Category Archives: Theatre

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Theatre Review. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool.

Fine Time Fontayne and Neil Gore at The Lantern Theatre. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 29th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Neil Gore, Fine Time Fontayne.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell should be considered one of the most important books of the last 100 years, no matter what your background is. First published in 1914, it shocked then as it still has the power to do so now. The adaptations for the stage have been equally well received and especially in Liverpool where in 2010 Howard Brenton’s adaptation and starring Finbar Lynch, brought the house down.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Theatre Review. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(414 words, 1 image, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Theatre Review. The Royal Court Theatre.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 29th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating *****

Cast: Harriet Barrow, Jamie Hampson, Richard Hand, Zoe Lister, Jack Lord, Shaun Mason, Jack Rigby, Michael Ryan, Adam Search, Ella Brennan, Lynsey Coulthard, Ashleigh LeRoy, Michael Loftus, Zain Salim, Amandine Vincent, Florence Watson.

Just when you think you couldn’t see a Shakespeare play performed in the most original way possible, that every conceivable way of doing it had been used, Lodestar Theatre Company come along, rip up the guide on how to present the Bard’s work, not just once but twice, as they systematically destroy the spare copy you had of Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Theatre Review. The Royal Court Theatre. full post

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

Wolf Red, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 7th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Elinor Randle.

Not all wolves wear fur, some are guised as men and it seems that sometimes a very exceptional woman can be unmasked as the wolf in woman’s clothing.

Wolf Red has to be considered as one of the most remarkable one woman shows to ever grace The Unity Theatre. From the moment the audience walks in and the mist swirls and descends around them, the thought of decomposing leaves and frayed sanity mingle together to reveal on a rotted stump Elinor Randle, hunched over and in the grip of perceived madness from there she delivers one of the most perfect opening monologues possible. It was eerie, certainly creepy and just on this side of exuding brilliance.

Wolf Red, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Macbeth, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 26th 2012.

Cast: Harriet Barrow, Jamie Hampson, Richard Hand, Zoe Lister, Jack Lord, Shaun Mason, Jack Rigby, Michael Ryan, Adam Search.

L.S. Media Rating *****

Arguably Macbeth is one of the finest plays by William Shakespeare, it has been performed nearly all over the world and many times in the city of Liverpool.  However, it has to be said, never, ever, like this and for that it became one of the most spellbinding and startling productions of any of the bards works to have ever been devised.

Macbeth, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre. full post

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

The Wedding Singer, Theatre Review. St Helens Theatre Royal.

The cast of The Wedding Singer. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 22nd 2012.

L. S. Media Rating ***

Cast: Michael John Griesen, Cameron Jones, Anthony Mackin, Katie Speakman, Jennie Scully, Gary Lamb, Jean Aspinall, Diane Glover, Ann Connolly, James Kirby.

It is always a challenge transferring any successful film to the stage, adapting it, playing with idea but never straying very far from what it was that made it that sensation in the first place. The Wedding Singer is no different to say Legally Blonde or Spamalot in that respect and for the Pilkington Musical Theatre, The Wedding Singer was a joy to perform and to watch.

The Wedding Singer, Theatre Review. St Helens Theatre Royal. full post

(442 words, 1 image, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

The Yarn, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 20th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Peter Bromilow, Sharon Clarke, Steve Dalgeish, Chris Douglas, Vera Farrell, Carl Fowler, Patricia Palombella Hart, Gaynor La Rocca, Francesco La Rocca, Mike MacKenzie, Rachael Reason, Carmel Skelly, Kirsty Taylor, Edwina Walsh, Jim Welsh.

Rob Brannen’s play The Yarn is as homely as you can ask for but it also hides the darkness, very cleverly, of what happens to a village when the heart is ripped out of it.

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

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

The Alchemist, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Photograph by Tristram Kenton

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 19th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating *****

Cast: Ian Bartholomew, Simon Coates, Hasan Dixon, Kevin Harvey, Joshua Higgott, Laurence Kennedy, Ellie Kirk, John McGrellis, Kristian Phillips, Lara Rossi, Nicolas Tennant, Roger Watkin.

The whole world is out for a fast buck, a sure fire way to make money no matter who suffers or is made a fool of. Such was the world during the time of Ben Jonson…and time hasn’t moved on any! Ben Jonson’s play The Alchemist is something different from the plays of the 17th century.

The Alchemist, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(421 words, 1 image, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Dirty Dating.Com, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

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

Cast:  Nicki French, Grace Bishop, Phil Hearne, Jo Mousley, Jess Schofield, Craig Chalmers, Alan Stocks.

The world of dating has never had so many options, mates dates, internet dating, blind dates, work dates, and now thrown heartily into the mix comes Pauline Fleming’s well observed look at the rights of passage involved in the world of speed dating.

Dirty Dating.Com, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Living With Macbeth, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 8th 2012

L.S. Media rating ****

Cast: Kevin Brannagan, Paul Braithwaite.

How do you live with yourself if you can’t live with one of the greats? Kevin Brannagan and Paul Braithwaite explore this premise in the first play of the new season at the Unity Theatre, the enticing Living With Macbeth. 

Living With Macbeth, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Dreamboats And Petticoats, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Cast: Graeme Henderson, Francesca Loran, Adam Howard, Mathew Quinn, Chris Coxen, Christopher Wheeler, Tristan Pate, David Ribi, Josh Little, Samantha Dorrance, Katie Birtill, Anna Campkin, Ben James-Ellis, Christopher Fry, James Nitti, Robbie Durham, Emily O’ Keefe.

The past is a foreign country, as the saying goes. However the early sixties is still fresh in our minds as it bought the fashions, the music and the second wave generations of teenagers ready to find their own way, their own style and stamp their time on the following decades and those that would follow them.

Dreamboats And Petticoats, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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