Latest Articles - Page 21 of 688

2Apr

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Private Lives – Royal Exchange

The Royal Exchange’s recent renaissance under its newly installed artistic director, Selena Cartmell, continues apace with a sparkling revival of Noël Coward’s Private Lives. This is a production that deftly balances the play’s barbed wit with the art deco glamour of its setting, while allowing something darker to seep through the cracks: a distinctly Pinteresque unease beneath the polished surface. Coward is often caricatured as the world-weary, dressing-gown-clad wit, all epigrams and elegance. But there has always been more to him than that. Ever since seeing the Citizens Theatre’s 1988 production of his early play The Vortex—with Maria Aitken and a startlingly young Rupert Everett—it has been clear to me that Coward’s work carries a sharper, more serious undercurrent. His outsider’s...

2Apr

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

The Constant Wife – Festival Theatre

On its opening night at the Festival Theatre, The Constant Wife felt less like a revival and more like a reminder of just how ahead of its time W. Somerset Maugham really was. Written in 1926, the play sits neatly in the world of drawing-room comedy, but beneath the polished dialogue and social niceties there is something far more unsettling. It asks what happens when a woman refuses to react in the way society expects. That tension is at the centre of this new version by Laura Wade, directed by Tamara Harvey for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Wade keeps the 1920s setting but softly reshapes the structure, bringing moments forward and adding a flashback that shows Constance discovering her husband’s affair. It is a small change, but an important one. It shifts her from someone who seems...

2Apr

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Lighthouse – Traverse Theatre

There is no question that The Light House, written and performed by Alys Williams and directed by Andrea Heaton, arrives in Edinburgh with a strong reputation and a well honed touring confidence. This is a piece that knows exactly what it is doing, and, judging by the reaction in the room, it does it rather effectively for a good number of people.The subject matter, a relationship tested by suicidal ideation, is handled with care and clarity, and the production leans heavily into a theatrical language of puppetry, physical theatre, and audience interaction to carry its emotional weight. It is, in many ways, a carefully constructed machine designed to move its audience.And move them it does. I see visible tears in the auditorium, and a palpable sense of emotional release at the curtain call...

The Shawshank Redemption – Liverpool Playhouse

2Apr

By Emma LambeNo Comments

North West

The Shawshank Redemption – Liverpool Playhouse

The Shawshank Redemption is a based on Stephen Kings 1982 novella, set in a maximum-security penitentiary. It spans over 20 years and follows the inmates stories, primarily focusing on our main character Andy. Joe McFadden plays him in such a genuine, real manner, you can’t help but sympathise and root for him. His chemistry with the mesmerising Ben Onwuke as Ellis ‘Red’ is gripping to watch. Red being the audience’s narrator and having the most dialogue, including several long monologues, still managed to capture the attention of the audience and keep them hooked. There were a few times he made the audience laugh out loud, including a scene where Andy informs Red how much money is waiting for him on the other side, which was a nice break from the heavy going moments. Coronation star Bi...

The Trials of a Gentleman – Brockley Jack Theatre

2Apr

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

The Trials of a Gentleman – Brockley Jack Theatre

David Martin is in a police interrogation room, preparing his defence statement for a serious crime. He is not a habitual criminal. He is a man out of his time. Born in the 1960s, he harks back to what he sees as a more glamorous civilised world of the 1940s, informed mainly by the great Hollywood actors of that age: Niven, Grant etc. In fact he was brought up in a modest working-class household, his childhood shattered by domestic violence. In this 75 minute monologue Kit Smith as David Martin explains how he came to be in this police cell, and the values and beliefs which have guided his life. He believes in civility, courtesy and politeness. He abhors much of modern society, with its rudeness, debasement of language and reliance on technology. In his life as a primary school teacher,...

2Apr

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

This is Not About Me – Soho Theatre

Following an acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe run, THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME. hits Soho Theatre. This extremely solid playwrighting debut from Hannah Caplan delivers humour and heart, in a clever meta-theatrical package. The play follows Grace and Eli, whose longstanding but arguably co-dependant friendship is tested by creeping romantic and sexual attraction. The story nonlinearly jumps around across several years of jealousy, hookups, falling out, making up, and general will-they-won’t-they drama. Meta-theatrically, following months of no-contact with Eli, Grace writes a play to help her process her feelings. THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME. is that play. While the plot bears a resemblance to When Harry Met Sally, Caplan takes a much grittier – though still very funny – approach to the subject matter. &nbs...

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding – Lyric Hammersmith

30Mar

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding – Lyric Hammersmith

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding follows a (seemingly) average working day in the titular salon in Harlem, New York City. The play provides a beautiful glimpse into the lives of the immigrant women who work there. The play takes a journey through workplace politics, gossip, relationship drama, and so on in a manner that is both poignant and utterly hilarious. The Tony-nominated script by Jocelyn Bioh is excellent. Bioh strikes the perfect balance between a largely naturalistic approach to both structure and dialogue, while heightening elements of the plot and the characterisation just enough to also make for compelling drama and hilarious gags. The dialogue is fantastic. The characters bounce off each other in a way that feels lively and realistic while remaining easy to follow. A lot of co...

30Mar

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

The Old Ladies – Finborough Theatre

Rodney Ackland's The Old Ladies is set in an unnamed English cathedral city in 1935, in the midst of the Great Depression. As with many people at that time, the three old ladies in this piece find themselves in difficult circumstances with dwindling savings. May Beringer (Catherine Cusack), Lucy Amorest (Julia Watson) and Agatha Payne (Abigail Thaw) are living in separate rooms in a dingy house, finding what little pleasure they can in a limited and uneventful life. These are three women who in any other circumstances would likely never have crossed paths and now have only an uneasy relationship of necessity. When the potential for an infusion of a substantial amount of money unexpectedly enters the picture, greed takes over, provoking a degree of malice that can only end in tragedy....

The Marriage of Figaro – Hull New Theatre

30Mar

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Marriage of Figaro – Hull New Theatre

As is the norm when the opera or ballet come to town, Hull’s theatregoers set out in force to support the event. And Thursday evening was no exception when Opera North’s production of The Marriage of Figaro, graced the Hull New Theatre stage. Mozart’s well-known opera, premiering in Vienna in 1786 and conducted by the great composer himself, has been cleverly modernised by Opera North - meaning all the action takes place in a “modern-day crumbling pile of an English country estate”. This update led to many amusing scenes one wouldn’t associate with 18th-century life - namely mobile phones throughout, while the visiting, country house public, led by a tour guide, revealed at least one selfie stick. And the most notable change came with the costumes - everyone wore modern clothin...

Madama Butterfly – Opera House Manchester

30Mar

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Madama Butterfly – Opera House Manchester

At the Opera House Manchester, audiences were treated to a poignant one-night-only performance of Madama Butterfly, presented as part of Ellen Kent’s farewell tour. With music by Giacomo Puccini, and based on a play by David Belasco, the opera first performed in Milan in February 1904, remains one of the most enduring and emotionally devastating works in the operatic canon. Structured in three acts, Madama Butterfly tells the tragic story of Cio-Cio San, a young Japanese girl who marries the American naval officer B.F. Pinkerton. In this production, Pinkerton was portrayed by Oleksii Srebnytskyi, while the role of Cio-Cio San (Madame Butterfly) was taken by Elena Dee. Their union, arranged under Japanese law for 999 years but subject to monthly dissolution, reflects a cultural and ...