REVIEWS Archives - Page 90 of 338

What Happened to Connie Converse? – King’s Arms, Salford

25Jul

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

What Happened to Connie Converse? – King’s Arms, Salford

In the 50s and 60s Greenwich Village, New York, was at the centre of the American Folk Music revival which gave the world performers such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and, of course, Bob Dylan. There were also female singers and writers performing there such as Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins and also, on the periphery of this scene, there was an unknown singer-songwriter called Connie Converse. Even though these days she is largely a forgotten figure, her only public performance was on one TV show, there is an intriguing mystery about her as one day she just disappeared and was never seen again. Elizabeth Converse, Connie was a nickname she picked up when she lived in New York, was brought up by an extremely conventional religious family. She decided to rebel against them b...

25Jul

By Bo WarnerNo Comments

North West

Lucifer Speaks -The Fitzgerald

In the 1920s speakeasy-style Fitzgerald bar, Lucifer gives his own side of the story. This short play explores Lucifer as a witty, cynical jilted lover, unfairly victimised at the hand of God, a former lover. It has a distinctly northern rhythm and flair in the back-and-forth banter between Pegeen Murphy and Mike Cunningham who deliver their lines with conviction and total commitment to the bit. Lucifer Speaks describes itself as a ‘comedic take on an emotional […] story’, touching on ‘sexuality, gender and love’. However, the writing falls short of hitting the emotional and comedic beats needed to make this concept fly. The jokes are not brought to a satisfying punchline and therefore fall flat, or never materialise, and chances to fully explore audience participation are lost. ...

25Jul

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Titanic The Musical – Liverpool Empire

Titanic The Musical is based on the original Broadway production which won five Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book, as such, there's no Jack and Rose in this story as in the film of the same name. This stage production is based on real-life stories which include romance and heartbreak and are told mainly through song. Based on the book, by Peter Stone with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston the tale is portrayed with precision and composure; Thom Southerland’s direction ensures that the production is played to maximum effect whilst the Production team and the band are to be commended. The distressing tale of the Titanic tragedy is known world-wide and is not one which springs readily to mind to be portrayed in a musical production but despite being such a dis...

25Jul

By Zara OdetundeNo Comments

London

Ride – Southwark Playhouse Elephant

Ride is a British musical that Returns to London after a period at the Charing Cross Theatre last year. This show is back and even better than before. Presented as a pitch for her very own newspaper column we see Annie Londonderry commandeer office assistant Martha and together the two of them narrate Annie’s journey in 1894 to be the first woman to circumnavigate the globe via bicycle. The performers speak directly to the audience as though we are the panel they are pitching to. Which is great for this story especially given the double act cast and small intimate set. The transition between relaying the story to the board vs Annie disappearing into her reality was profound and the shift was palpable via the energy in the audience. All the book, music and lyrics are by Freya Ca...

24Jul

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Henry I – St Paul’s Church

Rabble Theatre presents a fine dramatization of King Henry I’s life. It was truly thrilling to watch history reenacted, made even more pungent by the gore and striking stage combat. I knew very little about Henry I, so it was a delight to learn about the past in a way that was so visceral. We sat on pews before a skatepark of a stage (designed by Sarah Jane Booth), streaked with blood red and earthy tones in the holy setting of the St Paul’s Church. The acoustics brought the play to life and the church setting reflected its reverence to an immersive effect. The in-depth research by writer Beth Flintoff must have inspired and informed the strong character choices which were cohesive with their actions and decisions. I could see parallels between modern archetypes in the characters su...

24Jul

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

Virtual Dust – The Fitzgerald

If one of the best things about a fringe festival is experiencing theatre you might not normally have paid to see, then there can be few better choices than a collection of short plays. If you don’t like one there isn’t long to wait for another that might take your fancy. Turtle Soup’s selection is a great example of this, showcasing good new writing and some strong performances. The idea behind Virtual Dust is simple. Ideas and work that would otherwise be gathering – you guessed it – virtual dust on a hard drive somewhere in Manchester. It is billed as an ‘eclectic’ night, and this isn’t false advertising. The five shorts cover homophobia, cancel culture, therapy, family rifts, philosophy and grief. Sounds a lot? That doesn’t even scratch the surface. The plays are presented si...

23Jul

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

The Tempest – Norton Priory

The Multi Award Winning – A Place for Us Theatre Company in partnership with Cronton 6th Form College aimed to present their present Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ in the stunning woodlands theatre space nestled in the 42-acre ancient grounds of the phenomenal Norton Priory Museum & Gardens. A Place for Us presently continues their Shakespeare legacy after a successful run of their previous interpretation of Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth in 2021/2022. Due to our unpredictable seasonal weather in the UK nothing is a given, so a huge credit to the Creative Team, Director/Producer Kate Allerston, Chis Bastock Producer/Music & Sound Design and Stage Managers both consultant and Cronton College students for turning the show around bringing it into the breath-taking Norton Priory Muse...

Improbotics: Artificial Intelligence – International Anthony Burgess Foundation

23Jul

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

Improbotics: Artificial Intelligence – International Anthony Burgess Foundation

Comedy improvisation partly powered by artificial intelligence. A real-life imitation game, or Turing test. Given the current Hollywood strike and the rapid growth of models like ChatGPT, there can surely be no better moment for the Improbiotics troupe. Sadly, instead of a hilarious show tapping into the zeitgeist, this is a rather chaotic experience, and it all feels fairly dated. Kraftwerk’s Pocket Calculator brilliantly soundtracks the audience entrance. An EZ-Robot, now a mainstay of classrooms around the world, tells people to ‘find your door’. Purposeful error or a reminder of the fallibility of technology? Either way, it generates a laugh. The show begins with an awkward scripted double act from our host, AI researcher Piotr Mirowski, and the aforementioned robot: ALEX (Ar...

Whatever Happened to Billy Kenny? – Liverpool Theatre Festival

23Jul

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Whatever Happened to Billy Kenny? – Liverpool Theatre Festival

The 2023 Liverpool Theatre Festival once again sees writer, Ian Salmon and director, Mikee Dickinson united for another poignant and emotional piece about the complexities of life and regret. Whatever Happened to Billy Kenny? is a one-man show performed by Jay Johnson which rockets at breakneck speed through the short and dramatic career of an Evertonian footballer who was derailed by his heavy use of alcohol and cocaine. The play opens with voiceovers talking about Kenny and everything he has thrown away. The disembodied voices disintegrate into Johnson’s creation of a club scene where he does a remarkable job of creating the illusion of a crowded nightlife alone on an empty stage. The voiceovers then repeat with overlap and distortion, creating a real sense of anxiety and panic. J...

22Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Maybe Dick – The Squad House, Stockport

As the pun in the title implies, this is a comedic interpretation of ‘Moby Dick’, the 1851 novel by Herman Melville depicting the obsessional pursuit of ‘the great white whale’ by Captain Ahab. In the hands of Hambledon Productions this great work of Victorian literature becomes a jumping off point for puppetry, puns and silly slapstick which purposefully elicits as many groans as it does belly laughs. Writer and Performer John Hewer plays every character throughout the hour long show (with an unnecessary interval), and clearly has a deep knowledge and love of post war British comedy. Paying homage to his heroes by heavily drawing on Ronnie Corbett and Tommy Cooper in the delivery style, he concocts a ‘Carry On Moby Dick’ structure which allows a constant stream of wordplay and double ...