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Audrey’s Art Club – Brighton Fringe Online

9May

By Donna M DayNo Comments

South East

Audrey’s Art Club – Brighton Fringe Online

Audrey’s Art Club, from Lita Doolan Productions, is a multi-media collection of snippets from the life of Audrey (Lita Doolan) and her relationship with Violet. Written and performed by Doolan, this original piece of theatre is a love story and also explores themes of isolation, loss and the often desperate need to be wanted. The piece opens with a close up of a black and white Tarot Moon card, followed by several images of urban decay. Poetry is recited by Doolan as a voiceover and the poignant verse with themes of longing alludes to the sadness at the core of Audrey’s romance with Violet. We see the city streets from Audrey’s point of view, as she walks about town. We then hear her side of a phone call about a job she is applying for. Doolan makes Audrey’s eagerness to get the job ...

9May

By Angela KellyNo Comments

North West

Our Town – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

Directed by Joe Meighan, 'Our Town' is written by American playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner, Thornton Wilder and is performed at The Altrincham Garrick Playhouse this week. The Garrick are a very exciting company to watch and with an impressive three acts to the play, ‘Our Town’ is no exception. The story is set in the fictional ‘Grover’s Corners’, New Hampshire and takes place between 1901 and 1913. Despite the era, the entire feel of this story is that it is entirely relatable, focussing essentially on life and death (and all the key moments in between) with reference to the people who live here. It follows the love story of neighbours George Gibbs (Luke Grewer) and Emily Webb (Lauren Robinson) but is actually about so much more. Opening up 10 minutes prior to the ma...

9May

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

NEWS

Preview: Idlib by Storm in the North

Let’s start off making bread – the Syrian way. We will mix the dry ingredients, in a bowl bought in a Souk from Idlib before the troubles. Then we will add the water… then wait for it to rise. While the yeast does its work, we will witness a brand-new real-life drama set in north-west Syria. The action takes place in a building with no electricity, no food, and a line of bullet holes in the wall. However, it is a story not of despair but of kindness. Then we will take a breath, have a conversation about what we have seen and what is happening in our world. We will also explore the role of food in our own lives. And when the bread is ready, cooked in front of our eyes, and the room is filled with the smell of freshly-baked bread, we will share it with our friends and neighbours – a...

8May

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

August in England – Bush Theatre

Lenny Henry captivates in this bittersweet tale about a man whose life is turned upside down by the Windrush scandal. It is surprising to find out that this is the first play he has written as the language and events flow sinuously and the script is imbued with a strong sense of August Henderson’s character with funny, quirky details. August’s journey is an eclectic one from Kingston Jamaica to Calypso Crescent in an emphatically ghastly Peckham and then to West Brom. This no doubt reflects aspects of Henry’s own life and those he knows, having parents who emigrated to Britain from Jamaica and brought him up in Dudley. The story begins with the family’s move and then cleverly branches into August’s life, starting a zealous band-cum-rebel group called Black Fist and later launching Iq...

The Motive and the Cue – National Theatre

8May

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

The Motive and the Cue – National Theatre

Celebrating Broadway’s famous actor-director duo of the 60s, The Motive and the Cue depicts the journey of Sir Arthur John Gielgud (Mark Gatiss) and Richard Burton (John Flynn) arriving at a Hamlet that is meaningful to both. And in this exciting journey, layer after layer is revealed as reflected in the brilliant set and design of the play. It is the story of two Hamlets, generations, and experiences apart, and when they face each other, one as a “classicist [director] wanting to be modern, and a modern [actor] wanting to be a classicist”, one can hear clashes between theatre v/s film, old v/s new, craft v/s showbiz. Sam Mendes exceptionally directs a stellar cast and production involving Jack Thorne’s words intermingled with excerpts from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. What truly connects the duo...

Family Tree – Everyman Theatre, Liverpool

8May

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

Family Tree – Everyman Theatre, Liverpool

Matthew Xia has produced an outstanding serving of unremembered history. A fascinating celebration of black life, past and present, and the importance of what connects us all in the human condition. Mojisola Adebayo’ s powerful words were tackled by the cast with sensitivity and flare, and a quick mention to Aminita Francis for handling the difficult poetic language of Henrietta Lacks with nuance and verve. This is a story that spans ninety minutes but captures centuries. A performance that does not shy from cultural celebration but shares the infectious energy of Diane Alison-Mitchell’s traditional dance and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers cultural song. It will definitely make you smile. It was evident that a lot of research has been put into this production. It is a searing lesson of...

Kitty in the Lane – Brockley Jack Studio Theatre

7May

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Kitty in the Lane – Brockley Jack Studio Theatre

Kitty is waiting in her kitchen, dressed up to go to a pageant where her competitive friend will be performing. In her isolated house, at the end of a long lane, Kitty lives with her invalid father. She is also awaiting the arrival of her sometime lover, but he never does. Kitty is played by Aine Ryan who also devised this one-hander. She narrates the story of her life on the isolated farm, where she was always dominated by her dictatorial father. It is a grim piece of theatre, describing suicide, rape, and abortion. The play is intended to be the tale of a woman imprisoned by circumstances, but as a picture of modern day Ireland it was anachronistic. The farm had tractors and CCTV in all the fields: there was clearly no shortage of money. This is not a believable picture of rural...

Don’t feed that plant at Buxton Opera House!

5May

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

Don’t feed that plant at Buxton Opera House!

Following the success of Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Oliver! and Rent, Buxton Opera House will once again be showcasing talented local performers in its production of Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Buxton Opera House CEO, Paul Kerryson. This sci-fi rock musical has become a cult favourite, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman (the creative geniuses behind Disney's The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast and Aladdin). It features songs Somewhere That’s Green, Dentist, Suddenly Seymour and Don’t Feed The Plants. The community cast includes Buxton’s own Karina Booth as Audrey and Chesterfield’s Jamie Smith as Seymour. Whilst not on stage, Karina runs her own youth theatre in Buxton, as well as regularly working with Buxton Opera House and Pavilion Arts Centre’s...

5May

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

If You Fall – HOME, Manchester

So, what happens when you lose your independence, your voice, your mind – the essence of what makes you, you? This question is answered by Ad Infinitum, a multi award winning Bristol based theatre company directed by Helena Middleton, currently settling into a run at HOME as part of a UK tour. This is a collaborative piece of devised theatre which tells the stories of Margaret and Norson. A story about care, love and the end of our lives. Using personal testimony, the company ensemble has created an imaginative, real and compassionate piece of physical theatre. We first meet Margaret at her funeral objecting that her Eulogy appears to be focused on the end of her life rather than the sum of it. She does not want to be remembered as in a care home with vascular dementia but that she w...

Fancy being Oliver or the Dodger at Leeds Playhouse?

5May

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

NEWS

Fancy being Oliver or the Dodger at Leeds Playhouse?

Leeds Playhouse has launched an open casting call to find young actors to star in the leading roles of Oliver and Dodger as well as the Children’s Ensemble in its new staging of Oliver! that opens in Leeds this November. The Playhouse is working with leading casting directors Keston & Keston, who supported the theatre’s search for Charlie Bucket as part of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – The Musical, which is currently on tour across the UK. Open auditions will be held on 27th and 28th May to find Oliver, Dodger and members of the Children's Ensemble. All young people who meet the casting criteria and who register by 17th May will be seen by the team. They must be 9-12 years old, under 5ft tall and live within an hour’s commute of Leeds city centre. This is a paid role,...