REVIEWS Archives - Page 97 of 409

Bronco Billy The Musical – Charing Cross Theatre

1Feb

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Bronco Billy The Musical – Charing Cross Theatre

"There's a world out there that has lost its way, full of dark and hateful things to say." The first line of Dennis Hackin's Bronco Billy - The Musical is as relatable to the current world as it is to the 1979 in which this musical is set. Powerfully delivered and led by Karen Mavundukure as Doc Blue, the opening song, "Ride With Us" sets the scene with a wow start to the show. With music and lyrics by Chip Rosenbloom and John Torres, and based on Hackin's earlier movie, this is a wonderful triple-threat of a production. Marvellous vocals, credible characters with chemistry and a clever set that almost steals the show. Bronco Billy and his small troupe of Wild West show people are touring the US in a beat-up bus to ever-dwindling audiences. They've made it to Kansas when Bil...

1Feb

By Dave SmithNo Comments

London

Rewind – New Diorama Theatre

Rewind opens with Andres Valesquez talking to the audience, he is informal and casual. As he introduces himself and the rest of the cast, he gives us some context around the story they will tell. In Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s, dictators and regimes often supported by the United States were in charge. People disappeared, often without a trace. Valesquez dons a white shawl to represent Madres de Plaza de Mayo, known in English as The Mothers Of the Disappeared, and then a blue coverall, the uniform of an investigator for El Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense, the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team. It is clear that Ephemeral Ensemble have a very set vision for the show. Through very little dialogue relying instead on music, puppetry and physical t...

31Jan

By Annette NuttallNo Comments

West Midlands

The Full Monty – The Alexandra

Most people know one thing about The Full Monty, it’s about a group of men who decide to be male strippers. There is however a whole lot more to this brilliant show than that. The themes in this play are as relevant now as they were when the story was first written. As the redundant steel workers struggle to make ends meet and deal with unemployment in their own ways, we are shown a realistic portrayal of the struggles faced by anyone in that position. Each character has his issues, Gaz the laddish, confident rogue played with gusto and heart by Danny Hatchard, who would do anything for his son. Dave (Neil Hurst) dealing with weight problems and rock bottom self-esteem and Gerald (Bill Ward) trying desperately to hide his unemployment from his wife and the world. These and the other men...

I Should Be So Lucky – New Wimbledon Theatre

31Jan

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

I Should Be So Lucky – New Wimbledon Theatre

‘I Should Be So Lucky’ marks a long-awaited milestone in musical theatre, finally a production that pays total homage to the iconic music of Stock Aitken and Waterman, the soundtrack of “generation pop”, intertwined with a typically British camp musical comedy storyline that should, on paper, be guaranteed to leave audiences dancing in the aisles. At the heart of the show lies the story of Ella (Lucie-Mae Sumner) and Nathan (Billy Roberts), whose impending nuptials are thrown into total chaos when Nathan jilts Ella at the altar due to a mysterious family secret. All is not lost though as Ella's larger than life family and closest friends rally around her, whisking her off to Turkey for what was meant to be her romantic honeymoon, but ends up being a glitter bomb of rom-com moments, in...

Varna International Ballet: Swan Lake – Hull New Theatre

31Jan

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Varna International Ballet: Swan Lake – Hull New Theatre

Whenever the ballet is in town, vacant seats are usually few and far between at Hull New Theatre, and so it was on Monday night when Varna International Ballet brought its production of Swan Lake to delight theatregoers. This Bulgarian company will also perform The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty during their stay in the city. As the curtain rose, we were treated to a video backdrop depicting the turning pages of a huge photo album, showing the life of Odette, offspring of a good fairy - a swan - and a noble knight. Odette’s parents die by an evil sorcerer’s spell, so she flees to a mountain lake to join other fairy swans. Alone on the stage sits Prince Siegfried (Vittorio Scolè), engrossed in a book of Odette’s story. The Prince is about to come of age and his mother, the So...

31Jan

By Phoebe Olivia Sian HobsonNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Calendar Girls – Bradford Alhambra

‘The flowers of Yorkshire are your women of Yorkshire’, from the initial spotlight to the closing curtain the women on that stage empowered each and every lady in that theatre. The show is a true testament and representation of womanhood in both its beauty and difficulty. Seven inspiring women took to the stage to demonstrate the beloved 2003 original narrative from female favourite ‘Calendar Girls’ that starred Julie Walters and Helen Mirren. A true traditional Yorkshire tale that concours relatable life hurdles with a devotion to honesty, what you see is what you get and there’s no hiding the truth. While the show is both entertaining and fascinating it’s also down to earth, much like the friendships and relationships on stage, the show covers the audience in a blanket of comfort and whi...

29Jan

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Protest – Traverse Theatre

“This is a girl”. Three primary seven girls seek to address injustice in their everyday lives. Inspired by previous generations of women, they begin to find their voices. As soon as I saw the set, I just wanted to play on it. Amy Jane Cook’s design invites spontaneous, joyful movement. There is a winding path for the girls to run around, curved frames to climb and swing on, and platforms to rest, spin and jump on. The actresses are adults, but their performances are so convincing that it is easy to forget this. Movement director Nadia Iftkar has done an amazing job, and the girls move playfully, running with arms outstretched one minute, sitting cross legged and fidgeting the next. They beautifully capture the delight in movement that characterises childhood. The costumes, a...

29Jan

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

REVIEWS

Carmen – The Metropolitan Opera

Carrie Cracknell’s contemporary take aims at reinvigorating this classic with its resetting to present-day America but sadly is mostly firing blanks in its representation of a world that I’m not sure most Americans would even recognise. In an unnamed town somewhere along the border with Mexico, naïve army corporal Don José (Piotr Beczała) falls head over heads in love with Carmen (Aigul Akhmetshina), a seductive and free-spirited girl working at the ammunitions factory that he and his men are guarding. Infatuated, Don José abandons his childhood sweetheart, girl-next-door Micaela (Angel Blue) and neglects his military duties only to lose the fickle Carmen to the glamorous rodeo rider, Escamillo (Kyle Ketelsen). So far so good but given that much of the allure of the original is its s...

29Jan

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Northanger Abbey – Orange Tree Theatre

Northanger Abbey? I hardly know ‘er! Zoe Cooper’s transformative adaptation of Austen’s offbeat gothic satire reinvents the much-neglected classic, leaning into its absurd humor, and imbuing it with a novel gravitas. Eschewing the modernizing impulse that so often muddies queer retellings of canonical works, this adaptation remains firmly rooted in the time and place of its origin and weaves a compelling original story out of each of the book’s special strands. This play packs a punch but doesn’t quite hit the spot. Designer Hannah Sibai’s work makes a most pleasing first impression. The cozy in-the-round Orange Tree Theatre is decked out in all hot pink and bedazzled with no less than seven chandeliers. A light aroma of fog pervades the space, hinting at the gothic vibes to come in the...

29Jan

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Heart – Brixton House

‘Heart’ is a Coming-of-age love note to the ones who are still holding on to hate and to the ones who have still not been able to take that leap of faith. It has a beating pulse of the many trials and tribulations one goes through to be able to accept oneself in all our queer glory. The debut show of Jade Anouka’ platforms her personal experience and gives it all her heart and soul. Her rhyming poetry and performance are accompanied by live music and sound design by musician and four-time UK Beatbox champion Grace Savage. It's beautiful to see Grace intently watch Jade, knowing that they must have gone over this a million times, accompanying her movement with bass, her emotion with grounded beats. It's delightful to witness the synergy they share and would love Jade to be more physic...