REVIEWS Archives - Page 66 of 548

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Liverpool Empire

16Jul

By Stephanie WiswallNo Comments

North West

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Liverpool Empire

A magical evening of rainbows, sparkles, music and performance. A real feel good show aimed at all ages which engages the audience from start to finish. If you're looking for a show to introduce children to musicals and also be thoroughly entertained yourself, this is the show you are looking for. A fun and captivating story of love, forgiveness and triumph. The story is superbly narrated by Christina Bianco from start to finish, with a pitch perfect vocal performance and an astonishing range, Bianco really deserved her standing ovation and rapturous applause at the end. The energy from her on stage was oozing with excitement and grit. Joined by the main man Joseph (Adam Filipe) an outstanding performance, I couldn't take my eyes off him every time he entered the stage, his presence was...

Dianne & Vito: Red Hot and Ready – Floral Pavilion

16Jul

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

North West

Dianne & Vito: Red Hot and Ready – Floral Pavilion

Burn the Floor is back! And this time it is red, hot and ready with Dianne Buswell and Vito Coppola, the two most recent professional winners of Strictly Come Dancing on the BBC. This is the most recent production under the Burn the Floor banner, created by Jason Gilkison. It is two hours of fun, personality and of course, dancing! The audience gets taken on a journey through the dances and also the chats from Dianne and Vito. With Dianne hailing from Australia and Vito from Italy, there were a lot of references to missing homes and families, but it definitely helped the audience feel closer to the two dancers, rather than just what they get to see on TV between September and December each year. It helped to learn more about them and their families and there was even a special appea...

16Jul

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

That Bastard, Puccini – Park Theatre

James Inverne has written a fascinating new play based upon the rivalry between the two Italian opera composers, Giacomo Puccini and Ruggero Leoncavallo, at the end of the 19th century. At that time, as Inverne explains in his programme introduction, Milan was a hive of theatrical creativity with numerous composers competing to be the successor to Verdi. This play, which has its premiere at the Park 200 theatre, focuses on the race between two composers to produce a new opera entitled La Boheme, based on the 1851 book by Henri Murger. The play starts in Leoncavallo’s living room, with him railing to his wife against Puccini, who he claims, has stolen his idea for the opera after a conversation in a coffee shop. Puccini’s account is very different, claiming that he had had the origi...

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change – Hope Mill Theatre

16Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change – Hope Mill Theatre

As the recent heat wave finally broke in a deluge of Mancunian rain, we dodged the puddles to attend the opening night of ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’, a 1996 musical revue by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts now given a well deserved revival by 1974/Make Your Mark Productions. Hope Mill Theatre in Ancoats is a perfect setting for this intimate, funny and sometimes touching exploration of relationships and modern love. ILYYPNC (as I will refer to it to save my word count), is structured as a series of (mostly) musical vignettes, using a cast of just four actors to play the roles of sixty-eight separate characters and exploring the subject of relationships throughout the course of life, from first dates through marriage, children and eventual loss. The writers employ a dizzying...

16Jul

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

REVIEWS

Educating Rita – Frinton Summer Theatre

It’s a tale as old as love itself – older man falls for younger woman’s charms, but ‘Educating Rita’ is about so much more. Rita (Hannah Traylen) is a hairdresser, with what her working folk would call ‘ideas above her station’. She enrols on an open university course in English literature because she wants to expand her mind and see the world differently. Her tutor, Frank (Jonathan Clarkson), is a failed poet and disillusioned drunk. The scene is therefore set for the tensions to erupt and the hearts to unfold – which they do. Two-hander plays are notoriously difficult to pull off (and still keep the audience entertained), but the casting of this duo is stellar. Hannah is an absolute firecracker of a performer and Jonathan does a good job at dowdy, with occasional sparks of l...

Beyond Monet: The Immersive Experience – Exhibition Centre Liverpool

15Jul

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Beyond Monet: The Immersive Experience – Exhibition Centre Liverpool

Billed as the UK premiere, Annerin Productions’ Beyond Monet arrives in Liverpool as an immersive experience of over 400 masterpieces including more renowned images including Water Lilies, Poppies at Argenteuil, and the one that started it all, Impression Sunrise. Following on from last year’s Beyond Van Gogh – which returns on an alternating day basis in conjunction with this exhibition – it sadly also suffers from the same challenges which calls into question much of the drive and purpose behind these productions. At the risk of repeating myself, Liverpool’s Exhibition Centre isn’t a curated gallery – very much clear tonight from the crinkled and wrinkled wrapping upon which the artwork is being projected – and there is no actual real artwork on display, so any critique is based on...

15Jul

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Varnish – The King’s Arms

We are all the stars of our own lives, and in this one-man show, Jonathan Mayor is undoubtedly the star of his. Mayor comes onto the stage full of glitter and glam. A sparkling presence, the epitome of the outrageous stage and screen performer. He is the star of the show, and all the stars have come out to see him, including Dame Judi, Oprah and Tom Cruise, on a booster seat! He is charismatic and camp as he starts the show. You feel that in his head, he imagines he is at the opening of his Las Vegas residency or appearing at the top of the bill at the London Palladium. However, this isn’t a show. It’s a play written by his friend, Janet Taylor, and based on his life. It is not necessarily the unvarnished truth, but who, in reality, tells the truth of their own lives, even to the...

15Jul

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Rocky Horror Show – Hull New Theatre

A reviewer’s job is not without risks and the sights I saw on Monday evening at the Hull New Theatre will probably scar me for life. Males in fishnet stockings and suspenders, strutting around in stiletto heels. Some were even wearing make-up - shock, horror. But that’s enough about the audience. The Rocky Horror Show was in town, performing to theatregoers who were obviously determined to get into the spirit of the well-known madcap production; hence the proliferation of fishnets, maids’ outfits, gold lamé top hats and tails, long black cloaks and black lacy costumes in many different designs, mainly worn by the females in the audience. There can’t be a person on this planet, or even off the planet, who hasn’t heard of Richard O’Brien’s infamous rock ’n’ roll musical and the s...

14Jul

By Harry AltyNo Comments

North West

Patience – Social Refuge

July in Manchester means the return of the Greater Manchester Fringe - an opportunity for a variety of comedic performances to grace the many stages within the area. As part of the festival, Chip Slap Comedy brings this production Patience to the quirky venue of Social Refuge. This two-person comedy piece stars Rachael Dennis as a doting Mum trying to secure a spot at the local state school for her son. Her co-star is Marianne Walsh, takes on the increasingly difficult and unhelpful assistant to the headteacher, and is also the writer of the play. Both show impressive character work as they quickly bring reality and authenticity to their characters - for better or for worse, these are both characters you can picture in real life. The duo has great comedic chemistry, and it is clear ...

Kaleidoscope Festival 2025 – Alexandra Palace

14Jul

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Kaleidoscope Festival 2025 – Alexandra Palace

Perched high above the city, on a glorious July summer day, with the most breathtaking panoramic views stretching across the city of London, Alexandra Palace once again played host to the Kaleidoscope Festival, a one-day celebration of music, art, food, comedy, and local community that’s as much about the atmosphere and vibe as it is about the on-stage acts. In its sixth edition, the 2025 festival delivered a packed programme and an unmistakable summer spirit. It must be said that very few London venues rival “Ally Pally”, and very few can compete for the perfect festival setting, with the Palace itself presiding over the main stage, while the surrounding green and luscious parkland offered space to relax, stretch out, dance, and soak up the sun. With the city skyline sparkling in the d...