Theatre reviews for you, by you. If you would like to review for us,
please contact us including a short review of what you have seen recently.

Writer: David Watson Director: Clare Lizzimore Reviewer: Ian Foster The Public Reviews Rating: Pieces of Vincent is a new play from David Watson receiving its world premiere at the Arcola Theatre in East London. Vincent is a young man adrift in the world, looking for an ex-girlfriend and solace in London, he finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and his life changes forever. The play takes us through how this affects a large cast of characters, from County Down to Birmingham to various parts of London, as we slowly see the impact he had and get closer to the truth of what has happened. Es Devlin’s innovative approach to the design of this show has resulted in an unusual seating arrangement. The audience sit on cushions the floor in the middle of the theatre and the action takes place all around us, as film images are played, often in a highly effective 360° manner. Three of the sides have sets behind the gauzy screens and one has a blank wall onto to which a range of locations are effectively projected. This has varying degrees of success: the film sequences, with its opening scene where we’re travelling with a character in a car and a later scene on London’s Millenium Bridge are just brilliant. There’s a real sense of immersion, being right in the moment and with the special effects in the latter scene, creating a highly moving experience. Elsewhere, the other scenes which are more traditionally played are strongly acted and the unique staging allows for the shifts in location to be clearly articulated. The play itself is engaging and has its moments, but it also has its challenges: it is not an easy watch. With its fractured narrative as we look at each of the ‘pieces’, it tests [...]

Writer: Alan Ayckbourn Director: Sir Peter Hall Reviewer: Ann Bawtree The Public Reviews Rating: Everyone going to an Alan Ayckbourn play expects to enjoy themselves and his Bedroom Farce is certainly no exception. The play’s title is a bit of a misnomer as this is not a bedroom farce in the Brian Rix or Carry On team sense. True the set, designed by Simon Higlett, is of three bedrooms, side by side and characters pop in and out of the doors with great rapidity. On the left is a room which is all pink satin bed cover and silk lampshades and is the room of Delia and Ernest, played by Juliet Mills and Bruce Montague, who have reached a state of comfortable maturity after many years of marriage. The centre room is that of Malcolm and Kate in their newly acquired home with its unfinished wall paper and slightly ramshackle furnishings. A boisterous pair these, played by Ayden Callaghan and Julia Mallam, given to practical jokes and much larking around. The third setting belongs to Jan and Nick, (Clare Wilkie and Maxwell Caulfield) and speaks of every day comfort well suited to a couple with busy professional lives. The connecting character for all three couples is Trevor, the over-indulged son of Delia and Ernest, ex-boyfriend of Jan and so an object of suspicion for Nick, annoying but beloved friend of Kate and Malcolm and husband of the neurotic, psycho-babbling Susannah. The story unfolds over just one night, from about seven in the evening till 3am, almost giving a feeling of real time action. Although all three rooms are on stage simultaneously, scenes change rapidly by means of clever switches of lighting, designed by Peter Mumford. The play was written in the 1970s and while the characters could be human-beings from any century it is impossible [...]

Writer: Peter Gordon Director: Giles Watling Reviewer: Michael Gray The Public Reviews Rating: The title says it all, even before we meet Miss Maple [sic] and the aptly named Inspector Pratt. Peter Gordon’s 1993 play is an affectionate pastiche of your classic Country House Murder Mystery, with shoals of red herrings and a Cluedo collection of whodunnit suspects and weapons. A near-capacity house at the Mercury enjoyed it on all kinds of levels, though the riper innuendo sometimes needed pointing. We were kept guessing to the end, as miscreants were unmasked and motives revealed. The script was amusing, with one or two really strong sequences, and Giles Watling’s experienced touch helped a battle-hardened cast make the most of it. Roland Oliver was crusty Colonel Craddock – loads of bluster and odd touching moment,with Sandra Dickinson magnificent as his mem-sahib – tremendous presence and a voice from the Betty Marsden school of comedy characterisation. Darren Machin had the moustache, the macassar, the froggie accent and the two-tone shoes, all unmistakeable marks of a cad. I liked the way he used his entire body to expression his feelings – most amusing. Elizabeth Williams stepped into the sensible shoes of Margaret Rutherford and Joan Hickson as the interfering spinster sleuth. Michelle Hardwick was the acid-tongued Elizabeth, in an unconvincing wig, Chloe Newsome the dowdy Dorothy, with Erin Geraghty as the doomed mistress of the manor. Christopher Elderwood worked hard as the hapless constable, sidekick to the clueless detective. The two plum parts went to the priceless Victor Spinetti, as the dotty butler Bunting, squiffy on sherry and lurking suspiciously, and Norman Pace as the Inspector, bungling, accident-prone with a way with words John Prescott might envy. It’s a gift of a part, and Pace grabbed it by the scruff of the neck, with admirable comic timing, [...]

Writer: Arthur Wing Pinero Director: Sam Waters Reviewer: James Higgins The Public Reviews Rating: In Edwardian England political and social upheaval was taking place and the country was a few short years away from the horror of World War One. Arthur Wing Pinero was the son of a solicitor whose family had arrived in England in the 18th century. When his father died he left the world of law, entered the world of theatre and began to write. Not performed since 1966, The Thunderbolt, directed by Sam Walters has been revived and is presented in a charming and wonderfully nostalgic manner. In his 1908 play Pinero moves away from the London society of his earlier acclaimed The Second Mrs Tanqueray, to the small town politics, tension and rivalry of a sleepy provincial town in the Midlands. We join the Mortimore family as they gather to mourn the passing of eldest brother Ned, a man with whom they had little contact but who had amassed a small fortune as a successful local brewer. Who will inherit the fortune is unclear and the family are at the beck and call of the lawyers. There appears to be no will and in a further twist there is also an illegitimate daughter from Paris. The play explores the complex relationships between the siblings showing how greed, keeping up appearances and pretension lead to tension and dispute. Geoff Leesley is alpha sibling James Mortimore a man of local prominence who doesn’t have the funds to match. The same can be said of his brother Stephen (David Whitworth) a local newspaper proprietor jealous of his rival. Helen Thornhill, played convincingly by Grainne Keenan, is a young lady whose arrival really puts the cat amongst the pigeons. David Antrobus and Vincent Brimble are both excellent as family lawyers Mr Vallance [...]

Writer: Barry Hines Adaptor: Lawrence Till Director: Kevin Shaw Reviewer: Malcolm Wallace The Public Reviews Rating: Published in 1968, Barry Hines’ novel A Kestrel for a Knave has a continuing presence on the English Literature GCSE syllabus and remains an eternally popular story. A1969 film adaptation is held with great affection by film buffs and fans of the novel, but there is something deeply theatrical about the story and it is no surprise that it works exceptionally well on stage. Lawrence Till’s stage adaptation was first performed in Sheffield in 1991 and has been performed regularly ever since. However, I challenge any production to match the quality of the new presentation currently playing at the Coliseum in Oldham. The familiar story concerns troubled and socially awkward teenager Billy Casper as he battles through life against a dysfunctional family home, a difficult school life with teachers who have given up on him, and a lacking sense of belonging or clear aim in life. However, after claiming a baby Kestrel as his own, he finds solace and joy and a fleeting sense of direction as he successfully trains the bird and, for the first time, achieves something real. Leading the cast of this super production is Adam Barlow who is phenomenal as Billy. Barlow’s range of emotion and his complex characterisation gives Billy a humanity and realism that banishes all memory of the film version and is deeply moving. In particular his final scenes are so perfectly pitched and so well acted that it is hard not to share his devastation at the shatteringly sad turn of events. The supporting cast are all strong also. Paul Barnhill puts in a lovely and warm performance as Mr Farthing, the one teacher who recognises in Billy his potential and shows a kindly, but genuine, interest in the [...]

Writer: Noel Coward Director: Aline Waites Reviewer: Elizabeth Vile The Public Reviews Rating: Set in the lounge of ‘The Wings’ a charity home for retired actresses Noel Coward’s play is a sensitively written, comic piece about its ‘inmates’. Written during Coward’s sixtieth year the play gives centre stage to the ten ladies who reside there and gives them the opportunity to shine centre stage once more. It is a rarely performed piece, possibly not being performed in a professional capacity since the original production in 1960 so it was a joy and a privilege for me to watch it. The main reason that was stated as to why the piece has not been performed in so long was the problems of casting. Finding ten ladies to take on the main roles, the youngest to be in their late fifties, is not an easy task but the Pentameters Theatre achieved this. Every lady on stage played their part with an enthusiasm and vitality that I have not seen in some twentysomethings on stage. Their commitment to their character and their obvious enjoyment of their roles was a joy to watch. I would love to mention every actress individually but the two that really stood out for me were Jackie Skarvellis who played the prickly and witty Cora Clarke, and Frances Cuka who injected the moody but caring May Davenport with sensitivity and humour. These ladies were supported by a group of younger actors who took on the roles of the employees of the home, a reporter and the son of one of the ‘inmates’. Although they performed well I felt that they didn’t quite match the standard of the older ladies and were slightly over shadowed by them. A special mention needs to go to Cliff Burgess who took on the role of the [...]

Writer: Amanda Whittington Director: Matt Devitt Reviewer: Michael Gray The Public Reviews Rating: Fortified by a bargain bottle of Victoria Bitter, I join the Queen’s crowd for this season’s opening production – the “feel-good, laugh-a-minute chick flick for the stage” that is Ladies Down Under. If you saw Amanda Whittington’s Ladies’ Day, also from the Hull Truck stable, you’ll know that the ill-assorted mates from the fishpacking sheds had a big win at Royal Ascot. Now they’re re-united, determined to spend, spend, spend and live the dream in Australia, where Jan’s fella Joe is already in residence. In what would be a pre-title sequence in the cinema, we learn that bush fires have prevented him getting to Sydney airport to meet them, so off they go on an odyssey through Oz that will see them “finding themselves” in the outback, watching the sun rise at Ayers Rock, and proudly joining the rainbow ranks of the Mardi Gras. We can’t help caring about the fate of these four feisty women, with their issues and idiosyncrasies. At Hornchurch they are nicely delineated by Diana Croft as Jan, who thinks she’s been jilted, Helen Watson as Pearl, who has a Shirley Valentine moment with beach bum Charlie, Lucy Thackeray, constantly engaging as the ingenuous Linda, and Sarah Scowen as shallow Shelley. She’s the girl who has most to lose, perhaps, and in a nice piece of symbolism is parted from her designer baggage, only to realise she doesn’t need it after all. One of the more successful extended scenes, although its outcome is a little predictable, has the four women camping out and discovering themselves – Pearl spouting Measure for Measure for all the world like Russell’s Rita. I liked the way the women were suddenly travel-stained and jet-lagged, and even more layers were stripped away [...]

Director/Writer: Zach Lee Reviewer: Greig Ratcliff The Public Reviews Rating: People often refer to the wonder of the live show as a living, breathing organism where no two performances are the same. This of course can apply to many different aspects of the performing arts: dance, comedy, music, even art itself. The wonder of theatre however, is that the concept of bridging the gap between performer and audience can be taken to new levels. ‘Two Brothers and One World Cup’ does just that, yet pushes the concept to the extreme by allowing the audience to determine what comes next, and as such, this really is a hugely dynamic, unpredictable production with that added thrill of anticipation and expectancy. Another nice touch here is that the storyline does not focus around football; rather, it provides a solid backdrop upon which the real issues in the script are revealed, the concepts of favouritism and family envy. Micky and Jimmy, two brothers obsessed with football, have their lives seemingly ruled by the world cup and follow the sport to an extreme. However it is soon revealed that they are not as close as is suggested, after a near-fatal accident in their childhood results in severe favouritism between the brothers from their father. Focusing on the effects this has on their lives together and apart, the plot explores family values and relationships through a witty script and acoustic football-related song. The two lead performers, Ian Curley and Zach Lee, handle the script well yet the entire show leaves something to be desired: whether this be in the script, the performing styles or even the acting itself is difficult to say. Certainly the concept of ‘interaction’, with the involvement of the audience, added an enjoyable je ne ce quoi to the performance, and …