Latest Articles - Page 332 of 645

13Jun

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Greatest Days – Sheffield Lyceum

A pure Band of 24k gold! Originally under the title of The Band, the musical changed its name to The Official Take That Musical Greatest Days and relaunched a new tour. But why? It would seem people were expecting to see a show about the band itself and the musical is certainly not that. With a book written by Tim Firth and the music and lyrics by Take That, it tells the tell of a group of five young fans in the 90’s who live their lives to the soundtrack of their favourite band. Their lives can be seen to mirror that of the bands as together they live, laugh and suffer loss, eventually going their own ways. 25 Years later, like their idols, they too reunite and go on their own reunion tour of re discovery. Greatest Days is a story of friendship, dreams, growth and survival with a famil...

Mozart’s Double Concerto – Liverpool Philharmonic

12Jun

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Mozart’s Double Concerto – Liverpool Philharmonic

Mozart’s Double Concerto, performed by pianists Katia and Marielle Labéque, accompanied by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Karel Deseure, is preceded by Dvořák’s The Wood Dove and followed by Prokofiev’s Symphony No.3 to create a magical and dramatic afternoon of music. The opening of The Wood Dove features a lovely contrast of heavy bass and percussion and light woodwind. This proceeds into a repetitive double bass and cello section which guides the rest of the orchestra along the progression. Gentle cymbals add a sense of drama as the piece moves into a march with a military feeling as the intricate brass blends with ominous pizzicato to create a sense of eerie magic. The piece is ideal for the summer creating a feeling of the world waking up, and a sense of d...

You Win Again, Celebrating The Music Of The Bee Gees – Edinburgh Queen’s Hall

12Jun

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

You Win Again, Celebrating The Music Of The Bee Gees – Edinburgh Queen’s Hall

This wasn’t billed as a comedy but of laughs there were plenty. The first occurred when collecting tickets, the box office charge d’affaires keeping a completely straight face while informing us it was a ‘fully seated show’. Two prospective walk-ups turned on their heels, which was a shame as the audience clearly had different ideas. Two hours later, as the band finished everyone off with a stomping version of ‘Tragedy’, the venerable hall was literally bouncing. It was, in truth, a gig, albeit with a theatre-style interval; from a mighty song-writing canon, underlined by a second half medley of songs written for icons such as Diana Ross and Dolly Parton. A pedestrian start threatened to turn cringe-worthy with some of the between-song patter but it was difficult to take ones’ eyes off ...

Death Drop’s Holly Stars to bring new solo stand-up show to Camden Fringe this summer

11Jun

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

Death Drop’s Holly Stars to bring new solo stand-up show to Camden Fringe this summer

Holly Stars, drag queen stand-up comedian and writer of smash hit west end show Death Drop, is bringing an all-new solo show, BIRTHDAY, to Camden Fringe this summer, ahead of Death Drop's off-Broadway transfer this autumn. Holly's turning 40 and she's ready for a new decade to begin. She might be on the fast-track to middle age but nothing's going to slow her down. However, when Holly's nightmare neighbours try to stop her from organising the party of her dreams, Holly goes to war. Will her 40th birthday be her most dramatic yet? Come and find out in this stand-up comedy special with opening performance by drag king Richard Energy. One night only as part of Camden Fringe! About Holly Stars Holly Stars is a comedian and writer, best known for her smash-hit west end murder my...

World Premiere of an Absurdist Comedy Macbeth by the Sea

11Jun

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

World Premiere of an Absurdist Comedy Macbeth by the Sea

Witches! Ghosts! Karaoke! Shakespeare's tragic power couple, The Macbeths, murder the king and ascend the throne. Good friend Banquo has been killed, too. Banquo's battered spirit disrupts a celebration for the royal couple. Worried that her husband's stressful hallucinations will thwart their reign, Lady Macbeth orders a relaxing weekend at The Happy Hearts Seaside Resort. Will the weight of their evil deeds doom their legacy? Some witches might have something to say about it. Combining raucous physical theatre with skewering the bard, the play comically explores the themes of nepotism versus raw ambition and the merits of couples massages, karaoke, and Bon Jovi. Something Hysterical This Way Comes! This is the third show that Chicago's John Hancock Productions has brought to...

Award winning theatre company return to Greater Manchester Fringe

11Jun

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

Award winning theatre company return to Greater Manchester Fringe

Award winning theatre company, Northern Rep, are returning to Greater Manchester Fringe Festival in 2023, this time with two original plays. One man show BOSIE, written and performed by Rik Barnett, tells the story of Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (Bosie), the illicit lover of Oscar Wilde and reminisces on the destruction left in his wake. After being forced into exile, Bosie is powerless and angry. Compelled to face his past and the persecution endured by his father. Battling his own tour de force of personal philosophies and deep reflection on how his actions led to Oscar Wilde’s disgrace and how he, Bosie a gentleman of Victorian high society is now trapped, degraded and alone. The scandal and outrage of this overshadowed character in Wilde’s downfall is finally examined throug...

Rubbish Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespeare North Playhouse

11Jun

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Rubbish Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespeare North Playhouse

“The course of true love never did run smooth” goes the line and never has a stronger argument been made than tonight’s raucous take on one of the Bard’s most popular comedies. And never before have we been able to settle that age old debate – do camels live in the woods? In the sunny surroundings of the Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden, and armed with a series of violently coloured wigs, water-pistols and wings that are most definitely not bedsheets, the Rubbish Shakespeare Theatre Company has brought its latest family-friendly production to the stage, channeling the sensibilities of pantomime, as our players mercilessly tease the audience throughout, whilst sprinting through the salient points of the well-loved tale. Just in case you weren’t paying attention during your English Lit ...

11Jun

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Carmen – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Bizet’s 1875 opera Carmen, based on the novel by Prosper Mérimée, tells the story of an obsessive love affair between soldier Don José (Alik Kumar) and flirtatious factory worker Carmen (Justina Gringytė). The musical scenes are punctuated by spoken dialogue between Jose and a detective known as the Investigator (Carmen Pierracini) and begins with José confessing to the murder of Carmen. I liked Pieraccini’s strength and stillness, watching quietly as the story unfolds, examining evidence and providing a moral compass for the work. In this production, the libretto has been translated into English by Christopher Cowell. Opera can be a particularly challenging genre for a translator, but Cowell’s version flows beautifully. I enjoyed hearing the opera in English, and felt more connected to...

11Jun

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Childminder – Traverse Theatre

Written by real-life child psychiatrist Iain McClure, the titular ChildMinder (or at least one of them) is Joseph (Cal MacAninch), a man with a secret. Several in fact, and not the kind that live harmoniously with a successful and public career as a child psychiatrist. But buried things often rot and fester, and these secrets have a habit of suddenly robbing even the most pleasant moment of its security as the ground gives out from under him, until the question becomes one of life or death... Or at least that's my byline for the show. The one on the Traverse website talks about "being haunted", "didn't realise", "a modern ghost story" and an "eerie psychological thriller" which, while not entirely inaccurate, really only reflects about twenty minutes in the last quarter of this 90-minut...

11Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Idlib – Theatre Porto

Written and directed by Kevin Dyer, and produced by Laura Duncalf, Idlib started as a piece of prose as a prelude for a play that morphed into a short story before becoming the script for a monologue first performed online in 2021. Based on the story of a Syrian baker who wanted to return home and real interviews with Syrian refugees and escapees across Europe, it tells the story of a woman (Anoush Kendrick) who has hope, but it is both the prelude to this tale and what follows afterwards as well that make this such a special evening. I have seen this production twice before – online and in-person at an intimate space several months ago – but I couldn’t resist the attraction of participating again at a new venue (for me) and with a new performer. It transpires that this is the start ...