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Joseph & his Amazing Technicolor DreamcoatMusic: Andrew Lloyd-WebberLyrics: Tim RiceDirector: Bill KenwrightReviewer: Ann BawtreeAnother magnificent Bill Kenwright show with a monumental set by Sean Cavanagh. Opening with a curtain depicting hieroglyphs this rises to reveal the land of Canaan which transforms into a dungeon, Pharoah’s palace and back again to Canaan via Paris. The large chorus of children are thoughtfully seated on stairs at each side of the stage so that they can both see and be seen, very important for the families and friends who comprise a large part of the audience. All the members of the cast run and dance up and down these steps throughout, with not the hint of a hand rail in sight. The plot stays more or less faithful to the Book, justly simplifying the ending although the very title departs from the original. The actual cause of all the jealousy was a coat which simply had sleeves, presumably enough to cause sibling envy in its day. Anyone taking a young child to the show would be well advised to explain the story in advance. One young person was so distressed at the nastiness of the eleven brothers she was very reluctant to see Act II despite assurances that “it all comes right in the end”. Some of the Egyptian god costumes are a bit scary, too, not to mention the enormous talking sphinx with its glowing red eyes. The coat, of course, is almost the star of the show and every opportunity is taken to display its magnificence.Henry Metcalfe not only plays the aged Jacob and Potiphar but is also the choreographer. The dancing is truly magnificent especially that of the brothers, even the portly one (possibly Levi) leaping about in the Ho-down scene like something out of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”.The [...]

AnnieBook: Thomas MeehanMusic: Charles Strouse Lyrics: Martin CharninDirector/Chreographer: Roger HannahReviewer: Stephanie Rowe There is a growth of revivals of child friendly family musicals at the moment, with Oliver doing great business again in the West End the time seems right to bring Annie back to the stage, but Chris Moreno’s production although enjoyable just seems to lack the wow factor that would make it five star theatrical hit.Annie based on a cartoon strip from the 1920’s during America’s prohibition, proved ideal source material for a musical, with enough political impact, villains and charming characters to make sure it appealed to a vast number of people.Ask anyone apart from Annie what character do you like, most will reply Miss Hannigan, the drunken orphanage owner who would rather make sure the kids stay in the orphanage so she can get money from the state than let them find a family, reviving a role which she has played on numerous occasions is entertainment veteran Su Pollard. Pollard’s performance was polished and well performed but one felt let down slightly by her paint by numbers approach to the role, bringing nothing new or interesting to the character something which this reviewer has seen her do in numerous shows before.At this press performance Annie was played by Ellen Gallagher, and although she was mic’d up to an extent where she was far too loud, her performance was highly believable as the red haired powerhouse orphan and a great on stage chemistry was clearly evident when she shared the stage with David McAlister (Daddy Warbucks) who gave the show plenty of energy and charisma as the hardened millionaire. Chris Molloy brought plenty of laughs to the stage as Warbuks’ buttler Drake.The set by Alan Miller Bunford felt cheap and although there were some excellent ideas it [...]

Out of Dead AirWriter: Mark MurphyDirector: Mike HeathReviewer: Clare HowdonMark Murphy’s ‘Out Of Dead Air’ promises in its programme to tell the tale of three prisoners Al, Lenny, and Mike who are locked in an endless routine of monotonous tasks and schedules and live in constant fear and paranoia, locked away from the intangible and remote outside world. On first entry into the imposing and industrial environment of The Printwork’s ‘Round’ space, one is hit by a rousing and highly effective sound score and some very arresting (and slightly uncomfortable) surveillance search lights. I am all for ‘endurance theatre’ (especially one which seemed to have been influenced by Orwell’s dystopian classic ‘1984’) so was quite excited for what I hoped would be an evening of challenging and thought provoking theatre. Unfortunately, within five minutes of this production beginning, any optimism and anticipation was quickly dashed. I admire performances that take risks and branch out from the naturalistic ‘kitchen sink’ framework but this piece just doesn’t work. Firstly the writing never really has anything to say and the lack of substance is apparent from the outset. Concepts and ideas are shoehorned in and the characters, despite some fairly lengthy monologues, evoke no audience empathy. By focusing on the absurd monotony of the characters’ day to day lives within their prison environment, Murphy has also fallen short of the mark. The stilted and repetitive dialogue painfully flattens the pace and energy of the performance. It also distances the audience, which coupled with the industrial strength air-con blasting through the space (which the poor actors have to battle against throughout the piece), destroys any audience connection with the characters or their situation. The flawed writing is also heightened by Mike Heath’s lack lustre direction. What should feel like an explosion at the end [...]

Working TitleWriter: James Jowett & Adam DaviesDirector: Helen ParryReviewer: John RobertsSword Fights, Ninja’s with an assassination on the cards, psychotic Turkey Ham sandwich eating gays, underwear tea drinking flat mates, Stunt doubles, and a rabbit called Pancakes, could you fit any more surreal situations into a one hour performance? The answer is yes! Is it any good? HELL YEAH! this is the funniest show this reviewer has had the pleasure of seeing in a long time.James Jowett & Adam Davies have scripted their first play and what a knockout it is, this is writing that is sharper and funnier than a midget transsexual wielding a chainsaw. Jowett & Davies also take on the central characters (Will & Anthony) in this fast paced comical tour-de-force about two struggling writers failing to meet a festival deadline with their submission, With a natural on stage chemistry there is very little not to dislike in their performances.Jowett & Davies are joined on stage with a true ensemble of comic creations some more brief than others but all equally surreal and hilariously funny. Notable performances are given by Michael Anthony Bond as Patrick and Sean Di Sora as Jason. Director Helen Parry must have had difficulty keeping this crazy cast under control, and even in its height of craziness, clear attention to detail meant that everything moved slickly and with perfect comic timing and at times some seriously strong tension.I cannot recommend this production more, and if this is the talent that is coming out of Manchester then we are sure for a very bright and very funny if not slightly surreal future in years to come.

Remember MeWriter: Jason CrouchDirector: Sarah MeadowsReviewer: John Roberts Set amongst the backdrops of now and the Hacienda days of the late 80’s early 90’s Jason Crouch’s production ‘Remember Me’ explores the relationship between Darren (Ste Myott) Sophie (Jo Mousley) & Jessica (Lowri Evans) their daughter.Crouch’s script uses a blend of naturalistic dialogue and stilted stylised phrases, it cross cuts from present, and past and for the most is engaging, heartfelt with a splattering of great one liners, but for all its ingenuity the use of cross cutting isn’t done to the best effect and as a result you don’t empathise with the character as much as one would hope.Sarah Meadows direction is clean and crisp and she manages through the use of several theatrical conventions to tell the audience exactly where in the timeline we are, there are some truly touching scenes in the piece and the penultimate scene between Sophie & Jessica is one of the most gut wrenching emotional scenes in this years festival.Ste Moyatt as Darren oozes charm, as the party hard playboy of the Hacienda, Jo Mousley produces a highly energetic and touching portrayal of Sophie, and boy does she know how to have a good time on the dance floor. Lowri Evans as Jessica gives a subtle performance as an emotional teen, almost reminiscent of Natalie Portman in Leon, but at times one felt she was a little too old to carry of the performance with maximum impact.All in all ‘Remember Me’ is an enjoyable piece of theatre, that can do with a tighten up here and there in the writing, my biggest upset about seeing this show was the venue they had been placed in. Festival Organisers take note – seeing a show in a space where you can hardly hear anyone over noisy [...]

Detaining Mr KWriter: James DouglasDirector: James Douglas & Wendy RichardsonReviewer: John Roberts Everything about this show at the start ticked all the right boxes, the stark white set, the CCTV images of the audience entering the space, the echo sounds of an atmospheric soundscape. The basis of exploring the morals of detaining people for up to 28 days without any hard evidence, this should have been an exciting psychological exploration of a detainee and their detainer, what we ended up with was a script that only had one point to say and a badly mis-cast cast.Ruth Urquhart plays Pauline McWhirter, an interviewer you are sent to as you’re nearing the final day of your detention, Urquhart’s portrayal isn’t the menacing and psychotic portrayal one would hope for, instead you get an impersonation of Catherine Tate’s controversial and very grating character Nan. Equally miscast is Anthony Bentley as Mr K, highly unbelievable in his delivery of a man on the verge of cracking up under the strain of being detained, add on top if the performances the vast amount of line slip ups and it starts to become apparent that this may of not been finished in the rehearsal room.The problem with the piece as a whole is it only has one real point to say and it feels overly preachy in its delivery, not giving any real plausibility to hearing the opposite side the argument, James Douglas could do with going back to the drafting stages, this isn’t a topic that works with trying to find comedy, instead it falls rather flat and boring, take it back to development workshop it with another director and take it to a more pertinent and serious angle and you may just have a strong play that resonates with the vast majority.

EnronWriter: Lucy PrebbleDirector: Rupert GooldReviewer: David SaundersI arrived at the Minerva with a preconception I am afraid, I like the work that Headlong produces they are an inventive, stylish and challenging company who produces work that is usually stark and grounded in real emotionality. However this is not the case here. The piece which deals with the financial fraud committed by Enron officials at the turn of this century and the effects of those crimes. The problem here however is not with the performances but the concept.This production is overly tricky with a text and subject matter that does not require it. By that I mean it is as if the creative team have been given a list and told to go and ensure they use every single theatrical trick and show they can in order to complete the performance. The creative work that is employed is no doubt stunning and used in a more restrained fashion would have been stunning for sure but here it makes what is a fast moving story feel flabby and overcooked. I know that the current vogue in Theatre is to show off as much as is humanly possible but Theatre should be about telling human stories most importantly and not just throwing as much at a piece as you can for the sake of it.The concept aside there are some fine performances here; Samuel West brings depth and pathos to Jeffrey Skilling as we see his decline into desperation. The work Tom Goodman-Hill is at times hugely comic and twisted as he seeks to impress his worth to West’s Skilling. There is an excellent ensemble at work here with weight added by Tim Piggott-Smith and Amanda Drew. The cast as whole are stunning in their efforts but there is the sense that they [...]

No Wonder Writer: Claire UrwinDirector: Guy JonesReviewer: Clare Howdon‘No Wonder’ has been on quite a journey. Since being premiered in 2008, it was invited to be part of the NSDF and is currently playing as part of the 24 7 festival. Delivered as a series of monologues and duologues (where the characters never actually speak directly to each other) Luke (Paul Currie) and Alison (Heather Johnson) recount the evening their father/husband falls from a window-sill and subsequently ends up in a coma. Taken from the viewpoints of a mother at the hospital bedside and son in his bedroom drawing pictures, this is a moving and poignant tale of childlike wonder and the pain of having to grow up too soon. The Peter Pan parodies are cleverly crafted throughout and Clare Unwin is undoubtedly a playwright of great creativity and promise although sometimes her abundance of observations and metaphors make this piece feel more like spoken poetry than a play. However this is a small criticism in what is ultimately a very stylish and fresh piece of writing. Both Paul Currie and Heather Johnson deliver admirable performances although Currie appears more comfortable and convincing in portraying the age of his character with excellent child-like mannerisms and relentless energy, portraying the tormented young mind of Luke. Johnson’s strengths lie in her ability to connect with the emotional impact that the event has had on Alison, although one never quite believes that she is old enough to be a mother and more attention needs to be paid to maturing her performance, so the contrast between mother and son are clear throughout. Guy Jones’ direction is generally slick and well paced although there are some moments of contrived and gratuitous stage business (for example the emergence of a naked doll to punctuate the dialogue) [...]