Latest Articles - Page 4 of 688

25Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Something Rotten – Opera House

Manchester does it again! A city that gives birth to so many musicals that go on to conquer the world, Something Rotten is the latest UK premiere to grace the Opera House stage and this one is something special! Something Rotten! is a high-energy comedy set in 1595, where struggling brothers Nick Bottom and Nigel Bottom compete with rock-star playwright William Shakespeare. Desperate for success, Nick consults a soothsayer who predicts the future of theatre—and invents the musical, complete with singing, dancing, and jazz hands. What follows is a rapid-fire blend of wordplay, tap numbers, and affectionate parody of Shakespeare, musical theatre clichés, and creative jealousy. With show-stopping ensemble pieces, heartfelt sibling rivalry, and relentlessly silly humour, the show celebrates...

The Karate Kid: The Musical – Festival Theatre

24Jun

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

The Karate Kid: The Musical – Festival Theatre

Yet another musical version of a successful film from back in the day and though they rarely miss, not all hit. The production values are usually high and this is no exception. A superb set consisting chiefly of brightly coloured Japanese screens propelled around by cast members creates the different sets; the arcade where Daniel meets Freddie Fernadez and first encounters Ali, the Larusso household, Mr Miyagi’s den, the Cobra Kai gym and so on. It’s visually thrilling with some sharp light changes, the choreography, skilfully incorporating elements of the Okinawan martial discipline, exciting and well-executed. Gino Ochello is perfectly competent as Daniel, as is Abigail Amin as Ali but it’s with quiet authority that Adrian Pang steers the ship in an unexpectedly gentle comic manner as Mr...

Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man – The Lowry

24Jun

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man – The Lowry

On the hottest day of the year in the UK, the return of The Car Man to The Lowry feels almost too perfectly timed. As the temperature in Manchester soars, the heat radiating from the stage proves every bit as intense, transporting us to the sultry, sweat-soaked corner of small-town America where passions burn dangerously out of control. Inspired by Bizet’s Carmen, with an extended version of Rodin Shchedrin’s orchestration, The Car Man remains one of Bourne’s most intoxicating creations. Moving the action to a 1960s Midwestern diner and garage in the fictional town of Harmony, the production pulses with desire, jealousy and betrayal, all underscored by Terry Davies’ thrilling arrangement of the famous music. At the centre of the drama, the chemistry between the lead performers ...

Barnum: The Circus Musical – Richmond Theatre

24Jun

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Barnum: The Circus Musical – Richmond Theatre

There are revivals that simply revisit a beloved classic, and then there are productions that completely reinvent it for a contemporary audience while preserving everything that made it special in the first place. This latest revival of ‘Barnum’ achieves exactly that. This vibrant touring production has arrived at Richmond Theatre bursting with colour, spectacle and seemingly boundless circus energy, and creating a celebration of theatrical imagination. From the moment the curtain rises, the production embraces the organised chaos that surrounded the life and legend of P.T. Barnum. The stage becomes a playground of constant movement, with astonishing circus artistry seamlessly woven into absolutely every scene. Rather than feeling like separate variety acts inserted between songs, the b...

My Fair Lady – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

23Jun

By Dan GrimesNo Comments

North West

My Fair Lady – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

Surprisingly, the story of My Fair Lady, that most quintessentially British of musicals, has its origins in ancient Greece. The character of Henry Higgins is a reinterpretation of Pygmalion, the gifted sculptor from the myth recorded in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In that story, Pygmalion is disillusioned by what he sees as the flaws of women and decides to remain unmarried, choosing instead to carve an ivory statue of a woman so exquisitely beautiful that he falls in love with his own creation. George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 revision of the myth is a sharply satirical retelling in an updated social context. His Pygmalion is transplanted from the island of Cyprus to Edwardian London, and he reframes the story to explore class structures, gender roles, and questions of social mobility within a rig...

20Jun

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Planet Omar – Birmingham Rep

Asif Khan’s adaptation of Zanib Man’s book first launched to the stars at the Leeds Playhouse with intergalactic backup from Unicorn Theatre and, of course, our own much-loved space station, the Birmingham Rep. “Planet Omar” has blossomed into five much loved children’s books whose creator, who studied Molecular Cell Biology, has developed further titles and appeared on BBC’s CBeebies Bedtime Stories. Omar is a fantastically imaginative 8-year-old boy of British Pakistani Muslim heritage who is forever getting into scrapes, scraps and escapades. His family has moved to a new neighbourhood entailing a tsunami of new experiences - including a new school, a bully and a very unfriendly neighbour. How Omar navigates his way through these obstacles is revealed in this new play directed by Sameen...

19Jun

By Saloni SanwalkaNo Comments

London

Camdenwalla – Camden People’s Theatre

There are some works of art which one wishes were fiction and Camdenwalla is one of them. The play takes us back to 1990s Camden, when racism against the British-Bangladeshi community was at an all-time high. Amidst police indifference emerged the Camden Monitoring Project, an organisation run by local volunteers which functioned as a helpline of sorts and kept meticulous record of the details of each attack. Camdenwalla is a snapshot of an average night for one of these volunteers, Muhammad, as he races to extinguish the embers of violence before they catch. The first few minutes of the show perfectly capture the period’s unease. Bhasker Patel, in a truly magnetic turn as Muhammad, tries to go about his routine but gives himself away with fleeting glances towards a locked door, wai...

Calendar Girls The Musical – Pontefract Town Hall

19Jun

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Calendar Girls The Musical – Pontefract Town Hall

An emotional and memorable evening was had at Pontefract Town Hall last night as Encore Theatre Company performed their version of Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s Calendar Girls – The Musical. For those who aren’t familiar with the stage show, it is based on the true story of a group of ordinary Yorkshire women who attend a branch of the Women’s Institute (WI). Through tragedy, the loss of one of their own, Annie’s husband to blood cancer, led by Chris they find a novel and extraordinary way of raising money to buy a memorial settee for the visitor’s room at Skipton General Hospital. Let’s create a ‘nude’ calendar! Resulting in a global phenomenon and enough money (Millions!) to have a ward in the hospital named the John Clarke Memorial Wing. The musical explores the challenging, movi...

19Jun

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Miraculous – Kings Head Theatre

This is a play about the Christian religion, authority and the interpretation of the Bible. It takes place in a Christian camp in the Oregon Mountains where Josh, a young student has been sent by his parents, and the retreat is overseen by a zealous young pastor, Paul, who has daily mentoring sessions with Josh. In these sessions Josh, at best a lukewarm Christian, tests his pastor's faith with challenges about what he reads in the Bible and Christian interpretations of sex, forgiveness and miracles. This is not a play with deep theological debate. Josh's questions are fairly simplistic; the sort everyone asks from time to time, and Paul's responses are less satisfactory and thoughtful than one would expect from a well-educated cleric placed in a position of authority over young p...

Remember, Remember! – Hull Truck Theatre

19Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Remember, Remember! – Hull Truck Theatre

Hull Truck’s John Godber studio was all abuzz on Thursday evening, full of theatregoers eager to hear what really happened when Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up Parliament in 1605. And who better to tell the story than WIT? Theatre Company members Kluane Saunders, Ross Tomlinson, Lucy Buncombe and Tom O’Kelly. And as the lights dimmed, aka curtain up, I listened to “their truth” with baited breath while lots of mental “surely nots” “OMGs” and “come off its” ran through my head. I exaggerate, of course, I didn’t believe a word the four uttered, sang, shouted or sexily whispered, but I thoroughly enjoyed their lies. The Gunpowder Plot was led by Robert “Robbie” Catesby (Saunders), in a vain attempt to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament to end Protest...