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Forum Theatre, Malvern – 4th February 2024

Reviewed by Courie Amado Juneau

4.5****

The house lights went down, the stage was dimly lit, the large projection sphere lit up with its first interesting video montage and the sound of swirling keyboards (from Rick Benbow) filled the air. Classic Floyd.

The opener “Shine On You Crazy Diamond Parts 1-5 & 7” kicked off proceedings with an emotional hat tip to founding member Syd Barrett. Still sadly missed and greatly loved, this song was their tribute to their long lost friend. It was great to see images of Syd projected up there and another joy was backing vocalist Jo Paterson-Neild wielding not one, but two saxes! An amazing display of musicianship from all concerned and a great way to open a show.

After some rapturous applause we were thrown headlong into solid gold crowd pleaser “Astronomy Domine” from the band’s first album from 1967 – one of Syd’s compositions. What an incredible song and way ahead of its time – no wonder he is such a hero to the likes of Captain Sensible. This is what we wanted and the band were fulfilling our expectations with some fierce, visceral playing of the highest order.

David Power (vocals, bass, Producer and Director, no less) introduced the group and told us that they were concentrating on the Division Bell album as it was its 30th anniversary. Not my favourite era of the band. I can understand why a group having done this show for 17 years would want to mix it up I applaud them for that, but personally, I was over the dark side of the moon when we hit the 70s again with “Money” and “Happiest Days/Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2”.

The second half of the show really took off for me with just one 80s/90s era tune; the rest were absolute killers! The projections really came into their own with “Us and Them” showing images of the poor and homeless contrasted with the filthy rich being particularly powerful images. Also “Brain Damage” opening line “the lunatic is on the grass…” – enter Donald Trump and continuing with images of plenty of the most prominent UK politicians: most amusing and yet (sadly) not. Thought provoking use of tech.

The entire band were spot on, note perfect, faithfully recreating the sounds of Floyd in thrilling fashion – I find their songs translate even better live than on record. All the guitar solos from Mike Bollard and Paul Andrews and the powerhouse drumming from Francesco Borrelli were everything you could expect and want from top class musicians. But, inevitably, it was the vocal display from “The Great Gig In The Sky” by singer Emma Street that stole the show. Wow! What a voice! I had to check the car when I returned to it that the paint was still intact as I feared those searing high notes might have stripped it off and shattered the windows. And I mean that as a compliment – a fearless display that took ones breath away.

The band finished the evening with “Run Like Hell” and next time they announce they’re coming to town I’d advise you to do the same – straight to the box office to secure tickets! Looking forward to their next visit already.

STRICTLY COME DANCING CHAMPION

ELLIE LEACH

TO MAKE HER STAGE ACTING DEBUT AS MISS SCARLETT

IN THE UK TOUR OF

TICKETS ON SALE NOW: CLUEDOSTAGEPLAY.COM

Ellie Leach – reigning champion of Strictly Come Dancing – will make her stage acting debut as Miss Scarlett in the world premiere UK tour of Cluedo 2. Ellie won the hearts of the nation as she waltzed her way to victory (with dance partner Vito) to win the Glitterball Trophy in December. She is also known to millions of viewers as Faye Windass in Coronation Street. During her 13 years on the soap, Ellie was involved in various memorable storylines and nominated for numerous acting awards.

Based on the classic Hasbro boardgame, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, the five month UK tour marks the world premiere of Cluedo 2, which kicks off at Richmond Theatre on 29 February and visits theatres across the UK until July.

Starring alongside Ellie will be leading West End actor and TV favourite Jason Durr, who stars as Colonel Mustard. Most recently seen as David Hide in BBC One’s Casualty, (a role he played for seven years from 2016), audiences will also recognise Jason from his numerous other roles, including the motorbike riding policeman Mike Bradley from ITV’s hugely popular series, Heartbeat.

Ellie Leach said: “After an incredible year I’m so excited to join the cast of Cluedo 2. I am delighted to make my stage acting debut as Miss Scarlett and I can’t wait to work with Jason and the talented cast.”

Jason Durr said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the cast of Cluedo 2 as Colonel Mustard. I was a huge fan of the Cluedo board game as a child and the Colonel is such a great character. I am looking forward to bringing laughter and this ultimate whodunnit to audiences across the UK in its 75th anniversary year.”

The cast is completed by Jack Bennett (Wadsworth), Hannah Boyce (Mrs Peacock), Dawn Buckland (Mrs White), Liam Horrigan (Mr Black), Edward Howells (Professor Plum), Tiwai Muza (PC Silver) and Gabriel Paul (Reverend Green) with Kara Alberts-Turner, Audrey Anderson and Henry Lawes. Helen Flanagan has been advised to withdraw for medical reasons and the company of Cluedo 2 wish her well.

Following the huge success of the critically acclaimed original play, Cluedo is back on stage with a brand new, original comedy mystery, set in the swinging 60’s. It’s written by one of the UK’s most successful TV and stage writing duos, BAFTA Award winning writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, (Birds of a Feather, Goodnight Sweetheart and Dreamboats and Petticoats) and will be directed by Mark Bell (The Play That Goes Wrong, A Comedy About a Bank Robbery), who will bring the action of this hilarious whodunnit to life.

Set and Costume Design is by David Farley, Lighting by Jason Taylor, Sound by Jon Fiber and Movement Direction by Anna Healey.

As the bodies pile up, our colourful characters – The Honourable Mrs Emerald Peacock, Colonel Eugene Mustard, ‘Professor’ Alex Plum, Miss Annabel Scarlett, ‘The Reverend’ Hal Green and the housekeeper Mrs White – move from room to room trying to escape the murderer and survive the night. Cluedo 2, will keep audiences guessing right up to the final moments, and budding detectives of all ages, from 8 to 80 and beyond, can watch for the clues and unravel the secrets, as they try to work out whodunnit… with what… and where!

Cluedo 2 is produced by JAS Theatricals, Gabriel Creative Partners, The Araca Group and Lively McCabe Entertainment. Cluedo on stage is based on the Hasbro board game and the Paramount Pictures motion picture, Clue.

CLUEDO 2 – The Next Chapter: UK Tour Dates

29 February – 2 March Richmond Theatre

5 – 9 March Woking, New Victoria Theatre

12 – 16 March York, Theatre Royal

19 – 23 March Brighton, Theatre Royal

25 – 30 March Cambridge, Arts Theatre

2 – 6 April Salford, The Lowry

9 – 13 April Hull, New Theatre

16 – 20 April Milton Keynes Theatre

23 – 27 April Shrewsbury, Severn Theatre

30 April – 4 May Malvern, Festival Theatre

6 – 11 May Bath, Theatre Royal

14 – 18 May Sheffield, Lyceum Theatre

21 – 25 May Nottingham, Theatre Royal

28 May – 1 June Newcastle, Theatre Royal

4 – 8 June Glasgow, Theatre Royal

19 – 23 June Southampton, Mayflower Theatre

25 – 29 June Cardiff, New Theatre

2 – 6 July Norwich, Theatre Royal

9 – 13 July Truro, Hall for Cornwall

16 – 20 July Cheltenham, Everyman Theatre*

23 – 27 July Birmingham, Alexandra Theatre*

*Ellie Leach will not perform at this venue

Listings Information

Ticket prices: From £13

Website: cluedostageplay.com

X (formerly Twitter): @CluedoStagePlay

Instagram: @cluedostageplay

Facebook: /CluedoStagePlay

Southbank Centre announces International Performance & Dance programme for 2024-2025

• A string of bold physical UK dance premieres from international companies and artists including Shechter II: From England with Love, Qudus Onikeku / The QDance Company’s Re:INCARNATION, In My Body by Crazy Smooth and Chunky Move’s 4/4, choreographed by Antony Hamilton.
• The UK debut of Poland’s new star theatre director Łukasz Twarkowski with part-installation part-theatre work The Employees.
• The return of London International Festival of Theatre with two daring shows; Cliff Cardinal’s William Shakespeare’s As You Like It: A Radical Retelling and Nadia Beugré: L’Homme rare.
• Forced Entertainment marks its 40th anniversary with a London-wide season of work including two new works and a revival at the Southbank Centre.
• A weekend of new performance work from South East Asia; Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep (Singapore) and Haribo Kimchi (South Korea).
• The long-awaited London premiere of Adrienne Truscott and Dublin’s Brokentalkers Masterclass

The Southbank Centre today announces its 2024-2025 Performance and Dance programme, featuring an array of international work, contemporary collaborations and brand-new work from award-winning companies and artists from the UK, Ireland, Nigeria, Poland, Australia, Canada and beyond. Boldly international and with a mix of new commissions and UK premieres that reinforce the Southbank Centre’s status as a creative engine for arts and culture, this programme will introduce audiences to adventurous, influential and up-and-coming artists for unforgettable experiences.

Aaron Wright, Head of Performance & Dance at the Southbank Centre, says: “Over the coming year some extraordinary companies and artists from across the world will grace the stages of the Southbank Centre as part of this major Performance & Dance programme. We’re continuing our love affair with dance, presenting highly physical and visually unique performances that will appeal to both new and committed dance audiences alike. Following our groundbreaking 2023 season, headlined by the Marina Abramović Institute Takeover of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, we continue to present daring works that demonstrate theatre to be a vital, contemporary artform and are certain to get people talking.”

Mark Ball, Artistic Director at the Southbank Centre, says: “The Southbank Centre has always been an engine of creativity – this international programme brings pioneering artists to London, often for the first time. It’s a testament to the scale of our ambition in performance and dance as we continue to ensure the Southbank Centre is providing audiences with a truly diverse offering.” 

Building on the Southbank Centre’s vibrant history as a place for dance across its stages and public spaces, the season opens with new work from Hofesh Shechter: From England with Love. Performed by Shechter II From England with Love is a paean to the multi-layered complexity that is England. Through Shechter’s choreography, the dancers will evoke the paradox at the heart of this open, generous and soul-searching land, conflicted by its dark history and powerful attachment to deep-rooted traditions. They draw us into their search for identity and self-knowledge as they grapple with this complex system of values. Performed to an original score composed by Shechter, this new piece will bring together the beauty, wit and invention of the best of English classical composers, presented in a clash with raging rock alongside echoes of choral song and electronics in an avant-garde cacophony. 

Presented in partnership with Dance Consortium, Nigeria’s much celebrated The QDance Company led by choreographer Qudus Onikeku makes its debut on the Queen Elizabeth Hall stage with Re:INCARNATION. An ode to the richness of Nigerian culture, this dance, music, fashion and visual art fusion mixes ancient Yoruba philosophy mixed with Nigerian youth culture. Ten young dancers and two musicians perform the cycle of life with explosive energy, marked by the creative urban energy of the Nigerian city of Lagos.

The UK Premiere of 4/4 by Australian dance company Chunky Move sees eight dancers perform a display of mesmerising movement in Antony Hamilton’s blueprint for choreographic precision and physical endurance. The diversity in the dancers’ artistic backgrounds in krump, freestyle hip-hop and house, coupled with Hamilton’s striking craftsmanship and a minimal scenography, highlights a uniquely Australian performance.

For one weekend only in May, the Southbank Centre presents two new performance works from South East Asia. Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep is a sonic portrait of new music icon Margaret Leng Tan – an evocative exploration of memory, time, control and loss. Haribo Kimchi takes audiences on a journey through the history of South Korea through the familiar, startling and sacred language of food.

Canada’s b-boy Crazy Smooth presents In My Body, a dynamic exploration of the effects of ageing on the street dancer’s entire being – body, mind and spirit. Crazy Smooth has assembled an intergenerational all-star cast of five men and four women comprised of Canada’s top street dancers, who execute the physically demanding and visually impressive choreography alongside projections and spoken word. The performance features an original soundtrack by DJ Shash’U and is written by Alejandro Rodriguez.

In January 2025, Polish theatre artist Łukasz Twarkowski brings The Employees, a production of STUDIO teatrgaleria (Warsaw), to the UK for the first time, in a ground-breaking and innovative multidisciplinary play that explores the relationship between humans and robots, using images and sound the piece looks at ideas of human consciousness and desires. Set millions of kilometres away from Earth and in a distant future, it brings up many problems of contemporary reality – the crisis of relationships between humans and nature in the face of an increasingly technology-driven society. The script of the play by Joanna Bednarczyk is based on the International Booker Prize-nominated novel The Employees by Danish author Olga Ravn. 

Returning to present two exciting new works in partnership with the Southbank Centre, London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) returns in June with William Shakespeare’s As You Like It: A Radical Retelling by cultural provocateur Cliff Cardinal and L’Homme rare choreographed by Nadia Beugré. Exulting in dark humour, difficult subject matter, and raw emotion As You Like It: A Radical Retelling explores the double meaning that teasingly suggests this is a play to please all tastes. In Nadia Beugré’s L’Homme rare, the audience takes the role of voyeur as this new dance work interrogates perceptions of gender and objectification. Drawing inspiration from a series of old photographs of enslaved people for sale in markets on the Ivory Coast, L’Homme rare also becomes a reflection on the history of Europeans’ gaze on black bodies and its persistence today.

Multi-award-winning, hugely influential and globally renowned, Sheffield-based theatre company Forced Entertainment celebrates its 40th year with a special London-wide programme of work in partnership with the Southbank Centre, Battersea Arts Centre and The Place. In October, they will bring three shows to the Southbank Centre, the UK premiere of their new mainstage ensemble work Signal to Noise, the first-ever performance of a new collaboration between Forced Entertainment’s Artistic Director Tim Etchells & acclaimed percussionist Tony Buck (The Necks): Go On Like This, and the revival of their classic durational work, 12am: Awake and Looking Down.

New work Signal to Noise is an invitation to reflect on our shared contemporary experience, developed through the group’s rigorous and intuitive collaborative process as six performers navigate a world of constraints, traps, behavioural habits and repeating cycles. Tim Etchells & Tony Buck: Go On Like This is a performance encounter between artist and writer Tim Etchells and percussionist Tony Buck, founder-member of Australian trio The Necks. The two artists share a fascination with the possibilities of both free improvisation and intensive repetition, bringing them together for an evening of loops and cacophonies. 12am: Awake and Looking Down is a piece with five silent performers using simple dress-up, inhabiting a seemingly endless parade of characters in a transfixing performance that questions what’s in a name. A physical and highly visual performance that starts from a vast and constantly growing catalogue of names – from ‘Frank (Drunk)’ to ‘The Hypnotised Girl’, via ‘Elvis Presley (the Dead Singer)’ and ‘A Nine Year-Old Shepherd Boy’, the piece plays on exhaustion and endurance to create a unique event that is comic, mesmeric and moving.

Acclaimed New York City provocateur Adrienne Truscott and the internationally renowned Brokentalkers from Dublin bring their collaboration Masterclass to London. Speaking truth to power, Masterclass is a hilarious examination of gender and power, using the arts world as a metaphor under the guise of a pompous TV talk show. This much anticipated London run follows an award-winning international tour.

The 2024 season includes a previously announced show. From 1-3 March, (LA)HORDE and Ballet national de Marseille debut their first major presentation in London, as they present the UK premiere of Roommates, an evening which features six pieces made for the company from choreographers including Lucinda Childs, Peeping Tom and LA(HORDE) themselves. This show is already on sale.

MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY ANNOUNCES THE UK PREMIÈRE OF PAUL GRELLONG’S POWER OF SAIL

With its critically acclaimed production of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Pacific Overtures running at the venue, the Menier Chocolate Factory today announces the European première of Paul Grellong’s Power of Sail. Dominic Dromgoole returns to the company, after the success of last year’s Marjorie Prime, to direct.

This production – co-produced with Daryl Roth who previously collaborated with the Menier on the critically acclaimed production of Indecent – opens on 28 March, with previews from the 20 March, and runs until 18 May.

The Menier Chocolate Factory

POWER OF SAIL

By Paul Grellong

20 March – 18 May

Direction: Dominic Dromgoole; Design: Paul Farnsworth; Lighting Design: Oliver Fenwick

All hell breaks loose when Harvard professor Charles Nichols invites a contentious white nationalist to his yearly symposium. His colleagues are very concerned about how this will affect both his and the University’s reputation; his students are vociferously protesting.  However, Charles refuses to budge. Is there another agenda?

Penned by Paul Grellong, whose television credits include The Boys and Law & Order: SVU, this moral thriller investigates the thin line between hate and freedom of speech – who bears the ultimate cost?  This European première, directed by Dominic Dromgoole, promises to be one of the most talked-about plays of the year.

Paul Grellong’s other plays include Manuscript, produced by Daryl Roth at the Daryl Roth Theatre, which has since been performed internationally; Radio Free Emerson (winner of the Elliot Norton Award from the Boston Theater Critics Association for Outstanding New Script), which was commissioned and produced by Rhode Island’s Gamm Theatre. His plays have been read and workshopped at Center Theatre Group, MCC, Trinity Repertory Company, Symphony Space, Echo Theater Company, and the Cape Cod Theatre Project. His television credits include The Boys, Scorpion, Revolution, and Law & Order: SVU. He lives in Los Angeles, where he is an alumnus of the Playwrights Union.

Dominic Dromgoole returns to the Menier to direct – he previously directed Marjorie Prime for the company. He launched a new theatre company, Classic Spring, which produced a year-long celebration of Oscar Wilde in 2017/18 directing the first play in the season, A Woman of No Importance, at the Vaudeville Theatre.Dromgoole was Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe from 2006 to 2016. In that time the Globe grew into an international theatre of progressive ambition and radical scope. Amongst other projects, he created a UK-wide touring operation and grew this touring internationally, culminating in a two-year tour of Hamlet which travelled to every country in the world. In 2012, he directed the Globe to Globe Festival, which hosted companies from 37 different countries. He was previously Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre – during his tenure between 1990-1996 he nurtured upcoming talents by premiering 65 new plays from a host of now influential writers such as Billy Roche, Irvine Welsh and Naomi Wallace. He then moved onto the Oxford Stage Company which he ran from 1999 to 2005. He launched a new film company, Open Palm Films, and made his first feature, Making Noise Quietly, in the summer of 2016.  The film, released by an adaptation of Robert Holman’s play of the same name, starred Deborah Findlay, Barbara Marten, Trystan Gravelle and Matthew Tennyson, and was released by Verve in 2019. He is  the author of the recently published Astonish Me! First Nights That Changed the World as well as Hamlet: Globe to Globe, The Full Room: An A-Z of Contemporary Playwriting and Will and Me: How Shakespeare Took Over My Life, which won the inaugural Sheridan Morley award.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY

PACIFIC OVERTURES

Until 25 February 2024

POWER OF SAIL

20 March – 18 May

Box Office:                         020 7378 1713 (£2.50 transaction fee per booking)

Website:                             www.menierchocolatefactory.com (£1.50 transaction fee per booking)

Tickets:                               Prices vary, as below from discounted preview tickets to premier seats. With the emphasis on ‘the sooner you book, the better the price’:

Please note at this time the restaurant is unable to open due to circumstances beyond the company’s control.

www.menierchocolatefactory.com

Twitter: @MenChocFactory

Instagram: @menierchocolatefactory

The Pleasance, London – until 16 February 2024

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

5*****

In other hands, a show about THAT skiing accident would be an awkward mess, but Awkward Productions’ irreverent chaotic humour and charismatic performances create a hilariously queer and joyful show.

The insane and sometimes inane touches that made Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story and How to Live a Jellicle Life such weird and wonderful experiences are all present, from audience participation to bizarre puppetry, with some lovely branded treats on each table for the audience to enjoy.

Terry Sanderson suing Gwyneth Paltrow for damages after their collision on a ski slope in Utah resulted in one of the most bizarre trials possible – and Linus Karp and Joseph Martin have added their own ridiculous/ clever (mostly ridiculous) touches with glee.

The first act introduces Gwyneth (Karp) and Sanderson (Martin), riffing gloriously on Paltrow’s pseudoscience grift with Gloop. Linus Karp tosses his hair and nails the faux humility as Gwyneth reminds everyone of her achievements in nearly every serenely delivered line. The naming of daughter Apple is a fantastic running joke, with the part played by an actual apple, and poor Chris Martin takes a few hits as well. In contrast, Sanderson is a sad, angry failure of a man with a hint of madness in his eyes in Joseph Martin’s brilliantly OTT portrayal. Both parties’ love interests are played by audience members reading their lines cold – risky, but worth it when they are just the right level of drunk. The inclusion of a legendary deer to shoehorn in a Snow White-esque song shouldn’t have worked, but by the time the deer is wheeled on, Karp and Martin could have just sat in silence and the audience would probably have loved it – that’s how good this pair are. The defiantly low budget (but intricate) effects also involve the audience on the slopes.

The second act is set in the courtroom, and it is here that the line between reality and theatre gets fuzzy as many of the most ridiculous lines are taken straight from the trial. There are more of Leland’s songs in the second act – the best being sung by Martin as Sanderson’s puppet lawyer (not as batshit crazy as their Camilla performance, but still fabulously unhinged) – as expert and surprise witnesses are called and the jokes pile up until the climatic final statements are given. The audience are the jury and vote, meaning that there are two possible endings to the show – leaving many of us very tempted to go back hoping to see the alternative ending.

Brilliant nonsense – go get Gooped.

Forum Theatre, Malvern – 3rd February 2024

Reviewed by Courie Amado Juneau

4.5****

Armonico Consort return with another triumphant blast of Baroque splendour with two works by Scarlatti coupled with a piece from the ever popular Handel.

Daniele – lost for several centuries – is basically a non-staged opera. A myriad of very interesting musical textures are cunningly woven through the piece including soloists, duets, trios and it’s bookended by a robust chorus. Drama and passion in the best tradition of the Baroque era; this is certainly a magnificent find which I’m sure will earn Armonico (and Scarlatti) many more fans – especially as they are about to record the work for Xmas release.

The chorus (AC Academy Warwick and Scholars) were a force of nature with tons of power and an impressively sonorous sound. The Baroque Players were simply thrilling! A period correct trumpet (no valves) and strings using what sounded like gut gave the orchestra a gorgeously mellow sound compared to modern, brasher strings. Also, with so few players (just 2 each of first and second violins, violas and lower strings) it really was a chamber orchestra. These smaller forces gave the scoring a refreshing clarity which can be lost in the larger modern orchestral forces. All the more impressive also that the balance of singers vs instrumentalists was so well defined given the quantity of singers. This is a testament to the expert conducting of Director Christopher Monks, giving us a tastefully authentic reading that imbued these 18th Century works with an electric, youthful energy which made the music sound thoroughly modern and alive.

Double bassist Andrew Durban and cellist Hetti Price leapt all over the fretboard and were incredibly tight as a unit in a mesmerising display. Like listening to one instrument playing double stops an octave apart! For me, the organ and cello duet sections really stood out in a sumptuous combination that transported the senses, giving me my absolute favourite moments of the night.

The ladies who played Darius and Angel and the chap who played the Dragon Demon were special standouts among the vocalists (though the entire ensemble were fantastic) but I cannot name them in person as the programme didn’t list who was playing who.

Speaking of which, the libretto was very difficult to follow and I’m not even sure that the Miserere Mei was included in full. Many operas sung in foreign languages are enhanced with surtitles on stage – which would have been fantastically helpful for those of us in the audience who didn’t speak fluent Latin.

In the second half we were thoroughly entertained by Scarlatti’s Miserere Mei and Handel’s Dixit Dominus – the Handel was especially thrilling for me. We lost the trumpets power in the second half and the orchestra looked tiny but you’d never have known it. The strings really dug in and their florid runs were scintillating. We had even more vocal soloists than in Daniele, giving us a widened pallet of colours to enjoy – genius scoring by Handel (as always).

If you haven’t seen the Armonico Consort you will have the chance to rapidly remedy that unfortunate situation as they return to Malvern Theatres in both April and June this year. Tonight was yet another wonderful feast of musical perfection. Bravo!

Royal Theatre, Windsor – until 10 February 2024

Reviewed by Joanna Huggett

5*****

We had the pleasure of watching ‘Sleuth’ at the Theatre Royal Windsor, written by Anthony Shaffer, a play describing itself as ‘the World’s Greatest Thriller’.

The whole play takes place in the living room of a country house belonging to Andrew Wyke (played by Todd Boyce), an aristocratic author of detective novels, who invites Milo Tindle (played by Neil McDermott), a simple businessman with a few financial difficulties, to discuss Milo’s plans to marry Andrew’s estranged wife Marguerite. But, just like the peculiar twists and turns of Andrew’s novels, nothing is ever as it really seems. What ensues is a series of provocations, dares and double-crosses between the two, seemingly sparring for the hand of Marguerite as the ultimate prize.

The play takes place over two acts; the events of that first evening followed by the concluding game play in the second and final act. Indeed, the series of games and point scoring between the two characters is succinctly described as a tennis match comprising of games won or lost, completing the set and then ultimately the match.

A superb production, set in stage scenery which deserves to be billed as the third member of the performance, and some excellent sound and visual effects keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end.

A wonderful cast, some extraordinary acting, and an altogether enjoyable evening in Windsor

Leeds Grand Theatre – on tour until 6th April 2024

Reviewed by Dawn Smallwood

4****

Opera North’s new Season is underway with its first performance of Cosí Fan Tutte at the Leeds Grand Theatre. Mozart’s Cosí Fan Tutte, literally known as The School for Lovers, first premiered in Austria in 1790. It is based on Lorenzo Da Ponte’s libretto and the opera buffa or comic opera explores love and relationships. Tim Albery’s Cosí Fan Tutte first premiered by Opera North in 2009 and this production is a revival.

The main characters are Ferrando (Anthony Gregory) and Guglielmo (Henry Neill), two officers, who supposedly solidify their relationship with their fiancées. Don Alfonso (Quirijn de Lang), a philosopher and the officers’ friend, decide to test them with a bet to see if their lovers, Dorabella (Heather Lowe) and Fiordiligi (Alexandra Lowe) would be loyal and faithful to them.

Alfonso involves Despina (Gillene Butterfield), the women’s servant, and bribes her to introduce the foreign suitors to both Dorabella and Fiordiligi who at the time did not realise they were disguised as their respective lovers.

The plot farcically unravels amidst betrayal, confusion, deception and speculation with Despina’s roles as a pseudo doctor and a pseudo lawyer. Ultimately with Alfonso’s philosophical statement, “They’re all the same.” and implying this to both Ferrando and Guglielmo, it ends all well which is typical of a comedy.

Set to Mozart’s ingenious music under the direction of Clemens Schuldt and overall direction by Albery, the cast put on an incredible and entertaining performance, particularly the portrayals of Alfonso by de Lang and of Despina by Butterfield. Tobias Hoheisel’s simplistic and yet highly effective staging with costumes, influenced by the Enlightenment era, with David Finn’s lighting creating the ambience and atmosphere which compliments the creativity of the production.

It is one of the longer operas, but it is important for the story to be unravelled and revealed to appreciate the farcical and comedic nature of the themes that Cosí Fan Tutte explores. The Enlightenment influenced philosophy, and this is reflected in Cosí Fan Tutte and how Mozart’s musical composition logically and reasonably tells the story and the characters’ plights whose influences differ past, present and in the future.

Dominion Theatre, Tottenham Court Road – until 2 March 2024

Reviewer Alec Legge

5*****

Off to the wonderful Dominion Theatre which is a beautiful Art Deco building but with all the facilities you would expect to find in a modern venue. It is also easily accessible being right next to the Tottenham Court Road Underground Station.

After a warming drink in one of the lovely bars, it was a cold night, we took our seats in the stalls. Comfortable seats with plenty of leg(ge) room, pun, and a good view of the stage. As a matter of interest there was a lovely couple sitting behind us who turned out to be Darren Lee’s, parents. Darren was to play the lead as the King and we had a very pleasant conversation with them. What a surprise and a good start to the evening.

Then came the overture following which the stage came to life with the curtain opening on a huge model of a steamship, on board which we could see Anna Leonowens, Helen George, her son , various played by Charlie McGuire, Josh Bortoloso, Fin Goodman and Lois Levy, Captain Orton, Sam Jenkins-Shaw, and a sailor. After some dialogue Anna sung her first song. It was immediately apparent that Helen George had superbly grasped the role of Anna her dialogue and her sublime singing being a testament to that.

The story went on with the appearance of Kralahome, Kok-Hwa Lie, the Kings Prime Minister to meet Anna and conduct her to the Palace where she was to be quartered much to her disgust as she had been promised her own house. I was to be two weeks before Kralahome brought her before the King.

When the King first appeared on stage it was obvious that Darren Lee had also grasped his part as the King to the n’th degree. He was wonderfully masterful and arrogant as he strutted about the stage, but also including some comedic moments. A superb choice to play the King!

Then came the children being introduced to Anna. They too were superb and played their parts perfectly from the oldest to the youngest. It is said that you should never act with animals and children and this was a prime example. These children stole the show and would have softened the hearts of the most hard hearted person!

I should also mention that the parts of Lady Thiang and Prince Chulalongkorn were excellently played by Cezarah Bonner and Caleb Legayan respectively,

The storyline continued and followed the original version, which many people will know, the acting, dancing and singing being of the highest standard one could expect. Indeed every song was given a rousing round of applause which was well deserved.

The storyline also included the romance of Tuptim, who was played by Marrienella Phillips, a slave from Burma being given to the King as a junior wife but who was in love with Lun Tha, Dean John-Wilson, a scholar who followed her from Burma, was a running part of the show, with them meeting secretly and planning their escape from Siam. Again the acting and singing of both parties was superb!

I should also mention the play put on for a visiting British envoy, Sir Edward Ramsay, played by Sam Jenkins-Shaw, which was a Siamese version of uncle Tom’s Cabin. The adaption using Siamese costumes and vernacular was amazing and a sight to behold.

In conclusion I would recommend a visit to this show which ended, justifiably in my opinion, with a standing ovation, well worth the 5 stars I have given it

FOURTH WALL LIVE ANNOUNCES

TONY AWARD WINNER

ALEX NEWELL

LIVE AT CADOGAN HALL

SUNDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2024

FOURTH WALL LIVE is delighted to announce star of stage and screen ALEX NEWELL live at Cadogan Hall on Sunday 1 September 2024 at 2:30pm and 6.30pm. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday 6 February at www.fw-live.com and www.cadoganhall.com

Alex Newell first garnered attention on screen in FOX’s critically acclaimed series GLEE as transgender student, Wade “Unique” Adams. Breaking barriers and challenging gender norms at a time when the conversation around gender identity was not widely accepted, Alex has remained one of the leaders in the quest for equality. In 2023, Alex made history as the first non-binary identifying actor to win a Tony award for Best Featured Actor for their role as Lulu in Broadway’s Shucked. In their second turn on the Broadway stage, a follow up to their time in the Tony winning Once On This Island, Alex yet again draws raves nightly with their standout solo Independently Owned. Alex also has an impressive list of TV credits including Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, along with the Emmy-nominated Christmas special on Roku, as well as Our Kind of People, and Fox’s Empire.

Alex has received several award nominations including Critics Choice, Gold Derby, Screen Actors Guild, and Hollywood Critics Association. While part of the cast of Once On This Island,Alex earned a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album and won a Tony for Best Revival of a Musical, also later receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album for Shucked.

FOURTH WALL LIVE is an entertainment company that produces events, concerts and on-stage shows. In January 2022, FWL presented Bonnie and Clyde The Musical In Concert for two nights to a sold-out audience at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, starring Broadway favourite Jeremy Jordan. The concert broke Drury Lane box office records selling out a two-night run in less than six minutes. 

In recent months, Fourth Wall Live have been nominated for 3 WhatsOnStage awards in the Best Concert Event category for Ariana DeBose’s sold out European concert at the London Palladium and gala concerts Evita and Love Never Dies at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Fourth Wall Live have also recently presented Audra McDonald at the London Palladium, Jeremy Jordan at Theatre Royal Drury Lane and both Rachel Tucker and Stephanie J Block at Cadogan Hall. FWL regularly presents concerts featuring stars of the West End and Broadway including Keala Settle, Sierra Boggess, Matthew Morrison and Hannah Waddingham among others.

Fourth Wall Live is also a producer of the WhatsOnStage Award winning Bonnie & Clyde The Musical which recently ended its successful run at the Garrick Theatre in London’s West End.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Sunday 1 September

Cadogan Hall

5 Sloane Terrace

London 

SW1X 9DQ

Performances: 2:30pm & 6.30pm

Tickets: From £18

Box Office: 020 7730 4500

Website: www.fw-live.com and www.cadoganhall.com

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