REVIEWS Archives - Page 534 of 551

8Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

The Bald Soprano – Magpie Theatre

The Bald Soprano is an absurdist play by Eugène Ionesco, first performed in French in 1950, consisting of meaningless banter and nonsensical truisms – probably drawn from an English primer – and holds the world record for the play that has been staged continuously in the same theatre for the longest time. The play opens to an English couple, Mr Smith (Alex Burke) and Mrs Smith (Solenna le Goff), sat in their living room engaging in small talk about what they ate for dinner. Their conversation quickly turns to an almost incomprehensible discussion about Bobby Watson, who it transpires was the name of several people all at once: a man; his wife; their children; and most other members of their extended families. Their maid, Mary (Tsen Day-Beaver), enters to announce their guests have arriv...

6Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Wales

Missing Julie – Theatr Clywd

August Strindberg’s naturalistic play, Miss Julie, written in 1888, tackles a number of themes sparked by the author’s interest in psychology, including female degeneracy, class and gender conflict, idealisation and degradation, and hypnotism. Whilst considered a classic of modern theatre, the author’s own misogyny which pervades the work often presents a challenge to a successful production in these more enlightened times so it was with some interest that I turned to Theatr Clywd’s live-streamed reading of Kaite O’Reilly’s new version, introduced by Artistic Director Tamara Harvey, which has been freely adapted from Strindberg’s original to give it a twentieth century twist. Miss Julie (Sophie Melville), the heiress of a Welsh stately home, finds herself in a world radically changed...

5Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

RENT – Hope Mill Theatre

Seasons of Love 525,600 minutes 525,000 moments so dear 525,600 minutes How do you measure, measure a year? The opening refrain of the most iconic song in Jonathon Larson's stunning 1988 reimagination of Puccini's 'La Bohème', never felt more timely and relevant than it did last night. As the first night of this radical and exciting new production simultaneously became the closing night, due to the imposition of the latest lockdown, we were left to ponder how much more the theatrical community has to do in order to be allowed to make a living in 2020. It has been 229 days since I last was allowed to review a live piece of theatre (329,760 minutes if you're counting), and I floated on air past the temperature checks, socially distanced staff and in house screens, just so hap...

3Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Little Wars – Ginger Quiff Media

Ginger Quiff Media’s rehearsed reading of Little Wars by Steven Carl McCasland, is an emotional rollercoaster taking place against the backdrop of a literary salon in 1940s France. Gertrude Stein (Linda Bassett) and her girlfriend, Alice B Toklas (Catherine Russell) host the get together and their guests talk about everything from their lives as Jewish people during wartime to the role of female writers and their work. Directed by Hannah Chissick, the play opens with typewritten stage directions, which create a nice sense of the period and nods to the literary theme of the play. A good way to take advantage of the online format, the stage directions which appear throughout the piece create a good sense of the action that we are not seeing during the rehearsed reading. The play is ful...

3Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

What A Carve Up! – Barn Theatre

There’s nothing the public loves more than a conspiracy. “True-crime” is becoming ever more popular. Podcasts and documentaries alike feed the audience’s appetite for a scandal. A showcase of evidence with an unravelling case and the viewer thinks that they’re more informed than the judge. Barn Theatre’s production satisfies this appetite with a helping of contemporary British satire. Six members of the influential Winshaw family are found butchered in their mansion. There is one clear suspect; the writer who is about to publish a tell-all account of their corruption. The writer’s son (Alfred Enoch) takes us through the case and exposes the coincidences and revelations that he has found. Enoch is the perfect narrator; instantly captivating and convincing. He guides us through the twi...

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: The Narrator – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

2Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: The Narrator – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

The final episode of Tales from the Tombstone Tavern, the new six part podcast series written by Delmar Terblanche and directed by Jamie Boucher, is an existential meta-narrational crisis, which finds our monsters questioning their sense of reality thanks to the malevolent presence of the omnipresent and anonymous Narrator (Delmar Terblanche). An ominous musical opening dissolves into a panicked, blind and paralysed Vlad (Joshua Manning) who assumes that after a drunken evening he has managed to lock himself into his own coffin. However he soon realises there is more to his predicament than that and our Narrator begins to tell him off for his and his friends’ exploration of the deplorable genre of horror. The Narrator then begins working through the remaining monsters, pointing out t...

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: Vlad – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

31Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: Vlad – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

The penultimate episode of Tales from the Tombstone Tavern, the new six part podcast series written by Delmar Terblanche and directed by Jamie Boucher, takes a terrifying turn into the dark and murky world of the occult with a disturbing tale narrated by Vlad Dracul (Joshua Manning). This episode opens with our monsters discussing zombies and their place in the horror genre. While Wolfgang (Percival Fagent) and Vlad maintain that they aren’t scary anymore, unless they are given a gimmick, Adam (Delmar Terblanche) wonders if they have a place, otherwise why would people keep coming back to them when creating new stories? Vlad answers this question by outlining his theory that horror reflects our own anxieties and zombies are scary because they represent the worst fear of all: the loss...

31Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Midnight Tango – The Shows Must Go On

As part of the Shows Must Go On season, the 2011 production of Midnight Tango takes to the stage with a dazzling, vibrant and totally beguiling production. Framed by a simple tale of two people who meet at a seedy late night bar in Buenos Aires circa 1947 and eventually fall in love, this magnificent dance show is simply breath-taking both in concept and delivery. Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace, both from Strictly Come Dancing lead the cast of eight other professional tango dancers in a superb sequence of both traditional and Argentine tango and they both prove to be two of the finest exponents of this complicated and passionate dance. The show is produced by another Strictly legend Arlene Philips and superbly choreographed by Simone and Cacace who both brilliantly highlight th...

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: Shirley – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

31Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Tales from the Tombstone Tavern: Shirley – Ameena Hamid Productions Ltd

Episode 4 of Tales from the Tombstone Tavern, the new six part podcast series written by Delmar Terblanche and directed by Jamie Boucher, delves into the classic genre of ghost stories as we hear from one of the ironically quieter monsters around the table, Lady Shirley Edith James, the Wailing Woman (Anna Chedham-Cooper). When this episode opens our monsters are ill at ease with Adam (Delmar Terblanche), in particular, being on edge and Annie (Sena Bryer) agreeing that something doesn’t seem quite right. Coming back to the point of the challenge, Shirley brings the discussion around to what it is we actually want from horror. For her, the shock factor of Wolfgang’s (Percival Fagent) story is not enough. There needs to be more to create genuine fear, the emotional response audiences ...

Philharmonia: ‘American Dreams’ – Royal Festival Hall

31Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Philharmonia: ‘American Dreams’ – Royal Festival Hall

After being away from their London home since March 2020, Philharmonia have come together (albeit in a socially distanced way), to stage this concert celebrating the work of Aaron Copland, Florence Price, Steve Reich and Igor Stravinsky. Conducted by the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor Designate Santtu-Matias Rouvali, this is a wonderful opportunity for the Orchestra to celebrate their 75th Anniversary and to help to raise funds to enable them to continue to produce their lively performances. The performance begins with Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, written in 1943-4, this piece was composed for choreographer Martha Graham who asked Copland to write a new ballet. The story centres around a young couple in 19th Century Pennsylvania who meet, marry and set up home ...