Latest Articles - Page 13 of 688

3May

By Nathan DunnNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Footloose – Sheffield Drama Studio

SUPAS Drama have taken on the musical adaptation of the 1980’s classic ‘Footloose’, a tale of young romance, extremely restrictive Christian-conservatism in small town America and dancing. The young company gave a great effort, resulting in an entertaining night of theatre that had only a slight few blemishes that could perhaps be fairly considered as opening night teething issues. Rory Violet’s direction was particularly strong. She helped foster strong relationship dynamics between the actors on stage, and their understanding of emotional narratives was there to see. Transitionally it was also impressive at times with a slick fluidity, although on occasion there were periods of dead space on stage when there weren’t any actors or music to help usher in a new scene. Charley Moffat...

An Adequate Abridgement of Boarding School Life as a Homo – Riverside Studios

3May

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

An Adequate Abridgement of Boarding School Life as a Homo – Riverside Studios

Gay men who managed to survive the UK during the ‘80s and ‘90s would likely remember the 1984 historical drama Another Country. Written by Julian Mitchell, and directed by Marek Kanievska, the film launched Rupert Everett and Colin Firth’s careers. It stormed Cannes, got nominated for a raft of BAFTAs and caused quite a scandal on its release. Beautiful public school boys, a masturbation scandal, floppy hair, same-sex snogs and posh fury at the establishment are just some of the film’s takeaways. In the homophobic mania of the AIDS crisis and a few years before Section 28, Another Country shocked the nation. It’s laughably tame by today’s standards, but people stormed out of cinemas in disgust. Tabloids frothed and dribbled. Almost nobody noticed it was based on the early life of the spy a...

Grace Pervades – Theatre Royal Haymarket

2May

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

Grace Pervades – Theatre Royal Haymarket

Grace Pervades – written by David Hare and starring Ralph Fiennes and Miranda Raison – tells the story of Victorian theatre giants Henry Irving (Fiennes) and Ellen Terry (Raison), as well as Terry’s two children Edith Craig (Ruby Ashbourne Serkis) and Edward Gordon Craig (Jordan Metcalfe), who each made their own contributions to theatre. Often both moving and funny, this play is a pleasant love letter to these important figures in the history of British theatre. The entire cast performs to a very high standard. Ralph Fiennes plays Henry Irving with nuance and finesse. The script characterises Irving as overly earnest and sincere, which – ironically – Fiennes is able to play to great humorous effect. Fiennes achieves a skilful balance between the shy and awkward elements of Irving’s per...

2May

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Tender – Soho Theatre

Tender, written by Dave Harris and performed at Soho Theatre, centres on the struggling Dancing Bears strip club. Once thriving, the venue is now losing its appeal, with a rival club night down the street drawing sell-out crowds. Faced with declining audiences and relevance, Dancing Bears must reinvent itself to survive, setting the stage for a lively and unexpectedly thoughtful production. From the outset, the show leans into its immersive concept. Audience members are handed dollar bills and paddles to signal participation, effectively transforming us into patrons of the club. This interactive element is one of the production’s greatest strengths, creating an electric atmosphere and blurring the line between spectator and performer. The crowd quickly buys into the experience, and the ...

2May

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Mass – Donmar Warehouse

This is a play about restorative justice. Two couples, the parents of their sons who were involved in a school shooting some years ago meet for the first time in a church meeting room. One couple are the parents of a child who was shot and the other of the shooter. Both sons were killed in the incident. As would be expected there was a substantial amount of apprehension on the part of both couples about meeting face-to-face for the first time. They sit one on each side of the table and talk. That is basically all that happens in this play for 90 minutes of its 1 hour 40 mins playing time. We gradually learned about the events which happened on that fateful day, and the background, particularly of the shooter in the years preceding and the anguish of both se...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Globe Theatre

2May

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Globe Theatre

A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Globe theatre arrives with a blast of high energy and a mix of theatrical prose and modern slang. Shakespeare would be bewildered to see that his most popular playful enchanting comedy has been remastered to enhance the silliness and magic of complex human relations ships. The synopsis; the play is set in a forest outside Athens, where the worlds of fairies and mortals collide. It weaves together four main storylines: The lovers Hermia and Lysander, and Helena’s Love for Demetrius a ‘cat and mouse’ affair as each pair fall under the spell of the forest royalty. In the forest we encounter Oberon the Fairy King and Titania his queen involved in an argument. To trick Titania Oberon with the use of a ‘spell’ a magic ...

2May

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Shotgunned – Traverse Theatre

Roz (Lorna Panton) packs up the belongings of Dylan (Fraser Allan Hogg), her ex. She hesitates, then adds one last item, a cheerful framed painting of the name Olivia. We see the tenderness, and the anger, that Roz and Dylan hold for each other. The story of their romance is told nonsequentially. These are the familiar, everyday moments of life, as two young people in love laugh and cry together. Their first awkward conversation. Dylan teaching Roz how to play on the Xbox. Sharing their hopes and dreams for the life they will build together. It all falls apart after Roz suffers a miscarriage. The grief for their daughter, Olivia, is too much to bear. The story is simple, and Matt Anderson’s script is very much character driven. He has provided some lovely ...

1May

By Coral MourantNo Comments

Wales

Twelfth Night – Theatr Clwyd

“If music be the food of love play on” And we definitely do play- with relationships, with the audience, and in a clever twist, with the conclusion. Directed by Juliette Manon, this adaptation leans into the complications that come from “mistaken identities” and focuses on the concept of “identity” itself. In a genius move, Cesario (Lee Braithwaite), is played as a trans character who journeys through the piece exploring their new sense of self. Washing up on the shore of Ilyria, they literally break free from their dress and begin living openly as a man. In the original, this is simply a way of entering Osario’s court (as women could not do so), but this gives much more poignancy and freedom to their choice. Following this narrative concept, the entanglements of love and complica...

The Ballad of Johnny and June – Festival Theatre

1May

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Ballad of Johnny and June – Festival Theatre

There is a problem with telling a story everyone already knows. This story of Johnny and June understands the problem well enough, but the script never really finds an alternative solution. Instead, the music is left to speak for itself. The show opens with Jackson, the quintessential Johnny and June number, a confident, toe tapping start that promises energy and momentum. From there, the narrative is framed largely through the eyes of their son, John Carter Cash, offering a lens that suggests memory, subjectivity, and, crucially, that truth is never singular. When Johnny first meets June at the Ryman Auditorium and declares, with typical bravado, that he will one day marry her, we are reminded that this is only his version of events. It is a useful idea, that truth shifts depending on ...

1May

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Tomorrow – Traverse Theatre

Hereford based dance company, 2Faced held the Scottish premiere of Tomorrow at The Traverse this week. Directed and choreographed by Tamsin Fitzgerald and devised with dancers Lew Baker and Sam Buswell, Tomorrow is a striking portrayal of men’s mental health displayed using contemporary dance. This show was devised in collaboration with Mind, a charity dedicated to providing mental health support for anyone who needs it across England and Wales. 2Faced partnered with Mind to create Men in Motion - a dance class specifically for men struggling with mental health issues. It was through this group’s sharing of their lived experiences, as well as the performers own experiences of mental health that Tomorrow was devised from. Fitzgerald’s direction is raw and in your face -...