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New musical From Here stars SIX’s Grace Mouat

10Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

New musical From Here stars SIX’s Grace Mouat

Grace Mouat (Six, Arts Theatre; & Juliet, Shaftesbury Theatre; Hair, Turbine Theatre) and Andrew Patrick-Walker (Bat Out of Hell, London Coliseum; Brooklyn, Greenwich Theatre; Hair, Hope Mill Theatre) will bring From Here: A New British Musical to life at Chiswick Playhouse. They’ll be joined by Nicola Espallardo (The Pirate Queen, London Coliseum; Les Misérables, Gielgud Theatre; Working, Southwark Playhouse), and Aidan Harkins (The Pirate Queen, London Coliseum; The Importance of Being Earnest, Barn Theatre & Turbine Theatre; Closer to Heaven, Above The Stag), directed by Annabelle Hollingdale (Resident Director: Spring Awakening, The Hope Mill Theatre; Assistant Director: Heathers, The Other Palace). This incredible world premiere considers where we might just find ourselves in ...

9Jun

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

HEMATOMA – Lion & Unicorn Theatre

I’ve never been to the Lion and Unicorn Theatre which as a born and bred north Londoner is, I know, disgraceful. I was met by a very polite and welcoming front of house who was clearly as pleased to be back to live performances as I was and directed through to my seat. It’s a simple black box auditorium, intimate but with one of the better seating setups I’ve seen in this kind of venue, all Covid-compliant, spacious and clean. Hematoma bills itself as a ‘road play’ - like a road movie, but on the stage. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I wasn’t sure if one man and his thoughts would be the return to being in a live audience that I wanted, but I definitely needn’t have worried. This felt to me like a true coming of age piece, and I spent an hour utterly engrossed in writer and performer ...

Casting announced for Dracula: The Untold Story

9Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

NEWS

Casting announced for Dracula: The Untold Story

Leeds Playhouse and imitating the dog have announced the casting for their premiere of Dracula: The Untold Story. It’s a typically radical new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic gothic horror novel told from the perspective of Mina Harker, the novel’s heroine. Leona Allen will play Mina Harker joined by Matt Prendergast and Adela Rajnović who play all the other roles. Just before midnight on New Year's Eve in 1965, as revellers in London celebrate the beginning of another year, a young woman enters Marylebone Police Station and confesses to a brutal murder. She claims to be Mina Harker, the last living survivor of the intrepid group that brought about Count Dracula’s destruction some 70 years before. But Mina Harker has not been seen since 1901. And if she were alive, she woul...

Slung Low and Freedom Studios team up to premiere new short plays for radio

9Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

NEWS

Slung Low and Freedom Studios team up to premiere new short plays for radio

Two of Yorkshire’s best known theatre companies are staging an afternoon of new short plays written for radio to be performed in front of a live audience. For the past decade Leeds based Slung Low have been running 15 Minutes Live and this time they will partner with acclaimed Bradford theatre company Freedom Studios. They’ve commissioned six playwrights to write an original short play to be recorded in front of a live audience at The Holbeck venue in Leeds on Saturday 10th July at 2pm. This year’s line-up of writers is Tom Wells, Aina J Khan, Ben Tagoe, Leeds based actor-musician Claire-Marie Seddon, Rani Moorthy and Ray Sesay. 15 Minutes Live includes on-stage sound effects, audience participation and live music woven into the performance. The audience will be guided thro...

8Jun

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

REVIEWS

Theatre For Two – We Are Kilter

Theatre for Two is a new interactive experience by collaborative theatre company We Are Kilter. Consisting of an anthology of four micro plays that are part-scripted and part-improvised, the show invites the audience to interact with the performers and shape the story as they play out. Centered around the themes of isolation and loneliness, the show relies on direct audience address and an innovative stage design to create a warm and intimate experience for, as the name suggests, two audience members at a time, which makes it an excellent choice for a date night or, as I experienced it, a lovely night out alone when you are simply tired of staring at screens craving some human connection. Each of the four 10-12 minute pieces are written by different writers, namely ‘Reptile’ by Macadie ...

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Garrick Theatre

8Jun

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Garrick Theatre

As the theatres gradually re-open, audiences are like kids in a toy shop, wide-eyed, rushing around not sure what to see first. Well it's a no-brainer. Book tickets for Showstopper! It sounds absolutely crazy - a musical improvised on the fly with suggestions of setting, musical styles and show title provided by the audience - but it has been running to incredible and well-deserved success since 2008. After a long stint at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the show had two West End runs and a series on BBC Radio 4. And along the way they picked up an Olivier award. It's funny, clever, interactive and unique, each night becoming a completely different show full of references to styles the audience can recognise. A bit of Shakespeare here, a Hamilton-esque sequence there, an homage to ...

8Jun

By Donna M DayNo Comments

South East

The Great Gatsby – Brighton Fringe

The Wardrobe Ensemble’s The Great Gatsby, directed by Tom Brennan with assistance from Frazer Meakin, is a unique reimagining of Fitzgerald’s Great American Novel. A two woman show, performed by Tamsin Hurtado Clarke and Jesse Meadows, this brilliant reinterpretation blends the 1920s story with modern themes and references to create a special and entertaining piece of theatre which breathes new life into a familiar cast of characters. The piece opens with images of fireworks and scenes of partying from various eras. The hedonistic events shown feel so long ago in today’s world, and when we see Meadows, lying alone on the stage with clothes and wine bottles strewn around, the loneliness of our recent isolation is brought to the fore. As Meadows gets up and begins cleaning up the alcoh...

The Greatest Play In The History Of The World … – Hull Truck Theatre

8Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Greatest Play In The History Of The World … – Hull Truck Theatre

Hallelujah! Theatres are open again and I had a front row seat at Hull Truck Theatre. Best of all, because of social distancing, I was the only occupant on that row. However, the “front row” in question was my sofa; yes, I was watching online. Julie Hesmondhalgh, she of Coronation Street fame, was the only human on the stage - a stage she shared with numerous pairs of shoes held in cardboard boxes on two large metal frames. This very plain setting, though at times a bit too unlit for my liking, was welcome as it didn’t detract from Hesmondhalgh’s amazing performance, in this first of a trilogy of monologues at the theatre in the near future. Dressed casually, Hesmondhalgh (who happens to be writer Ian Kershaw’s wife) recounts, in a loud, clear and, for want of a better word, me...

Am I A Terrible Person? – Brighton Fringe

8Jun

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

South East

Am I A Terrible Person? – Brighton Fringe

Ant Lightfoot’s autobiographic short film is a poignant, deeply personal and emotive statement about his OCD and the issues that emerge from this condition. It’s a film that explores the many intrusive thoughts and actions that Lightfoot has to deal with in his life and the film is heightened by some startling visuals and unsettling sound bites. It is probably one of the most thoughtful and heartfelt essays on mental health that I have seen and although the film is quite brief, it really does pack a powerful punch. What we see is Lightfoot’s truth and his truth about his condition is wholeheartedly honest and very revealing throughout. The opening sequence when he is asking personal questions to and about himself is almost mesmeric in feel and rhythm and it sets the tone for t...

The Last Five Years – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

8Jun

By Alison BainesNo Comments

North West

The Last Five Years – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

The award winning The Last Five Years has got to be one of my favourite musicals. With a stunning musical score by Jason Robert Brown, the one act musical requires actors with a broad range both vocally and emotionally to portray the joy, hardship and heartbreak Cathy and Jamie endure throughout. With a tiny cast of just two actors, and directed by new Garrick Artistic Director Joseph Meighan, The Last Five Years is an intimate look at the relationship between two New Yorkers: a writer and an actress The musical follows their love story in a fresh, modern way, as its unconventional structure tells Cathy’s story in reverse and Jamie’s chronologically. You may have seen Hollywood star Anna Kendrick and Broadway sensation Jeremy Jordan in the film adaptation released in 2014, so Ella- M...