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Riders to the Sea by Vaughn WilliamsDirector: Fiona ShawReviewer: Crystal AlsonsiWhoever had the original flash of genius to merge Luonnotar and Riders to the Sea is to be warmly congratulated. The ENO production of Luonnotar, a tone poem, by Sibelius presented a darkly atmospheric version of a Finnish creation myth. The part of the eponymous heroine was sung with such grief and raw anguish by soprano Susan Gritton that it made this a very moving performance. The striking set presented the audience with an imaginatively conceived back projection below the waves filmed in rich greens and blues that gradually zoomed in to reveal minute sea life as seeds of creation, glimpses of hair and a swimming horse as harbingers of a doom to come. Luonnotar stood in a fishing barque suspended vertically above the stage, her flowing costume tumbling to the stage 20’ feet below redolent of a winding sheet and a Christening robe. However as the piece progressed and Luonnotar disrobed, the costume disintegrated both in structure and in power to reveal a skin toned unflattering knee length shift. Having expended yards and yards of fabric on the over garment it was a shame that this skimpy garb could not have extended to Susan Gritton’s ankles making a far more graceful spectacle. Fortunately her voice more than over came such distractions and made the performance of this enigmatic piece a rare treat. Luonnotar merged seamlessly with a bridging passage by John Woolrich into Riders to the Sea, a dark and brooding piece by Ralph Vaughan Williams. From the opening minutes when we saw Carthleen furtively washing herself, a role admirably played by Kate Valentine, echoing the birth narrative of Luonnotar we realised that Fiona Shaw’s cinematic experience would bring an exciting attention to detail. The orchestra was ably conducted [...]

Calendar Girls by Tim FirthDirector: Hamish McCollReviewer: Ann BawtreeThe famous story of the heroic Women’s Institute members whose bold scheme to raise money in support of Leukaemia Research has been well documented in the media, by the sale of their product and by a block buster film based on their story. Now we have the stage play by Tim Firth, worthy of the original protagonists.The Girls, Cora (Elaine C Smith), the “ruined” vicar’s daughter, Chris (Lynda Bellingham) the shop owner, Annie (Patricia Hodge) the widow, Jessie (Siân Phillips) the retired teacher, Celia (Gaynor Faye) the trophy wife, the mousie Ruth (Julia Hills) and Marie (Brigit Forsyth) branch chairman, range in age over four decades. Gradually they reveal their own reasons for joining the WI, all very different from the original founders who wished to support isolated farmers’ wives in rural Canada at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries.Costume is so important in establishing character and Emma Williams’ choice of kinky boots through neat tweed suits to baggy cardigans leaves no room for doubt. The story of the struggle to raise £519 to replace the hospital’s waiting room settee and its staggering success unfolds on a magnificently engineered stage. The set is of the walls of the village hall standing in front of a backdrop of the Yorkshire dales. For the outdoor scenes, the walls slide silently out of sight. The final transformation scene drew gasps of admiration. The passage of time is marked subtly and effectively with changes of lighting designed by Malcolm Rippeth and seasonal music chosen by Steve Parry. Director Hamish McColl shows us the swift decline of John (Gary Lilburn), from rugged countryman to shadowy invalid and his eventual death, in a quiet, restrained manner. The rest of the play is a riot of fun interspersed with [...]

Alex by Charles Peattie & Russell TaylorDirector: Phelim McDermottVideo Design: Leo Warner & Mark GrimmerAnimation: Charles PeattieReviewer: John RobertsBased on the Daily Telegraph’s long running comic strip by Charles Peattie & Russell Taylor, Alex is brought to life in this fusion of Live theatre and animation. Alex is a middle aged financial banker in London’s square mile and the highs and lows of being in such a profession is brought to life in this slick and sophisticated production.Robert Bathurst’s Alex is smooth, suave, and sexist but wins the audience around with his charm and panache and great comic timing. The charm of this production lies in his rapport with the audience from the go and is helped along by the split second timing with the superb on screen animations (Charles Peattie) that appear on the simple but effective set by Phil Eddolls. Phelim McDermot is known for his quirky directing and this production has lots of ingenious touches, the blending of the live and the animated is perhaps, the best I’ve ever seen this technique done before. This production had the possibility of being over indulgent and a little to introverted in the issues and themes that it raised, but me being a complete finance novice found the information and the humour easy to relate too (I’m not quite sure if the fellow bankers in the audience found it as easy to laugh at though!)This is a pacey and often hilarious and satirical romp through Alex’s trails and tribulations with his wife Penny, The stuck up french graduate trainee Sebastian and Mr Hardcastle the Leeds entrepreneur, with many moments making this reviewer cringe at the thought that there are people who are like this and behave in the same manner. This is without doubt one of Robert Bathurst’s finest theatrical [...]

Slava’s Snow ShowDevised and directed by SlavaReviewer: Jim NicholsonI was hoping to be amazed, I wasn’t, I was expecting to be entertained and I certainly was, and all around me child after child and their parents were having the “night of their life”. Perhaps I was not as “drawn in” because of my midlife years, but if you have young kids, in actual fact, if you have any kids or perhaps you are just a big kid yourself then this is the show for you.Half an hour before curtain up and the youngsters and parents alike are snowballing each other with the hoards of, tickertape like, white paper covering the floor of the theatre as if we had just encountered a very heavy snow shower. I warned a few not to pick up any that had gone yellow but the “supposed joke” appeared wasted as dad took yet another hit.A short first act saw our hero Slava dressed in his fabulous lemon “baby grow” survive catastrophe at sea in his sailing bed and enjoy the company of a number of fellow clowns, all dressed alike in green coats with winged hats that seemed to have a life of their very own. Clever lighting helped each and every one of them bring a roar of laughter from the crowd with just a simple change of facial expression, bow of the head or pronounced mime.No sign of any more snow yet but as the first half closed our main man finds himself stuck in a white “stretchy goo like net” that he manages to pass out into the audience and all of sudden this mess is not covering one or two of the crowd but each and every member of the thousand or so souls sat in the stalls. The reward for [...]

Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor DreamcoatMusic: Andrew Lloyd-WebberLyrics: Tim RiceDirector: Bill KenwrightReviewer: Stephanie RoweAfter seeing a few other performances of Joseph both Professional and Amateur and enjoying each and every one, I was really looking forward to this show. The show opened with the narrator and two children walking across the stage while the narrator introduced the story of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, the back drop was like the inside of a pyramid with hieroglyphics on it and scenes from Egypt. The scenery (designed by Sean Cavanagh) was ‘typical’ Joseph with the Stairs going up either side of the stage and pillars and palm trees at the edge of the stairs. Craig Chalmers one of the finalists from last years BBC hit series Any Dream Will Do, gave a very impressive performance even being very amusing in parts, though I do feel he was lacking slightly in his vocal range, as was Tara Bethan (Narrator) especially in the first half when you could hardly hear her due to the softness of her voice.The dancing abilities of the Brothers and Handmaidens were fantastic and along with their singing, they carried the show during the first half when the others voices were too quiet. The singing and dancing of Robert Gwyn as Benjamin was of a very high standard as was the abilities of Adebayo Bolaji as Issachar and Maria Coyne as a handmaiden.Realistically there is not a lot you can do with the performance of Joseph to make it any different from previously seen productions, although director Bill Kenwright manages to do it, showing why he is such a renowned director worldwide.The children of the Joseph Choir from the Stagecoach Theatre school in Chester were seated along the stairs throughout the performance and started the second half by [...]

Funeral Games by Unpacked Theatre Director: Clare DunnReviewer: Nick HutchinsonI didn’t know what to expect as I had never heard of Unpacked Theatre before but I was not dissapointed, this was a fascinating, funny and lively show. Performed in the Nuffield’s small studio bar, as an audience member having the cast perform so close really added to the atmosphere of the production. Funeral Games tells the story of two brothers, who meet up for the first time in twelve years, there father is a funeral director; Henry stayed at home and helped run the family firm, whilst Keith had been away, returning only on the news that their father is close to his death bed. They talk of the past and remember childhood joys and nightmares (mostly the latter) and it is clear that Keith will soon upset Henry’s steady but uneventful life. The true condition of their father is uncertain and although they are differences between them there is the common thread of an overbearing father who rejected one and controlled the other.The play is truly physical and ‘in your face’. From the start there is interaction with the audience which made some people uncomfortable. It had the hint of pantomime but too much dark humour to fall into that genre in any significant way. The lighting and set were very basic, using tortured and gravely music to highlight the decay of the situation. Two filing cabinets were cleverly used as the main props/Set, acting as beds, cupboards, coffins, grave stones, hillsides, horse drawn hearse and more.Performed by only two actors (Darren East & Gilbert Taylor) they both seemed to attack the whole performance with a real energy and gusto. They weren’t shy about encountering the audience and the whole event left me feeling that I was part of [...]

Aladdin by Eric PottsDirector: Kevin ShawChoreographer: Beverley EdmundsReviewer: The Patrick FamilyHelen PatrickThis has to be one of the best traditional pantomimes I have taken my family to see, with no ‘Star’ names to carry the production, credit must be given to the production team in creating a show that is slick, pacey and full of the laughs and the boos that you want with a festive offering.With bright and cheerful sets and costumes by Celia Perkins you are sure that this is one of the best looking shows in the north west. Special mention must be given to the detail of Widow Twanky’s costumes including the High School Musical Cheerleaders kit and the Christmas Tree Wedding dress being particular favourites. and its not just the costumes that have had a high level of detail. The sets were simple and effective and we were never in any doubt about where we were meant to be.Kevin Shaw has directed himself a winner, and his cast are simply superb making sure that they work as a true ensemble and not one person stealing the limelight for themselves or from the show itself. Saying that this reviewer most definitely had a few favourites but special mention must be given to the outstanding Barrie Ryan English who playing both PC Pong and the Genie was extremely versatile from being stupendously silly as the PC and having the audience including myself in tears of laughter, to the stern and very powerful Genie of the Lamp.As you would expect from any Pantomime the big props were excellent from the scooter to the carriage pulling trike, and even when things did go wrong this first rate cast were on hand with fast and quick witted ad-libs that always kept a smile on your face.I would highly recommend this [...]

Imagine ThisBook: Glenn Berenbiem Music: Shuki LevyLyrics: David GoldsmithDirector: Timothy SheaderChoreogpraher: Liam SteelReviewer: Anthony Timmons.“Imagine This” is based on a fascinating idea: – the parallels between the Warsaw Ghetto and the siege of Masada some nineteen hundred years earlier. This is attempted by the stratagem of a play within a play. It is a good attempt at conveying an interesting idea but there is some stretching- notably the Romans come out of it fairly poorly. Generally it works dramatically, but I did feel that the “play within the play” was a little too complex for the coherence of the overall piece. The complexity led to the first half being a bit over long and under plotted but the second half was much tauter. A musical on this kind of theme can be a challenge – there is a danger of undermining the seriousness of the issues or perhaps making them sentimental. Largely the piece avoids this although I did feel making the closing number a reprise of the opening scene didn’t really end in the inspiring way I’d of liked and overall it did quite rise to its subject.The train shed set was splendid and highly atmospheric and the production was well designed throughout.The opening scene of each half was a brilliant set piece very well choreographed and there were further scenes throughout. However particularly during the first half there seemed to be an awful lot of young men dancing with sticks which did get a bit samey. Also samey was the music – there were some good numbers notably the opening but again, particularly during the first half there were long passages which didn’t really do it for me and not enough contrast. All in all music and lyrics were very much of their genre and I just felt [...]