The sun may yet to have made a meaningful appearance on the coast this year, but Southwold and Aldeburgh Summer Theatres are looking ahead to a bright summer, with the announcement of their summer season of plays. Opening the season on July 11 is Dave Freeman’s farce A Bedfull of Foreigners, which will play in…
One of the pleasures of festival going is spending time beforehand perusing the line-up and picking out those events that you just can’t miss. Of course if you are reviewing it becomes a bit more complicated and you’re not really supposed to have favourites, however, some bits of marketing blurb just jump out at you….
Are you exclusive? Rule one of the marketing handbook suggests you should try and use a wide mix of appropriate channels to promote your product. Tailored, of course, but never relying solely on one outlet. Sound advice – in the constantly evolving world of communication, the way we communicate with our potential audiences needs to…
Imagine you have just opened your ‘Arts PR’ text book and you are faced with the following scenario… You are a national (and international) touring company. Your latest production has been touring for a while but has had a couple of weeks break. The spring section of your tour kicks off its first of six…
This week The Stage newspaper published its annual Stage100, a list of those seen as the most influential people in theatre this year. The list is compiled by a panel of judges but, this year, their list has caused some comment with its focus on London and the West End in particular. Lyn Gardner in…
Openness. Honesty. Transparency. It sounds like a political manifesto mantra but as the industry increasingly comes under public scrutiny for value for money how open and honest should we be? I’m not talking about dodgy deals here or financial mismanagement but wonder how honest, open and transparent our arts coverage is? There have been many…
2011 is all done and dusted so what does the 2012 theatrical year offer. Andrew Lloyd Webber may be predicting a ‘bloodbath’ for London theatre during the Olympics but, while the ‘greatest show on earth’ may or may not have an impact on London theatre attendance, there is much to look forward to in 2012…
“Statistics can be made to prove anything – even the truth.” ~Author Unknown Ok, so statistics may be unreliable but what end of year round up is complete without them. 1 reviewer 189 productions 59 venues 127 Plays 31 Musicals 20 Shakespeare Productions 11 Pantomimes 3 Festivals 1 tent, 1 Camper Van, 1 water polo changing…
The sets have been packed away, the lights de-rigged, costumes washed and the actors moved on to learning their next set of lines (or scouring The Stage for that elusive next audition). Unlike some award ceremonies that drag on for days with awards for best use of vegetables, outstanding performance by a second trombone and most…
As a venue or production company you most probably spend a lot of time trying to find out what your audiences want and expect from you. Well I’d hope you do. But what about that odd minority group who regularly visit your venue, see perhaps more productions than the majority of your audience and who…
You have you actors, you have your script, the costumes and set are ready, and the props are all sorted. All systems go then for your first performance? Forgotten anything? It may seem a simple thing but what about a cast list? How will people know what your show is about and, more importantly, who…
One of the joys of any arts festival is the multitude of events happening on any one day and those spur of the moment decisions that result in you seeing an unplanned show. On the first day of the Pulse Fringe Festival, theatre company Inspector Sands shared the first showing of their latest creation, A…
Browse any bookshop and you’ll discover a multitude of guides on how to improve your leadership skills, how to succeed in management, and endless other guides to the ‘rules’ of business. What about if you don’t just want to move up the office food chain but actually aim for world domination? If you are secretly…
Amid all the furore over the current arts funding crisis, there has been a lot of talk of the arts embracing wider corporate business acumen. It makes sense; the arts, while historically adept at making slim budgets stretch, is not alone in facing tough business decisions. And that’s the key word – business. While it…
Often Chekhov’s plays are seen as something of the time, period pieces that, while well crafted, can be difficult to relate to modern day. The Cherry Orchard, however, with its tale of financial problems, the challenge of facing up to debt and the consequences when that debt needs to be repaid, seems never more topical….
A young girl falls in love with a Royal and gets married. No, not Kate Middleton but Anne Boleyn. Her doomed love affair with Henry VIII is well known but, in Joanna Carrick’s new play for Red Rose Chain, Fallen In Love, we get to see the more personal side of Anne and her close…
There seems to be an obsession with water at the Young Vic recently. Audiences for The Beauty Queen of Leenane had to brave a wall of water to get to their seats; children where drenched in And the Rain Falls Down, and now there is a watery set for I Am The Wind. Perhaps Thames…
Some plays seem destined to give theatre marketing departments a headache. How, for example, do you sell a one woman show based on the murder of the actress’ elder sister? Sometimes I Laugh Like My Sister is that very challenge but, far from being a depressing evening, it turns out to be an evening of…
The RSC is cannily sitting on the fence with the first new show in its restored Swan Theatre – the non-committal subtitle for Cardenio is Shakespeare’s ‘lost play’ re-imagined. Now while much scholarly debate will surely ensue over is this play based on Shakespeare’s long lost masterpiece and, indeed, given the amount of hands involved…
Is love all we need? The Beatles would have us believe so but can love also be a destructive force? In Mike Bartlett’s epic Love, Love, Love, we get an panoramic vista at one couple’s relationship across 40 years. Here the course of true love certainly doesn’t run smooth. In 1967, 19-year-old Sandra is on…
Stage and Church have been intrinsically linked over the centuries. Occasionally in conflict over content and ideology, there is also something overtly theatrical involved in many religious rites; the tradition the ceremony and the oration of the sermon all containing elements of performance. In this Easter week, it is therefore perhaps appropriate that George Dillon…
National Theatre. Its very name implies it should reflect life in communities all across the nation. It also has a remit to challenge and provoke thought. In its latest production, London Road, a verbatim play with music based on interviews with Suffolk residents coming to terms with their road becoming infamous for the home of…
Jason Robert Brown may not be as famous as, say, Andrew Lloyd Webber to UK audiences but his work is slowly gaining the reputation it deserves here. His rich material is also providing opportunities for local groups seeking a change for the traditional cannon of Rogers and Hammerstein. Appeal Theatre Group are one such company…
Who has responsibility for customer service in your organisation? If you produce your own product it may seem straightforward but, if you are a receiving venue, perhaps the boundaries are less clear. Add in ticket agencies, producers and production companies, and the situation blurs even more. Does it matter? Well in these times of increasing…
So we’ve had the look back at the 2010 theatrical year and, as we move in to 2011, what are our hopes for the New Year? Here’s a list of resolutions that one can only hope venues, producers and fellow theatregoers stick to in 2011. In no particular order here are the pet hates from…
So as is traditional this time of year it is time to sit down over a glass of festive sherry and a warm mince pie to reflect on the hits of the year and shiver at the memory of the turkeys. On reflection, it’s been a mainly positive year with plenty of contenders for praise…
Much has been made of the fact that The Late Middle Classes is indeed late coming into the West End, having been bumped first time around in favour of Boyband The Musical (anyone actually admit to remembering that show?). Does it deserve a West End run – well possibly although this production does make a…
A good measure of the success of any Shakespeare production is a glance around the auditorium to watch the faces of any children in the audience. This A Midsummer Night’s Dream had the rapt attention from all ages from small children to more senior members of the audience. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre touring version of The…
Over the years Gallery Players have never been afraid of tackling challenging pieces but even then tackling Jonathan Larson’s rock musical Rent was an ambitious leap. Thankfully it’s a leap worth taking and turns out to be a highlight of the theatrical year. Larson’s update on La Boheme follows a year in the life of…
A sense of belonging is a powerful driving force and is at the heart of Eastern Angles latest site specific production Bentwater Roads. The company the ‘Hush House’ on the former cold war Bentwaters air base, a building that was used to test engines on A10 tank buster planes. It proves to be a wonderful…
With no previews, no press night, and no charge for tickets, the Young Vic and Headlong’s co production of Elektra was intriguing. As this was free would it be a cheap and cheerful production? No, in fact it turns out to be a fully realised, visually impressive and beautifully acted production worthy of a long…
Having already been awed by Laurie Sansom’s production of Spring Storm, it’s pair, Beyond The Horizon, had high expectations to live up to. This early Eugene O’Neill however more than comfortably steps up to the mark, although comfortable viewing it is not. O’Neill was never one to cast a rosy tint over life and Beyond…
After watching or should that be enduring Paradise Found there is one question that just screams at you; WHY? On paper it all looks so good, take Broadway Directing Royalty Hal Prince and Susan Stroman; add in some Broadway musical theatre legends and stage the show at the hit factory that is the Menier and…
The dispossessed spirits of Hinge and Bracket have crossed the Severn Bridge into Wales and the result is a drug fuelled, piano toting, cardy wearing example of care in the community gone horribly wrong! Sue is a (wo)man on the edge and in taking to her piano she takes us on an hour long musical…
A National Theatre of Greece and Cyprus Theatre Organisation production in association with British Theatre company Imitating the dog performed in French – confused? Tales from the Bar of Lost Souls is visually impressive but somewhat confusing. Using a mix of film, mime and a French soundtrack to follow the life of a dying man…
A National Theatre of Greece and Cyprus Theatre Organisation production in association with British Theatre company Imitating the dog performed in French – confused? Tales from the Bar of Lost Souls is visually impressive but somewhat confusing. Using a mix of film, mime and a French soundtrack to follow the life of a dying man…
If you go down to the woods, sorry basement of the Spiral Car Park, you’re in for a big surprise. Walking down the deserted underground car park at night howls of wolves echo through the lot and strange faces peer through fire escape doors. On arrival in the deepest section of the car park some…
If you go down to the woods, sorry basement of the Spiral Car Park, you’re in for a big surprise. Walking down the deserted underground car park at night howls of wolves echo through the lot and strange faces peer through fire escape doors. On arrival in the deepest section of the car park some…
What are you selling, who needs it and why? That’s the secret to business success according to one of the characters in Rain From A Dry Sky, a rehearsed reading as part of the Pulse Fringe Festival. It’s a question that should be posed to the production as well though, as it’s not clear what…
What are you selling, who needs it and why? That’s the secret to business success according to one of the characters in Rain From A Dry Sky, a rehearsed reading as part of the Pulse Fringe Festival. It’s a question that should be posed to the production as well though, as it’s not clear what…
Ok, so I’ve long waited for a theatre to be brave enough to stage the whole August Wilson play cycle, so was thankful that the Young Vic have staged one of the ten plays. Joe Turner’s Come And Gone, the second of his decade-by-decade plays looking at black American life, is set in a 1911…
Ok, so I’ve long waited for a theatre to be brave enough to stage the whole August Wilson play cycle, so was thankful that the Young Vic have staged one of the ten plays. Joe Turner’s Come And Gone, the second of his decade-by-decade plays looking at black American life, is set in a 1911…
There is an interesting letter in tonight’s Evening Standard bemoaning the fact that recent visits to the Donmar Warehouse have resembled “John Lewis on a Wednesday Afternoon”. The author also notes “Yes it’s great to have mailing lists so the oldies can fill their time with theatre visits booked months in advance, which means financial…
There is an interesting letter in tonight’s Evening Standard bemoaning the fact that recent visits to the Donmar Warehouse have resembled “John Lewis on a Wednesday Afternoon”. The author also notes “Yes it’s great to have mailing lists so the oldies can fill their time with theatre visits booked months in advance, which means financial…
Dec 8 1980, a date Beatles fans will never forget – the day Mark Chapman shoots John Lennon in New York. There have been countless books, dramatisations and conspiracy theories over what drove Chapman to kill Lennon but Richard Hurford’s new play Catcher takes us back a few hours to Chapman’s hotel bedroom and his…
Dec 8 1980, a date Beatles fans will never forget – the day Mark Chapman shoots John Lennon in New York. There have been countless books, dramatisations and conspiracy theories over what drove Chapman to kill Lennon but Richard Hurford’s new play Catcher takes us back a few hours to Chapman’s hotel bedroom and his…
Well it’s a first for me, a Christian comedy sketch show on the Ten Commandments –the Pulse Fringe Festival certainly offers a variety! Performed by the group Four Monks and A Nun (though strangely only performed by three ‘monks’ and a ‘nun’). Yazz Fetto, Kevin Moore, Shaninga and Helen Marasha take us on a comic…
Well it’s a first for me, a Christian comedy sketch show on the Ten Commandments –the Pulse Fringe Festival certainly offers a variety! Performed by the group Four Monks and A Nun (though strangely only performed by three ‘monks’ and a ‘nun’). Yazz Fetto, Kevin Moore, Shaninga and Helen Marasha take us on a comic…
When at the end of a show all you can hear is a minute of audience quietly sobbing you know you’ve just watched something special. Everything Must Go or The Voluntary Attempt to Overcome Unnecessary Obstacles is a deeply personal, deeply moving and utterly gripping examination of a father and daughters love. Through a seamless…
When at the end of a show all you can hear is a minute of audience quietly sobbing you know you’ve just watched something special. Everything Must Go or The Voluntary Attempt to Overcome Unnecessary Obstacles is a deeply personal, deeply moving and utterly gripping examination of a father and daughters love. Through a seamless…
It is always a dilemma how to review a work in progress, especially one in the early stages of development. You can’t really critique the staging or performances and the script you hear now is likely to change considerably by the time the production process is completed. It is with this dilemma in mind that…
It is always a dilemma how to review a work in progress, especially one in the early stages of development. You can’t really critique the staging or performances and the script you hear now is likely to change considerably by the time the production process is completed. It is with this dilemma in mind that…
Three playwrights penning one play could easily be a recipe for a muddled disaster but in True Love Waits Evan Pacey, Kenneth Emson and Marcelo Dos Santos create three interwoven monologues that gel perfectly. Unseen Daniel White, the ‘corporate killer’ is on death row in Atlanta. Three women pen pals are writing to him for…
Three playwrights penning one play could easily be a recipe for a muddled disaster but in True Love Waits Evan Pacey, Kenneth Emson and Marcelo Dos Santos create three interwoven monologues that gel perfectly. Unseen Daniel White, the ‘corporate killer’ is on death row in Atlanta. Three women pen pals are writing to him for…
There are occasional moments when reviewing theatre when a production just astounds you with its ability to convey the rawest of human emotions. Sus is one such production. In a current short tour prior to a run at the Young Vic Barrie Keeffe’s 2008 play receives a timely and powerful revival. Set on election night…
There are occasional moments when reviewing theatre when a production just astounds you with its ability to convey the rawest of human emotions. Sus is one such production. In a current short tour prior to a run at the Young Vic Barrie Keeffe’s 2008 play receives a timely and powerful revival. Set on election night…
Solo plays seem to be a developing theme through this years’ Pulse Fringe Festival. It’s an encouraging sign that writers are exploring the potential of small scale theatre. Let’s start with a confession, I have never heard of Roger Deakin or his novel Waterlog, so in some respects it was starting from a step back…
Solo plays seem to be a developing theme through this years’ Pulse Fringe Festival. It’s an encouraging sign that writers are exploring the potential of small scale theatre. Let’s start with a confession, I have never heard of Roger Deakin or his novel Waterlog, so in some respects it was starting from a step back…
Located about 21 miles of St Davids Head in West Wales is The Smalls Lighthouse. This remote outpost was to cause a change in policy that impacted all lighthouses until the recent remote operation made lighthouse keepers redundant. After events here, lighthouses would now require at least three staff. The reason for this rule change…
Located about 21 miles of St Davids Head in West Wales is The Smalls Lighthouse. This remote outpost was to cause a change in policy that impacted all lighthouses until the recent remote operation made lighthouse keepers redundant. After events here, lighthouses would now require at least three staff. The reason for this rule change…
Sitting in the lofty height of the back of the Olivier Circle for London Assurance a Sondheim song kept running though my head. ‘A weekend in the country’ could have easily been written about this period romp. In its first major revival for many a year, Nick Hytner has called on some of the National…
Sitting in the lofty height of the back of the Olivier Circle for London Assurance a Sondheim song kept running though my head. ‘A weekend in the country’ could have easily been written about this period romp. In its first major revival for many a year, Nick Hytner has called on some of the National…
If you think you’ve seen all of Tennessee Williams’ work think again. 27 years after the author’s death the National Theatre stages the London transfer of Northampton Royal & Derngate’s European Premiere of Spring Storm. The play, written in 1937 lay forgotten in papers until its rediscovery in the 1990s but this is the first…
If you think you’ve seen all of Tennessee Williams’ work think again. 27 years after the author’s death the National Theatre stages the London transfer of Northampton Royal & Derngate’s European Premiere of Spring Storm. The play, written in 1937 lay forgotten in papers until its rediscovery in the 1990s but this is the first…
Well after a few hours sleep I haven’t calmed down. Where to start? Well just because you can doesn’t mean you should. This offensive, obscene and badly conceived piece ranks as the worst show I’ve ever endured. Last night’s second Pulse Fringe offering was the excruciating debacle Sex Idiot by Bryony Kimmings, billed as a…
Well after a few hours sleep I haven’t calmed down. Where to start? Well just because you can doesn’t mean you should. This offensive, obscene and badly conceived piece ranks as the worst show I’ve ever endured. Last night’s second Pulse Fringe offering was the excruciating debacle Sex Idiot by Bryony Kimmings, billed as a…
Now under new management, champions of new writing Paines Plough are presenting a series of shows around the country asking local writers to examine their local environment. For the Ipswich leg of Come To Where I’m From we are treated to four short views on life in East Anglia. Perhaps worryingly for the East of…
Now under new management, champions of new writing Paines Plough are presenting a series of shows around the country asking local writers to examine their local environment. For the Ipswich leg of Come To Where I’m From we are treated to four short views on life in East Anglia. Perhaps worryingly for the East of…
A mad dash across town for the second show in this year’s Pulse Fringe Festival. The New Wolsey Theatre has been exploring the fusion of Circus and Theatre to create a new physical theatre style. Using the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice the team have created a multimedia 30 minute spectacle that holds attention throughout….
A mad dash across town for the second show in this year’s Pulse Fringe Festival. The New Wolsey Theatre has been exploring the fusion of Circus and Theatre to create a new physical theatre style. Using the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice the team have created a multimedia 30 minute spectacle that holds attention throughout….
Well I’m confused. When is a play not a play? For me a basic requirement is some form of dramatic progression or tension. For the opening show in this year’s Pulse Fringe Festival we are offered a rehearsed reading of The Siege (although we are told in the introduction that it is now called Bunny)….
Well I’m confused. When is a play not a play? For me a basic requirement is some form of dramatic progression or tension. For the opening show in this year’s Pulse Fringe Festival we are offered a rehearsed reading of The Siege (although we are told in the introduction that it is now called Bunny)….
The weather may be telling a different story, but with festival season upon us summer must be finally here. Here in (what will hopefully remain) sunny Suffolk we are gaining a reputation for our festivals. The long established Aldeburgh Festival has been joined by the Bury St Edmunds, High Tide, Latitude, Harvest at Jimmy’s and…
The weather may be telling a different story, but with festival season upon us summer must be finally here. Here in (what will hopefully remain) sunny Suffolk we are gaining a reputation for our festivals. The long established Aldeburgh Festival has been joined by the Bury St Edmunds, High Tide, Latitude, Harvest at Jimmy’s and…
So should I stop going to the theatre? If I do go should I limit myself to booking a restricted view seat at the back of the theatre? Why am I asking? Well I’m 6’2 tall and from the comments I’ve started receiving from fellow audience members it seems this is far too tall to…
So should I stop going to the theatre? If I do go should I limit myself to booking a restricted view seat at the back of the theatre? Why am I asking? Well I’m 6’2 tall and from the comments I’ve started receiving from fellow audience members it seems this is far too tall to…
With the televised leader’s debates currently generating huge public interest, it is an interesting time to examine the relationship between the state and television news. How is journalistic freedom compromised if you find yourself working for a state controlled television station? That’s the starting premise of Serge Cartwright’s debut play at the HighTide Festival. Drawing…
With the televised leader’s debates currently generating huge public interest, it is an interesting time to examine the relationship between the state and television news. How is journalistic freedom compromised if you find yourself working for a state controlled television station? That’s the starting premise of Serge Cartwright’s debut play at the HighTide Festival. Drawing…
Post apocalyptic drama has been a staple for many writers over the years but Beth Steel’s stunning debut play Ditch can claim space among the best of them. Some never explained catastrophe (global warming?) has befallen civilisation with most of the country left under water. The Government has collapsed and a group of surviors have taken…
Post apocalyptic drama has been a staple for many writers over the years but Beth Steel’s stunning debut play Ditch can claim space among the best of them. Some never explained catastrophe (global warming?) has befallen civilisation with most of the country left under water. The Government has collapsed and a group of surviors have taken…
It’s an inspired piece of casting. Cast a son of Birmingham who made his name playing a much loved TV character in the 70s and 80s to play an equally loved Birmingham born TV comic and actor of the 50s and 60s. Paul Henry may have become a household name playing Benny in Crossroads (the…
It’s an inspired piece of casting. Cast a son of Birmingham who made his name playing a much loved TV character in the 70s and 80s to play an equally loved Birmingham born TV comic and actor of the 50s and 60s. Paul Henry may have become a household name playing Benny in Crossroads (the…
So a moral dilemma, young people are the future of theatre and so any production that manages to get twenty 15-20yr olds onstage in a Restoration comedy should be applauded. What to do then when the production just fails to work? Give an honest review that reflects my opinion or make allowances based (patronisingly?) on…
So a moral dilemma, young people are the future of theatre and so any production that manages to get twenty 15-20yr olds onstage in a Restoration comedy should be applauded. What to do then when the production just fails to work? Give an honest review that reflects my opinion or make allowances based (patronisingly?) on…
Recent productions from Graeae have been somewhat a hit and miss affair. Flower Girls had dramatic potential that was lost in a confusing production while last year’s Snow White never quite hit the mark. Thankfully with Signs of a Star Shaped Diva, Graeae have returned to top form. In this comic and moving piece we…
Recent productions from Graeae have been somewhat a hit and miss affair. Flower Girls had dramatic potential that was lost in a confusing production while last year’s Snow White never quite hit the mark. Thankfully with Signs of a Star Shaped Diva, Graeae have returned to top form. In this comic and moving piece we…
There is a lot of history associated with Hair, back in 1968 it was the first West End production to feature full frontal nudity, the first mixed race musical and certainly the first to include a song entitled Sodomy. Now revived at the Gielgud, the show is once again making history, importing the entire Broadway…
There is a lot of history associated with Hair, back in 1968 it was the first West End production to feature full frontal nudity, the first mixed race musical and certainly the first to include a song entitled Sodomy. Now revived at the Gielgud, the show is once again making history, importing the entire Broadway…
There are some shows you just have to shrug your shoulders on and just admit they are not for you. Sadly for me The New Wolsey Young Companies latest offering Woyzeck falls into that catergory. While you have to admire the enthusiasm and courage to try something different, the sum of the parts just didn’t…
There are some shows you just have to shrug your shoulders on and just admit they are not for you. Sadly for me The New Wolsey Young Companies latest offering Woyzeck falls into that catergory. While you have to admire the enthusiasm and courage to try something different, the sum of the parts just didn’t…
Some ideas are just doomed to failure from the outset and thankfully West Yorkshire Playhouse have scrapped their idea to allow audience members to use Twitter from some seats during performances. While there is much debate on how to draw in new audiences are we really so addicted to our mobile devices that we cant…
Some ideas are just doomed to failure from the outset and thankfully West Yorkshire Playhouse have scrapped their idea to allow audience members to use Twitter from some seats during performances. While there is much debate on how to draw in new audiences are we really so addicted to our mobile devices that we cant…
A quartet of new writing, a first round of a competition, and a new theatre to stage them in …so something of night of firsts here. The Sitcom Mission at the New Diorama Theatre is an intriguing idea – a competition that attracted over 500 entries to write a brand new sitcom. The shortlisted 16…
A quartet of new writing, a first round of a competition, and a new theatre to stage them in …so something of night of firsts here. The Sitcom Mission at the New Diorama Theatre is an intriguing idea – a competition that attracted over 500 entries to write a brand new sitcom. The shortlisted 16…
An espionage thriller that starts off at a church fete with a cross dressed fortune teller is always going to be a bit of a surreal evening and The Ministry of Fear – a stage adaptation of Graeme Greene’s novel by Theatre Alibi does take some unexpected turns. Set in the Second World War it’s a…
An espionage thriller that starts off at a church fete with a cross dressed fortune teller is always going to be a bit of a surreal evening and The Ministry of Fear – a stage adaptation of Graeme Greene’s novel by Theatre Alibi does take some unexpected turns. Set in the Second World War it’s a…
So Love Never Dies won’t be heading to Broadway this November after all. Really Useful have announced that the production will be delayed until ‘Spring 2011’ on medical orders. http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/27792/love-never-dies-delays-broadway-run-until Given what can only be at best described as ‘mixed’ reviews, it is perhaps an opportunity for the creative team to go back to the…
So Love Never Dies won’t be heading to Broadway this November after all. Really Useful have announced that the production will be delayed until ‘Spring 2011’ on medical orders. http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/27792/love-never-dies-delays-broadway-run-until Given what can only be at best described as ‘mixed’ reviews, it is perhaps an opportunity for the creative team to go back to the…
It’s one of the most hotly anticipated shows in years, has received just as much coverage for the negative reviews online as for the show itself and has split critics down the middle. Andrew Lloyd Webber himself has gone on record to say that people should wait a month before seeing a new musical so…
It’s one of the most hotly anticipated shows in years, has received just as much coverage for the negative reviews online as for the show itself and has split critics down the middle. Andrew Lloyd Webber himself has gone on record to say that people should wait a month before seeing a new musical so…
The Jekyll and Hyde tale is well known, a monster transformed out from a well respected individual – and an apt way to start this review of European Arts Company and Rhonda Cynon Taf Theatres touring production. What the company manage to do is turn a classic tale into a monster creation all of its…
The Jekyll and Hyde tale is well known, a monster transformed out from a well respected individual – and an apt way to start this review of European Arts Company and Rhonda Cynon Taf Theatres touring production. What the company manage to do is turn a classic tale into a monster creation all of its…
So the first quarter of the year has already been and gone and its 20 shows down. Some I’ve sat through some good, some average and some just darn right bad theatre in the last three months. So time to hand out both the bouquets and the brickbats, for the best and the worst, of…
So the first quarter of the year has already been and gone and its 20 shows down. Some I’ve sat through some good, some average and some just darn right bad theatre in the last three months. So time to hand out both the bouquets and the brickbats, for the best and the worst, of…
Okay – in this day and age of open and honest communication I need to declare an interest in this subject. Having spent many a happy year working in various box offices, it’s a subject close to my heart. This week The Society of London Theatre has just published findings showing that, since 2003, online…
Okay – in this day and age of open and honest communication I need to declare an interest in this subject. Having spent many a happy year working in various box offices, it’s a subject close to my heart. This week The Society of London Theatre has just published findings showing that, since 2003, online…
When first produced Alan Bennett’s Enjoy was a rare flop. It marched back into the West End last year with a record breaking advance but still received what can best be described as ‘mixed’ reviews from the National Press. Many of the critics seemed to take issue with the fact that for them this wasn’t…
When first produced Alan Bennett’s Enjoy was a rare flop. It marched back into the West End last year with a record breaking advance but still received what can best be described as ‘mixed’ reviews from the National Press. Many of the critics seemed to take issue with the fact that for them this wasn’t…
Why is it that I now seem to remember a production or venue more for the fellow audience members than for any artistic endeavours onstage? Now audience etiquette does evolve and bad behaviour is by no means limited to theatres – just don’t get me started on cinema audiences but I do wonder why some…
Why is it that I now seem to remember a production or venue more for the fellow audience members than for any artistic endeavours onstage? Now audience etiquette does evolve and bad behaviour is by no means limited to theatres – just don’t get me started on cinema audiences but I do wonder why some…
Like many I studied Cider With Rosie at High School and, while the basic premise sticks in my mind, it is with shame I have to admit I haven’t picked up the book since. Now having seen the marvellous Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds production I am inspired to dig out a copy and re-read…
Like many I studied Cider With Rosie at High School and, while the basic premise sticks in my mind, it is with shame I have to admit I haven’t picked up the book since. Now having seen the marvellous Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds production I am inspired to dig out a copy and re-read…
There are some shows that should just be put down to experience and never spoken of again – Forever In Your Debt is one of those shows – we shall mention it here but lets never speak of it again. It’s hard to describe exactly what Forever In Your Debt is or, to be precise,…
There are some shows that should just be put down to experience and never spoken of again – Forever In Your Debt is one of those shows – we shall mention it here but lets never speak of it again. It’s hard to describe exactly what Forever In Your Debt is or, to be precise,…
In his latest blog for The Stage, Mark Shenton discusses the future of Theatre Critics. Now having reviewed for the local press this is a subject close to my heart. Now I know that in the views of some publishers ‘the arts’ are lurking on their priority list somewhere just below WI cake sales and…
In his latest blog for The Stage, Mark Shenton discusses the future of Theatre Critics. Now having reviewed for the local press this is a subject close to my heart. Now I know that in the views of some publishers ‘the arts’ are lurking on their priority list somewhere just below WI cake sales and…