I have never gone skiing, and never will. Aside from the absurdity of dragging yourself up to the top of a mountain, then throwing yourself down again while standing on two planks of wood, virtually everyone I know who has been skiing has either been injured or knows someone who has. Accidents happen on ski… Continue reading Gwyneth Goes Skiing – The Pleasance & Awkward Productions
Month: February 2024
Opera North Resonance artists for 2024
Opera North has announced the five artists chosen for this year’s Resonance residencies: Ellen Beth Abdi, Balraj Samrai, Rory A Green, Jonas Jones and Satnam Galsian. Resonance offers resources to professional music-makers from the Global Majority based in the north of England, to enable them to experiment with collaborators and fresh ideas and to try… Continue reading Opera North Resonance artists for 2024
Lyric, Belfast and Prime Cut revive McDonagh’s Pillowman
Belfast’s Lyric Theatre and Prime Cut Productions are to reunite following the success of last year’s award-winning staging of The Beauty Queen of Leenane with another Martin McDonagh play, The Pillowman. First seen at the National Theatre in 2003 when it won an Olivier Award for best new play and subsequently transferred to Broadway, The Pillowman is a macabre portrait of a… Continue reading Lyric, Belfast and Prime Cut revive McDonagh’s Pillowman
Five new operas for Buxton
Five new opera productions will be unveiled at the 2024 Buxton International Festival—works by Verdi, Handel, Haydn, Bizet and Ethel Smyth. Artistic director Adrian Kelly said, “Buxton is nothing if not brave and we have some formidable casts lined up this year, with faces old and new. We’re packing a punch this summer, make no mistake.”… Continue reading Five new operas for Buxton
Who Is No. 1? The Courtyard Theatre | Review
Before The Bourne Identity and The Tourist – with their amnesiac heroes – there was The Prisoner. Before Twin Peaks and Lost – with their impenetrable plots – there was The Prisoner. Before The X-Files and Game of Thrones, much-loved series whose finales were widely derided – there was The Prisoner, the most controversial and infamous cult of them all whose influence can be seen throughout pop culture, taking… Continue reading Who Is No. 1? The Courtyard Theatre | Review
Rosie The Musical – Original Studio Cast Album
This is a very earnest recording with quite a few majestic and soaring melodies – I wouldn’t expect, based on the showtunes in the recording, a full production of this musical to have very many, if any at all, high-energy song and dance numbers, though it would be a pleasant surprise. Songs of hope, or… Continue reading Rosie The Musical – Original Studio Cast Album
Twelve Angry Men at Richmond Theatre | Review
I regret starting with a spoiler, but I couldn’t help pointing out that Twelve Angry Men is a misleading title: there are twelve jurors in a 1950s New York City murder trial, but they are not all angry. Some are never angry. Every time there’s a raised voice, there’s a call for civility. After all, twelve people,… Continue reading Twelve Angry Men at Richmond Theatre | Review
H.R. THE MUSICAL
It’s always satisfying to sit in a theatre and watch the seats fill up until the house is full, so this opening night was hugely reassuring for everyone – there wasn’t an empty seat in the Q Loft house and comedy always works best when there are plenty of willing patrons. It’s a big plus… Continue reading H.R. THE MUSICAL
THIS ROOM IS AN ISLAND
As I enter the Te Pou theatre foyer, a lot of the audience are casually waiting and talking and suddenly two staunch officers yell out to get out of the way, and we all are startled, and we all intentionally move out of the way. My focus is immediately on the striking officers in full… Continue reading THIS ROOM IS AN ISLAND
First Person: contralto Hilary Summers on going beyond her baroque and contemporary comfort zones
Hilary Summers: ‘If you don’t know each other well enough to say if something is a bit rubbish, then what’s the point?’Claire Newman Williams Back in the summer of 2020 when the arts industry was largely dormant and many professional singers were either moodily knocking back the gin or uploading poor quality phone videos of… Continue reading First Person: contralto Hilary Summers on going beyond her baroque and contemporary comfort zones