REVIEWS Archives - Page 7 of 574

19Mar

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

Spitfire Girls – Buxton Opera House

The Second World War is ongoing, and its reality is inescapable. With so many of the able men fighting on the front lines, where does the war effort find its manpower? As we are well aware, it was woman power that kept many industries operational for many years. In Spitfire Girls we meet Bett (played by the writer, Katherine Senior) and Dotty (Hannah Morrison), two women who defied the obligations expected of them by family and society and learned to fly. This play explores their relationship, their identity, and their growth as women and as pilots throughout the war and beyond. Senior and Morrison are authentic in their interactions with one another and with the others they encounter throughout the story. In particular, Morrison’s portrayal of a woman finding her freedom in the ...

19Mar

By Charlotte MansfieldNo Comments

London

Panacea – Riverside Studios

Professor Gus Jamieson (Will Batty) is a man with Autism Spectrum Disorder and an idea for how to save humanity. His cure for infectious diseases will prevent another pandemic, provided he can get approval for the initial stages of lab trials. Written as a collaboration between microbiologist Andrew Singer and theatre-maker Christina James, this one act play explores how science and ethics interact to have real-world consequences. Opening with a Greek chorus that leaves us in no doubt how the play is going to go, we follow Gus as he navigates work, romance and his ASD in his desire to eradicate disease. Egged on by an enthusiastic student (Nina Fidderman), Gus becomes caught between the more cautious advice of those closest to him and his confidence in his own scientific abilities. ...

Come Together: The Lennon & McCartney Songbook – Liverpool’s Royal Court

19Mar

By Bethany EastonNo Comments

North West

Come Together: The Lennon & McCartney Songbook – Liverpool’s Royal Court

One of the most well-known groups in history, the Beatles, have offered a range of musical delights that are still loved and relished today and are celebrated currently at the Royal Court. This show, for many Beatles fans, is a bit of a dream come true as we were never gifted with a retrospective Lennon & McCartney reunion concert. But through the magic of Come Together: The Lennon & McCartney Songbook, we get a heartfelt and expertly delivered window in what that could have looked like. The songbook and songwriting duo are bought to life by Tom Connor (Paul McCartney) and Mark Newnham (John Lennon) undertaking a range of Beatles songs and stories detailing and celebrating the groups history. Connor and Newnham portray Lennon and McCartney well bouncing quips off each other and ...

The Choir of Man – New Wimbledon Theatre

19Mar

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

The Choir of Man – New Wimbledon Theatre

The ‘Jungle’ Choir of Man is on its UK tour, and it started with a blast, setting Wimbledon theatre alight with enthusiasm, superb vocal arrangement and energy. This show born out of the Edinburgh fringe made its home at the Arts Theatre London. Now it’s coming to Towns across the country. Set in a pub, audience members are welcomed to the stage for pre-show drinks from the bar and here the message is clear, this is all about ‘community’. Centered around a group of nine men each with their own characteristics and inner conflicts, they take you on an immersive journey of their lives through song. Narrated beautifully by the character ‘Poet’ Oluwalonimi (Nimi) Owoyemi, he introduces the characters, and very occasionally it was difficult to hear him, possibly due to the sound at the beginning...

Operation Mincemeat – Wolverhampton Grand

18Mar

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Operation Mincemeat – Wolverhampton Grand

“Helsinki!” It seems diversion, deception and misdirection are the mainstay of world politics and a swift scroll through todays newsfeeds uncovers a strew of devices and ploys employed by the most powerful people (mostly men) in the world to distract the same world from uncovering their doings. I think you know who I mean without naming names. So, it’ll come as no surprise people (mostly men) throughout history have been doing the same and in tonight’s case we’re looking at the British deception operation in World War Two intended to disguise the 1943 invasion of Italy. I’m not sure how you disguise an invasion. It surely must be very noisy. Apparently, it involves the body of tramp dressed as a royal marine, loaded with fake ID, fake info, fake uniform and, yes, fake news. This vers...

18Mar

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

The Battle – Manchester Opera House

In the mid-90s the UK music scene saw the explosion of Britpop where bands such as Pulp, The Charlatans and Elastica dominated the airwaves. The power of Britpop was nowhere more keenly seen than in 1995 when the titans of the genre, Blur and Oasis, went head-to-head in a battle to the number one chart spot when their singles Country House and Roll With It were released on the same day. It became more than just a fight between two bands who were known for their disdain for each other but was seen as a duel between North vs. South: posh art graduates versus working class lads. The media seized upon the apparent battle for the nation’s musical soul and a legendary rivalry was cemented. Author-turned-playwright John Niven has focused his attention on this musical milestone for The Battl...

18Mar

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Meursault – Traverse Theatre

There is something slightly incongruous about seeing Meursault at the Traverse Theatre. The venue is best known for drama rather than indie music, and that theatrical context inevitably shapes the experience. What might feel like a raw, emotional gig elsewhere becomes something closer to a performance piece here, with an audience inclined to listen politely rather than react. The evening opens with a generous half-hour set from Stefan Honig, the Cologne-based singer-songwriter. Performing solo with guitar, Honig delivers an intimate and understated opening to the night. His songs, which he admits he isn’t always entirely sure how to explain, lean towards reflective folk, delivered with quiet confidence. One highlight is For Those Lost at Sea (2012), which stands out for its...

The Legend of Davie McKenzie – Traverse Theatre

14Mar

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

The Legend of Davie McKenzie – Traverse Theatre

From the duo who brought us Dancing Shoes at this venue before Christmas (and The Scaff prior to that) comes another play providing a comic, tragic and moving portrait of life on the ‘other’ side of the tracks. In their latest offering Stephen Christopher & Graeme Smith bring us Sean and Davie who meet as kids on a housing scheme and, both father-less, hang out together escaping their drab surroundings via their favourite films. Their perspectives on life are betrayed as they frequently play characters set against the world whether it’s Butch and Sundance or Tony Montana. Davie is clearly the more gallus of the two, claiming to have seen every single film ever made. Unsurprisingly his vibrant, imaginative approach to life knows few boundaries. The two end up in prison for ...

14Mar

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Peter Grimes – The Lowry

In the week Timothée Chalamet made his ill-advised claim that “no one cares about ballet and opera anymore”, the 1,700 people gathered at the Lyric Theatre in Salford to watch Opera North’s revival of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes would strongly disagree. Chalamet might revise his opinion were he ever to see this production. Karolina Sofulak’s revival of the 2006 original presents Britten’s music in all its brooding glory while sharply revealing the paranoia and groupthink at the heart of the story. The opera begins in silence. Peter Grimes (John Findon) stands in the dock before an inquest into the death of his young apprentice, William Spode. The townspeople of The Borough are deeply suspicious of Grimes, a loner and outcast in their close-knit and introspective society. His acquitt...

13Mar

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Ancient Grease – The Vaults, London

Few venues could host something as gleefully ridiculous as ‘Ancient Grease’, but The Vaults proves the perfect playground. By taking the familiar DNA of the much-beloved musical Grease and hurling it backwards in time to Mount Olympus, the production, written by Lady Aria Grey, creates a riotous, camp, and unapologetically adult parody that revels in theatrical mischief. The result is a night of theatre that feels mischievous, raunchy, and irresistibly fun. Set at the fictional Olympus Academy, the story “loosely” echoes the structure of the original Grease narrative, but with gods, goddesses and mythical chaos replacing high school antics. Zeus (Peter Camilleri) and Hera (Philippa Leadbetter) find their relationship under the watchful manipulation of the Fates whilst other Olympian...