In the past, director Nicholas Hytner has immersed Bridge Theatre audiences in the glens of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Rome of Julius Caesar and here we are in 1950s neon-lit Broadway. Groundlings, or promenaders, amongst the action, herded by New York cops, swirl and interact with the cast and the ever-shifting hydraulic pop-up sidewalks… Continue reading Guys and Dolls
Month: April 2024
Far From Home
Newcastle is very fortunate to have had Alleyne Dance, founded by identical twin sisters Kristina and Sadé Alleyne, present Far From Home, their new touring production, at Dance City yesterday, following its international première at The Place, London in November 2022. Far from Home is broadly about migration and takes audiences on a journey of… Continue reading Far From Home
A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction
There is a rambling lack of focus to Miranda Rose Hall’s superficial play. You might imagine at times that it’s an exercise in grief “meditation on our catastrophic climate change”, though more is said about the earth’s first five mass extinctions than climate change in our current period. The show opens with the actor Lydia… Continue reading A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction
Dr Ranj prescribes laughter for Nottingham panto
TV personality and presenter Dr Ranj will play Spirit of the Bells in Nottingham Theatre Royal’s 2023 panto Dick Whittington. Dr Ranj is known to a generation of children for his CBeebies series Get Well Soon and Get Well Soon Hospital. He reached the seventh week in the 2018 series of Strictly Come Dancing and is a columnist and writer as well… Continue reading Dr Ranj prescribes laughter for Nottingham panto
It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure
Theatre company FlawBored’s debut show is a stonker, not only remarkable for being such an accomplished first turn but also for taking on so sensitive and necessary a subject in such a well thought-out and wonderfully funny way. I haven’t laughed so much in ages. As a piece of writing, it operates almost as a… Continue reading It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure
Retrograde
With For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy running in the West End, Ryan Calais Cameron scores again with his new play Retrograde, 90-minutes of real-time drama much more formally presented. It is set in the office of Hollywood lawyer Larry Parks in the 1950s where he and screenwriter… Continue reading Retrograde
Equity petition against Northern Ireland arts cuts nears 12,000
A petition organised by Equity’s Northern Ireland branch protesting against proposed cuts of 10% in annual funding to the region’s arts and culture sector has reached nearly 12,000 signatures in one week. Growing support comes after Equity presented 11,000 signatures to Colum Boyle, the senior civil servant in the region’s Department for Communities, on April… Continue reading Equity petition against Northern Ireland arts cuts nears 12,000
Wodehouse in Wonderland
I’ve only finished a fraction of P G Wodehouse’s vast oeuvre—encompassing seventy-plus novels, dozens of plays and hundreds of short stories—but everything I’ve read of his voluminous output runs the gamut from excellent to outstanding. As a creator of what he referred to as “musical comedy without music”, he truly was a marvel. I’m far… Continue reading Wodehouse in Wonderland
Worcester theatre to host festival for young people
Worcestershire-based socially engaged arts company Mobilise and Worcester Theatres are to present the INSANE Festival, a free festival of arts and well-being for young people aged from 10 to 18 which will coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week. The festival will feature the première of Sickkk Icarus, a contemporary reimagining of the myth of Icarus. Presented… Continue reading Worcester theatre to host festival for young people
F**king Men
It’s perhaps not surprising Joe DiPietro’s provocatively named F**king Men is primarily about sex. It returns to the intimate Waterloo East Theatre with a bang up-to-date production, thanks to the influence of Steven Kunis as director. All the grit and testosterone of the original production, which debuted in London 15 years ago, is still there,… Continue reading F**king Men