings well-known songs, but she conspires with audience members to switch up the genre. After some introductory antics, we dip our toes gently at first, with a rock-and-roll version of Like a Virgin. It works, of course it does, and it’s a lot of fun. Then there’s a rave version (with Frisky imitating a vocal breakbeat), and an attempt at traditional Scottish music – a genre with which Frisky is maybe less familiar. Anything could happen. Frisky is very sparkly in a green sequinned playsuit, an entertainer from head to toe, and she builds a great rapport with th...

Edinburgh Days – St. Brides Community Centre

21Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Edinburgh Days – St. Brides Community Centre

There is something stirring at the heart of Edinburgh Days, a new sung-through musical that plants its feet in 19th-century Scotland and tries to tell a story of love, loss and survival against the hardships of the city. It has ambition and flashes of real quality. It also has problems. The creative team is a serious one, Edinburgh-born composer Brian Spence, director Bob Tomson (Blood Brothers), and choreographer Caroline Inglis. That pedigree shows in places: the Celtic-rock inflected score gives the show its own colour, and some of the cast deliver performances of real power. Debbie McKenna, as Mary, is outstanding, a husky-voiced presence who can belt with thrilling intensity. She grounds her character with emotional truth, and her songs are some of the evening’s highlights. Col...

20Aug

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

War Horse – Leeds Grand Theatre

For most of us in this country our first exposure to puppets are Mr and Mrs Punch going at it hammer and tongs on a seafront, but War Horse is a reminder that puppetry is an art form that challenges both the practitioners and the audience. There is something incredibly special watching a team of puppeteers moving in perfect synchronicity asking us to believe we are watching a thoroughbred horse in full flow. All theatre is to an extent a suspension of disbelief, but puppetry makes special demands of any audience’s imagination as we are constantly asked to make the inanimate real in our minds. Michael Morpurgo who wrote the novel said the producers ‘must be mad’ to try and stage a story about a horse who is transported from the idyllic Devon countryside to the horrors of the Great War...