Monthly Archives: August 2012

Dara O’ Briain. Comedy Legend Returns To Liverpool Empire Theatre.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 23rd 2012.

L.S. Media Rating *****

Before the curtain was raised even one inch on what became a night of high class comedy, the gentle and uplifting music of Neil Hannon’s Divine Comedy classic The Lost Art of Conversation filtered through the auditorium and to the awaiting, patient audience’s ears as they took their seats. If there is a song that fits perfectly the nature of comedy gig by Dara O’ Briain, then the man and his conversation surely is the one.

Dara O’ Briain. Comedy Legend Returns To Liverpool Empire Theatre. full post

(585 words, 1 image, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)

The Games. Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Picture by John Garfield-Roberts

Originally published by L.S. Media March 23rd 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Liam Tobin, Keddy Sutton, Mark Keemar Smith.

There are so few theatre companies that get the chance to put on a recently found classic by Aristophanes, lovingly restored with some academic attachments and a room of serious people nodding their heads and then talking about why Greek theatre is better than anything that’s written today.

The Games. Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(402 words, 1 image, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

A Life in the Theatre. Theatre Review. The Actors’ Studio, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 25th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Andrew Schofield, Stephen Fletcher.

There is a realm of safety within the theatre called the dressing room where in theory an actor can relax, prepare themselves for the night ahead and be their true selves and away from the audience glare and the lights which can show every emotion.

A Life in the Theatre. Theatre Review. The Actors’ Studio, Liverpool. full post

(550 words, 1 image, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)

The Waterboys, Gig Review. Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Mike Scott at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. Picture by Ian D. Hall

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 25th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating *****

Not content with releasing arguably the best album of 2011, it seems that The Waterboys will do anything to prove that they will be considered as the best live act to visit Liverpool this year.

The Waterboys, Gig Review. Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. full post

(642 words, 1 image, estimated 2:34 mins reading time)

Karine Polwart, Traces. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. Augsut 14th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating *****

There are just some musicians who shouldn’t be allowed, by act of law if need be, to be away from the public eye for too long. Scotland’s Karine Polwart is one such singer songwriter whose absence makes the world a darker place to inhabit, even though her songs are crammed full of enough of subjects that though nefarious and sad are what give life meaning, no matter how sorrowful.

Karine Polwart, Traces. Album Review. full post

(416 words, 1 image, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Take This Waltz, Film Review. (F.A.C.T. Cinema Screenings)

Originally published by L.S. Media. August 14th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogan, Sarah Silverman, Luke Kirby, Aaron Abrahams, Raoul Bhaneja, Albert Howell, Dianne Flacks, Diane D’Aquila, Danielle Miller.

The leafy streets of Toronto don’t have that many films attached to it to make it a serious rival to New York in which to shoot feature films, the sense of history is not quite there. Instead of the usual camera shots of well-worn cliché ridden snippets of Central Park, coffee houses and exclusive apartments, Take This Waltz relied on the majesty of the Toronto skyline and the idyllic settings of Little Portugal and Lake Ontario. For that alone gives the film credibility as it strays away from the well beaten production North American film path.

Take This Waltz, Film Review. (F.A.C.T. Cinema Screenings) full post

(499 words, 1 image, estimated 2:0 mins reading time)

Nik Kershaw, Ei8ht. Album Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. August 15th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

He was once a teen idol, a musical genius who strode the pop charts like a colossus and who quite rightly scored hit after hit in the video ridden 1980’s.

In 1984 Nik Kershaw released his debut album Human Racing, now just under 30 years later, Nick finally releases his eighth album and as with a lot of things, time has been kind and improved the music that the man creates.  In Ei8ht, Nik Kershaw becomes the musician he was destined to be.

Nik Kershaw, Ei8ht. Album Review. full post

(364 words, 1 image, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

Happy, Theatre Review. Lantern Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. August 15th 2012.

L.S.Media Rating ****

Cast: Sean Hutchinson, Ellie Stevenson, Jack Malone, Greg Prentice, Igor Memic, Matthew Pieterse, Matthew Exley.

A perfect happy world where everyone is nice to each other and life is able to go down the path towards a serene future, it may sound like bliss, a state which we all strive…one that come with repercussions that the mood you feel is not one you that you have attained by natural means.

Happy, Theatre Review. Lantern Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(399 words, 1 image, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Annie, The Liverpool Empire Stage Experience. Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre.

Originally published by L.S. Media. Augsut 16th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Tom Hogan, Grace Galloway, Vanessa Booth, Daniel Greenwood, Frankie Magee, Matthew Parkinson, Alice Carlile, Eve McKechnie, Clara Moriarty, Asha Billington, Amber Rigley, Daisy Miller, Natalie Davies, Michael Scotland, Olivia Doyle, Charlotte Hanley.

The Liverpool Empire Stage Experience is one of the success stories of recent times. It really does give the youth of Liverpool a chance to shine, and like the production of two summers ago, the excellent Bugsy Malone, Annie shone as vibrantly as the neon lights of New York or London and for the young lady who played the eponymous Annie, the delightful and wonderfully cheeky Alice Carlile, she sparkled brighter than most who have played this part on a British stage.

Annie, The Liverpool Empire Stage Experience. Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre. full post

(427 words, 1 image, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

The Best Of Men, Television Review. B.B.C. Television.

Eddie Marsan as Dr. Ludwig Guttmann. Picture from the B.B.C.

Originally pulished by L.S. Media. August 17th 2012

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Eddie Marsan, Rob Brydon, Naimh Cussack, Richard McCabe, George MacKay, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Ben Owen-Jones, David Proud, Leigh Quinn, Daniel Wilde.

Perhaps it took the Best of Men to prove that nobody should ever be written off just because they received spinal injuries during the war.

The B.B.C. Television drama The Best of Men looked at the lives of the pioneering work of Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, a German Jewish refugee whose care and compassion for those he found in the spinal unit of Stoke Mandeville proved a thorn in the sides of the British doctors.

The Best Of Men, Television Review. B.B.C. Television. full post

(429 words, 1 image, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)