Theatre Reviews
Gentleman Jack
Gentleman Jack
Gritty and sexy, and filled with the passions and power of a beautiful Northern love story.
Impulse
Impulse
I confess to being a tad snooty when it comes to all this memory and movement malarkey, but I was surprised just how much difference it made not having a music stand between me and the players. Free from having to keep sheet music within their eyeline, the artists could express the music more, well, expressively
Follow Me
Follow Me
The skill of Thomas and Ward is quite remarkable; their ability to effortlessly shimmy up a Colgate lamppost and perform aerial acrobatics was jaw-dropping
Thick & Tight - 'Natural Behaviour'
Thick & Tight - 'Natural Behaviour'
Both sensitive and challenging in its treatment of the question of what is natural and unnatural.
Crossing The Line
Crossing The Line
A visceral reimagining of Mia Fisher’s novel of a young boy seduced through poverty and circumstance into the murky world of drug dealing.
Bellow
Bellow
Danny’s journey is interwoven with stories, facts and demonstrations involving the significant accordions throughout his life, and the result is warm, funny, comforting, worrying and, at more than one point, deeply unsettling.
Wolf
Wolf
As this show was unlike anything I have had the pleasure of seeing it feels difficult to just categorise as simply a circus act.
Albatross
Albatross
Menagerie Theatre Company’s Albatross is a new play by George Devine and Bruntwood Prize winner Martha Loader.
Death On The Nile
Death On The Nile
Sumptuous costumes, moody lighting, dramatic sound, superb design and a fine cast tautly directed all add up to grand night out
To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill A Mockingbird
The tension between the beautiful simplicity of Harper Lee's text and the whip-smart dialogue Sorkin is known for is deftly handled. The novel is how Scout saw things, Sorkin seems to be saying; now take a look at the unvarnished truth.
English Touring Opera - The Gondoliers
The Red Shoes
The Red Shoes
From costumes, to music, lighting, comedy, quality of dancing - it really was the perfect show.
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders
Having entered the theatre worried this show might not be for me, I left after one of the most unexpectedly enjoyable evenings at the Theatre Royal for quite some time
Hamlet
Hamlet
This was a noble attempt to breathe fresh life into a play we know too well to enjoy as the author intended. It was a feast for the eyes and, with the text stripped to the bone, offered up an unusually urgent and fast-moving version. Whether that justifies a staging conceit that strained credulity is a moot point.
Teaċ Daṁsa / Michael Keegan-Dolan - Mám
Teaċ Daṁsa / Michael Keegan-Dolan - Mám
Those that see this show will leave with a renewed sense of warmth and hope in their souls. It is a visceral tribute and testament to the music, the traditions and the culture of the people of the Kerry coastline
Dear England
Dear England
This play about football was not really about football at all. It was a play about male bonding, humanity, mutual respect, facing your demons, and about meeting with triumph and disaster, and treating those two impostors just the same.
2:22 A Ghost Story
2:22 A Ghost Story
This is a ghost story, not a horror story, with an uneasy atmosphere of impending doom. The play is handsomely staged, with subtle but effective use of sound and lighting. Along the way we get red herrings, misdirection and tension-busting humour. Robins even lobs in class-conscious social commentary into the mix.
Cinderella
Cinderella
Spectacular, colourful, funny and polished. What more could you ask?
Inspector Morse - House Of Ghosts
Inspector Morse - House Of Ghosts
Actors, directors and backstage crews work just as hard, perhaps even harder, when things aren’t working out, and I take no pleasure in finding fault. However, whatever the reason, the play was a disappointment
Northern Ballet - Merlin
Warhorse
Warhorse
The moment when Joey transforms from a foal to a fully grown horse is a gasp inducing theatrical wonder. Such is the skill of the three puppeteers operating Joey, they are entirely invisible to the mind's eye, despite being in plain sight
Hauntings
Hauntings
I may not have been scared out of my wits, but it was a long, dark walk to the car afterwards.
Duvel Montgage + Russell Walker + Rebecca Mahay +Jackie Montague
The thing about the Bohmans is that there is usually the backbone of meaning to their performance, albeit a meaning that is purposely impenetrable.
Ideal
Ideal
It was all a bit bonkers, the surreal queasiness of the TV show trumped by the need to make an audience laugh out loud. And in fairness, laugh they did.