Latest Articles - Page 265 of 645

20Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: La rondine – The Lowry

The curtains opens to 1920’s Paris in director James Hurley’s take on Puccini’s take of the La Traviata tale and with the backdrop of Leslie Travers rich and glamorous set, suitably illuminated by Paule Constable and Ben Pickersgill, we meet Magda (Galina Averina), the mistress of a wealthy banker, Rambaldo (Philip Smith), but when the poet Prunier (Elgan Llŷr Thomas) reads her palm and predicts that like la rondine – the swallow – she will travel south in her pursuit of happiness, the die is cast for what is to come. When she meets the young Ruggero (Sebastien Guèze), glamour soon turns to decadence as she follows him to the nightclub Bulliers where they fall in love and decide to run away to the south of France, and with Prunier equally smitten with Magda’s maid, Lisette (Claire Lees), t...

20Nov

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Learning to Fly – Traverse Theatre

James Rowland’s one-man show, Learning to Fly, is engaging, heartwarming and very funny. He is a gifted storyteller with a tender heart and a grand sense of the absurd. After a tough week, he really lifted my spirits. His tale is personal. It’s about growing up and having an unusual bond with the old lady across the road. He lives it on stage and so do we. There’s something about his face and expression that transforms into a twelve-year-old with all its innocence that I found charming. He embodies the three characters he portrays with simplicity. It’s not a show of gymnastic characterisation, it’s a confessional, sharing a poignant and funny episode between people from different age groups, growing closer over classical music and cups of milky strong tea. Some people had seen...

Dirty Old Town & Out Of The Woodwork – Hope Street Theatre

17Nov

By Bev ClarkNo Comments

North West

Dirty Old Town & Out Of The Woodwork – Hope Street Theatre

Dirty Old Town Hope Street Theatre tonight offered up a double bill of theatrical flavours: Marigold Lately in Dirty Old Town: a one woman show as a bitter-sweet starter. Followed by Lee Clotworthy’s new farce Out Of The Woodwork- a tasty meat-feast of laughter. Mikyla Jane Durkan and Lee Clotworthy both Liverpool theatre-makers, collaborated on this shared evening. For me, there was a certain amount of disconnect in styles but if you are looking for variety then you certainly won’t be disappointed. The first half gives us a stand-up routine perhaps more at home in cabaret or a comedy club. There is no doubt Durkan is an experienced performer but sometimes the lines blurred between what was Marigold’s truth and Durkan’s own… or was that the point? There were plenty of ...

Opera North: Masque of Might – The Lowry

17Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Masque of Might – The Lowry

Sir David Pountney’s exuberant production is billed as ‘eco-entertainment’ and it certainly takes re-purposing to a whole new level with its glorified collage of Purcell’s semi-operatic musical form of the 17th Century masque lyrically enhanced to explore a range of contemporary themes including the rise of strongman leaders and the devastation of climate change, and how these may be rightly overcome. By its very nature and whilst sung, the piece is narrative in form and whilst merging various disparate musical moods, by and large it holds together quite well with the assistance of side panel surtitles in English of an English libretto. Although its success can be very much attributed to the genius fusion of the original composer and the adapted libretto by its director, it is also unfo...

16Nov

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

SuperYou – Lyric Theatre

Katie is a young girl struggling to find her way in the world, overwhelmed by self-doubt, and feeling that her older brother, Matty, a talented comic book artist, is their mother's favourite. Mother is dealing with her own difficulties. Domestic abuse has led to the break-up of the family and frequent house moves. The mother's eventual spiral into alcoholism results in her losing job after job leaving her daughter to care and provide for her. Like her brother, Katie has a talent for art and immerses herself in drawing, in particular developing her own comic book character, Lightning Girl. With her brother's encouragement, she creates a team of superheroines who she literally brings to life. In dealing with life's problems and losses, she learns to love herself and have faith in her o...

La Clique – Spiegeltent, Leicester Square

16Nov

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

London

La Clique – Spiegeltent, Leicester Square

I don’t remember the last time I booed - with disappointment - that a show was over. Such was the sheer joy I’d had watching La Clique, I never wanted it to end. Billed as a cabaret, circus, comedy, music extravaganza, I can vouch that it is. And while it’s based in the tourist heartland of Leicester Square’s festive Christmas market, I can tell you there’s no tourist tat on offer here. What there is, is a madcap world of tomfoolery and off the wall antics that will have you begging for more. Taking place in a big tent – which is warm and comfortable, and set with booths around the outer perimeter (designed for groups of 4-6), there are two stages which the performers make full use of. The atmosphere from the start is frenetic and mad. The music is what I’d call ‘circus hyper’...

16Nov

By Bev ClarkNo Comments

North West

Billy Liar – Gladstone Theatre

BDS’s latest production of Billy Liar is a great night out. Director Adam Comer presents a super cast, who bring Waterhouse and Hall’s hit play and film from the 1960’s to life. It still has humour and appeal as a northern working-class classic of its time, even if perhaps a few references are a little dated, which could have easily been cut for contemporary audiences, without losing any flavour of the period. Billy Fisher tells lies which get him into hot water. His wild imagination and storytelling mean his exasperated family don’t believe a word he says and the three young ladies in his life are all being led a merry dance. In the title role, Danny Myers, making his DBS debut, shines as Billy. His natural exuberance and energy was there from the first moment. His cheekin...

Scouse Dick Whittington – Liverpool’s Royal Court

16Nov

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

Scouse Dick Whittington – Liverpool’s Royal Court

Let’s get ready to rumble, it’s the start of the festive season at The Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool with this year’s pantomime Scouse Dick Whittington. Written by Kevin Fearon and Directed by Mark Chatterton. In the City of Liverpool, it has all gone array, there are no cats within the city as King Rat (Andrew Schofield) has had them killed. Mayor Bradley Fitzwarren (Liam Tobin) is forced to step down as mayor and his daughter Alice (Hayley Sheen) are wondering who can replace him other than King Rat as Mayor. Meanwhile Holly Head (Lindzi Germain) and her son D*ck Head (Adam McCoy), have just returned from a lovely little holiday. When they see a dead cat in the road all of a sudden with a flash bang a fairy (Paige Fenlon) appears. She brings back Cat (Jamie Clarke) from the dead, but ...

16Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Falstaff – The Lowry

The rainbow-striped curtain rises on Opera North’s sustainable take on Verdi’s final masterpiece, a comic opera drawn from Shakespeare in director Olivia Fuchs’ re-imagined riotous and rampant romp that serves up satire, slapstick, and stags along the way. Roguish knight Falstaff (Henry Waddington) is down on his luck, residing in the car park of the Garter Inn and reliant upon its Host (Gordon D. Shaw) to keep him in good spirits of any kind! When he informs Bardolph (Colin Judson) and Pistol (Dean Robinson) that he intends to seduce Alice Ford (Kate Royal) and Meg Page (Helen Évora) they refuse to deliver his letters, so he throws them out, turning to his assistant Robin (Robert Gardiner) instead. When the letters are eventually received, Mistress Quigley (Louise Winter), Meg, Alice, ...

16Nov

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

The Woman in Black – Richmond Theatre

This is a two-hander play with Malcolm James playing Arthur Kipps and Mark Hawkins the actor and takes place in the early 1950’s. The story is of an older man Mr Kipps living out his disturbing life and telling his story through is younger self portrayed by the enthusiastic Actor. The scene is set; Arthur Kipps is a solicitor advisory on the estate of Alice Drablow in a small town of Crythin Gifford. It starts with the two players clashing over Arthur’s portrayal and mere reluctance to perform and act out his story in preference to speaking it in a monotone fashion, this frustrates the actor, and this is an ongoing theme throughout. There is narration and switches of character which at times leaves you feeling slightly confused and playing catch up on who is who. ...