Sunday, December 21

Latest Articles

The Winston Machine – Unity Theatre
North West

The Winston Machine – Unity Theatre

Brought to us by the critically acclaimed Kandinsky, we see a fusion of worlds decades different, but with mirrored tensions of grief, purpose and place. An awesome use of effects and controlled dialogue led to a crisp performance that I would watch again. The teamwork on stage was apparent and which led to an impressive and at times funny mode of storytelling. Unfortunately, I am unable to identify who exactly played on stage, but each performance lent itself to the quality of the work, with detail and precision used in each moment. The conviction and presence of the players was palpable. Their use of singing, swift accent changes and physical movement were again impressive. Together with an emotive soundtrack with modern flavours meant the audience were fully immersed in the performan...
Thatcher – Rite – Streatham Space Project
London

Thatcher – Rite – Streatham Space Project

‘What sort of country do you want?’ – Margaret Thatcher Tea, cucumber, a table and Margaret Thatcher. This is how people’s fate is decided. The performance starts with Margaret Thatcher played by Jack Boal, sitting in the middle of a table, looking at a projection screened behind her. It talks about nuclear families and gendered roles; the tone is already set. The character looked at the audience, the performance started. Thatcher – Rite written and performed by Jack Boal, directed by Lila Robirosa, revisits the political and personal legacy left by Margaret Thatcher. Verbatim and lip-syncing techniques, coupled with visuals of Margaret Thatcher herself, extracts of news and political shows, as well as written messages on the screen projection are vigorously explored by the techni...
One Minute – King’s Head Theatre
London

One Minute – King’s Head Theatre

The Working Actors Studio have revived Simon Stephens 2003 play One Minute at the King's Head Theatre. 'One minute' refers to the time it takes 11-year-old Daisy Schults to vanish, and the play depicts five characters impacted by her disappearance. In part this is a police drama, with the two detectives, played by Frederick Lysegaard and Lee Lomas, leading the investigation into her disappearance, but later being left on their own as other resources are taken away due to their lack of success. But it is much more an emotional study of the interaction of the five characters. The story unfolds slowly through numerous short scenes, many of which are only tangentially linked to the actual events of the disappearance. For example, the two characters of Mary Louise and Catherine, played by Im...
Peter Pan Goes Wrong flies into the West End for 7 ½ weeks only
NEWS

Peter Pan Goes Wrong flies into the West End for 7 ½ weeks only

Mischief, creators of the multi award-winning sell-out success The Play That Goes Wrong, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery and the BBC TV comedy series The Goes Wrong Show, announce the return of Peter Pan Goes Wrong to the West End for 7 ½ weeks only at the Lyric Theatre this Christmas (Thursday 23rd November 2023 – Sunday 14th January 2024, with a Gala Performance on Tuesday 28th November). Tickets go on sale via Mischief and the Box Office at www.PeterPanGoesWrongLive.com at 10am on Monday 27th March. Full casting will be confirmed at a later date. Peter Pan Goes Wrong embarks on a UK tour from September 2023 and can currently be seen around the globe, with original members of the Mischief company now previewing on Broadway, officially opening on Wednesday 19th April. Kenny Wax, Pro...
Shrek The Musical set to embark on huge 31 venue UK and Ireland Tour
NEWS

Shrek The Musical set to embark on huge 31 venue UK and Ireland Tour

Shrek-tastic images have been released today of some of the principal cast in character ahead of the upcoming Shrek The Musical UK and Ireland Tour. Previously announced by producers Mark Goucher, Gavin Kalin and Matthew Gale, the Shrektacular principal cast line-up includes Antony Lawrence (Shrek), Joanne Clifton (Princess Fiona), James Gillan (Lord Farquaad) and Brandon Lee Sears (Donkey) in the brand-new production of Shrek the Musical. Opening at Theatre Royal Plymouth on 21st July 2023, the smash hit musical will tour through to April 2024 to a total of 31 venues.  Antony Lawrence (Shrek) recently played Scar in The Lion King (International Tour) as well as performed in Mary Poppins (National Tour), Matilda the Musical (Cambridge Theatre/RSC) and We Will Rock You (Internationa...
Frantic Assembly bring Metamorphosis to the Lowry
NEWS

Frantic Assembly bring Metamorphosis to the Lowry

Full tour dates have been announced for Frantic Assembly’s new adaptation of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, a collaboration between internationally celebrated poet, playwright and broadcaster Lemn Sissay OBE and Frantic Assembly’s Artistic Director Scott Graham (Othello, Lovesong, Beautiful Burnout).   The new production will premiere at Theatre Royal Plymouth from 12th – 16th September 2023, before embarking on an extensive UK tour arriving at The Lowry, Salford from 14th – 18th November 2023. Further creative team are also announced. Metamorphosis will be adapted by Lemn Sissay, directed by Scott Graham, designed by Jon Bausor, with video design by Ian William Galloway, music composed by Stefan Janik and sound design by Helen Skiera.  The associate director is David Gilbe...
Comedy Festival to celebrate Blackpool’s legacy of laughter
NEWS

Comedy Festival to celebrate Blackpool’s legacy of laughter

Summer spectacular spearheaded by Eddie Izzard & Seann Walsh at the Winter Gardens Blackpool The Winter Gardens Blackpool has joined forces with the Comedy Station to deliver two high profile, side-splitting line-ups on 7 & 8th July 2023 as part of a weekend of entertainment as part of the Blackpool Comedy Festival which returns for the first time since 2019.   Compere Ryan Gleeson will host Friday Night Laughs and Saturday Live! welcoming some of the best stand up and most celebrated comedians to the Opera House stage. Friday Night Live will feature MC Ryan Gleeson, Jojo Sutherland, Angelos Epithemiou, Tom Stade and Eddie Izzard. Eddie is one of the most celebrated comics of her generation since the early nineties and has an equally stellar reputation as a film, tele...
Steel Magnolias – Rainhill Village Hall
North West

Steel Magnolias – Rainhill Village Hall

Robert Harling penned this play shortly after the death of his sister and it is very much based on real life experiences: after his sister’s funeral he noticed how the women who supported her came together to share stories and laugh in a way the men of the family seemed unable to do. Director Michèle Martin has remained faithful to the setting in Louisiana in the heart of the Deep South where the action unfolds in the singular setting of a small-town beauty salon with owner Truvy (Samantha Moores) welcoming the newly arrived but troubled young beautician, Annelle (Katie Griffin) to work with her. But this is more than a hair salon, it is a place of refuge that forges those that need it into ‘steel magnolias’ and where a group of local women come to share their close bond of friendship. ...
<strong>Unbecoming – Summerhall</strong>
Scotland

Unbecoming – Summerhall

This deeply personal solo piece, by Anna Porubcansky of Company of Wolves, unmasks the artist’s windswept inner world in all its dreamlike complexity, through poetry, song and performance. The show opens with a lament.  A melodic dirge about loss, death and mortality.  Porubcansky’s clear, plaintive singing voice is perfect here, and there are some lines of poetry which will stay with me for very a long time. Here, and elsewhere in the show, Porubcansky uses technology to layer her vocalisations, drawing on repetition to create a richly meditative atmosphere. Porubcansky’s openness and vulnerability, as a poet and performer, is exquisite.  This is not a work of fiction: all the content comes from Porubcansky’s personal experience.  She really shows up, emotionally...
Ladyfriends (A Period Drama) – Shakespeare North Playhouse
North West

Ladyfriends (A Period Drama) – Shakespeare North Playhouse

A charming stripped back, playful metadrama recalling a time when Lesbians were “not yet invented”, and women could only possibly be friends. Using multimedia to deliver a stimulating sensory narrative structure which serves its juxtaposition between modern day storytelling in its depiction of an early 20th century queer love story. Written and directed by Clodagh Chapman the performance is centred on a rumoured, historical love affair between political activist and co-founder of the Women’s Social and Political Union, Christabel Pankhurst, portrayed by Ellie Mejia and fellow Suffragette Annie Kenney, played by Lucy Mackay. The Victorian era saw developments in modern language around the understanding of sexual behaviour and identity which has become rooted within our societal construct...