REVIEWS Archives - Page 64 of 548

23Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Leeches – The King’s Arms

How far would you go for influence? Would you be prepared to use work colleagues, friends, or even family, in the name of ambition? Leeches, written by Kieran Scott and slickly directed by Thomas Bateman explores themes of insecurity, cancel culture and personal ethics, amongst others, through the eyes of three highly flawed narrators. When a protest erupts in the city centre, it results in a moment of violence that has significant repercussions for all three. Simple staging with nothing more than a crowd control barrier and a couple of chairs allows the spotlight to shine on three strong actors from the Manchester School of Theatre, who do an excellent job of showcasing Scott’s tight and compelling script, peppered with deft touches of levity, and which itself smartly exposes an...

Calendar Girls the Musical – Frinton Summer Theatre

23Jul

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

REVIEWS

Calendar Girls the Musical – Frinton Summer Theatre

I never expected to cry at ‘Calendar Girls the Musical’, but 20 minutes in and I had tears rolling down my cheeks. Such was the emotional poignancy of the story that prompts the Women’s Institute (WI) to make a nude calendar to raise funds. You may have seen the 2003 hit film, but this stage show by Gary Barlow and Tim Firth, and directed by Emily Raymond, is a complete step above when it comes to pulling on the heart strings. The story is: Annie’s husband John gets sick and dies of cancer. Her fellow members of the North Yorkshire WI try best to support her, but her grief is raw. In a bid to do something positive in John’s memory, Annie comes up with the idea of raising funds for a settee for relatives at the hospital: a nude WI calendar in typically WI poses (think plum jam and bun...

23Jul

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

The Last Laugh – Alexandra, Birmingham

I was in Morocco once (hold on - this’ll make sense) and came across a market stall selling fezes. The stall holder asked me where I was from. I said, “UK” where upon he put on a fez and said, “Just like that!” I asked him if he knew what that meant. He shrugged and said, “No, but everyone who comes from UK puts on a fez and says, “Just like that!’” And we still do. Forty years after the death of the comic we’re imitating. Such is the impression he made and the impressions being made tonight at the Alexandra will surely be spoken for the same length of time. Three stalwarts of comedy who dominated the light entertainment landscape for many years are here evoked with uncanny accuracy by three comedy stalwarts who have to be seen to be believed. Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe and Bob Monkh...

23Jul

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Calamity Jane – Hull New Theatre

Within two minutes of the plush curtain raising at the Hull New Theatre, on Tuesday evening, I was singing away to the song, Black Hills of Dakota. Calamity Jane was in town and the guilty party making me join in was Theo Diedrick who, playing the banjo, purposely made a hash of the above song until getting the hang of the well-known ditty. In fact, Diedrick kept us entertained all night long with his amusing mannerisms and facial expressions. I’m sure I spotted him playing the violin as well at one point in this rip-roaring production. In the 1953 film of the same name, on which this production is based, Calamity was played by Doris Day, and it’s her singing voice that musical lovers will associate with many of the songs in this stage version. Fast forward 72 years and it’s th...

22Jul

By Paddy Darnell-WalshNo Comments

North West

Chicago – Blackpool Opera House

Dubbed “the sexiest musical ever” (Metro), Chicago returns to Blackpool this week, with a huge sprinkle of razzle-dazzle with it! Set with the decadent backdrop of the 1920s Chicago jazz scene, the story follows Roxie Hart who murders her lover when he threatens to leave her. In a desperate attempt to avoid conviction, Hart hires renowned lawyer Billy Flynn to assist her in deceiving the media, public and rival cellmate, Velma Kelly. With show-stopping songs a plenty, the sultry, sassy, sensational Chicago is back at the Seaside with a bang. With lyrics from Fredd Ebb and music by John Kander, blasted out by a live band onstage (under the superb musical direction of Neil MacDonald), it’s easy to understand Chicago’s appeal. I must admit, having seen the show various times over the years...

Alice in Wonderland – Marylebone Theatre

22Jul

By Louise PennNo Comments

London

Alice in Wonderland – Marylebone Theatre

This new adaptation of the classic novel by Lewis Carroll (and a couple of his other works) is described as an attempt to reimagine the story as “a vivid, immersive dreams cape bursting with colour, shape, and play.” Writer Penny Farrow and director/designer Nate Bertone have developed a charming and chaotic story that intrigues from the moment you see the set of playing cards, mushrooms, and unusual shapes. Alice (Charlotte Bradley) finds herself in a mad world populated by talking animals and a larger than life Queen of Hearts (Daniel Page with his best and most scary pout on). Her changing size is conveyed by the switch of ever-growing drink bottles, and her encounters with the familiar characters crackle with contemporary jokes and impersonations to amuse adults while entertainin...

20Jul

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

A Grain of Sand – Unity Theatre

Commissioned by London Palestine Film Festival and supported by Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, Good Chance theatres’ A Grain of Sand, dramatised and directed by Elias Matar, is an adaptation from A Million Kites: Testimonies and Poems from the Children of Gaza by Leila Boukarim and Asaf Luzon. Taking an intimate look at war through the eyes of a child and blending Palestinian folklore with real-life testimonies from children in contemporary Gaza, we follow the fraught and dangerous journey of Renad (Sarah Agha), a young Gazan girl, who with the echoes of her grandmother’s tales and the spark of her own imagination, searches for her family and the ‘Anqaa’ – the mythical Palestinian Phoenix. Photo: Ellie Kurttz Large scale crises and the ongoing devastation like the one unfolding in Gaz...

Delusions and Grandeur – Anthony Burgess Foundation

20Jul

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

North West

Delusions and Grandeur – Anthony Burgess Foundation

The best fringe moments are discovering something unexpected and brilliant. World-renowned cellist Karen Hall’s Delusions and Grandeur is both. A thought-provoking, inventive and emotional hour of storytelling that is bursting with talent. The blurb isn’t quite clear, though. “Come for the music, stay for the existential crisis,” it suggests. Audiences are told to expect a “classical cello recital” that “plays out like a piece of performance art run by a masterly jester”. Its one of those examples of marketing that makes total sense after the event. Hall’s one-woman show is, essentially, a recital of Bach’s famous Suite No. 1, interspersed with part monologue, part audience dialogue that tells her own musical story and poses some fascinating questions. What does it reall...

20Jul

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Almost Famous – The King’s Arms

“Escaping and pretending is better than the truth,” says Emily Benton (Jac Wheble), the hero of this one-woman show about identity, fame, and the desire to be seen, not for what you are, that’s boring. She has a thirst, a craving almost to be seen in the spotlight, out front, and famous. Benton, we find out, is living a lie from the start. Suddenly, we are taken into an examination of identity in a world where everyone is pretending. She came from Australia to the UK in the early 1970s to pursue her dream of finding fame and fortune as a performer. “Naivety gets you through,” she says as she looks back at her younger self and the pitfalls she faced in a business where more established, powerful men will take advantage of her with the promise of a record contract or a juicy part o...

The Beyond Broadway Experience: Footloose – Festival Theatre

19Jul

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

The Beyond Broadway Experience: Footloose – Festival Theatre

Edinburgh’s hit youth-theatre company The Beyond Broadway Experience, took to the Festival Theatre with their rendition of the cult-classic Footloose. Featuring a cast of almost 200 actors aged 8-25, this was a showstopping, full-out musical extravaganza. This cast performs with such flair and professionalism it’s hard to believe the majority of the cast are under 20! With aerials, split leaps, and tumbling, the acrobatic and dancing capabilities of the whole cast was astounding, each cast member bringing maximum energy to their performances. Unfortunately, I cannot provide the names of the actors in this production so will henceforth refer to them by their character names. Our leading ladies, Rusty and Ariel were an unstoppable duo - true triple threats, bri...