http://www.thepublicreviews.com Theatre reviews for you, by you. Mon, 20 May 2013 00:29:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/hutch-riverside-studios-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/hutch-riverside-studios-london/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 00:29:24 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47614 Writer: Joe Evans Director: Linnie Reedman Reviewer: Karl O’Doherty The Public Reviews Rating: 3 out of 5 stars It’s tough writing biographical theatre, a fact mentioned in the programme for Hutch. In this case however, the biography part was fairly well done, it was just let down overall by the other elements. Hutch tells the [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/hutch-riverside-studios-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/phantom-ye-olde-rose-and-crown-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/phantom-ye-olde-rose-and-crown-theatre-london/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 00:20:03 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47610 Book: Arthur Kopit Music: Maury Yeston Director: Dawn Kalani Cowle Reviewer: Emily Gardiner The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Hidden away in the depths of East London, away from the blinding glitz of the West End and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s blockbusting The Phantom of the Opera, lays a theatrical gem that is [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/phantom-ye-olde-rose-and-crown-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-velma-celli-show-hippodrome-casino-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-velma-celli-show-hippodrome-casino-london/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 00:06:09 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47606 Reviewer: Christopher Hong The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars The Hippodrome has a long history as an entertainment venue and in its latest incarnation as a casino, it is great to see they have retained an area for a music and variety show. The show of the evening is The Velma Celli [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-velma-celli-show-hippodrome-casino-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/thrasher-courtyard-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/thrasher-courtyard-theatre-london/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 00:02:36 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47603 Writer: Conor McKee Director: Wyllie Longmore Reviewer: Elizabeth Vile The Public Reviews Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Six people, whose lives are inexorably intertwined, prepare for a night that will have far reaching consequences that none of them could have possibly imagined. By the end of the evening their lives are irretrievably changed forever. [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/thrasher-courtyard-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-wild-party-lost-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-wild-party-lost-theatre-london/#comments Sat, 18 May 2013 15:04:24 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47591 Music and Lyrics: Michael LaChiusa Director: Dominic O’Hanlon Reviewer: Lucy Thackray The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars You can’t avoid it – the Roaring Twenties are hot right now. Baz Luhrmann started it. Hollywood has Gatsby fever and the fashion world isn’t far behind, so stylised vaudeville musical The Wild Party is [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-wild-party-lost-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/fallen-in-love-the-tower-of-london-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/fallen-in-love-the-tower-of-london-london/#comments Sat, 18 May 2013 11:48:07 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47585 Writer: Joanna Carrick Director: Joanna Carrick Reviewer: Glen Pearce The Public Reviews Rating: 5 out of 5 stars ‘Love may not suit the Boleyns’. So claims Anne Boleyn’s brother George; however, in King Henry’s Tudor Court, love is a potent currency that can both win favour but also be a dangerous political weapon. In Tudor [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/fallen-in-love-the-tower-of-london-london/feed/ 1 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/hollywood-screams-salberg-studio-salisbury-playhouse-salisbury/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/hollywood-screams-salberg-studio-salisbury-playhouse-salisbury/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 22:48:02 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47580 Writer: Michael Roberts Director: Emily Watson Howes Reviewer: Sharon MacDonald-Armitage The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars   A huge change took place at The Salberg Studio, Salisbury Playhouse as it transformed into a 1940s cabaret club for Michael Roberts’ Hollywood Screams. Complete with hatcheck girls, subdued lighting and an edge of mystery [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/hollywood-screams-salberg-studio-salisbury-playhouse-salisbury/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/emerging-west-midlands-writers-and-directors-given-major-boost/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/emerging-west-midlands-writers-and-directors-given-major-boost/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 18:04:29 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47575 Emerging theatre artists in the West Midlands have been given a boost with the news that, thanks to significant support from The Leverhulme Trust, Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s REP Foundry artist development programme will continue until 2016. Created under The REP’s new artistic director, Roxana Silbert in January 2013, REP Foundry aims to discover and promote [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/emerging-west-midlands-writers-and-directors-given-major-boost/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cuddles-oval-house-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cuddles-oval-house-london/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 14:46:14 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47572 Writer: Joseph Wilde Director: Rebecca Atkinson-Lord Reviewer: Lou Flaxman The Public Reviews Rating: 3 out of 5 stars In the attic of the house they once shared with their parents, 13 year old vampire Eve is looked after by her sister Tabby. Pale and grubby, Eve believes that the world outside her ‘castle’ is one [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cuddles-oval-house-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/playing-with-grown-ups-theatre503-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/playing-with-grown-ups-theatre503-london/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 13:30:15 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47568 Director: Hannah Eidinow Writer: Hannah Patterson Reviewer: Sarah Nutland [rating 3.5] The latest theatrical offering from new writing powerhouse Theatre503 is Playing with Grown-Ups, a new play by Hannah Patterson, directed by acclaimed director Hannah Eidinow. The play explores the idea of modern women being able to do it all, but we observe the central [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/playing-with-grown-ups-theatre503-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-victorian-in-the-wall-royal-court-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-victorian-in-the-wall-royal-court-london/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 13:23:48 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47565 Writer: Will Adamsdale Directors: Will Adamsdale and Lindsey Turner Reviewer: Stephen Bates The Public Reviews Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars Will Adamsdale came to prominence when he won the Perrier Award for Comedy at the 2004 Edinburgh Festival, but instead of following many of his contemporaries into arena tours, he has chosen the much [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-victorian-in-the-wall-royal-court-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-mermaid-of-zennor-new-wimbledon-studio-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-mermaid-of-zennor-new-wimbledon-studio-london/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 13:08:08 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47562 Writer: Alice Sillett Director: Madelaine Ryan Reviewer: Edie R The Public Reviews Rating: 3 out of 5 stars The tiny oyster that is the New Wimbledon Studio has produced its latest pearl: a two-day run of Moon on A Stick Productions’ new show “The Mermaid of Zennor”. This particular pearl is flawed, but pretty. Written [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-mermaid-of-zennor-new-wimbledon-studio-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/mess-battersea-arts-centre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/mess-battersea-arts-centre-london/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 13:04:57 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47559 Writer: Caroline Horton Director: Alex Swift Reviewer: Lettie Mckie The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars There are some topics which it is almost impossible to address in theatre without falling into a trap. Drug addiction, homelessness and domestic abuse are all tricky, but one of the hardest issues to tackle with sensitivity, [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/mess-battersea-arts-centre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/ghost-the-musical-edinburgh-playhouse/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/ghost-the-musical-edinburgh-playhouse/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 10:02:54 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47554 Book & Lyrics: Bruce Joel Rubin Music & Lyrics: Dave Stewart & Glen Ballard Director: Matthew Warchus Reviewer: Francesca Parker The Public Reviews Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars The 90s cult movie, Ghost, made a magical transformation from screen to stage, becoming an exceptional piece of musical theatre that premiered at the Opera House [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/ghost-the-musical-edinburgh-playhouse/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/mugabeland-the-lowry-salford/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/mugabeland-the-lowry-salford/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 09:56:10 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47551 Writer/Director; Justin MacGregor Music: Sidiki Dembélé Choreography: Louis Pierre Yonsian Reviewer: Helen Jones The Public Reviews Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars Come As You Arts Northwest are back at the Lowry with another of their pieces of ‘documentary theatre’, this one looking at the events around Robert Mugabe’s rule of Zimbabwe. Set in a [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/mugabeland-the-lowry-salford/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/bill-bailey-qualmpeddler-the-lowry-salford/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/bill-bailey-qualmpeddler-the-lowry-salford/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 09:53:04 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47548 Reviewer: Tracey Lowe The Public Reviews Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars With all Bill Bailey’s appearances on panel shows such as ‘QI’ and ‘Have I Got News for You’, it’s sometimes easy to forget how brilliant he is at stand-up comedy. Combining culturally relevant humour with a heap of whimsy, and some great feats [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/bill-bailey-qualmpeddler-the-lowry-salford/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-the-fantasist-the-warren-brighton/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-the-fantasist-the-warren-brighton/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 17:41:30 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47544 Director: Ailin Conant Devisers: The Cast Reviewer: Tom Finch The Public Reviews Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars   Louise is an artist. She has a rough night and unable to sleep is determined to paint. Soon the demons around her are forcing her creativity. With the help of some engaging puppetry and some wonderful [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-the-fantasist-the-warren-brighton/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-shadows-on-the-wall-the-warren-brighton/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-shadows-on-the-wall-the-warren-brighton/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 17:08:29 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47537 Devisers: Re:Conception Theatre Reviewer: Tom Finch The Public Reviews Rating: 0.5 out of 5 stars Shadows on the Wall begins with a striking image of a blind dictator, adorning his throne pontificating his brutal fratricidal rise to power of an unnamed country. Sitting alone in a spotlight with a haunting melody shirking the darkness he [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-shadows-on-the-wall-the-warren-brighton/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/unhappy-birthday-camden-peoples-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/unhappy-birthday-camden-peoples-theatre-london/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 12:16:46 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47533 Writer: Amy Lame Director: Scottee Reviewer: Kat Pope The Public Reviews Rating: 3 out of 5 stars It’s fair to say that Amy Lame is more than slightly Morrissey obsessed. In fact, the great Mancunian Quiff seems to have positively taken over her life. “It’s 1982, the year the world began, and the year I [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/unhappy-birthday-camden-peoples-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/these-shining-lives-park-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/these-shining-lives-park-theatre-london/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 11:50:13 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47529 Writer: Melanie Marnich Director: Loveday Ingram Reviewer: Antoinette Stott The Public Reviews Rating: 3 out of 5 stars The play tracks the life of married mother Catherine Donohue and her three friends who find themselves and their freedom in the workplace and how their happiness is gradually overset by the ill health that results from [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/these-shining-lives-park-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/liza-on-an-e-vaudeville-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/liza-on-an-e-vaudeville-theatre-london/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 00:10:54 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47524 Writers: Trevor Ashley & Dean Bryant Director: Dean Bryant Reviewer: Christopher Owen The Public Reviews Rating: 5 out of 5 stars When simply a giggle and a look can cause a West End Theatre to erupt with laughter before a single note has been sung, you know you have a hit on your hands – [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/liza-on-an-e-vaudeville-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/well-meet-again-derby-assembly-rooms/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/well-meet-again-derby-assembly-rooms/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 21:43:53 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47517 Writers: Duggie Chapman Associates Director: Duggie Chapman Reviewer: Phil Lowe The Public Reviews Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Duggie Chapman’s enormously popular touring matinee show, We’ll Meet Again has been going for fifteen years and the performance at Derby Assembly Rooms is part of the farewell tour that continues across the UK until June. [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/well-meet-again-derby-assembly-rooms/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/make-tea-not-war-brighton-fringe-the-warren/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/make-tea-not-war-brighton-fringe-the-warren/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 21:39:25 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47514 Devisers: Supply and Demand Reviewer: Tom Finch The Public Reviews Rating: 0.5 out of 5 stars   In 2003 over a million protesters took to the streets to rally against the Iraq War. It didn’t achieve much and the war still went ahead, people still died and the world carried on turning. In their new [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/make-tea-not-war-brighton-fringe-the-warren/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-seagull-northern-stage-newcastle-upon-tyne/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-seagull-northern-stage-newcastle-upon-tyne/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 19:41:00 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47510 Director: Blanche McIntyre Writer:  John Donnelly after Anton Chekkov Reviewer: Anna Ambelez The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars   The Seagull portrays fulfilment alongside disappointment, unrequited love, romantic conflict, creativity and emotion. Masha (Jenny Rainsford) the steward’s daughter always wears black because she is “in mourning for my life”. For a play [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-seagull-northern-stage-newcastle-upon-tyne/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/less-than-kind-oxford-playhouse/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/less-than-kind-oxford-playhouse/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 17:45:49 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47503 Writer: Terence Rattigan Director: Adrian Brown Reviewer: Mary Tapper The Public Reviews Rating: 2 out of 5 stars The story behind Less Than Kind would make a good play in itself! The play was written by Rattigan in 1944 and tells the story of a young man who returns home from Canada, where he has [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/less-than-kind-oxford-playhouse/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-thing-about-psychopaths-park-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-thing-about-psychopaths-park-theatre-london/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 15:06:20 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47499 Writer: Ben Tagoe Director: Rod Dixon Reviewer: Andy Moseley The Public Reviews Rating: 2 out of 5 stars The thing about psychopaths is that many of their behavioural traits can also be found within the upper echelons of the corporate world. That is the point Ben Tagoe sets out to make in his new play [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-thing-about-psychopaths-park-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-anorak-lion-and-unicorn-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-anorak-lion-and-unicorn-theatre-london/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 14:40:29 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47495 Writer: Adam Kelly Morton Director: Matthew Gould Reviewer: Stephen Bates The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars On 6 December 1989, Marc Lepine walked into a Montreal University, killed 14 women and then killed himself. This 90-minute monologue from Chewed Up Theatre attempts to get inside the mind of a mass murderer and [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-anorak-lion-and-unicorn-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/blue-remembered-hills-liverpool-playhouse/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/blue-remembered-hills-liverpool-playhouse/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 14:29:53 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47491 Writer: Dennis Potter Director: Psyche Stott Reviewer: Stephanie Rowe The Public Reviews Rating: 5 out of 5 stars For such a small piece of writing Dennis Potters ‘Blue Remembered Hills’ is one of the most dramatic pieces of theatre ever written. The story of lost childhood through tragedy as told through the eyes of a [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/blue-remembered-hills-liverpool-playhouse/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/rutherford-and-son-yvonne-arnaud-theatre-guildford/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/rutherford-and-son-yvonne-arnaud-theatre-guildford/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 11:42:21 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47487 Author: Githa Sowerby Director: Jonathan Miller Reviewer: Bill Avenell The Public Reviews Rating: 3 out of 5 stars   It is a long way from Guildford, even on a wet and very windy night, to the industrial N.E. of England at the turn of the 20th Century. But Isabella Bywater’s set, visible in its sombre [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/rutherford-and-son-yvonne-arnaud-theatre-guildford/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-cold-comfort-the-warren-brighton/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-cold-comfort-the-warren-brighton/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 11:28:20 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47483 Writer: Owen McCafferty Director: Aine King Reviewer: Marina Spark The Public Reviews Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars   Cold Comfort, being staged as part of the Brighton Fringe at The Warren, delivers a hard-hitting look at the destructive nature of alcoholism. Set at his father’s wake, long estranged son, Kevin, goes on an emotional [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-cold-comfort-the-warren-brighton/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/sutra-the-lowry-salford/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/sutra-the-lowry-salford/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 10:27:23 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47480 Direction and Choreography: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui Visual Design: Anthony Gormley Composer: Szymon Brzóska Reviewer: Peter Jacobs The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Sutra is, literally, a rope or thread that holds things together. Metaphorically, it is a rule or set of rules, also binding, that have reference to the teachings of Buddha. [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/sutra-the-lowry-salford/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/matthew-bournes-sleeping-beauty-marlowe-theatre-canterbury/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/matthew-bournes-sleeping-beauty-marlowe-theatre-canterbury/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 08:13:10 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47477 Music: Tchaikovsky Choreographer: Matthew Bourne Reviewer: Nathanael Kent The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars   Sadler’s Wells has had quite a few hits in its time, but Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty, which ran at the London venue over Christmas, is the most successful production in its history, and that of Bourne’s own [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/matthew-bournes-sleeping-beauty-marlowe-theatre-canterbury/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/yes-prime-minister-richmond-theatre-london-2/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/yes-prime-minister-richmond-theatre-london-2/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 00:29:19 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47473 Writers: Antony Jay & Jonathan Lynn Director: Jonathan Lynn Reviewer: James Higgins The Public Reviews Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars Antony Jay & Jonathan Lynn’s Whitehall farce about a rather clueless Prime Minister is on tour again after a successful West End theatre revamp of the well loved 1980’s TV comedy series that came [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/yes-prime-minister-richmond-theatre-london-2/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/public-enemy-young-vic-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/public-enemy-young-vic-london/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 00:24:34 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47470 Writer: Henrik Ibsen, in a new version by David Harrower Director: Richard Jones Reviewer: Ian Foster The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars The phrase ‘timely revival’ is one much abused by reviewers and theatre marketers alike but it is genuinely amazing how strongly the resonances of a piece of writing from 1882 [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/public-enemy-young-vic-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/susan-boyle-to-embark-on-first-ever-live-tour/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/susan-boyle-to-embark-on-first-ever-live-tour/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 21:05:40 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47466 International singing sensation Susan Boyle is taking to the stage in her very first live tour, Susan Boyle In Concert in July 2013. The exclusive seven-night Scottish tour is said to herald a new era in Susan’s career, and is sure to be very popular with Susan’s many fans in Scotland, the UK and beyond. [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/susan-boyle-to-embark-on-first-ever-live-tour/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/news-be-festival-2013-birmingham-welcomes-back-the-best-of-european-theatre/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/news-be-festival-2013-birmingham-welcomes-back-the-best-of-european-theatre/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 18:19:05 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47462 Twenty-three performances from twelve different countries will run alongside exhibitions, discussions, workshops and home-cooked food this summer, as Birmingham’s annual festival of European work, BE Festival, returns to the city for a fourth year. With an emphasis on collaboration, participation and exchange, the performance programme is built around participatory events and a communal meal, and [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/news-be-festival-2013-birmingham-welcomes-back-the-best-of-european-theatre/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/abigails-party-milton-keynes-theatre/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/abigails-party-milton-keynes-theatre/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 17:57:12 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47455 Writer: Mike Leigh Director: Tom Attenborough Reviewer: George Attwell Gerhards The Public Reviews Rating: 3 out of 5 stars There is a problem at the heart of this production of Abigail’s Party. Put simply, it is not funny enough. Mike Leigh’s text certainly contains plenty of humour: he offers a plethora of comedic moments in [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/abigails-party-milton-keynes-theatre/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/britten-in-norwich-our-hunting-fathers-norfolk-and-norwich-festival-norwich/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/britten-in-norwich-our-hunting-fathers-norfolk-and-norwich-festival-norwich/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 17:11:43 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47451 Composer: Benjamin Britten Conductor: David Parry Leader: Magnus Johnston Soprano: Mary Plazas Reviewer: Michael Gray The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Britten in Norwich – in his centenary year, a concert with a strong spirit of place and a clear narrative progression. It’s given in St Andrew’s Hall, where, in 1924, the [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/britten-in-norwich-our-hunting-fathers-norfolk-and-norwich-festival-norwich/feed/ 1 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-festival-the-bear-brighton-studio-theatre-brighton/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-festival-the-bear-brighton-studio-theatre-brighton/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 12:14:42 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47447 Writer: Improbable & Angela Clerkin Music: Nick Powell Director: Lee Simpson Reviewer: Hannah Rowlands The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars   One of the most common themes in the novels of American writer John Irving is the constant appearance of a bear. He claims no great meaning behind the use of bears, [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-festival-the-bear-brighton-studio-theatre-brighton/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-window-the-warren-brighton/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-window-the-warren-brighton/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 11:52:24 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47443 Writer and director: Ellen Carr Reviewer: Tom Finch The Public Reviews Rating: 2 out of 5 stars   Alice is a young woman with a normal job and a seemingly normal life. She is a young, modern everywoman. Each night she gets home from work, fires up the laptop and surfs the web. In an [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-window-the-warren-brighton/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/rocky-horror-show-the-mayflower-southampton/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/rocky-horror-show-the-mayflower-southampton/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 11:39:09 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47439 Writer: Richard O’Brien Director: Christopher Luscombe Reviewer: Sharon MacDonald-Armitage The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars   Southampton comes alive to the sight of neon wigs, laddered fishnets and “sweet transvestites” as The Mayflower, Southampton welcomes the myriad of freaks that were there to see Rocky Horror Show. This Richard O’Brien cult classic [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/rocky-horror-show-the-mayflower-southampton/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/priscilla-queen-of-the-desert-grand-opera-house-york/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/priscilla-queen-of-the-desert-grand-opera-house-york/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 10:37:57 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47435 Writers: Stephan Elliot and Allan Scott Director: Simon Phillips Costume Designer: Tim Chappel, Lizzy Gardiner Reviewer: Lindsay Sykes The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a rip roaring, riotous feast for the eyes and ears. Full of cheesy disco classics, wonderful scenery, and dancing diva’s unfortunately not [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/priscilla-queen-of-the-desert-grand-opera-house-york/feed/ 1 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brilliant-adventures-royal-exchange-studio-manchester/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brilliant-adventures-royal-exchange-studio-manchester/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 09:13:30 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47430 Writer: Alistair McDowall Director: Caroline Steinbeis Reviewer: Tracey Lowe The Public Reviews Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars ‘Brilliant Adventures’ was the recipient of the prestigious Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting in 2011, and Manchester is lucky to the home of the play’s premiere. Straight from the beginning, it is clear to see why this play [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brilliant-adventures-royal-exchange-studio-manchester/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/bottleneck-hightide-festival-halesworth/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/bottleneck-hightide-festival-halesworth/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 20:43:21 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47424 Writer: Luke Barnes Director: Steven Atkinson Reviewer: Glen Pearce The Public Reviews Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars The power of theatre to take its audience down unexpected avenues is one of its greatest assets. Initially Luke Barnes’ Bottleneck may seem a feisty look at teenage angst and the trauma of growing up in Liverpool [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/bottleneck-hightide-festival-halesworth/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/lee-nelson-the-lowry-salford/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/lee-nelson-the-lowry-salford/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 00:26:33 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47419 Reviewer: Jo Beggs The Public Reviews Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars Once again Simon Brodkin brings everyone’s favourite ‘Sarf London’ geezer to an appreciative crowd in Salford, and this time he’s brought along some friends – three more of Brodkin’s ‘Well Funny People’ fresh from his latest BBC Three show. Having enjoyed Brodkin’s last [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/lee-nelson-the-lowry-salford/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/sons-without-fathers-arcola-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/sons-without-fathers-arcola-theatre-london/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 00:16:35 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47414 Writer: Chekhov, adapted by Helena Kaut-Howson Director: Helena Kaut-Howson Reviewer: Lou Flaxman The Public Reviews Rating: 2 out of 5 stars In a new adaptation by Helena Kaut-Howson, Chekhov’s unruly Platonov, written when he was just 20, is brought to The Arcola in a raucous new adaptation by Helena Kaut-Howson, who also directs. Renamed ‘Sons [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/sons-without-fathers-arcola-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-hothouse-trafalgar-studios-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-hothouse-trafalgar-studios-london/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 22:13:46 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47411 Writer: Harold Pinter Director: Jamie Lloyd Reviewer: Alex Ramon The Public Reviews Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars Following hot on the heels of Ian Rickson’s production of Old Times, there’s more Harold Pinter in the West End. This time, it’s Jamie Lloyd’s take on an early Pinter work, The Hothouse, which is the second [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-hothouse-trafalgar-studios-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/london-wall-st-james-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/london-wall-st-james-theatre-london/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 22:07:58 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47408 Writer: John Van Druten Director: Tricia Thorns Reviewer: Harry Stern The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars It is comforting to have it suggested that, while times change, absolute values remain the same. Often satirised as archetypal British qualities, decency and honour are celebrated without irony in this charming 1931 comedy of between-the-wars [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/london-wall-st-james-theatre-london/feed/ 1 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/wozzeck-coliseum-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/wozzeck-coliseum-london/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 21:56:49 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47404 Composer: Alban Berg Director: Carrie Cracknell Reviewer: Jonathan Baz The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Wozzeck marks Cracknell’s directorial debut for the ENO at the Coliseum, and this talented young woman arrives with some panache. First performed in Berlin in 1925, it was in 1988 that Berg’s demanding work was last tackled [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/wozzeck-coliseum-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/travels-with-my-aunt-menier-chocolate-factory-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/travels-with-my-aunt-menier-chocolate-factory-london/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 21:32:39 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47401 Writer: Graham Greene, adapted by Giles Havergal Director: Christopher Luscombe Reviewer: Ian Foster The Public Reviews Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars There’s a strange disconnect at the heart of Travels with my Aunt which means it never really ignites the comic potential it possesses. Giles Havergal’s adaptation of Graham Greene’s 1969 novel sees four [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/travels-with-my-aunt-menier-chocolate-factory-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/if-room-enough-hightide-festival-halesworth/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/if-room-enough-hightide-festival-halesworth/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 20:47:54 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47396 Artistic Director: Tom Coxon Composers: Christian Eccles-Cannon and Tom Figgins Reviewer: Glen Pearce The Public Reviews Rating: 5 out of 5 stars   One of Shakespeare’s most dreamlike plays, The Tempest naturally lends itself to adaptation but few interpretations can match withWings Theatre Company’s  If Room Enough for sheer exuberance or originality. Condensed into just [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/if-room-enough-hightide-festival-halesworth/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/chewing-gum-dreams-hightide-festival-halesworth/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/chewing-gum-dreams-hightide-festival-halesworth/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 11:42:05 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47392 Writer and Performer: Michaela Coel Director: Ché Walker Reviewer: Glen Pearce The Public Reviews Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars   Schooldays are supposed to be the happiest of our lives. For many, though, that view is tainted by a rose tinted passage of time, softening our memories of those formative years. For Tracey Gordon, [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/chewing-gum-dreams-hightide-festival-halesworth/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/david-toole-lucy-hind-extra-ordinary-contact-manchester/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/david-toole-lucy-hind-extra-ordinary-contact-manchester/#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 10:55:03 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47389 Choreographer- Lucy Bennet Reviewer: Richard Marsden The Public Reviews Rating: 5 out of 5 stars The basic premise of Extra-Ordinary is that would-be dancer and DV8 enthusiast Lucy Hind is David Toole’s number one fan and has come into some money and managed to convince David to do a show with her. Lucy Hind plays [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/david-toole-lucy-hind-extra-ordinary-contact-manchester/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/smallholding-hightide-festival-halesworth/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/smallholding-hightide-festival-halesworth/#comments Sat, 11 May 2013 22:57:13 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47386 Writer: Chris Dunkley Director: Patrick Sandford Reviewer: Glen Pearce The Public Reviews Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars The dream of escaping city life, returning to the countryside and becoming self-sufficient is something many aspire to in the middle of their hectic lifestyle. For Jen and Andy though their move from London to a rundown [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/smallholding-hightide-festival-halesworth/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/les-miserables-the-mill-studio-yvonne-arnaud-theatre-guildford/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/les-miserables-the-mill-studio-yvonne-arnaud-theatre-guildford/#comments Sat, 11 May 2013 20:09:05 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47381 Author: Victor Hugo Adapter/Director: Adrian Preater Creative Director: Fiona Leaning Costumes: Sharon Gilham  Reviewer: Bill Avenell The Public Reviews Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars   For those who had never seen a production at the Mill Studio before and the small space and intimate surroundings made for a rather nervous wait before ‘Hotbuckle Productions’ [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/les-miserables-the-mill-studio-yvonne-arnaud-theatre-guildford/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-bear-brewery-theatre-the-tobacco-factory-theatre-bristol/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-bear-brewery-theatre-the-tobacco-factory-theatre-bristol/#comments Sat, 11 May 2013 18:35:15 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47365 Writers: Angela Clerkin & Lee Simpson Director: Lee Simpson Reviewer: Samuel Shelton The Public Reviews Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars In the scantly lit smoky haze wails a single trumpet, Angela Clerkin’s voice is projected in a gritty L.A film noir accent. Lurking in this haze growling and snuffling is the bear. “It wasn’t [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-bear-brewery-theatre-the-tobacco-factory-theatre-bristol/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/blackout-the-garage-norwich/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/blackout-the-garage-norwich/#comments Sat, 11 May 2013 07:51:41 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47357 Writer: Davey Anderson Director: Warren S Cathrine Reviewer: Glen Pearce The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars   Nature or nurture? Is our personality shaped by the environment around us, or are we already set on an unwavering path? What if that path leads you to waking up in a jail cell accused [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/blackout-the-garage-norwich/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-kindness-of-strangers-norfolk-and-norwich-festival-norwich/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-kindness-of-strangers-norfolk-and-norwich-festival-norwich/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 22:27:42 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47353 Writers: Jack Lowe and Russell Woodhead Director: Jack Lowe Reviewer: Glen Pearce The Public Reviews Rating: 5 out of 5 stars All human life is here, and for the paramedics of Norwich that life can throw up plenty of challenges across a 12 hour shift. For fresh out of training rookie Lisa, her first ride [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-kindness-of-strangers-norfolk-and-norwich-festival-norwich/feed/ 1 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cd-review-things-to-ruin-the-songs-of-joe-iconis/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cd-review-things-to-ruin-the-songs-of-joe-iconis/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 20:00:31 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47348 Music & Lyrics: Joe Iconis Director: John Simpkins Reviewer: Carrie Carter The Public Reviews Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars Though currently making a name for himself as one of Smash’s latest composing recruits, Joe Iconis has been a fixture on the contemporary musical theatre scene for a while now, and on listening to Things [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cd-review-things-to-ruin-the-songs-of-joe-iconis/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cd-review-dogfight-original-cast-recording/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cd-review-dogfight-original-cast-recording/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 19:49:26 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47344 Music and Lyrics: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul Book: Peter Duchan Producer: Kurt Deutsch, Lawrence Manchester, Justin Paul and Benj Pasek Reviewer Jonathan Baz The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Dogfight is an all-American musical set in Los Angeles between 1963 and 1967 around the time of the Vietnam conflict. Premiering off [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cd-review-dogfight-original-cast-recording/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/and-in-the-end-jermyn-street-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/and-in-the-end-jermyn-street-theatre-london/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 16:16:55 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47341 Writer: Alexander Marshall Director: Alexander Marshall Reviewer: Andy Moseley The Public Reviews Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars Fifty years on from The Beatles first number one single, the memory of John Lennon not only lives on, it’s also getting revived and revisited on a regular basis. Hot on the heels of Sky Arts Playhouse’s [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/and-in-the-end-jermyn-street-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-match-box-tricyle-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-match-box-tricyle-london/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 14:34:57 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47337 Writer: Frank McGuinness Director: Lia Williams Reviewer: Lou Flaxman The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars After a hugely successful run at The Liverpool Everyman, Frank McGuinness’ one-woman show about loss and revenge has transferred to The Tricycle. In a barely furnished and shabby room, with the front door open to the desolate [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-match-box-tricyle-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/6-degrees-below-the-horizon-contact-manchester/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/6-degrees-below-the-horizon-contact-manchester/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 12:38:57 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47377 Writer/Directer: Andrew Quick and Pete Brooks Reviewer: Clare Boswell The Public Reviews Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars ’6 Degrees Below The Horizon’ is certainly a production of exceptional originality and flair. The central theme of the story is simple; a father’s betrayal of his wife and daughter, but the production values are anything but. [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/6-degrees-below-the-horizon-contact-manchester/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/news-iconic-arts-centre-threatened-with-closure/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/news-iconic-arts-centre-threatened-with-closure/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 20:16:35 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47329 Although a local arts centre, The Public in West Bromwich is known across the nation as a hugely expensive white elephant, writes our Central Region Editor, Selwyn Knight. It has been widely criticised for its design – it is large and pink with, to be honest, rather uninviting solid doors and windows that look as [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/news-iconic-arts-centre-threatened-with-closure/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/a-pageant-mercury-theatre-colchester/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/a-pageant-mercury-theatre-colchester/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 17:07:45 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47326 Writer: Alan Ayckbourn Director: Robin Herford Reviewer: Michael Gray The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars   Colchester gets a name-check in this third episode of Ayckbourn’s Intimate Exchanges; or Camulodunum, as Boudicca might have called it. She’s the subject of the pageant, and the two women in Headmaster Toby Teasdale’s life are [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/a-pageant-mercury-theatre-colchester/feed/ 2 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/la-traviata-theatre-royal-bury-st-edmunds/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/la-traviata-theatre-royal-bury-st-edmunds/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 16:59:42 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47321 Music: Giuseppe Verdi Director: Jane McCullock Musical Director: Stephen Hose Reviewer: Flip Miller The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars   As is usual in many adaptations of a classical composer’s work, this version of La Traviata has not been set on the place or time of the original opera. It is set [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/la-traviata-theatre-royal-bury-st-edmunds/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/miss-nightingale-new-wolsey-theatre-ipswich/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/miss-nightingale-new-wolsey-theatre-ipswich/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 10:17:42 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47311 Music and Book: Matthew Bugg Director: Peter Rowe Reviewer: Glen Pearce The Public Reviews Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars They say that musicals aren’t born but reborn and following a previous incarnation in 2011, Matthew Bugg’s Miss Nightingale now returns to the stage in a new production. Though the show has been revised since its earlier [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/miss-nightingale-new-wolsey-theatre-ipswich/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-school-for-scandal-waterloo-east-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-school-for-scandal-waterloo-east-theatre-london/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 09:50:53 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47310 Writer: Richard Brinsley Sheridan Director: Zoe Ford Reviewer: Stephen Bates The Public Reviews Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Coming in the wake of the Leveson Inquiry, a revival of this richly comic satire on London’s 18th Century chattering classes could hardly be more timely. Sheridan paints a picture of a society dominated by idle [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-school-for-scandal-waterloo-east-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/circus-maximus-udderbelly-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/circus-maximus-udderbelly-london/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 09:36:12 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47305 Reviewer: Kat Pope The Public Reviews Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Roll up, roll up! Twenty of the UK’s newest and freshest circus acts are vying for your vote in a new series of shows at the Upside Down Purple Cow, currently squatting on the South Bank. The best will walk away with five [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/circus-maximus-udderbelly-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/miss-julie-derby-guildhall/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/miss-julie-derby-guildhall/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 05:33:38 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47300 Writer: August Strindberg Music: Annelie Nederberg Director: Denis Noonan Reviewer: Phil Lowe The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Developed as part of the August Strindberg 2012 celebration (the centenary of Strindberg’s death in 1912), UK Touring Theatre is currently on tour presenting a new English translation of Miss Julie. The English translation [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/miss-julie-derby-guildhall/feed/ 1 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/london-pride-audience-with-the-ghost-finder-the-selkirk-upstairs-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/london-pride-audience-with-the-ghost-finder-the-selkirk-upstairs-london/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 00:17:52 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47297 Writers: Katie McCullough & M.J. Starling Director: Ellie Pitkin Reviewer: Deborah Klayman The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Sometimes, in order to uncover a theatrical gem one has to go a little further afield. This is one such time, as unless you make the effort (or happen to live near The Selkirk [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/london-pride-audience-with-the-ghost-finder-the-selkirk-upstairs-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/larisa-and-the-merchants-arcola-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/larisa-and-the-merchants-arcola-theatre-london/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 00:07:11 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47293 Writer: Alexander Ostrovsky in a new version by Samuel Adamson Director: Jacqui Honess-Martin Reviewer: Harry Stern The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars It is 1878 and Mother Russia is changing. The age of aristocratic patronage is under threat and the middle classes rise to create the next age – the age of [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/larisa-and-the-merchants-arcola-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/two-rooms-drayton-arms-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/two-rooms-drayton-arms-theatre-london/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:08 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47289 Director: Maryclare O’Neill Writer: Lee Blessing Reviewer: Antoinette Stott The Public Reviews Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars Two Rooms starts after the fact of capture, Michael Wells an American professor at a university in Beirut has been a hostage for months when we meet him. He is used to his capture, he knows what [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/two-rooms-drayton-arms-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/high-society-the-mayflower-theatre-southampton/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/high-society-the-mayflower-theatre-southampton/#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 19:49:52 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47282 Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter Author: Arthur Kopit Director: Anna Linstrum Reviewer: Sarah Forrester The Public Reviews Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars   High Society is based on the 1939 comedy The Philadelphia Story – it is a vibrant production with lavish costumes and set designed by Francis O`Connor. The set is simple and [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/high-society-the-mayflower-theatre-southampton/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/birds-of-a-feather-liverpool-empire/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/birds-of-a-feather-liverpool-empire/#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 13:40:29 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47287 Writer: Gary Lawson, John Phelps Creators: Laurence Marks, Maurice Gran Director: Simon James Reviewer: Stephanie Rowe The Public Reviews Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars In the fifteen plus years since Birds of a Feather graced our screen, we have seen stars Pauline Quirk, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph go on to other things. Now [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/birds-of-a-feather-liverpool-empire/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cd-review-fancy-nancy-the-musical-original-off-broadway-cast-recording/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cd-review-fancy-nancy-the-musical-original-off-broadway-cast-recording/#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 10:33:06 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47279 Book and Lyrics: Susan Dilallo Music and Lyrics: Danny Abosch Musical Direction: James Dobinson Reviewer: Helen Jones The Public Reviews Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars Fancy Nancy The Musical is based upon the series of children’s picture books by Jane O’Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. The original book, published in 2005, was [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cd-review-fancy-nancy-the-musical-original-off-broadway-cast-recording/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/a-dolls-house-royal-exchange-theatre-manchester/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/a-dolls-house-royal-exchange-theatre-manchester/#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 10:19:05 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47275 Writer: Henrik Ibsen Adaptor: Bryony Lavery Director: Greg Hersov Reviewer: Jimmy Hardwick The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars When Ibsen’s A Doll’s House was first performed both its message and its denouement caused widespread shock and distress amongst critics and audiences. Indeed Ibsen bowed to intense pressure to write a more palatable [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/a-dolls-house-royal-exchange-theatre-manchester/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-blues-brothers-approved-opera-house-manchester/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-blues-brothers-approved-opera-house-manchester/#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 10:02:57 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47272 Director: Brad Henshaw Reviewer: Paul Downham The Public Reviews Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars Are the Blues Brothers timeless? From the evidence at tonight’s show it would seem to be the case. It’s been over 20 years since this production was first brought to UK audiences and now with added 21st century references to [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-blues-brothers-approved-opera-house-manchester/feed/ 1 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/abigails-party-alhambra-theatre-bradford/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/abigails-party-alhambra-theatre-bradford/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 20:38:27 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47268 Director: Tom Attenborough Writer: Mike Leigh Reviewer: Sue Collier The Public Reviews Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars Abigail’s Party is a classic Mike Leigh comedy, first produced as a BBC Play for Today in 1977. A nightmarish house party is attended by a group of people who appear to be fighting for top position [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/abigails-party-alhambra-theatre-bradford/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-festival-the-disappearances-project-brighton-dome-studio-brighton/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-festival-the-disappearances-project-brighton-dome-studio-brighton/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 19:42:10 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47261 Devised by: Irving Gregory, Paul Prestipino, Yana Taylor and David Williams Co-directed by: Yana Taylor and David Williams Original Composition: Paul Prestipino Reviewer: Hannah Rowlands The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars   ‘To share a horrible story is important’, these words, delivered questioningly by an actor were originally made by one of [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-festival-the-disappearances-project-brighton-dome-studio-brighton/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/rocky-horror-show-richmond-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/rocky-horror-show-richmond-theatre-london/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 12:58:35 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47231 Music, lyrics and book: Richard O’Brien Director: Christopher Luscombe Reviewer: Jonathan Baz The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars It says much for a tour celebrating a show’s 40th anniversary that it can arrive in town as fresh as a daisy (albeit a very familiar daisy) and pull off a grand evening’s entertainment. [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/rocky-horror-show-richmond-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/take-the-cake-productions-comedy-evening-laugh-inn-chester/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/take-the-cake-productions-comedy-evening-laugh-inn-chester/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 12:04:13 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47227 Reviewer: Matt Yeoman The Public Reviews Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars An air of expectation and curiosity hung over the audience as we waited for the start of Take The Cake Production’s inaugural evening of stand-up. Starting a few minutes late it soon became apparent that this was a sell-out event – not bad [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/take-the-cake-productions-comedy-evening-laugh-inn-chester/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-woman-in-black-the-lowry-salford/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-woman-in-black-the-lowry-salford/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 11:25:25 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47224 Writer: Susan Hill Adaptor: Stephen Mallatratt Director: Robin Herford Reviewer: Paul Downham The Public Reviews Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars Now playing its 25th year in the West End, it is very easy to see just why The Woman in Black has stood the test of time and will continue to haunt theatres for [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-woman-in-black-the-lowry-salford/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/messiah-st-johns-smith-square-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/messiah-st-johns-smith-square-london/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 10:35:46 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47214 Music: Handel Stage Director: John Ramster Music Director: Stephen Hose Reviewer: Christopher Hong The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars The staging of Messiah can sometimes be an uninspiring affair: choir, singers and anything up to a full orchestra crammed onto a stage singing to their hearts’ content. This may deliver an outstanding [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/messiah-st-johns-smith-square-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-ghost-hunter-old-red-lion-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-ghost-hunter-old-red-lion-theatre-london/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 10:23:58 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47211 Writer: Stewart Pringle Director: Jeffrey Mayhew Reviewer: Stephen Bates The Public Reviews Rating: 2 out of 5 stars The City of York is described in this play as built on a graveyard above another graveyard and we are told that, whilst it was once famed for trains and chocolate, it is now known chiefly for [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-ghost-hunter-old-red-lion-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/relatively-speaking-milton-keynes-theatre/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/relatively-speaking-milton-keynes-theatre/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 07:04:27 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47205 Writer: Alan Ayckbourn Director: Lindsay Posner Reviewer: Maggie Constable The Public Reviews Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars It was Relatively Speaking in London’s West End in 1967 that made Alan Ayckbourn’s name and gave him his first hit play. He has since become a darling of British theatre, very much a household favourite on [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/relatively-speaking-milton-keynes-theatre/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/shh-hawthorne-theatre-welwyn-garden-city/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/shh-hawthorne-theatre-welwyn-garden-city/#comments Mon, 06 May 2013 18:59:07 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47199 Company: C-12 Dance Theatre Music:  Jamie Salisbury Reviewer: Elise Nuding The Public Reviews Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Described as a story of love, flying overdue library books, and a dancing librarian, Shhh! celebrates the humble local library. A narrative work with twelve scenes and five performers, C-12 Dance Theatre’s production also employs original [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/shh-hawthorne-theatre-welwyn-garden-city/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-farley-farm-house-chiddingly-east-sussex/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-farley-farm-house-chiddingly-east-sussex/#comments Mon, 06 May 2013 17:41:45 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47195 Reviewer: Steve Turner The Public Reviews Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars   Nestling in the East Sussex countryside, Farley Farm House showcases the work and lives of its two most famous owners Roland Penrose and Lee Miller. Penrose, co-founder of the ICA and champion of the surrealists, and Miller the Vogue model turned photographer, [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-farley-farm-house-chiddingly-east-sussex/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/simon_evans_friendly_fire_lowry_salford/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/simon_evans_friendly_fire_lowry_salford/#comments Mon, 06 May 2013 10:10:52 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47191 Reviewer: Laura Ord The Public Reviews Rating: 2 out of 5 stars The aloof, tweed wearing, Tory supporting Simon Evans is back at the Lowry with a hatred of football, the working class and even his own children. After a slow introduction of how the show will be structured, Evans begins gently and speaks about [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/simon_evans_friendly_fire_lowry_salford/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cloud-child-the-lowry-salford-quays/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cloud-child-the-lowry-salford-quays/#comments Mon, 06 May 2013 02:41:19 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47187 Director: Rachel Riggs Reviewer: Clare Boswell The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Cloud Child by DNA is a delightful gem of a play which explores the bond between parent and child. While hanging out the washing an older couple find that a cloud child has tumbled down from the sky. The woman [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/cloud-child-the-lowry-salford-quays/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/neighbors-hightide-festival-halesworth/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/neighbors-hightide-festival-halesworth/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 19:58:45 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47184 Writer: Branden Jacobs –Jenkins Director: Steven Atkinson Reviewer: Glen Pearce The Public Reviews Rating: 5 out of 5 stars   ‘You can choose your friends, not your family’ the saying goes. The same could be said about your neighbours. The eponymous TV series goes one step further claiming they can become ‘good friends’ – what [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/neighbors-hightide-festival-halesworth/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-chapel-street-marlborough-theatre-brighton/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-chapel-street-marlborough-theatre-brighton/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 17:40:24 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47176 Writer: Luke Barnes Director: Bryony Shanahan Reviewer: Joanna Trainor The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars   From licking actual stray cats, to shotguns in vans, to cross-dressing pirates sketching passed out drunks; Luke Barnes’ alcohol fuelled Chapel Street is a near perfect mix of effortless humour and thought-provoking poignancy. Told through overlapping [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/brighton-fringe-chapel-street-marlborough-theatre-brighton/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/moth-hightide-festival-halesworth/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/moth-hightide-festival-halesworth/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 15:04:35 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47168 Writer: Declan Greene Director: Prasanna Puwanarajah Reviewer: Glen Pearce The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars In the darkness moths are drawn to the brightest light and in the darkness of a troubled teenager’s mind the brightest light can also conversely be the darkest. 15-year-old Sebastian is indeed a troubled mind, bullied at [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/moth-hightide-festival-halesworth/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/pastoral-hightide-festival-halesworth/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/pastoral-hightide-festival-halesworth/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 14:44:01 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47155 Writer: Thomas Eccleshare Director: Steve Marmion Reviewer: Glen Pearce The Public Reviews Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars   “England’s green and pleasant land”, an image that conjures up images of idyllic rural settings and peaceful countryside pursuits. For Thomas Eccleshare’s Pastoral, winner of the 2011 Verity Bargate Award, however, the idyll is something much [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/pastoral-hightide-festival-halesworth/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/news-royal-shakespeare-company-joins-forces-with-google-to-present-midsummer-nights-dreaming/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/news-royal-shakespeare-company-joins-forces-with-google-to-present-midsummer-nights-dreaming/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 14:35:01 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47154 In a project directed by Google’s Tom Uglow and the RSC’s Geraldine Collinge, people all over the world will be able to join the Royal Shakespeare Company live in Stratford-upon-Avon and online, as they present a one-off digital theatre project, Midsummer Night’s Dreaming. This creative experiment will take place over Midsummer weekend, 21 –24 June [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/news-royal-shakespeare-company-joins-forces-with-google-to-present-midsummer-nights-dreaming/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/47148/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/47148/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 13:23:06 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47148 Written and Directed by Helen Eastman The Public Reviews Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Presented by Oxford Playhouse “Plays Out”, Bicycle Boy is hosted at Osney Mill Marina, in a specially created bicycle repair shop set; one is struck immediately by the intriguing surroundings – we are seated in a riot of junk and [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/47148/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-london-cuckolds-pleasance-theatre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-london-cuckolds-pleasance-theatre-london/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 12:45:34 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47145 Writer: Edward Ravenscroft Director: Danny Wainwright Reviewer: Harry Stern The Public Reviews Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Twenty years after the end of Puritan era, the English stage, judging by this raucous romp, was still fixated by sex. To the exclusion of virtually everything else it seems. Other than overindulgence in alcohol consumption. Hedonism [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-london-cuckolds-pleasance-theatre-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-burial-the-albany-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-burial-the-albany-london/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 12:35:35 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47142 Writer: Bola Agbaje Director: Franko Figueiredo Reviewer: Lettie Mckie The Public Reviews Rating: 3 out of 5 stars This year Deptford-based performing arts venue The Albany celebrates its 30th anniversary . An organisation which prides itself on a long established connection to the local community its programme of music, theatre and spoken word reflects the [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-burial-the-albany-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-play-that-goes-wrong-trafalgar-studios-2-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-play-that-goes-wrong-trafalgar-studios-2-london/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 12:31:04 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47139 Writers: Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields Director: Mark Bell Reviewer: Elizabeth Vile The Public Reviews Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Running at just an hour long this fast paced, ridiculous piece of theatre is the perfect antidote to a stressful week at work as well as giving you plenty of time for [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/the-play-that-goes-wrong-trafalgar-studios-2-london/feed/ 0 http://www.thepublicreviews.com/rubberbandance-gravity-of-center-southbank-centre-london/ http://www.thepublicreviews.com/rubberbandance-gravity-of-center-southbank-centre-london/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 12:27:22 +0000 The Public Reviews http://www.thepublicreviews.com/?p=47136 Reviewer: Anna Pearce The Public Reviews Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars The rhythmic, musical, unison movement performed by Rubberband’s five dancers in the opening of ‘Gravity of Center’ very much sets up what is to come. They creep and shift throughout the stage as a tight unit, gazing intensly out beyond the audience, and [...]]]> http://www.thepublicreviews.com/rubberbandance-gravity-of-center-southbank-centre-london/feed/ 0