Tuesday, September 22

Latest Articles

Pub? – Salford Arts Theatre
North West

Pub? – Salford Arts Theatre

A laugh-out-loud insight into how notto run a pub, serving up outrageous characters, brilliantly observed humour and plenty of workplace chaos. The Great Bear Productions create an entertaining night on shift at The Legless Lamb pub, where the frazzled staff are recalling the night’s events under the threat of another HR seminar! And for good reason!   We’re treated to the kind of banter you'd expect in a local boozer; politically incorrect jokes, ridiculous "would you rather?" conversations, and the kind of nonsense that helps bored staff survive a long shift. The dynamics between the staff brings plenty of laughs, with a strong cast of recent University of Salford acting graduates who all possess natural funny bones. If Jason from HR ever set foot in the Legless Lamb, he'd h...
Jersey Boys – Bradford Alhambra
Yorkshire & Humber

Jersey Boys – Bradford Alhambra

Back in fifties New Jersey there were three ways out of poverty – the army, getting mobbed up or become a pop star. Frankie Valli and his three mates formed The Four Seasons to take what they thought would be the easy option. But as well as massive hits like Sherry and Big Girls Don’t Cry, this surprisingly gritty tale of the perils of rags to riches pop stardom is not without its mob connection. Street hustler Tommy Devito is also a musician and discovers a vocal winning lottery ticket in Frankie Valli’s distinctive falsetto. Throw in the genius of songwriter Bob Gaudio and you have the Four Seasons who become the best selling boy band of all time with a string of hits.  But like all successful bands they are brought  down to earth thanks to internecine rivalries, ego and ...
Good For Her! – The Other Palace
London

Good For Her! – The Other Palace

Written and performed by Mollie Semple and directed by Kayla Stokes, Good For Her! is a sharp solo show that explores ambition, womanhood and trying to find yourself within a world fuelled by social media comparisons. We follow 28-year-old aspiring actress Iris as she flits between ambition, envy and self-doubt whilst grappling with toxic family and feeling overshadowed by those she stalks on Instagram. Comparison being the thief of joy certainly rings true for Iris’ story, which Semple plays extremely well, as we see her “having it together” persona quickly deteriorate with her incessant need to feel like she is doing better than her peers, shown through her obsessive and constant doom scrolling. Iris’ fractured relationship with her narcissistic mother, whose declining health f...
Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man – Sheffield Lyceum
Yorkshire & Humber

Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man – Sheffield Lyceum

Matthew Bourne’s ‘The Car Man’ at the Sheffield Lyceum is utterly stupendous. Despite the show not having been on tour in the UK for over 10 years, it has certainly returned with fervour. The performance had already begun before the audience had even filled the seats, before the lights even went down - with the dancers playfully flirting with one another, hanging signs up and fixing cars. With a show so full of action, passion, deception and desire, the immersive prelude was just a glimpse into what was to come. The creative direction and choreography of Matthew Bourne was deeply moving. It elegantly wove classical ballet with contemporary and modern dance. I particularly enjoyed the Act 1 finale, which featured line dancing and a hoedown during a party, contrasting deliciously with the...
Alice in Wonderland – Riverside Studios
London

Alice in Wonderland – Riverside Studios

Neon-bright, fast-paced and generally faithful to Lewis Carroll's original, Penny Farrow's version of Alice in Wonderland is a joy.  It's somehow simultaneously fresh and modern while remaining a classic. There are very convincing puppets for some of the characters (think Avenue Q meets the Muppets) but director Nate Bertone has not been tempted to shoehorn in any of the current theatrical gimmicks like digital screens and steadicams to distract from the action.  All the favourite characters of this beloved tale show up, portrayed by a terrifically talented ensemble who give it their all and then some, with on-point comic timing.  Bored Alice is feisty, curious and played with the perfect degree of sweetness by Ailsa Erskine.  When she chases Clare Brice's energetic ...
The Cherry Orchard – Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon
West Midlands

The Cherry Orchard – Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon

There is a temptation with The Cherry Orchard to treat it as a museum piece: a wistful farewell to a vanished aristocratic world wrapped in reverential melancholy. Laura Wade’s ambitious new version, directed by Tamara Harvey for the Royal Shakespeare Company, refuses to preserve Chekhov in aspic. It brings freshness and immediacy to one of theatre’s greatest farewell plays, though its determination to find contemporary clarity occasionally comes at the expense of some of the original’s quieter poetry and ambiguity. Written specifically for Harvey, the Swan Theatre and this ensemble, Wade’s adaptation is less concerned with reproducing Chekhov’s exact cadences than capturing the emotional and political forces beneath them. Purists may notice the freer language and sharper rhythms, but t...
The Hidden Dangers of Camping – Theatre Royal, Windsor
London

The Hidden Dangers of Camping – Theatre Royal, Windsor

Liesl Wilke’s ‘The Hidden Dangers of Camping’ arrives at Theatre Royal Windsor for its world premiere with an intriguing premise and an impressively large production. The story begins with a family crisis in the present that pulls Casey (Jess Nesling) back into memories of a childhood camping trip, gradually revealing that this apparently idyllic weekend was anything but. The result is an absorbing, visually accomplished drama which examines the damage carried through families and the lasting effects of being exposed to adult behaviour at an impressionable age. Director Bronagh Lagan handles the movement between past and present particularly well. Casey’s therapist (Sandra James-Young) becomes an effective portal into her memories, allowing the play to slip between timelines with clarit...
paywall – The King’s Arms
North West

paywall – The King’s Arms

This was my first trip to The King’s Arms, and this 54-seat black-box venue, nestled in the historic heart of Salford, felt like the perfect setting for this one-woman show, performed as part of the Greater Manchester Fringe. Written and performed by Neysa Killeen, a self-styled Irish storyteller, the play begins in medias res with Lizzie, a 27-year-old woman, making the difficult decision to leave her Dublin flat and return home to the unwelcoming arms of her father. Defeated in her quest to become a hard-hitting investigative journalist by a combination of the stitched-up patriarchy and the cost-of-living crisis, Lizzie’s story charts her personal journey from a small child dubbed ‘cold’ by her aunt on the day of her mother’s funeral to a wrung-out postgraduate struggling to pay h...
The Boys We Were – The King’s Arms
North West

The Boys We Were – The King’s Arms

Nostalgia has become a lucrative commodity. From Take That to Steps, the reunion tour has evolved into a reliable cultural ritual, inviting audiences to relive happier times while asking whether former stars can ever truly recapture the magic. Tom Peters’ The Boys We Were explores that familiar territory, using the reunion of fictional boyband The Boiz to examine friendship, regret and the uneasy transition from fleeting fame to ordinary life. Former manager Max (John Joyce-O’Keeffe) attempts to reunite his fractured protégés for a television special and tour, only to discover that old resentments have never really disappeared. Successful solo artist Jay (Rob Peters) remains estranged from Lee (Tom Peters), whose bitterness over the band’s collapse continues to simmer, while Ry (Bil...
The Gruffalo – Lyric Theatre
London

The Gruffalo – Lyric Theatre

As a child of the early noughties, I remember Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo as a distinctive cultural touchstone of my formative years. A couple of decades later, it’s been a while since I engaged with the classic British tale, so I was very happy to pop along to the Lyric Theatre on a sunny Sunday morning to watch Tall Stories’ musical adaptation in celebration of its 25th anniversary. Our storytellers are Rianna Kellman, Niall Hemingway, and Jordan Cottle, who introduce us to the deep, dark wood – in a beautiful set by Isla Shaw that feels like the perfect homage to Axel Scheffler’s iconic illustrations – where Mouse (Kellman) now resides. On the hunt for the perfect tasty nut, Mouse has to outwit the sneaky Fox, Owl, and Snake (all played by Cottle) before meeting the frightening Gr...