REVIEWS Archives - Page 69 of 548

Checkout – St John’s United Reformed Church Hall

6Jul

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Checkout – St John’s United Reformed Church Hall

Soup Productions presented ‘Checkout’ staged in St John’s United Reformed Church Hall, Warrington. Set in the bustling aisles of the fictional discount store Super Save, ‘Checkout’ written by the fabulous Mike Pirks and Sam Duxbury is a warm-hearted yet emotionally resonant play skilfully blending comedy with timely social commentary. Featuring initially a core trio of supermarket workers navigating daily life, difficult customers, however, this production delivers more than just laughs. The story centres on three colleagues: Tracy (Karen Hewitt) with leadership, calming qualities and compassion, Marlena (Lisa Rhodes) a brilliant boisterous bold sharp witted flirtatious singleton and Molly (Louise Wright) in a touching, vulnerable but hilarious performance. The chemistry is palpable ...

Phil Green: A Broken Man’s Guide to Fixing Others – Seven Oaks Pub

6Jul

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

Phil Green: A Broken Man’s Guide to Fixing Others – Seven Oaks Pub

At one stage in A Broken Man’s Guide to Fixing Others, Phil Green acknowledges that he could spend an hour talking about the shocking rates of male suicide. However, he tells his Greater Manchester Fringe audience he has had another, tonally different, idea on how to fill the show. The good news: it is a great idea. Complete with a genuinely funny PowerPoint-style presentation, Green outlines his plan on how to save middle-aged men from themselves. It is something he has experience of. Partly because of his own breakdown (although he is fine now by the way - totally fine, actually) and partly because he’s had to help a few of his mates who’ve ended up in need themselves. There’s a really endearing opening section about luring these troubled men away from danger with trails of ...

Wilko: Love and Death and Rock ‘n’ Roll – Leicester Square Theatre

6Jul

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Wilko: Love and Death and Rock ‘n’ Roll – Leicester Square Theatre

Wilko: Love and Death and Rock ‘n’ Roll is a play with music that tells the story of legendary guitarist and songwriter Wilko Johnson, most famous for his work with the band Dr. Feelgood. As someone unfamiliar with Johnson’s legacy before watching this, the show served as a striking introduction, not just to his music, but to the man behind it. The play begins at a pivotal moment: Wilko being diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a year to live. Rather than retreating, he sets out on a final farewell tour, determined to go out doing what he loves. This sets the stage for a reflective memoir-style journey, as we’re taken back through his life, glimpses of his childhood, the formation of Dr. Feelgood, his creative process, and the personal moments that shaped him, including his marr...

Let The People Sing! Les Misérables – Liverpool Empire

5Jul

By Kevin EcclestonNo Comments

North West

Let The People Sing! Les Misérables – Liverpool Empire

In 2025, Les Misérables, the world-famous Cameron Mackintosh musical based on Victor Hugo’s novel, celebrates its 40th anniversary. To mark this Ruby Anniversary, eleven amateur theatre groups across the UK were invited to stage their own productions, bringing the musical to life in their local communities. This is the first time in four decades that Les Misérables has been licensed for production by amateur theatre groups in the UK, and what a wonderful job they did for this project at the Liverpool Empire Theatre. Alongside Liverpool Empire Creative Learning, BOST Musicals, Romily Operatic Society and Tip Top Productions put on a truly professional performance at the Empire Theatre. It was better than some of the touring theatre shows I’ve seen, and the talent on display would not ...

4Jul

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Kismet – Festival Theatre

Kismet means destiny or fate and this premiere of two works, the brand new Gallery of Consequence (Dutch choreographer and director, Emma Evelein) and B.R.I.S.A. (Johan Inger - first performed in 2014 by NDT2) present a thought-provoking and intriguing set. The cacophonous movements portrayed personal insecurities and discomfort alongside our outer masks, our human ingenuity and our propensity to gather tribally. Each set offers a robust, confident and energetic take on modern life within our engineered world. Are we fated to exist overshadowed by computer screens and to find the carpets upon which we walk consume us? It's clever. The creative team for Gallery of Consequence knocks it out of the park. AMIANGELICA’s visuals are key aspects of the narrative as is the lighting (Ryan Jos...

4Jul

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Get Happy – Omnibus Theatre

Performer and writer of the wonderful ‘Get Happy’ Joseph Aldous greets his audience like a cheerleader. Big energy, smiling and excitable- it’s impossible not to be pleased as we take our seats and buckle in for a wild night. Get Happy focuses on a 30-year man, single and looking for a long term partner but being subjected to one night stands and transactional relationships. He is plunged into chaos as his flatmate ‘Ryan’ announces his perfect engagement and perfect to be life as he ends his tenancy. Adam has only one choice to prove that he’s as worthy as his flatmate. He needs to ‘get happy’. To do this he trusts his Alexa to journey with him through this week in London, hoping by the Sunday he 1. Has a new boyfriend, 2. Has a new promotion and 3. Finds a new flatmate. This 75-...

One Hundred Percent – The King’s Arms, Salford

4Jul

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

One Hundred Percent – The King’s Arms, Salford

In a claustrophobic apartment, an actor confronts the examiner who once gave him a perfect score in an acting exam. On the wall, the certificate which validates his perfect score is proudly framed and the actor, who believed he was destined for greatness, faces the consequences of his misplaced hope and the harsh truth of what it is to build a career in his chosen profession. Now I have to disclose that for 20 plus years I worked as an examiner for both GCSE Drama and A Level Theatre Studies and the premise of this darkly comedic piece of theatre directly addresses something that I had never thought about before but have significant experience of. What is the impact of a perfect score on the recipient? In this case, the actor has believed that he has a profound talent and as such has pu...

3Jul

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

A Single Man – Aviva Studios

Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 study of grief, A Single Man, is a recognition of the complexities of our inner thoughts at a time of crisis. When fashion designer Tom Ford adapted the book for his 2009 movie of the same name, he chose to round off some of lead character George’s rougher edges. Ford also concluded the story more decisively. In this contemporary ballet, Jonathan Watkins appears to have returned to the original source material, in terms of George's complicated nature. Watkins has, however, been both more definitive and more hopeful about George's future. With mixed results. A Single Man is at times heartbreakingly emotional and tearjerkingly beautiful. But it is also, on occasion, slightly impenetrable. That being said, this Factory International a...

A Play About a Dragon – Thingwall Community Hall

3Jul

By Stephanie WiswallNo Comments

North West

A Play About a Dragon – Thingwall Community Hall

A brilliantly directed (Paul Arends) comedy caper of family fun set in the middle ages, a band of outlandish and peculiar players, down on their luck and needing a break, happen upon a seemingly remarkable opportunity from the dithery and doddery Lord Mollymop (Zoran Blackie) and his overly controlling Queen Lady Dottie (Samra Uddin), to perform for one King Stanley (Carl Latham). How could they resist! Off the group set on their treacherous journey only to discover all is not what it seems... Their journey is coloured with a variety of characters they acquire on the way, whilst also in search of a replacement for their obnoxiously dramatic Lady Gwen (Chrysanthi Fergani). They meet the trickster Meg (Meredith Clayton) who isn't what she seems. The enigmatic and bold Bud (Da...

The Play That Goes Wrong – The Duchess Theatre

3Jul

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

The Play That Goes Wrong – The Duchess Theatre

This year marks the arrival of the 11th cast of The Play That Goes Wrong, and with it comes a fresh injection of talent and energy that truly breathes new life into this already beloved production. The new ensemble not only lives up to the show’s high standards but, in many ways, elevates it with their own unique flair. One of the most delightful aspects of this play is that it begins before the curtains even rise. From the moment you step into the theatre — even while waiting in the queue — the chaos has already started. For a first-time attendee like myself, I was completely taken in. I genuinely thought things were falling apart behind the scenes, only to realise later that it was all a brilliantly orchestrated gag. That level of immersion was not only unexpected but genius. Once ...