REVIEWS Archives - Page 71 of 549

1Jul

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Chicago – Hull New Theatre

Ten very talented musicians, led by fun-loving maestro Neil MacDonald, opened Chicago the Musical at Hull New Theatre on Monday evening – or at least, one of the three trumpeters did. But all ten played an enraptured audience out at the show’s end, with the aforementioned maestro encouraging us to wave our arms in the air to the music. Such talents are often hidden away in a theatre’s orchestra pit, so for these musicians to be on stage for the duration was a joy. All the action takes place in 1920s Chicago, Illinois, mostly in the women’s block of the Cook County Jail, after unfaithful housewife and nightclub dancer Roxie Hart (Janette Manrara, of Strictly Come Dancing fame) is held there pre-trial for murdering her lover. The stage designers of this amazing production cleverl...

The Liverpool Songbook: A City’s Soundtrack Brought to Life – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

30Jun

By Kevin EcclestonNo Comments

North West

The Liverpool Songbook: A City’s Soundtrack Brought to Life – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

From timeless Merseybeat anthems to enchanting synth-pop classics, The Liverpool Songbook emerged as more than just a concert; it was a fervent celebration of the city’s pulsating musical spirit, artfully presented within the resplendent architecture of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. Under the skilled direction of conductor Richard Balcombe, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra enveloped the audience in lush orchestral textures and intricate arrangements that breathed new life into Liverpool’s most cherished songs. Each familiar melody was elevated to soaring heights, imbued with a cinematic quality that transported listeners on an emotional journey through the city’s rich musical legacy. The evening was graced by a dynamic vocal trio—Graham Bickley, Patrick Smyth, and ...

This is a Gift – Pitlochry Festival Theatre

30Jun

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

This is a Gift – Pitlochry Festival Theatre

In a continuation of Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s 2025 Summer programme, This is a Gift brings a fresh contemporary take on the legend of Midas. Rather than a King being the one granted with the gift of the midas touch, it is a working class shopkeeper from Leith - the Father of Zoe, the narrator of this one-woman show. Written by Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir, This is a Gift subverts from the original tale and puts the gift in a position where it is wanted out of need not greed. But is money the root of all evil - is it worth the sacrifice? This play asks us how far we will go to provide for the ones we love. The one hour-and-twenty run time flew by thanks to Sigfúsdóttir’s fast-paced writing and Blythe Jandoo’s (who plays Zoe) punchy performance. And with th...

A Moon for the Misbegotten – Almedia Theatre

29Jun

By Sadie PearsonNo Comments

London

A Moon for the Misbegotten – Almedia Theatre

Tonight, at the Almeida, A Moon for the Misbegotten lands like a blow wrapped in poetry—a raw, heartfelt collision of booze‑scarred souls, human flinches, and a moonlight that enthrals as much as it devastates. Leading the charge is Ruth Wilson as Josie Hogan, delivering a performance that’s fiercely grounded, physically charged, and impossible to ignore. Set on a rundown Connecticut farm in 1923, A Moon for the Misbegotten follows tenant farmer Phil Hogan and his strong-willed daughter Josie as they face the looming threat of eviction. In a calculated gambit, Phil hatches a plan to use Josie to manipulate their landlord, James Tyrone Jr. But as night falls and moonlight casts its harsh glow, the façade of strategy gives way to something deeper—unspoken grief, buried longing, and a frag...

The House, The Boys and The Trial – Parr Hall, Warrington

29Jun

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

The House, The Boys and The Trial – Parr Hall, Warrington

Soup Productions presented The House, The Boys and The Trial at the stunning Parr Hall in Warrington. Written by the talented Michael Pirks the play depicts the true story from 1806 where twenty-four men In Warrington and surrounding areas were arrested for homosexual offences. Where five men were convicted of buggery who regularly assembled at the home of Isaac Hitchin (Andy McQuoid), where they engaged in sex and called each other ‘Brother’, and kept assignations at the shop of Holland, a well-off pawnbroker. The ‘Hitchin’s House’ allowed men to be free from judgement and engage in sexual activity and companionship from the eyes of the law where sodomy was deemed as illegal and punished by death! It is clear that Pirks has done extensive research on the trial and displayed this exquis...

Through It All Together – Leeds Playhouse

29Jun

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Through It All Together – Leeds Playhouse

In theatrical circles stories from the world of football seem to be very much in vogue at present, already in 2025, I have reviewed “Red or Dead’ at Liverpool Royal Court and the smash UK touring production of ‘Dear England’ in Salford. Completing my personal hat trick is ‘Through It All Together’ a poignant and funny new play from local Leeds writer Chris O’Connor, which explores the subject of dementia through the lens of a family's passion for Leeds United and their manager Marcelo Bielsa. We join the action in the Summer of 2018 with Howard (Reece Dinsdale), Sue (Shobna Gulati) and their daughter Hazel (Natalie Davies) struggling to cope following Howard’s recent diagnosis with Dementia. Howard forgets little things, like where the milk is in the kitchen; he also constantly repeats ...

27Jun

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

Noises Off – Theatre by the Lake

The summer season is underway in the Lake District, and Theatre by the Lake is attracting many tourists to see a farce about a farce that wouldn’t have looked out of place in an end-of-pier theatre. Noises Off, in some ways, is the mother of the hugely successful ‘Play that went wrong’ productions that are taking the West End and TV by storm. Written in 1982 by Michael Frayn, it breaks the fourth wall and literally turns the theatre 180 degrees to present the behind-the-curtain tale of a touring theatre company. Though written in the 1980s, this farce has a much earlier feel to it, and some of the references may be lost on a younger audience. A telephone plugged into the wall is a key part of the production, as is the stereotype of the alcoholic old actor and the Benny Hill-style you...

The Highwayman – Shakespeare North Playhouse

27Jun

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

The Highwayman – Shakespeare North Playhouse

With more swagger than Ronaldo, Mick Jagger, and the cast of Made in Chelsea combined, this lively John Godber production gallops onto stage to introduce us to the most infamous scoundrel you’ve never actually heard of. Meet John Swift, a young man who decides to combine his skills as a butcher and infantryman in the French army to attempt to take Dick Turpin’s crown, robbing a living from the rich who pass through his town. But as he starts to waver in his choice of a life of crime, can he find a way of making an honest wage and afford his darling wife, Molly May the lifestyle she desires? Under Godber’s nimble direction, the show manages to keep one foot in the 18th century and the other firmly in his trademark Yorkshire grit and humour. It’s part restoration love story, part farci...

26Jun

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Kinky Boots – Sheffield Lyceum

The Sheffield Lyceum gets Kinky this week with the iconic Red Boots, and sass galore graces its stage. Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots takes you from the anything but glamorous 'Price and Son' shoe factory in Northampton to the dazzling catwalks of Milan in this sassy, vivacious and heart warming tale of true British grit with catchy songs by Tony and Grammy Award winning eighties pop princess, Cyndi Lauper and a Book by Harvey Fierstein. With exceptional choreography on this tour by Leah Hill and pacey precise direction by Nikolai Foster adding to strong and full score under the Musical supervision of George Dyer, Kinky Boots both technically and in production is a touring tapestry of tease and tenderness. Set and costume Design by Robert Jones is in situ and avoids unnecessary...

26Jun

By Dylan MooneyNo Comments

Scotland

The Croft – Festival Theatre

Returning to the stage after Covid-19 prematurely ended its original run, The Croft, directed by Alastair Whatley and written by Ali Milles provided many a fright when it opened in Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre. Set in a former crofters hut in a remote area of the Scottish Highlands, this production sees Laura (Gracie Follows) and Suzanne (Caroline Harker) arrive for what is meant to be a relaxed weekend trip. It isn’t long before the place’s centuries of history weaves itself into the women’s present. With no phone signal available and only the mysterious David (Gray O’Brien) for company, this thrilling piece of theatre connects past and present as the real truth of The Croft slowly unravels. The whole pace of the show is fantastic. Running at 2 hours, including the interval, audienc...