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Archive for September, 2010

Stockholm – Mercury Theatre, Colchester

Writer: Bryony Lavery Director: Janice Dunn Reviewer: Michael Gray The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★★☆ In the intimacy of the studio, hung with white drapes and a polythene banner, Handel’s Lascia Ch’io Pianga on the speakers, Todd and Kali prepare. Prepare to depart for Stockholm. Prepare a birthday meal. But the springtime interior and the gleaming kitchen are not the [...]

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The Rivals – Richmond Theatre

Writer: Richard Brinsley Sheridan Music: Mick Sands Director: Peter Hall Reviewer: Ann Bawtree The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★★★ This classic production by Peter Hall of this classic play is a joy from beginning to end. It is hard to believe that such a perfect plot which has lasted two hundred and thirty five years in an unaltered state is [...]

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Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Curve, Leicester

Music: Pyotr Llyich Tchaikovsky Director and Choreographer: Matthew Bourne Reviewer: Jemma Crowston The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★★★ Matthew Bourne’s award-winning Swan Lake is a must see at Leicester’s Curve theatre this week. Whether you love the theatre, like to watch contemporary dance pieces or just love classical music this is modern day classic that will keep your eyes firmly [...]

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The Makropulos Case (English National Opera) – The Coliseum, London

Writer: Leoš Janáček Conductor: Sir Richard Armstrong Director: Christopher Alden Reviewer: Ian Foster The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★★☆ The Makropulos Case is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček with a libretto also by Janáček after the Czech play Věc Makropulos by Karel Čapek (who, trivia fans, invented the word ‘robot’!) This is the first revival of Christopher [...]

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Territory – Lowry Theatre, Salford

Writer/Director: Rueben Johnson Reviewer: Dave Cunningham The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★★☆ A group of Salfordian teens meet in an inner city woods to undertake the time-honoured ritual of binge drinking and getting wasted on drugs. Under the influence of the bullying Ashley ( Linford Johnson) they pick on the weaker or younger members of the group . Their evening [...]

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Is That A Bolt In Your Neck? – Nuffield Theatre, Southampton

Director: Abigail Anderson Company: Gonzo Moose Reviewer: Hannah Badrock The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★☆☆ Gonzo Moose are a Bristol based touring comedy Theatre Company founded in 1999, and ‘Is That A Bolt In Your Neck’ is certainly an eccentric piece of comedy. This spoof gothic horror includes many storylines and subplots all centred around the mad Professor Chekov and [...]

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The Lady Boys of Bangkok – The Sabai Pavilion, Times Square, Newcastle upon Tyne

Producers: Carol & Philip Gandey Reviewer: Ian Cain The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★★☆ Fun, frothiness and frivolity are the name of the game as The Lady Boys of Bangkok take Tyneside by storm for the seventh successive year with their all-new ‘Fantasy and Feathers’ tour. From the start, prepare to be dazzled, delighted and dumbstruck as sixteen stunningly sexy [...]

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Pete Firman: Jokes & Tricks -Lowry Theatre, Salford

Reviewer: Dave Cunningham The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★½☆ To state the obvious: Jokes & Tricks comprises Pete Firman telling jokes whilst performing magic tricks. This literal approach is present throughout the show as Firman constantly reminds the audience that what they are seeing isn’t magic but a series of illusions. On occasion he goes so far as to show [...]

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