Latest Articles - Page 577 of 666

22Jun

By Donna M DayNo Comments

South East

Nevergreen – Brighton Fringe

The wonderful’s Nevergreen, written by Gus Mitchell and directed by Eloise Poulton, is a hypnotising and beautiful online show, that tries to articulate the colossal fight we need to engage in to save our planet and everything that lives on it. A one woman show, performer Katurah Morrish, switches between playing Rachel Carson and an objective narrator in today’s world who reveres Carson’s work. Physical theatre is blended with heart wrenching monologues, which create a truly original online show. Technical issues about failing connections seen in numerous online shows now as a wry nod to today’s environment, are utilised to illustrate the overwhelming difficulties of communicating the massive issues connected with climate change. As Morrish scribbles into a worn notebook with...

The Complete works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

22Jun

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

The Complete works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

A fifteen month hiatus from live theatre has left everyone in the industry both grateful to be back and trepidatious in equal measure. Therefore, when my editor suggested that my first review in nine months should be 'The Complete Works of William Shakespeare', I checked the calendar to see if it wasn't April 1st. Thankfully, rather than the entire canon of 37 plays, we were presented with an 80 minutes gallop through the collected works of 'The Bard', laced with humour, improvisation and slapstick which made for a highly entertaining Monday evening at the warm and welcoming Garrick Playhouse in Altrincham. Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Whitfield, this show was originally performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 1987, before transferring to London where it ran successfully ...

21Jun

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Happy Days – Riverside Studios

Celebrating 60 years of Samuel Beckett’s much-acclaimed play, this special revival of ‘Happy Days’ has Lisa Dwan take on its titular role of Winnie, a woman buried to her waist in sand as she goes about her daily routine, often remarking to herself that indeed, “this is a happy day”. Directed by Trevor Nunn and designed by Robert Jones, this production is a stark reminder of the drudgery and futility of the domestic lives we live, caught in a never-ending cycle of repetition and relief as we seek refuge from the same relationships that drive us to the edge. The two-act structure reinforces the central theme of passage of time and how Winnie, through her slow and inexplicable sinking into the sand, is unable to escape the cruelty and disappointment of her perfect life, especially her marria...

21Jun

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

South East

The Crooked Spire – Brighton Fringe

Filmed in 2020 during Covid, based on the novel The Crooked Spire by Chris Nickson and directed by Andrew Miller this 35-minute medieval murder mystery musical (honestly!) is a bit of an oddity to say the least. All the actors are filmed separately in performed sequences and sometimes the editing and isolated performances from the cast is quite jarring. The acting is very patchy throughout and unfortunately the actual musical content and vocal delivery is not that good – was there any need to include music in the first place? I genuinely think it would’ve worked better without the musical element and maybe focus more on monologues rather than have disjointed scenes of actors in isolated duologues. The script by Mary M Hennessy is fairly decent but nothing out of the ordinary T...

21Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Dive Into Swan Song at The Dukes

Jonathan Harvey’s bittersweet comedy Swan Song travels to The Dukes in Lancaster this July, on a short northern tour. This revised version of Harvey’s play stars TV and stage actor Andrew Lancel (Coronation Street, Cilla: The Musical), is directed by BAFTA award-winning director Noreen Kershaw (Coronation Street, Our Girl) and is produced by Bill Elms, Liverpool Theatre Festival’s Artistic Director. Set in Liverpool in 1997, the show follows Dave Titswell, a gay, middle-aged English teacher. He has a crush, but life, love and work are never straight forward for Dave. Will a school trip to The Lakes change things for the better, or make things decidedly worse? Swan Song will make audiences laugh, but equally pull at the heartstrings. Everyone knows someone like Dave – or could even...

Manchester theatre company grows from audience of dozens to potentially thousands thanks to live stream performance

21Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Manchester theatre company grows from audience of dozens to potentially thousands thanks to live stream performance

A theatre company’s latest live stream production will see it broadcast to potentially thousands of people worldwide – including the play’s writer 8,500 miles away. Only four years ago Elysium Theatre Company, which has bases in Manchester and Durham, was putting on its first play in front of just dozens of people at the Assembly Rooms, Durham. But its latest offering – Hello and Goodbye, by South Africa’s leading playwright Athol Fugard – will be filmed and streamed across the internet for the world to see, when it is performed at Northern School of Art, Hartlepool, at 7.30pm on Wednesday 23rd June. It will star Manchester-based actor Hannah Ellis Ryan, and fellow Elysium co-founder Danny Solomon. Hannah also runs Hope Mill Theatre in the city and found fame in Coronation Stre...

Socially Distance with Shakespeare at The Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

20Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Socially Distance with Shakespeare at The Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

The Altrincham Garrick Playhouse continue their new socially distanced season with The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) opening on Monday 21st June for 6 nights only. Following on from the hugely successful The Last 5 Years the Garrick once again opens its doors to socially distanced audiences to provide a bit of theatrical relief to the residents of Altrincham and beyond. Tickets are still available for all performances, however booking in advance is strongly recommended. Every Shakespeare play in approximately 75 minutes! Yes, that’s right! All 37 plays in just 1 act! Photo: Barry Purves An irreverent, fast-paced romp through the Bard’s plays, “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” was London’s longest-running comedy having clocked a very palpa...

Gilbert and Sullivan’s Improbable new musical:…. and Helen – Brighton Fringe

20Jun

By Angela KellyNo Comments

South East

Gilbert and Sullivan’s Improbable new musical:…. and Helen – Brighton Fringe

‘Gilbert and Sullivan’s Improbable new musical:…. and Helen’, was performed as part of 2021’s Brighton Fringe. Performed by the Coily Dart Theatre Company, written by Susan Ellerby and co-directed by both Ellerby and Norman Hockley, this was presented as an audio- show. The story centres on Helen Carte (Catherine Tuckey) and her role that is largely undocumented within the Gilbert and Sullivan Company. With references to several Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, it relays the story of Helens life with the company (with assistance from the internet and equally the imagination) and begins from the time she left school in 1867. Rather unusually for a woman in the Victorian period she was well educated and appeared to be the backbone of the Gilbert and Sullivan success. It is an extremely enj...

20Jun

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

South East

Threesome – Brighton Fringe

Devised and performed by Claudia Saavedra, Eric Silver and Philip Greenoak of Almost Professional, this is a quirky filmed play with its tongue firmly in its cheek. Threesome tells the cautionary tale of two flat mates Alex (Silver) and Eve (Saavedra) who are seeking another flat mate to share their running costs. They soon have a suitable candidate for the spare room so they set about interviewing Evan (Greenoak) with unexpected results. It’s obvious that the three actors are enjoying themselves all the way through and the dialogue in parts is quite witty and sharp, but it does suffer from a pretty slow start and it isn’t really until the third character Evan comes into the frame that things stay to fly. It’s safe to ask that why anyone would want to share a flat with any o...

20Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Everything I Own – Hull Truck Theatre

Shall I tell you the first thing that came to mind when I laid eyes on actor Gabriel Paul, on the Hull Truck Theatre stage this week? Mmm … very attractive man, muscly in all the right places, glint in his eye - obviously good fun to be around (but the vest has to go). Oh, and he is black - this last piece of info, as an afterthought. However, as this second in a trilogy of monologues at the theatre - a world premiere, no less - wore on, I realised my reaction was far from the norm experienced by Errol (Paul), in his lifetime. The central character never appears - but his presence is felt throughout. He is Errol’s dad, who has died of Covid, leaving Errol, one of his seven children, to sort out his belongings. The action takes place in Errol’s dad’s sitting room - a cosy aff...