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Richard III – Shakespeare North Playhouse

30Jun

By Jan MellorNo Comments

North West

Richard III – Shakespeare North Playhouse

I was intrigued – as an avid Shakespeare fan, frequent visitor to the amazing Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescott and having an avid fascination of the venomous Richard III (as most people have), I was really looking forward to seeing Richard III a one person show in the intimate Brite theatre. To cover the unscrupulous story of Richard III - a King renowned for his deformed body as much as his villainous ways, (his notoriety recently escalated due to his remains being found in a Leicester car park), was, I would imagine be no mean feat. But the magnificent Emily Carding, who has performed this show internationally across the UK, Iceland, Prague (winning every single award at the Fringe), Edinburgh (winning the ‘Bobby award at the Fringe), Rome, Verona, Slovakia, Romania, Pakistan, St...

30Jun

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

A Strange Loop – Barbican

Nominated for 11 Tony Awards including Best New Musical, A Strange Loop, Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, has just landed at the Barbican for a strictly limited season. The meta musical tells the story of Usher, a young, gay, and Black writer, desperate to escape his life as a theatre usher, so decides to write a musical about a young, gay, Black writer whose writing a musical about a young, gay, Black writer...and so on. We see Usher struggle with his identity, sexuality, and desires while trying to navigate the harsh modern world and the circles within circles of his life. Directed by Stephen Brackett, Usher is joined by the hilarious six-person ensemble who personify his inner thoughts and feelings from self-loathing to sexual ambivalence. Kyle Ramar Freeman who l...

30Jun

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Twelfth Night – Walkden Gardens, Sale

Despite the title signalling the traditional end of the festive season, this Shakespearean romantic comedy is perfect fayre for a high summer evening spent in an outdoor setting. Tonight, the gem that is Walkden Gardens, hidden away in suburban Sale, provides the verdant backdrop to Shakespeare's tale of cross dressing and mistaken identity, the Duke's Theatre Company delighting the audience with a funny and farcical production but missing the opportunity to be truly interesting in exploring underlying themes. The Duke's Theatre Company is the grand title for the small company of six actors and crew currently playing a fifty date tour of England and Wales, covering everywhere from the Lake District to Land's End throughout the Summer. There has been a proliferation of such companies ove...

30Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Sealskin – Liverpool Everyman

‘In a village far away, by the wild landscape of the sea, every full moon the Selkies appear. As they peel away their seal skin, they dance freely in the moonlight, as humans. One such night a fisherman discovers their secret and, stealing away a Selkie’s skin, our story begins.’ Devised by the Tmesis Theatre and directed by Elinor Randle, with the assistance of Stage Manager Joey Colasante, Sealskin is described as a powerful story of betrayal, power, otherness, and loss. It is all these things yet more as, rich in meaning and metaphor, it explores what it means to be, to long, to belong. The cast – Stephanie Greer, Faye McCutcheon, Samuel Pérez Durán, Mariana Pires, and Jaquell Walker – excel with each taking a principal role as well as supporting in an ensemble as we embark on a m...

29Jun

By Ely KingNo Comments

London

Tarantino Live – Riverside Studios

Quentin Tarantino is a name that everyone has heard at least once, whether you’re an avid fan of the movies, or have just heard the name in conversation, this industry juggernaut is known for some of the most classic films in history, so it simply makes sense for a show to be made surrounding his work. Whilst it is widely advertised as a musical, it is more of a cabaret/live show. Singing, dancing and photos/videos are all allowed and encouraged – providing that you are still respectful to those around you and the actors, so stay in your seat and don’t take photos with flash. This encouragement of crowd involvement creates such an exciting air around the show, with excited cheers coming from the audience at classic movie moments being recreated onstage. This production stars the Fox ...

Ballet Black: Pioneers – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

29Jun

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

Ballet Black: Pioneers – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

For over two decades Ballet Black has nurtured their small plot in the vast landscape of ballet. Grafting together innovation and passion, building on their bouquet of diversity to represent crucial change for the benefit of their art. The company continues to lay stones along the path of intelligence and meaningful entertainment with Ballet Black: Pioneers. This show is by, about and thanks to pioneers. The opening act, Then and Now, set on a minimalist background against which each dancer takes their turn to showcase technique and talent while collectively giving body to the poetry of Adrienne Rich from her collection, Dark Fields of the Republic. The minimalism drives your focus to the life on stage, where the tightrope of dance, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber’s violin and Rich’s wor...

The Two Gentlemen of Verona (& Sonnet 104) – Barons Court Theatre

28Jun

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

The Two Gentlemen of Verona (& Sonnet 104) – Barons Court Theatre

A friend betraying another friend to get their objective, and going to the farthest distance to achieve success, turning slowly into villainy. A story of morality, from Shakespeare to our days. This version of Shakespeare's work, directed by Evan L. Barker, follows its sell-out previews, and has a slightly different cast in some of the supporting roles. This is an adaptation by Barker of the well-known piece, setting into a high-school context. The roles of the two gentlemen are played by Hugo Papiernik as Valentine, and Paul Surel as Proteus. The two ladies with whom they fall in love and then fight for are Tor Leijten as Julia, and Lavinia Grippa as Sylvia. Completing the cast are Harry Rosa as Lance, Izzi McCormack-John as Lucetta/Thurio, Alun Rees as Speed/Host, Gemskii as Duke/Anto...

28Jun

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Dear England – National Theatre

In 1996, Gareth Southgate stepped up to take the final kick in England's semi-final penalty shoot-out against Germany - and missed. That moment haunts Southgate, the team and the fans, exacerbating the "thirty years of hurt" and failure since England's World Cup win in 1966. James Graham's latest work explores the struggles of the England men's football team to turn failure to success, a metaphor for the plight of the country seen through the lens of football. Southgate, appointed manager of the England team in 2016, recognises that the team, while talented, are sabotaging their own efforts and brings in a psychologist to help them address their fears. One day, maybe, the nation would not be cowering behind the sofa in buttock-clenching terror every time an international match was de...

Metamorphosis Full Cast and Creative Team Announced

28Jun

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

Metamorphosis Full Cast and Creative Team Announced

Frantic Assembly is delighted to announce casting and the full creative team for its new adaptation of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, a collaboration between BAFTA nominated poet, playwright and broadcaster Lemn Sissay OBE (author of bestselling book My Name Is Why and soon to be published new poetry collection Let the Light Pour In - out this September) and Frantic Assembly’s Artistic Director Scott Graham (Othello, Lovesong, Beautiful Burnout). Metamorphosis premieres at Theatre Royal Plymouth from 11th September before embarking on a major tour culminating with a 4 week run at Lyric Hammersmith Theatre from 1st February – 2nd March 2024. Following their acclaimed performances as Iago, Roderigo and Bianca in Frantic Assembly’s recent sell-out tour of Othello, Joe Layton (Young Wallander...

28Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Verdict – Bradford Alhambra Theatre

Courtroom drama The Verdict is one of those great 1980s movies that has been somewhat forgotten, but it regularly features in the top movie lists of all time, with a career high performance by screen legend Paul Newman as alcoholic Boston attorney Frank Galvin who finds himself as he fights a seemingly unwinnable case. As producers look to turn celluloid classics then this tale of redemption in a courtroom is a natural fit as Frank takes on an incompetent judge, a shady defence attorney and the might of Boston’s Catholic Church, who are in this case are fighting off a medical malpractice suit in one of their hospitals that left a young mother in a coma. In David Mamet’s blistering original screenplay, Frank is a self-loathing failure who only sees life through the bottom of a glass t...