REVIEWS Archives - Page 79 of 408

Wild About You – Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

28Mar

By Maani WayNo Comments

London

Wild About You – Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

The new musical, Wild About You, with music and lyrics by Chilina Kennedy and book by Eric Holmes, opens for an exclusive two-day run at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. This staged concert gives a taste of the drama, talent and performances audiences can expect if Wild About You is taken to a full production. The story surrounds Olivia, an emotionally charged woman who has battled with her feelings and where she should be throughout her life. When she wakes up one day in the hospital, unable to remember her life or who her emergency contact is, she takes a trip down memory lane to discover who is most important to her and where they place in her life. The set is, as expected, limited due to the show being a temporary production and in essence, a staged concert. However, screens and lig...

Singin’ in The Rain – Grand Theatre, Blackpool

28Mar

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Singin’ in The Rain – Grand Theatre, Blackpool

On World Theatre Day, Blackpool Operatic Players presented ‘Singin’ in The Rain’ at the beautiful Grand Theatre. Blackpool Operatic Players was established in 1953 to present day and have had an accolade of successes, the last production being Shrek in 2023. Neil Townsend the Artistic Director has created a visual and auditory delight in his latest production of ‘Singin’ in The Rain’ which is worthy of any main stage. Singin’ in The Rain is set in 1927, when silent films were all the rage, and at this time the main stars of the silent screen were Don Lockwood (Jack Price) and Lina Lamont (Stephanie Cartell). Unfortunately, their rivals Warner Bros were ahead of their time and had started to produce talking pictures and had a huge success with their production of ‘The Jazz Singer’. ...

The Addams Family – Memorial Hall, Innerleithen

27Mar

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

The Addams Family – Memorial Hall, Innerleithen

The Addams Family, a musical comedy, promises ghoulish jokes and familiar characters. These were dished with aplomb by a society with 123 years of productions under its belt. Innerleithen and District Amateur Operatic Society served its apprenticeship many years ago and, while the name Amateur sticks and the commitment to community involvement is at the very heart of each performance, this circle of talented singers, dancers and actors are anything if not professional in their commitment and style. The main characters are spot on: Morticia, played by Angela Duncan, oozes sensuality and confidence; Gomez (Douglas Russell) has a wonderful voice, fabulous delivery and great comic timing; Erin Thompson as Wednesday is suitably grumpy and very likeable as the crazy love-sick teenager and Ros...

27Mar

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

REVIEWS

Madama Butterfly – Royal Opera House

Director Daisy Evans’ revival is spirited but like Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s original production, the butterfly never flies as freely as the accompanying music in Puccini’s devastating tragedy about a young geisha who falls in love with an American naval officer. Marriage broker Goro (Ya-Chung Huang) shows US naval lieutenant Pinkerton (Joshua Guerrero) around the home he will share with his bride-to-be in Nagasaki, although American Consul Sharpless (Lauri Vasar) warns him of the tragic consequences that may follow. The Butterfly duly lands in the form of young Japanese girl Cio-Cio-San (Asmik Grigorian) supported by maid Suzuki (Hongni Wu), and they are married by the Commissioner (Romanas Kudriašovas). Her love makes her willing to sacrifice everything which sees her disowne...

26Mar

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

Priscilla the Party! – Here at Outernet

Immersive theatre is all the rage in 2024. From Guys and Dolls to Mamma Mia! plenty of stories are returning to the stage with an up-close-and-personal twist. At London’s HERE at Outernet, it’s Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’s turn to get in on the immersive fun with Priscilla The Party! Until the end of September, Priscilla The Party! is transforming HERE at Outernet into the sparkling, disco ball-covered Cockatoo Club, where audiences are brought right into the iconic story of acceptance and self-empowerment. Seated tickets are available, but those who have a standing ticket (like I did) watch the show from the dancefloor, where parts of the stage move, and actors sometimes weave through the crowd. The party starts before the show even begins, with a series of cabaret perform...

Roméo et Juliette – Met Opera Live in HD

24Mar

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

REVIEWS

Roméo et Juliette – Met Opera Live in HD

Bartlett Sher’s production may be rather staid and static in its staging of Gounod’s sumptuous Shakespeare adaptation but this tale of two star-crossed lovers touched the heavens tonight as its two stars shone brightly and lit up the stage. Lord Capulet (Nathan Berg) is hosting a ball where he hopes to pair off his daughter Juliette Nadine Sierra) with Count Paris (Daniel Rich) but she is not keen. When Roméo (Benjamin Bernheim) appears however the two are immediately love-struck and he has to hide from his friends Mercutio (Will Liverman), Stéphano (Samantha Hankey), and Benvolio (Thomas Capobianco). Her cousin Tybalt (Frederick Ballantine) is less than impressed with the presence of these sworn enemies and accompanied by Gregorio (Jeongcheol Cha), he swears revenge. Romeo and Juliette...

23Mar

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Don’t. Make. Tea. – Traverse Theatre

In a near future in which government attitudes to disability have supposedly been revolutionised, Chris (Gillian Dean), a former police detective now facing a deteriorating condition, receives a visit from Ralph (Neil John Gibson) to “check” whether she is indeed entitled to benefits. But their competing agendas are clearly mutually exclusive: if displays and white lies are not enough, then how far must Chris go to get what she needs? A dark comedy written by Rob Drummond and directed by Robert Softley Gale, Don't. Make. Tea. tackles many of the issues of current attitudes towards disability. As with many stories set in the future, the applicability is clearly in the here and now rather than the impossible. Many of Ralph's slogans, repetitions and little tricks clearly struck a chord...

23Mar

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

Red Pitch – Soho Place

For Tyrell Williams’s Red Pitch, making its West End debut at Soho Place after two sold-out runs at the Bush Theatre, it’s not a case of ‘third time’s the charm’, but rather ‘third time’s an even bigger charm’. A story about the friendship between London-based, football-obsessed teenagers Bilal (Kedar Williams-Stirling), Joey (Emeka Sesay), and Omz (Francis Lovehall), Tyrell Williams was inspired to write Red Pitch after passing by his childhood football pitch to find it had been demolished and replaced with unoccupied housing. All the action is set at the titular ‘red pitch’, where the three friends play football together and dream of professional superstardom. But the pitch plays a much bigger role for the trio than simply providing a space to indulge in their favourite hobby. T...

23Mar

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Mary’s Daughters – The Space Theatre

Why do we tell ghost stories? To titillate? To frighten? To inspire? To warn? To grieve? To honour? Mary’s Daughters, written by Kaya Bucholc and Will Wallace and directed for The Space Theatre by Kay Brattan, attempts all of these feats. A haunting triplet performance by Megan Carter as Mary Wollstonecraft, Rachael Reshma as Mary Shelley, and Kaya Bucholc as Shelley’s forgotten half-sister and Wollstonecraft’s “unfortunate girl,” Fanny Imlay, sets out to right the wrongs of history and restore a legacy to three women who despite their brilliance did not get the option to control their own historical narratives. Many of the salacious details of the three women’s lives long known in fun fact format and prized as illuminating context by scholars of their works are here fleshed out, rep...

22Mar

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Cosi fan tutte – The Lowry

As the programme notes, Mozart is one of those rare creative beings who comes to disturb the sleep of the world., and certainly mischief and misunderstandings are everywhere in this revived adaptation in English of Mozart’s famous two-act comic opera, and on the whole this good-humoured production from Director Tim Albery does not disappoint. The story begins with an old cynic and philosopher, Don Alfonso (Quirijn de Lang), betting two young soldiers, Ferrando (Anthony Gregory) and Guglielmo (Henry Neill), that their respective fiancées, sisters Dorabella (Heather Lowe) and Fiordiligi (Alexandra Lowe) will not stay faithful if put to the test. The two young men accept the bet and pretend to depart for the front line whilst secretly returning in disguise and under the direction of Don Al...