Latest Articles - Page 291 of 662

21Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Ailey 2 – Hull New Theatre

Storm Babet was no deterrent to the hardy souls who ventured out on Friday evening to watch Ailey 2 at the Hull New Theatre. This energetic troupe of modern dancers - I counted 12 in all - come to the city as part of a UK tour. Ailey 2 has been described by the New York Times as being the “younger version of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater” - a company founded in 1958 by choreographer, dancer and visionary, Alvin Ailey to bring African-American dance to the world stage from its base in the Big Apple. From what I witnessed on Friday evening, Ailey’s quest has been a huge success. At curtain up, the stage - left, right and centre - was enveloped in black, as were the dancers who emerged in the gloom to a hypnotic, and very loud, drum beat. They moved individually, sometimes...

Scottish Ballet: Twice-Born – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

21Oct

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Scottish Ballet: Twice-Born – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

I defy anyone not to love Schachmatt by Spanish choreographer, Cayetano Soto. It translates as Checkmate and playfully works its way through a range of eras, drawing an ongoing smile from this reviewer. Acting as a warm-up to Scottish Ballet's latest work, Twice-Born (developed by new boy on the block, Dickson Mbi) it is a fabulously entertaining and quirky piece. At the get-go your curiosity is piqued as a moody stage is slowly revealed. What follows is witty, unique and brilliantly executed by a top-notch team performing with precision and speed. Christopher Hampson, Scottish Ballet’s CEO, watched Schachmatt two nights in a row: “I remember feeling instant joy because I was watching craft at its highest level,” he said. He knew immediately he wanted to bring it to the Scottish B...

21Oct

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Hamnet – Garrick Theatre

Based on the outstanding sell-out book by Maggie O’Farrell, Lolita Chakrabarti adapts the story for the stage under the RSC, which just recently transferred to West End at the Garrick Theatre. This being such a widely known story it is likely to match the book in being a sell-out, however we lose so much of the quality and depth of the characters to perhaps fit the time frame. We are introduced to Agnes (Madeleine Mantock) a young woman in Warwickshire inspired by plants, herbs and natural resources- she meets her new Latin tutor, William (Tom Varey). From there, they fall in love and Agnes falls pregnant out of wedlock. Quickly married and now twins on the way William goes to London to pursue his writing. Although we have moments with William as his career takes off, we stay with the wome...

The Book of Horror: Volume 1, A Haunting on Hope Street – Hope Street Theatre

21Oct

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

The Book of Horror: Volume 1, A Haunting on Hope Street – Hope Street Theatre

A scare fest which gets your pulse racing and heart pumping. 4AM Productions present this diverse scary selection of tales of the most terrible, with a rich blend of horror classics and new writing. We’re trick or treated into watching an assortment of stand-alone ghost stories, which feature some terrific twists and turns. All performed by a strong ensemble of 12, with most doubling up as actors, writers and directors. Our compare for the evening, The Curator (portrayed with gusto by Phil Halfpenny), our gothic garbed host, presents a selection of less than savoury tales to get us in the mood for the spooky season. The Curator and his ever-dependent servant, the creepy Minion (well played by Luke Bennet) deliver some laugh out loud moments and funny audience interactions which reall...

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Hull City Hall

21Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Hull City Hall

The opening concert of Hull City Hall’s Classic Season was very well attended on Thursday evening. And as we took our seats it was a joy just to sit and watch this magnificent orchestra - its members resplendent in black and white evening wear - warming up. The City Hall’s grand organ - all 5,505 pipes of it - provided a wonderful backdrop for these talented musicians as did the historical friezes above the stage. In my reviews, I always focus on the stage setting, but the orchestra itself was all the setting needed. Any additions would have been overkill. The knowledgeable audience (alas, not me where the classics are concerned) gave a rousing welcome when the tall, handsome figure of Leslie Suganandarajah - the conductor for the evening - appeared on stage. Immediately I sens...

21Oct

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Toxic – HOME

Currently playing at HOME Manchester is Dibby Productions’ Toxic. Written and performed by Nathaniel J Hall as The Playwright and with Josh-Susan Enright as the Performer this is a sharp, quick witted, fast paced piece of theatre which tells the story of two thirty something men who meet, fall in love and f*ck it up. Set in Manchester in 2017, two damaged individuals meet in a hot and sweaty queer warehouse party, their hearts collide, and a bond is formed. What plays out is the powerful story of that love. They love hard, live hard, play hard and I’m not gonna beat around the bush here, they f*ck hard too. From the opening ‘4th wall’ smashing sequence where we were told what the play would not be the audience were gripped and that attention did not waiver as the 90-minute performanc...

21Oct

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Portia Coughlan – The Almeida

There were many factors that made me giddy to see Portia Coughlan. My Irish heritage, The Almeida’s track record for uniquely dazzling theatre, an attraction to the dark side and the play’s notoriety as a ‘90s game changer. Broadly speaking, Marina Carr’s Gothic shocker didn’t disappoint, but might be prey to having a lot to live up to. Alison Oliver plays Portia Coughlan and turns out a compelling, complex performance that’s haunting, oddly thrilling and almost alien to behold. Portia is a spiky, volatile mystery to the other characters in the play and the audience who’re also grappling with her quirks. We meet Portia on her 30th birthday. She is wallowing in pain and grief, fifteen years after the suicide of her twin brother. Portia chooses to self-destruct with drink and spiteful rag...

19Oct

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Funny Girl – Northwich Memorial Court

Tonight, marked KMTC’s 126th production, it is hard to believe that this company began in 1943 as Knutsford Amateur Operatic Society (KAOS) as it is a company that has not been on my radar before this evening, but certainly will be from this day forward. KMTC is one of the leading community theatre companies in the North West of England, with a vision to bring a diverse and talented mix of performers together and to make theatre accessible and affordable to everyone. I was honoured enough to meet Lesley Reed KMTC’s President who informed me about her 40-year run involved with this magnificent theatre company, and how things have evolved over the years. There is clearly a family feel with this company with its resident Director Ben Ireson with his huge accolade of awards and vast experie...

18Oct

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

I, Daniel Blake – Traverse Theatre

It’s too glib to simply give this a theatrical review. Yes, it’s well-acted, well-lit, commitment and emotion running through the production from top to bottom, but to thoughtlessly term it ‘entertainment’ would be to miss the point entirely. Roughly eight years after a financial crash laid bare the clandestine, labyrinthine world of modern finance, providing a golden, once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the rotting edifice, the film ‘I Daniel Blake’ was released, illustrating by how far this opportunity had been missed. Mysteriously, by 2016, many of the architects of the 2008 disaster were somehow richer than they’d ever been. Clearly there was still wealth-a-go-go in the country; it just kept winding up in the same pockets while ‘austerity’ persisted unabated, resulting in cut...

18Oct

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

Noises Off – The Lowry

There have been a few fairly sniffy reviews of Noises Off recently. Both of this touring version of last year's 40th anniversary production and of the Michael Frayn classic more generally. The argument seems to go that the 1982 farce is showing its age and the same joke - a play within a play going all wrong - can be seen elsewhere. It is an interesting quirk of theatrical criticism that comedies are occasionally treated in this way. Dramas, on the other hand, become 'period pieces', described as 'kickstarting a trend'. What should matter, of course, is whether a play works in its own right. Yes, Noises Off is a product of its time, yes it has been lovingly ripped off in recent years but yes, in the right hands, it is still riotously funny. The cast on the Lowry Lyric sta...