Latest Articles - Page 637 of 641

28Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Primrose Path – Mannequin Mouth online

A show which first made an impact at the Edinburgh Fringe 2018, Primrose Path is the most recent of Mannequin Mouth’s raw and visceral stage productions to be turned into a film, designed to “shock, adrenalize, and confront” its audience. Written by Will Pinhey, and directed and produced by Pinhey alongside India Howland, this play is a challenging, dark, and disturbing piece which looks at love, jealousy, and obsession within a relationship. Chriss (Laura Jackson) and Damon (Michael Hogg) tease, play, and hurt each other in a twisted game of dominance and submission, but who has the upper hand, and where will this game end? Filmed in an empty performance space from a variety of angles to pull the viewer right into the action, this ninety-minute piece has a constant, jittery energy. It ...

Talking Heads by Alan Bennett: A Chip in the Sugar – BBC iPlayer

28Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Talking Heads by Alan Bennett: A Chip in the Sugar – BBC iPlayer

Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads made the monologue popular for writers and actors alike, but few manage to capture the magic of this wryly amusing series of short tales set in the grim north. A Chip in the Sugar was originally performed by Bennett himself and this new version created as part of a special series in response to the current lockdown is directed by Jeremy Herrin and stars Martin Freeman as Graham. The majority of the monologue is performed in Graham’s extremely tidy, dingy, grey bedroom, with his single bed and walls decorated with numerous chocolate box paintings and floral plates. Graham lives with his mother, and is devoted to her, but is very upset by their recently bumping into her old flame, Mr Turnbull. The realisation that his mother had a life before he and his...

Hope Mill Theatre announces online ‘An Evening With Jonathan Harvey’ plus new playwriting prize

28Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Hope Mill Theatre announces online ‘An Evening With Jonathan Harvey’ plus new playwriting prize

Hope Mill Theatre will host an online evening on Saturday 18th July, celebrating the many works of the well-loved writer Jonathan Harvey (Gimme,Gimme,Gimme/ Coronation Street). An Evening With Jonathan Harvey will include an interview with Harvey, hosted by Hope Mill Patron Denise Welch and will feature scenes from his past plays including Beautiful Thing, Hushabye Mountain and The Cherry Blossom Tree as well as songs from musicals that Harvey has written the book for including Dusty: The Dusty Springfield Musical and the Pet Shop Boys musical Musik. The cast performing includes; Katherine Kingsley, Frances Barber, Emma Clarke, Gemma Brodrick, Claire-Louise Cordwell, Joshua Asare, Rose Keegan and Danny Lee Wynter. The evening will also include guest hosts who have starred and...

Talking Heads by Alan Bennett: Her Big Chance – BBC iPlayer

28Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Talking Heads by Alan Bennett: Her Big Chance – BBC iPlayer

Alan Bennett's original Talking Heads was five filmed monologues shown in 1988. At the time they were received with great acclaim and featured prominent and respected actors of the era. A second series was produced in 1998 with five new monologues and was again much lauded. ‘I shot a man last week’ is an unusual beginning for an Alan Bennett monologue and when we see Jodie Comer delivering this line, we may think we are in for an episode of Killing Eve. However, this is Leslie, an aspiring actress describing her latest assignment. Leslie is relentlessly positivity in spite of regularly being cast in roles of fun-loving girls who are at home on a bar stool and for whom serious roles elude her. Leslie prides herself on her professionalism and we see this in her deportment and clear spe...

Hairspray to play rescheduled 2021 season dates at the London Coliseum

28Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Hairspray to play rescheduled 2021 season dates at the London Coliseum

The producers of Hairspray the Musical have announced today rescheduled performance dates for the multi award-winning smash hit musical at the London Coliseum. The production will now begin performances on Thursday 22nd April 2021 and play a strictly limited 19-week season to Sunday 29th August. Until 26th July 2020, all existing ticket holders have priority to move their tickets to a new date. All new ticket purchases can be made from 10am on 27th July. See www.hairspraythemusical.co.uk for all ticket information. The production will star Michael Ball, who returns to his legendary, Olivier Award winning role of Edna Turnblad, alongside one of the UK’s greatest comedians, Paul Merton, who will be making his West End musical debut as Edna’s husband, Wi...

Talking Heads by Alan Bennett: Soldiering On – BBC iPlayer

27Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Talking Heads by Alan Bennett: Soldiering On – BBC iPlayer

Alan Bennett's original Talking Heads was five filmed monologues shown in 1988. At the time they were received with great acclaim and featured prominent and respected actors of the era. A second series was produced in 1998 with five new monologues and was again much lauded. Harriet Walter is faultless in this remake of a classic monologue first filmed with actress Stephanie Cole. Walter’s performance is enough to convince the viewer that the events are happening now. We meet Muriel Carpenter describing the recent funeral of her husband, Ralph. Clearly, the couple were very well to do, living in an expensively furnished, beautiful home. Muriel is impeccably dressed (all tweed and pearls) and Ralph was very senior in Massey Ferguson. She is matter of fact when talking of the demise of ...

Woolf Works – The Royal Ballet at Royal Opera House

27Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Woolf Works – The Royal Ballet at Royal Opera House

Wayne McGregor’s ballet triptych created in 2015 is inspired by the writings of Virginia Woolf and contains an original score by Max Richter – superbly performed by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House conducted by Koen Kessels – with astounding lighting schemes from Lucy Carter and stunning set designs throughout. Woolf Works recreates the emotions, themes, and fluid style of three of Woolf’s novels beginning with ‘I Now, I Then’ inspired by Mrs Dalloway (1925); then ‘Becomings’ derived from Orlando (1928); concluding with ‘Tuesday’, which draws on The Waves (1931). The three pieces stand alone as distinctly as the works that inspire them although there is a chronology with underlying threads that seamlessly bring them together, most notably the central performance from 52-year old b...

27Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

South West

The Grinning Man – Bristol Old Vic

Based on the 1869 novel ‘The Man who Laughs’ by Victor Hugo, ‘The Grinning Man’ is an eerie and sinister tale of a grinning ‘freak’ searching to find ‘the monster in his mind’ and discover the secrets of his past. The musical enjoyed a very successful period at The Trafalgar Studios in London’s West End and is now available for streaming from its performance at The Bristol Old Vic. Set in 19th century London, ‘The Grinning Man’ intertwines terror with dark comedy in order to relay the spine-chilling tale of an abandoned child called Grinpayne (Louis Maskell), desperate to find the secrets of his past and how he gained his ‘grinning’ smile in the first place. As the story unfolds, we are introduced to Dea (Audrey Brisson), a blind girl, also longing for her own discovery. She accompanies...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Bridge Theatre

27Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Bridge Theatre

Gwendoline Christie (Titania), Oliver Chris (Oberon), David Moorst (Puck) and Hammed Animashaun (Bottom) lead an ensemble cast of actors, acrobats, singers and dancers in The Bridge Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, currently streaming on YouTube as part of the National Theatre's online programme. The production's advertising calls it “Shakespeare’s most famous romantic comedy”. Even in a sentence in which every word is necessary (no one could call it Shakespeare's most famous play, or his most famous romance) it is a bit of an over-statement, not just because of other, possibly more famous ones such as Much Ado About Nothing, but also due to the play itself: the romance is the least interesting thing about it. Even the “comedy” aspect isn't its main feature as, like happens with mos...

Talking Heads by Alan Bennett: Playing Sandwiches – BBC iPlayer

25Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Talking Heads by Alan Bennett: Playing Sandwiches – BBC iPlayer

Alan Bennett's original Talking Heads was five filmed monologues shown in 1988. At the time they were received with great acclaim and featured prominent and respected actors of the era. A second series was produced in 1998 with five new monologues and was again much lauded. Now in 2020 and filmed during the lockdown adhering to all social distancing measures, the original ten plus two new pieces written by Bennett himself last year have been remade with a new generation of respected actors. Some are better known that others, but all have the experience to make each monologue their own rather than a rehash of the original. Talking Head 5 is Playing Sandwiches. Originally filmed with David Haig in 1998, now it features the wonderful Lucian Msamati as park worker Wilfred Paterson. M...