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East is EastWriter: Ayub Khan-DinDirector: Iqbal KhanReviewer: Matt SchofieldThe comedy East is East has moved full circle as it returns to the stage in Birmingham after its original world premiere production in the REP’s studio theatre some thirteen years ago, having since been adapted for the screen in the BAFTA award winning film of 1999. Its second production sees the REP cast under the direction of Iqbal Khan, a man whose background shares many similarities with that of the Khan family depicted in the play, having been raised by his Pakistani father in the Small Heath area during the 1980s. Talking to the Birmingham Post, Iqbal recollected on his childhood, ‘I always felt that tension between who I feel I am and who I’m expected to be’ and it quickly becomes evident that this is one of the underlying themes throughout the play. East is East is set against the backdrop of Salford in 1971 and George Khan, owner of the local fish and chip shop is determined to bring his family up in the traditional manner. His seven children on the other hand have ideas of their own. One’s already left home to be a hairdresser, his daughter prefers playing football to wearing a sari and now 18 year old Saleem wants to study art while 12 year old Sajit is about to be transformed from a shy gawky boy into a self-confident teenager. With one disastrous arranged marriage in the family already, George plots to bring his next two sons into line by marrying them off to the daughters of Mr Shah. When the Khan kids begin to oppose their father’s blundering attempts to control their lives, his English wife Ella is forced to make a choice between her husband and the right of her children to make [...]

The Hypochondriac by Molière Adapted by Roger McGough Director: Gemma Bodinetz Reviewer: James Higgins The Hypochondriac is the unusual marriage of a 17th century French play reworked by a 21st century Mersey Poet. First written and performed by French dramatist Molière in 1673 as Le Malade Imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid) it tells the tale of a miserly old man (Argan) who despite his good health imagines he is plagued by every ailment known to science. The medical profession in the form of his doctors and apothecaries know this only too well and seek to exploit and extort him at each and every opportunity. There is a distinct twist to this plot as Molière was, at the time of penning the play, ill and exhausted. He had been battling a condition (probably TB) for over five years which unfairly earned him a reputation as a hypochondriac, leading him to create the character of Argan for himself. If this wasn’t already ironic enough he then died hours after his last performance of the play after he had earlier collapsed on stage. This new production by the English Touring Theatre in association withThe Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, was adapted by the genial Scouser Roger McGough, a performer and playwright best known for his Poetry. Last year he had already taken on Tartuffe, Molière’s vicious attack on religious hypocrisy and adapted this for the modern audience to critical acclaim. This time, as previously, McGough has rewritten the play in verse, to hilarious effect. Despite its origins traditional British Lavatory humour is the order of the day as the play twists and turns like Argan’s troubled bowels. The set (designed by Mike Britton) is an unusual one, but one that works well. The entire play is set in Argan’s rooms which consist of wooden paneling [...]

An Inspector CallsWriter: JB PriestleyDirector: Stephen DaldryReviewer: Marie KennyOur actions have consequences. JB Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ screams that we are all responsible for each other. Written in 1944, set in 1912, resurrected in 1992 and now performed in 2009, the message at the heart of the play still rings true through this production.At the start of JB Priestleys’ period thriller, the comfortable Birling family are celebrating the engagement of daughter Sheila to Gerald Croft. Oozing wealth and pomposity Arthur Birling takes the opportunity to share his theories on money and success along with the glories of being on the right side of the social divide. Interrupting this cozy evening strides Inspector Goole, who informs them a young girl has killed herself just hours before. Here begins an astonishing sequence of twists and turns as Goole chips away at their self-satisfaction, revealing how each of them contributed to her downfall.With direction by Stephen Daldry, the production succeeds in presenting a family of such unlikeable, insensitive self-centred creatures, who are far from subtle in their characterisation. Sandra Duncan takes on the role of the robust, defensive and downright deluded Mrs Birling. When faced with the consequences of her actions, her hysteric crying and rolling around on the floor is not for the dead girl but for the damage the ‘scandal’ could do to her all important social status. Unlike her parents, Sheila Birling, a strong performance from Marianne Oldham, sees her flaws and mistakes and leads the cast with the hope that with youth there is a chance for change.The star of the show is of course, Ian MacNeils wonderful set, an unfolding dolls house on stilts. It’s transformation is still as impressive and fascinating today, 17 years after its original creation. This 2009 production could be considered a timely reminder. [...]

Entertaining AngelsWriter: Richard EverettDirector: Alan Strachan Reviewer: Iris BeaumontA late September evening and a good crowd has gathered at the Lowry Theatre to welcome Penelope Keith’s latest play ‘Entertaining Angels.’Gasp were drawn as the curtain raised to reveal the stunning set designed by Paul Farnworth, and for this reviewer one of the best set designs I have ever seen, The lifelike garden of the Old Rectory is the setting for this wonderfully and enthralling play.Grace (Penelope Keith) is grieving over the loss of her husband Bardolph who happened to be the local parish vicar through her loss Grace seems to think that everyone should understand her problems without much thought about those around her or the consequences of such behaviour, not only must she learn to cope through her grieving but also have to put up with a visit from her sister Ruth, a missionary in Africa. As the story unfold we find that Grace is also under pressure to vacate her home of over 30 years to make way for the new female vicar of the parish Sarah. The whole cast manage to hold the audience’s attention throughout, with plenty to laugh about but also with some darker and stronger emotional scenes thrown in too, Richard Everett’s script is full of sharp and biting one liners with which suit Keith’s dry and biting portrayal to a tea!As one would expect from a theatrical old timer as Keith, you are given nothing short of the best and her performance is brilliant and aided by Polly Adams superb performance as Ruth, the rest of the cast are strong and highly supportive, providing one of the best ensemble’s I have seen on stage in a long time, the chemistry between them is electrifying.There are some interesting devises used in the play, and [...]

Lord of the Dance Created/Choregraphed by Michael Flatley Reviewer: Iris BeaumontWhen I first saw this show way back in the late nineties I never dreamed I would be fortunate to see it again. Lord of the Dance is a theatrical master piece which had the whole auditorium clapping and tapping ones feet, Michael Flatley’s dance troop is a spectacular show of energy and will power. The show is based on the old adage of good versus evil, jealousy and hate, affects people at some point in their life.Looking at the show content you wonder how it has held a captive audience in fifty different countries worldwide but when you actually see the power of the stars your question has been answered. There were no programmes and no narration to the show so one had to put the story together oneself which soon unfolded with the lead dancer milking the audience with his smile and gesturing to the auditorium and they loved it causing vast lengths of applauseThe back drop consisted of scaffolding and curtains which were painted with Celtic signs and many lights attached to the scaffold which flashed in a multi colours throughout the performance, which at times came and shone into the audience blinding us for several seconds missing what we were really there for…The dancing! There were one or two surprises of explosions and fireworks which made people jump but all adding to the overall ambiance. The costumes were minimalistic but very eye catching with a vast amount of glitter but the long blonde wigs were too over powering which distracted and took your eyes away from the actual dancing.The solo artist had a good voice but unfortunately the actual words were hard to follow as they were never clear enough but she came over as a [...]

Faulty Towers, The Dining ExperienceBy Interactive Theatre, AustrailiaReviewer: John RobertsWe’ve all been there, out for a nice three course meal with the family, things are going well then out of the blue things start to go wrong. All around you mayhem rings out, the manager is running around like a lunatic chasing after his incompetent staff, and it looks like your meal is never going to come from the kitchen. The question you then ask yourself is do you pay for this kind of service? Well if you found yourself sat in The Lowry Reasurant this past week, or in other Resturants over the past few months the answer may well be a resounding yes, and why I hear you cry? Well the answer is simple, to be throughly entertained that’s why!Interactive Theatre based in Austrailia are currently touring the UK & Europe with Faulty Towers the Dining Experience, based around several episodic moments from the classic TV Series Fawlty Towers, you should know that you are not going to be sitting down to a normal dinner service (much to the anger and bemusement to several of the people who came to see the show!) What lies ahead is 2.5 hours of great food, and hearty laughs and utterlly brilliant performances.Performed by three actors who are so similar to their TV counterparts its uncany from the lumbersome physicality of Basil played with great gravitas and angst by Michael Davoren, to the schreecy high pitched tones of Cybil performed by Alison Pollard-Mansergh (who is also the company Artistic Director) but the show was stolen by Daley Donelly as the put upon waiter Manuel, who charms his way into the hearts of all the people he interacts with.The cast move around the restuarnt in a frantic and giddy wirl, interacting with many [...]

The York RealistWriter: Peter GillDirecter: Adam Spreadbury-MaherReviewer: Honour Bayes There is very little to qualm about in Peter Gill’s The York Realist, a charming Northern exploration of two boys in love and the constraints that their opposite class and backgrounds (though not societal prejudice it would seem) impose on their fragile relationship. Sweetly produced by Good Night Out, this is a gently beguiling, if a little sentimental, show which engenders an evening’s entertainment that absolutely lives up to the company’s name.George is a strapping farm labourer who lives with his aging mother in a remote village. Simple family pleasures are the order of the day, until an attraction to the cosmopolitan John takes those pleasures in a very non-family oriented direction. The result is a touching relationship drama, which explores the restrictions that being a ‘realist’ puts on you – love can’t conquer all it would seem.Strangely this doesn’t seem very realistic though, with Gill’s tender language and Stephen Hagan and Matthew Burton’s touchingly impassioned performances and strong declarations of love putting paid to the idea that these men would let anything stand in the way of them. It leaves one thinking that maybe it’s more tragically romantic if they cannot be together and that’s why Gill has left them single; Romeo and Juliet have a lot to answer for.What is realistic however is the perceptive warmth of Gill’s writing within everything else in this play, from the subtle shifts and changes in relationships to the inherent Northern sense of humour. This delightful script has been deftly handled by director Adam Spreadbury-Maher, in a vibrant production that is gigglingly funny at one moment and softly heartbreaking at the next.Spreadbury-Maher has teased out perceptive and rich performances from his cast, and Hagan and Burton’s chemistry is tangible; they seem truly to [...]

Spider’s WebWriter: Agatha ChristieDirector: Joe HarmstonReviewer: Ian Cain ‘Spider’s Web’ was Agatha Christie’s first wholly original theatre script – and something of a departure from her usual writing style, too. Although renowned for her murder mysteries, here she consummately demonstrated that she was equally capable of writing a full-on comedy.Apparently, Peter Saunders, producer of ‘The Mousetrap’, asked Christie to come up with a new play to be staged in the West End. Christie agreed and suggested casting Margaret Lockwood in the lead role. But, when the idea was put to Lockwood she revealed that she was afraid of becoming typecast as the vampy femme-fatale and asked Christie to consider writing the part as a comic heroine instead. Christie seized the challenge and the rest, as they say, is history.When Clarissa Hailsham-Brown (Melanie Gutteridge) discovers a dead body in her drawing room, she tries to dispose of it before her Foreign Office diplomat husband Henry (Lucas Hare) returns home with a government VIP guest in tow. Equipped with an over active imagination, Clarissa finds ‘real life’ murder a little harder to handle than her fantasy games. And having persuaded her house guests to become embroiled in helping her, it soon becomes apparent that the dead man, Oliver Costello (Matthew Hebden), was not unknown to everyone amongst them. As the web of deceit begins to unravel, Clarissa pulls her friends into a desperate race to unveil the murderer and solve the mystery before the police discover the felony and arrest her as their prime suspect.The production could best be described as a typical ‘Whitehall farce.’ The term arose from a series of stage plays staged at the Whitehall Theatre, London, during the 1930s and 1940s, in which the entertainment was derived from situations involving a chaotic and unlikely series of accidents or [...]