Friday, March 29

Tag: Cecilia Appiah

Great Expectations – Royal Exchange Theatre
North West

Great Expectations – Royal Exchange Theatre

With three competing press nights in Manchester theatreland this evening, I chose the opportunity to visit the venerable old Royal Exchange building in St Anne's Square to review their opening offering for the Autumn/Winter season, an adaptation of Charles Dickens 'Great Expectations' which like the character of Estella had great beauty but lacks a little heart. This is one of Dickens most oft adapted novels, only 'A Christmas Carol' and 'Oliver Twist' beat it for popularity and already in 2023 we have had two versions of Dickens tale of class mobility and class intransigence served up, Steven Knight gave us his spiky television adaptation earlier this year and Eddie Izzard's extraordinary one woman show was a huge success in London over the Spring, This ubiquity means that writers are...
Scandaltown – Lyric Hammersmith
London

Scandaltown – Lyric Hammersmith

Mike Bartlett's Scandaltown is contemporary London writ very large - big, crass, rollicking London as Restoration comedy. As Cromwell banned theatre in the 17th Century, and Covid managed to do the same in the 21st, both led to a restoration of theatre to (hopefully) their former glory.  In Scandaltown there are debauched parties, lies, social media manipulation and cancel culture putting the reputation and power of London's political and social elite at stake. So, it's just about as topical as it gets. The story centres on the thoroughly woke Phoebe Virtue who, when she hears news (on Instagram of course) that her twin brother Jack is up to no good in London, she heads to town to find and save him. In true comedy fashion, she disguises herself as a man and persuades Jenny, Freddie a...