Category Archives: Theatre

Cooped, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Aitor Basauri, Stephen Kreiss, Petra Massey, Toby Park.

Twenty glorious years in the making, and still the riotous laughter keeps coming, for Brighton-based theatre company Spymonkey; there is no sitting delicately on laurels, resting in the plumped up leather chair beside the roaring fire and passion of the audience, even returning to one of the foursome’s early successes means being match fit, confining themselves to the bird house until the pen sparks life once more.

Cooped, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(411 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Rosmersholm, Theatre Review. The Duke Of York’s Theatre, London.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Hayley Atwell, Tom Burke, Lucy Briers, Jake Fairbrother, Giles Terera, Peter Wight, Gavin Antony, Ebony Buckle, Piers Hampton, Maureen Hibbert, Robyn Lovell, Alice Vilanculo.

Love and grief go hand in hand, without one, arguably, you cannot have the other, both are so intrinsic to the human condition that our aspirations to find purpose, to propose revolution and swim against the tides and fears that are continuously placed before us, that threaten to drown us, are instead the welcoming release when all is lost.

Rosmersholm, Theatre Review. The Duke Of York’s Theatre, London. full post

(439 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

All My Sons, Theatre Review. The Old Vic, London.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Bill Pullman, Sally Fields, Jenna Coleman, Colin Morgan, Sule Rimi, Gunnar Cauthery, Kayla Meikle, Bessie Carter, Oliver Johnstone, Theo Boyce, Ruth Redman, Russell Wilcox.

For those that seek the truth, the shame of it is that it ends in tragedy. If there is any 20th Century playwright to whom tragedy is a gift that deserves to be exposed into the broad light of day, it is Arthur Miller, an expert who saw the American dream as a symbol, not of goodness and righteousness, but of fear, perhaps corruption, of the willingness to do whatever it took to keep humanity locked in a cycle of calamity, of refusing to see that the recklessness of one simple action would be visited upon our children forever.

All My Sons, Theatre Review. The Old Vic, London. full post

(482 words, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)

Betrayal, Theatre Review. The Harold Pinter Theatre, London.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton, Charlie Cox, Eddie Arnold.

The act of infidelity is one that causes infinite pain, but also brings a state of war within the soul of the people affected, regardless of whether they are the instigator of the close-knit treachery or the one left behind, unknowing, blissful in their ignorance, loyal to the ideal that they have in their mind that their world is safe from such corruption.

Betrayal, Theatre Review. The Harold Pinter Theatre, London. full post

(488 words, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

Admissions, Theatre Review. Trafalgar Studios, London.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Alex Kingston, Margot Leicester, Sarah Hadland, Andrew Woodall, Ben Edelman.

We want the world to be a fairer place, the new demand for the 21st Century has to be in keeping with the way we reject the old established ways of doing things, the future is not all about the stereotypical white male view point that history has been defined by, it is about the best person being able to tell the story, regardless of creed, colour, orientation and gender. However, we also want the very best for our children, we arguably will sacrifice our noble intentions if it means we will look back on the moment in which they reach their potential with pride.

Admissions, Theatre Review. Trafalgar Studios, London. full post

(418 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Heart Of Darkness, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Keicha Greenidge, Matt Prendergast, Morgan Bailey, Laura Atherton, Morven Macbeth.

Heart Of Darkness holds a distinction in literature, arguably one that was perhaps unintended by Joseph Conrad as he delved into his own life and created, what would eventually become, one of the most iconic characters to dominate early 20th Century literature and further on, a representation of symbolism in cinema. There are few books that have been as dissected and scrutinised as Heart Of Darkness and there are few that are seen in the right climate that we exist in today that are now considered un-filmable.

Heart Of Darkness, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(432 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

My Fairfield Lady, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Helen Carter, Jessica Dyas, Julie Glover, Danny O’Brien, Michael Starke, Matthew Walker.

Whether we like it or not, we are not eternally assessed by our efforts or our accomplishments, our standing or our points of view, but we are judged by our accents and manners, the way we talk is immediately weighed and measured and for most of us this unfair conclusion keeps us in a place to which their no escape, we are immersed into a world which prizes the idea of class, even though we fight against it at every possible moment.

My Fairfield Lady, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(418 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Duncan James, Joanne Clifton, Ben Adams, Laura Harrison, Beverly Callard, Kristian Lavercombe, Miracle Chance, Callum Evans, Ross Chisari, Rees Budin, Shelby Farmer, Katie Monks, Jake Small.

It is the high point of excess and frivolity, the moment when counter culture rubbed shoulders with the inexhaustible and the merriment of cartoonish sing a long, producing without a doubt one of the finest pieces of musical theatre to see the light of day.

Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(461 words, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

Around The World In 80 Days, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision rating 9/10

Cast: Pushpinder Chani, Kirsten Foster, Matthew Ganley, Dennis Herdman, Michael Hugo, Nyron Levy, Joey Parsad, Andrew Pollard, Stefan Ruiz.

Time was when travelling meant more than just getting on a plane and complaining that the seats weren’t wide enough, the chance to leave a half-baked witticism on a website that gives you free reign to vent steam or to take the obligatory picture of your legs as they start to resemble sausages left in the frying pan for longer than is safe to do. Time was when it meant adventure, and whilst some still lovingly cling to that idea, now the over-riding thought is that it a holiday deserved, not a moment to be taught a lesson or to have your mind expanded.

Around The World In 80 Days, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(512 words, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

Sweeney Todd, Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision rating * * * * *

Photograph by Marc Brenner, used with kind permission by Everyman Theatre.

Cast: Liam Tobin, Kacey Ainsworth, Emma Dears, Paul Duckworth, Keziah Joseph, Dean Nolan, Bryan Parry, Shiv Rabheru, Mark Rice-Oxley.

Musicians: Tarek Merchant, Daisy Evans, Samantha Norman, Alex Smith.

Sweeney Todd, Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(592 words, 1 image, estimated 2:22 mins reading time)