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Little Animals – Traverse @ Lyceum Studio

21Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Little Animals – Traverse @ Lyceum Studio

Paul Ready is a familiar face to television audiences, notably as the wonderfully beleaguered Kevin in Motherland and the considerably more sinister Lee in Utopia, alongside an extensive stage career including work at the National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe. Perhaps those credentials are part of the draw behind the sell-out interest in Little Animals. The question is what happens when Ready strips almost everything away and stands alone in a room with a story to tell. Conceived, written and performed by Ready, and directed by Caroline Steinbeis, Little Animals is ostensibly about his best friend Richard. Ready tells us almost immediately that Richard is dead. He is no longer here. Dead. From that stark beginning, he starts piecing together the life of ...

20Aug

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Mrs Doubtfire – Birmingham Hippodrome

It’s hard to believe it’s 12 years since that shimmering colossus of stand-up comedy, Robin Williams, took his last bow leaving behind a staggering array of glorious movies from the much maligned “Popeye” to the profoundly moving, “Dead Poet’s Society.” Nearly everything he touched seemed to turn into comic gold and through it all shone a heart of honesty and truth. I remember watching his “Live from the Met” and being totally mesmerised by his charm, speed and humour. He was a good man and a hard act to follow. With “Aladdin” re-animating his celluloid turn on Broadway (running, it seems, forever) it’s only reasonable his other major film favourite should also receive the stage treatment - “Mrs Doubtfire.” First a book by Anne Fine, then a family film hit directed by Chris Columbus and...

The Tale of The Original Jekyll and Hyde (Told by a Mad Hatter from Stockport) – Greenside @ Riddles Court

20Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

The Tale of The Original Jekyll and Hyde (Told by a Mad Hatter from Stockport) – Greenside @ Riddles Court

The tale of Deacon Brodie is one rarely known by those outside of Edinburgh: A corrupt member of the City Chambers who used his skills as a Wright (in this case cabinet maker and locksmith), to steal from the wealthy folk of Edinburgh. The tale however has been known somewhat in another form: as the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde (although that can be held to some debate). The Tale of The Original Jekyll and Hyde (Told by a Mad Hatter from Stockport) lures us in with the promise of hearing Brodie’s tale…. although we end up hearing more about the writer’s fictional character Stanley instead. As a local historian I was pretty excited about the prospect of hearing the tale delivered through a character of the time. There’s something charming about having history ...

Rosco McClelland: The Bones – Monkey Barrel Comedy

20Aug

By Ella BeckleyNo Comments

Scotland

Rosco McClelland: The Bones – Monkey Barrel Comedy

In the midst of Old Town, Cabaret Voltaire’s arched basement under Blair Street is full of a crowd eagerly watching Rosco McClelland, spotlit on stage. You could hear a pin drop with the patient wait for the punch line. McClelland is a storyteller, every joke recounts a guilty pleasure, an embarrassing story or even identifying the man who apparently wants him dead. Convoluted stories of his marriage complete with heartwarming moments and arguments both had the audience listening attentively, all for the reward of one-line laughs. McClelland’s charisma and charm keep the audience hooked on his line, reeling them in with an assortment of confessions and an open ‘this is me, bones and all’ kind of attitude with the audienc...

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Blackpool Grand

20Aug

By Marianna MoranteNo Comments

North West

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Blackpool Grand

“Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” presented by the Blackpool Grand Theatre Summer Youth was an absolute joy to watch. The musical tells the story of Joseph who can see visions of the future, the jealous eleven brothers who craving their fathers favour send Joseph away and the multicoloured coat that is the musicals namesake. As someone who teaches young people myself, I have learnt to never underestimate their talents yet despite going in with high expectations, this cast absolutely exceeded them. From the very beginning when the Narrators started to sing in front of a sparkly backdrop, I knew the vocals and harmonies within the show would be phenomenal and with a creative team including the likes of Joe Keegan, Mykey Young and Sophie Yaeger who I have had the pleasur...

20Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Dear Lihua – Canal Café Theatre

‘Dear Lihua’ is a highly accomplished piece of theatre, delicately constructed and performed with remarkable tenderness. Written by Xinyi Chen and directed by Zhaoyi Ying, this bilingual English and Mandarin production explore the loneliness of living abroad, the strain of communicating in a language that is not your own and the painful compromises sometimes demanded by cultural assimilation. After dying in London, Qiuqiu awakens in an “English-speaking heaven”, where even the afterlife is governed by bureaucracy and paperwork. To earn enough points to return to China, she is assigned to the “Department of Unanswered Letters” by God, sorting through correspondence that never received a reply. Among the abandoned words, she repeatedly encounters letters addressed to Lihua, gradually ...

How Do I Love Thee? – Circle and Star Theatre

19Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

How Do I Love Thee? – Circle and Star Theatre

Inspired by the life and work of English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, ‘How Do I Love Thee?’ is an ambitious and emotionally intelligent piece of new writing from new company Aside Hustle. Tracing the Victorian poet’s journey from confinement in England to liberation in Italy with Robert Browning, Ruby Thomas’s script explores creativity, illness, love and the struggle of a woman determined to be heard in a society intent on restricting her. There is considerable beauty in the writing. Drawing upon Browning’s poetry and correspondence, Thomas constructs a thoughtful portrait of an artist discovering the courage to define herself. Her script possesses genuine emotional power and demonstrates substantial future potential, particularly in its examination of the relationship between ...

19Aug

By Kevin EcclestonNo Comments

North West

The Choir of Man – Storyhouse Chester

A riotous celebration of music, friendship and the great British pub There are few theatrical experiences that begin before the curtain has even risen. The Choir of Man is one of them. At Storyhouse, Chester, the familiar rituals of going to the theatre are swiftly replaced by something altogether more convivial. The stage becomes The Jungle, a traditional pub where the beer is flowing, the music is ready to begin, and the audience are invited to become part of the evening rather than simply observe it. Brimming with hits from artists such as Queen, Luther Vandross, Paul Simon, Adele, Guns & Roses and Katy Perry to name but a few, this is a pub like no other! Created by Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay, The Choir of Man has become something of a theatrical phenomenon, and it is easy...

This Is Not Hansel & Gretel – Banshee Labyrinth

19Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

This Is Not Hansel & Gretel – Banshee Labyrinth

If you think you know the old German tale of Hansel and Gretel, think again! Christian Hege challenges us to rethink the tale, providing more detail than ever before and asking us to question who the real villain in the tale is. The tale begins with poverty, famine and too much rain for any crop to survive. A widowed man marries a new woman, welcoming her into his impoverished home with his two young children. As time passes and food proves scarce, the new wife decides enough is enough and the children must go. Luring them into the woods to fend for themselves, the children must learn to keep their wits about them, following their own path home and eventually ending up in the home of a witch. The rest you’ll have to attend the show to hear. Hege is a wonderful storyteller, compel...

Daughter Of Sweden – That One Princess Who Drunk With Lizzie I and Thrown Out of England – The Space@ Surgeons Hall

19Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

Daughter Of Sweden – That One Princess Who Drunk With Lizzie I and Thrown Out of England – The Space@ Surgeons Hall

Very few people can say that they’ve: been a princess, drank with Elizabeth I, caused one of the biggest Swedish sex scandals in history and become a pirate! But for Princess Cecilia Vasa of Sweden this strange and exciting (although at times upsetting) reality was the case. Daughter Of Sweden- That One Princess Who Drunk With Lizzie I and Thrown Out of England, takes a look at a young princess whose life fell apart after engaging in an affair at the age of 19. With her reputation as a pure young lady in tatters, left to the conservatorship of which ever man in her family ended up in charge, she begins to dream of a life where she can be free. Taking a look at the constraints of being a woman of noble status in Sweden during the rule of famously single Elizabeth I, we see how rebell...