*

Archive for April, 2011

Shaolin Warriors – Darlington Civic Theatre

Producer & Director: Stephen Leatherland Choreographers: Su Dongmei, Li Chi Reviewer: Ian Cain The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★★☆ Carefully-crafted choreography is combined with classic Kung Fu feats to create a dynamic display of death-defying dexterity. Indeed, the Shaolin Warriors really know how to put on a spectacular show. Phenomenal feats of physical strength and stamina, including monks being lifted [...]

Read On →

Uncle Vanya –Arcola Theatre, London

Writer: Anton Chekhov Translator: Helena Kaut-Howson and Jon Strickland Director: Helena Kaut-Howson Reviewer: Natalie Barker The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★★☆ Hopeless. Despair. Endless. Bored. These are some of the words used by the characters of Chekhov’s melancholic play, Uncle Vanya, which is a meditation on the purposelessness of life and a wasted existence. At the centre of the play [...]

Read On →

Hamlet: 1603 – White Bear Theatre, London

Writer: William Shakespeare Music: Earl Barton Director: Imogen Bond Reviewer: Michelle Smith The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★★★ The story of Hamlet is well known: a beloved King (Stephen Connery-Brown) tragically dies leaving behind his wife, Queen Gertred (Diana Katis), and son, Hamlet (Jamie Matthewman), with the former wasting no time to re-marry no one other than the King’s brother. [...]

Read On →

Folie a Deux – The Lowry, Salford

Director: Bim Mason Reviewer: Helen Jones The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★★☆ Green Eyed Zero state they fuse contemporary circus, physical theatre and digital media to create an imaginative spectacle. Whilst this might not be to everyone’s taste, Folie a Deux is certainly an imaginative piece. The basic plot is set around the interaction between two mentally disturbed people, whose [...]

Read On →

CD REVIEW: Clare Teal – Hey Ho

Produced by Grant Windsor Reviewer: John Roberts The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★★½ Sitting back with a Pimms in my hand and a Cucumber sandwich, seems to make the current heat-wave that is sweeping the nation seem like a perfect way to relax, but a new contender for all things relaxed and enjoyable has now been found in Clare Teal’s [...]

Read On →

Love, Love, Love – Nuffield Theatre, Southampton

Writer: Mike Bartlett Director: James Grieve Reviewer: Catherine Love The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★★☆ Mike Bartlett’s new play about the baby boomer generation takes its title from the Beatles’ sixties anthem ‘All You Need is Love’, but suggests that in fact you need a whole lot more. Kenneth and Sandra, caught up in the heady change of the late [...]

Read On →

Great Expectations – Oxford Playhouse

Writer: Charles Dickens Adaptor: Tanika Gupta Director: Nikolai Foster Reviewer: Mary Tapper The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★½☆ This play had me intrigued from the start. Here is a classic tale, originally published in short episodes, taken to another setting completely and transformed into a different medium. Would it work as a play? Would Tanika Gupta’s relocation of the story [...]

Read On →

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford

Writer: Jules Verne Director/Adaptor: Russ Tunney Music: Matt Baker Reviewer: Ann Bawtree The Public Reviews Rating: ★★★☆☆ Advertised as suitable for ages six to elderly adult it would be more true to say that it is not unsuitable for anybody in that age range. However it is most suitable for six year olds to early teens with older teens [...]

Read On →