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26Jan

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Wizard of Oz – Hull New Theatre

Hull New Theatre was packed to the rafters on Thursday night for what turned out to be a magical extravaganza of colour, energy and theatrical perfection. As soon as the curtain rose on The Wizard of Oz musical, it was clear we were in for something special. The imaginative stage setting revealed a huge video backdrop which cleverly reeled us into the story - the opening sequence of a tornado just blew us away (pun intended). And this videography played a huge part in the rest of the proceedings, meaning distracting scene-shifting was kept to a minimum throughout. There can’t be a person on the planet who doesn’t know the age-old story of young Dorothy and her dog, Toto. In last night’s production, Dorothy was played by the very talented Aviva Tulles, while Toto was brought to ...

26Jan

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Forgiving (my mother) – The Glitch

Performed in a small space at The Glitch, this devised performance was an intimate piece set in a ‘rehearsal room’ with two actors practicing a scene with two sisters discussing their mother who had recently had a fight with them. It is as if we are with them and apart of the creative process as their character’s adapt and shape a scene of a play they’re rehearsing. The performance will stop as one actor will question why this line is here, whether that would be a true response and how thoughtless the mother seemed to be. They lead discussions about theatre and its reason, the purpose of understanding our own trauma and the hilarity of being apart of an opinion but one’s only contribution is writing a play and moving on from it. The actors are really in their element here, shaping this tex...

26Jan

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Rita Lynn – Turbine Theatre

Louise Marwood's one-woman performance is informed by her own lived experience, a dark tale of depression, drink, drugs and self-deprecation. "Rita Lynn" lays bare the life of an addict who struggles to break free from the grip of cocaine after her dance career has failed. Imogen has lost everything; with her drug addiction enabled by her toxic boyfriend and dealer Dexter, and her drag queen pal Melian, also an addict. Imogen spirals from overdose to overdose between occasional unsuccessful trips to AA meetings. Then, purely by accident and in a moment of drug-induced delusion, she offers to counsel a wealthy woman as a life coach, adopting the name Rita Lynn. She sees this as an encouraging new start, a way forward out of her chaotic lifestyle and a release from the trauma of her pa...

26Jan

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

London

Rusalka – Royal Opera House

Created and directed by Natalie Abrahami and Ann Yee, who is also the choreographer, the contemporary whilst still traditional new staging of this lyrical fairy tale captures nature’s impassioned plea to humanity whilst musically only Dvořák can break your heart so beautifully. From an exquisite aerial ballet reflecting the delicate balance between nature and humanity at the start, three wood spirits (Vuvu Mpofu, Gabriele Kupšyte and Anne Marie Stanley) playfully tease Vodník (Alexei Isaev), an immortal water spirit. All seems to be perfect but his daughter, Rusalka (Asmik Grigorian) longs to be united with the Prince (David Butt Philip) with whom she fell in love when he swam in the lake. Despite being warned about the seductive dangers of humanity that promises much whilst deliveri...

Stranger Sings – Theatre Royal, St Helens

24Jan

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Stranger Sings – Theatre Royal, St Helens

A playful teasing of the popular TV show which knows its audience well. Backed by a full set of original 80s bubble-gum pop synth beats make for a fun night for fans and mouth breathers alike. The popular science fiction horror series, Stranger Things, based around the unusual supernatural happenings in a small Indiana town, sparked a resurgence in bad haircuts and introduced a younger generation to the iconic Kate Bush. Its growing fandom, a reflection of its richness and texture that makes up the brilliance of the Netflix series. The nerdy quirkiness of its characters who inhabit the small town of Hawkins and their interpersonal relationships, provide the best source of parodic material. With Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Hogue, Stranger Sings presents origin...

The Most Precious of Goods – Marylebone Theatre

24Jan

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

The Most Precious of Goods – Marylebone Theatre

The staging is set in a leaf filled forest woodland, the feeling is sombre the audience full of anticipation of what this story has to unfold about the atrocities, war crimes on humanity, the deliberate genocide during World War 2, the German invasion. The story initially focusses on a young Jewish family, who are new parents of newborn twins, full of zest for life and feeling blessed with their two children, a boy a girl. It was spring, 1942 their life full of opportunity until, they were freshly extricated from their home in France and put on a train to somewhere! Unknowing of what was to come and what they would endure the family with others, cramped into small spaces, no food or water would share their anguish and realisations during this gruelling journey, as to their destinatio...

24Jan

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Murder in the Dark – The Lowry

Thrillers on stage are notoriously difficult to pull off effectively and I am afraid this one didn’t quite hit the mark. Unfortunately, I was not on the edge of my seat and the supposed thrills, twists and turns at the end flailed rather than flabbergasted. Which is a shame because the groundwork was solidly laid for a classic murder mystery thriller. A group of characters are left in an isolated farm, and we become increasingly concerned there maybe something nasty in the woodshed. Danny (Tom Chambers) and Sarah (Laura White) are welcomed into the farmhouse by the eccentric owner Mrs Bateman (Susie Blake). It is New Year’s Eve, he has just buried his mother, they are miles from anywhere and Danny is desperate for a drink. He has crashed his car into a wall, and they will have to sta...

24Jan

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

The Time Machine – The Lowry

There’s usually a golden rule that you don’t talk about yourself in writing a review. But when you end up being part of the show, it makes that somewhat tricky to follow. But this being a play about time travel, let’s rewind. HG Wells’ sci-fi classic has been subject to many adaptations, but this has possibly been one of the most irreverent. Borrowing heavily from the stylings of Mischief Theatre (the giants behind the ‘…Goes Wrong’ suite of shows), we have the familiar play-within-a-play setup as our three actors (George Kemp, Amy Revelle, and Michael Dylan) look to present their take on The Time Machine, having recently discovered that George is actually the great-great grandson of Wells’, with things failing to run as smoothly as they’d hope. The show makes the most of the trio...

The Rocky Horror Show – Opera House, Manchester

24Jan

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

The Rocky Horror Show – Opera House, Manchester

Since the original show in 1973 the ‘Rocky Horror Show’ has gained generations of fans who have been seduced by its mix of horror-comedy and science-fiction script, with an excuse to dress up for the occasion. Over the half a century of the show, it has increased in its popularity with the not just the oldies but with a whole new generation of young followers. Despite the show being over 50 years old it has absolutely no signs of ageing as it continues to entice theatregoers through its doors with its bright, bold and extremely risqué script that bursts into life from the beginning through to the finale. The show is not for the faint hearted as you are guaranteed to be met with an auditorium of ladies or men in French maid outfits, an array of glittery top hats and dazzling tailcoats, s...

24Jan

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

Pretty Woman – Liverpool Empire

It was opening night last night of Pretty Woman, a show with extremely limited tickets throughout its run so it was lovely to have been invited to do a review for this show. Upon arrival at the theatre and taking our seats we were made aware that there was a cast change for this week. The role of Vivian Ward was to be played by Elly Jay. Now I must admit I know of the film Pretty Woman, but I have never seen it. So, for those who do know, please bear with me while I explain. It's set in LA when Billionaire Edward Lewis (Oliver Savile) is about to shut down a company and make millions with his lawyer. He gets lost in his lawyer’s car and ends up meeting a lady of the night known as Vivian Ward (Elly Jay) Edward offers to pay for Vivian but not in the way you might think. He hires her to dri...