Category Archives: Theatre

Sons Of The Desert, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Roy Brandon, Michael Starke, Lori Haley Fox, Penelope Woodman, Matt Connor, Jonathan Markwood.

The distinctive music, the sight of two comedy greats on stage giving the audience a laugh and great entertainment in two different settings and somehow transported in time from the golden age of Hollywood comedy to the 21st Century comedy central of the Royal Court in Liverpool. Such is how nights of class are made and in the iconic Laurel and Hardy film Sons of The Desert, recently given such status as warranting to be preserved forever in the American National Congress, they don’t come much bigger, then again, it can always be given a new lick of paint and introducing to a newer audience.

Sons Of The Desert, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(476 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

Voices, Theatre Review. 81 Renshaw Street, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

In today’s world, art can be seen as being under threat. There are many who knock the idea of the young band making their way slowly into the world of performance, insisting that they should be concentrating on being a valuable member of society by finding a “real” job. The same goes for aspiring playwrights, poets and performers, too easily knocked for having an idea or wanting to be creative.

Voices, Theatre Review. 81 Renshaw Street, Liverpool. full post

(385 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

A Day Of Pleasure, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre Studio. Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Stuart Richman.

A well written story needs a powerful performance in which to hang its tale upon and they don’t come much more emotionally and spiritually brilliant than Isaac Bashevis Singer’s A Day of Pleasure and the man who enraptures and leads an audience through the near derelict streets and run down housing of pre and post First World war Warsaw, the outstanding Stuart Richman.

A Day Of Pleasure, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre Studio. Liverpool. full post

(383 words, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

The Pride, Theatre Review. Trafalgar Studios, London.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Hayley Atwell, Harry Hadden-Paton, Mathew Horne, Al Weaver.

Occasionally a play grabs you by the hand and takes you to places that you never thought you would ever see performed on stage, such was the power of Alexi Kaye Campbell’s writing and the absolute conviction of Hayley Atwell, Harry Hadden-Paton, Mathew Horne and Al Weaver’s performances and the nature of the subject made The Pride compelling, forceful and required watching.

The Pride, Theatre Review. Trafalgar Studios, London. full post

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

Much Ado About Nothing, Theatre Review. The Old Vic, London.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: James Earl Jones, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Elwyn, Leroy Osei-Bonsu, Beth Cooke, James Garnon, Danny Lee Wynter, Lloyd Everitt, Alan David, Trevor Laird, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Melody Grove, Penelope Beaumont, Peter Wright, Tim Barlow, Katherine Carlton.

 

There really is nothing quite like watching two of the most celebrated actors of their generation giving an audience an evening inside a theatre in which will be remembered for so long and for all the right reasons. When those two actors are the exquisite and commanding Vanessa Redgrave and one of the all-time greatest American actors in James Earl Jones and they are surrounded by a cast that just revelled in the performance, then The Old Vic was on to an absolute winner with their new stage production of Much Ado About Nothing.

Much Ado About Nothing, Theatre Review. The Old Vic, London. full post

(387 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

Bon Voyage, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Jennifer Bea, Lindzi Germain, Michael Swift, Warren Donnelly, Tony James, Richie Grice, Mickey Finn.

The thing with some productions is that they do exactly what they say on the tin, there is no small print suggesting that the production will be akin to some lost Shakespeare play, full of pathos and anger, cunning and revenge. Instead it just happens to be good, in some cases very good at being able to give people exactly what they need, especially in a world that seems to be very bleak and full of unpleasantness, that of laughter and an excuse to crack a smile and laugh till it hurts. For Bon Voyage, presented by Boom Boom Productions, this is that type of play and for that the smile just got a little broader.

Bon Voyage, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(505 words, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)

The Unthinkable Mystery of The Indigo Star, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Tom Burroughs, John Doull, Gary Cain, Will Matthews.

Just who are the greatest ever fictional detectives? Or perhaps rather, who are the greatest detectives who could give the criminal element a run for their money when it comes to the game.  In The Unthinkable Mystery of The Indigo Star, written by Ed Bixter and directed by Suzy Walker, the game is, as Sherlock Holmes said, “a foot”.

Three men on a train out of Paris; all asked by their Government to investigate the death of Sherlock Holmes and the disappearance of the world famous Indigo Star jewel, surely only Hercule Poirot, Inspector Maigret and Chief Inspector Clouseau can crack the case?

The Unthinkable Mystery of The Indigo Star, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(378 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Little Atoms In Conversation With Lynda La Plante. St George’s Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

It is quite something to see a master story teller, a Queen of Crime, on stage being interviewed by arguably a man whose passion for Liverpool, his appetite for culture and ability to hold an audience’s attention singles him out as one of the finest in the city.

Little Atoms In Conversation With Lynda La Plante. St George’s Hall, Liverpool. full post

(590 words, estimated 2:22 mins reading time)

Cabaret, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Will Young, Siobhan Dillon, Lyn Paul, Matt Rawle, Linal Haft, Valerie Cutko, Nicholas Tizzard, Carly Blackburn, Emily Bull, Luke Fetherston, Simon Jaymes, Alessia Lugoboni, Callum Macdonald, Alastair Postlethwaite, Oliver Roll, Alexzandra Sarmiento, Shahla Tarrant, Cydney Uffindell-Phillips.

There are musicals that grace the stage with such spellbinding brilliance that the glitter and sheen never seems to rub off, never falters and certainly never lets the audience come away feeling anything other than wanting to dance all the way home and sing their favourite song with gladness in their heart. Then there are those that are so astonishing because they have made the crowd question everything they know about humanity and the darkness in people’s hearts and in a nation’s deeds. Perhaps it can be argued that only Cabaret manages to do both at the same time.

Cabaret, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(601 words, estimated 2:24 mins reading time)

Lennon, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: John Power, Matt Breen, Tom Connor, Jessica Dyas, Kirsten Foster, Ross Higginson, Adam Keast, Jonathan Markwood, Mark Newnham.

Even almost 33 years after John Lennon was cruelly and untimely taken from his fans and from the city of Liverpool and the world, his iconic memory still has the power, the absolute authority of spirit, in which to inspire and encourage rousing feelings of love and joy and ultimately the sadness of a life cut short well before his time.

Lennon, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(566 words, estimated 2:16 mins reading time)