TEN COMMISSIONS ANNOUNCED AS PART OF UNBOXED, A CELEBRATION OF CREATIVITY TAKING PLACE ACROSS THE UK IN 2022

• UK-wide programme of live events and digital, online and broadcast experiences
• Creative collaborations across science, technology, engineering, arts and maths
• Wide-reaching learning and audience participation programmes 

Announced today,UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK is a celebration of creativity taking place across the UK in 2022, designed to reach millions and bring people together. It features free large-scale events, installations and globally accessible digital experiences in the UK’s most ambitious showcase of creative collaboration. 

Produced by some of the brightest minds in science, technology, engineering, arts and maths, UNBOXEDfeatures ten major multi-site and digital creative projects that share new ideas and possibilities for the future. Events and activities take place from 1 March to 2 October 2022 – from the Outer Hebrides to Dover and from Omagh to Swansea, and across traditional and online media. 

UNBOXED: Creativity in the UKisfunded and supported by the four governments of the UK and is commissioned and delivered in partnership with Belfast City Council, Creative Wales and EventScotland. 

• The programme begins in Paisley in March with audiences in towns and cities across the UK immersed in 13.8 billion years of history, from the Big Bang to the present day, using innovative projection mapping technology combined with poetry, music and science (About Us). 

• A Scotland-wide project featuring Unexpected Gardens, vertical farms, free music events and plant giveaways reimagines the annual harvest festival for the 21st century, from Caithness to Dumfries (Dandelion).

• Audiences in the UK’s four capital cities are immersed in sound and light in an artwork experienced with closed eyes that explores the limitless potential of the human mind (Dreamachine).

• Communities from across Wales, creatives and a Hollywood production studio are working together to shape and share a story set 30 years in the future across TV drama, digital platforms and live events in three Welsh locations (GALWAD: A story from ourfuture). 

• 20,000 people are being invited to create vast outdoor artworks by lighting up some of the UK’s outstanding landscapes, using new technology to create compelling online experiences (GreenSpace Dark Skies). 

• A scale version of our solar system, staged across 10km sculptural trails in Northern Ireland and Cambridge, invites us to consider our relationships with each other from the perspective of our place in space (Our Place in Space).

• A monumental forest garden of living plants and architectural trees is springing up in the city of Birmingham in celebration of the global origins of the UK’s plants and population (PoliNations).

• A decommissioned North Sea offshore platform is being transformed into an immersive public art installation and celebration of British weather in the coastal town of Weston-super-Mare, suggesting new possibilities for retired structures (SEE MONSTER). 

• Augmented reality, new developments in 3D internet technology and young creatives are shaping one of the most ambitious living history and archive projects ever undertaken (StoryTrails). 

• A festival of nightlife and countercultures inspired by and created in collaboration with the Moon is travelling in convoy around England with a mission to imagine multiple better futures for, and with, young people (Tour de Moon).

Central to UNBOXED are extensive learning and public participation opportunities, reaching hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren, young people and communities. These opportunities include invitations to take part, shape and deliver UNBOXED through school poetry and coding competitions, community workshops, citizen science projects and new employment and skills development opportunities for diverse young creatives and freelancers. There are also partnerships with the BBC, the British Council and the RSA (the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) that will further global conversations about the role of creativity and innovation in society. 

Martin Green CBE, Chief Creative Officer, UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, said: “Hundreds of creatives from across science, technology, engineering, arts and maths are creating extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime events and online experiences for millions in the UK’s biggest and most ambitious public creative programme to date. UNBOXED represents an unprecedented, timely opportunity for people to come together across the UK and beyond, taking part in awe-inspiring projects that speak to who we are while exploring the ideas that will define our futures.”

Dame Vikki Heywood DBE, Chair of Board, UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, said: “As society adapts to the ever-evolving digital revolution and we see our innate creativity play an increasingly important role in all our futures, UNBOXED explores the power of collaboration to generate new possibilities for the way we live, work and play. The programme will support economic recovery in the UK by reanimating towns and cities and expanding our connectivity through new online communities. As the programme unfolds, it will both entertain us and inspire us to imagine what the future might hold by combining the creative powers of science, technology, engineering, arts and maths.”

UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK 

1 March to 2 October 2022  

unboxed2022.uk 

Hull New Theatre – until 23 October 2021

Reviewed by Catherine McWilliams

4****

There is no other way to start this review than to say that last night – we had the time of our lives! It may seem a cliché but the full house at Hull New Theatre had arrived ready to be entertained and to have a good time and that is exactly what Dirty Dancing delivered us. The roar and the standing ovation at the end of the performance said it all, Hull loved it. It was wonderful to be in a full theatre and to witness that reaction.

Dirty Dancing is based around the 1987 film with some additional material and the addition of live music, it is written by the same author, Eleanor Bergstein, and directed by Federico Bellone, with choreography by Austin Wilks. It is set at the Kellerman’s holiday resort where “Baby” Houseman (Kira Malou) and her family have gone for a vacation. “Baby” is a daddy’s girl, about to go to college and ready to change the world. By chance “Baby” discovers the world of the dancers employed by Kellerman’s and is drawn into their problems and soon finds herself at odds with her beloved father (Lynden Edwards). The story of Dirty Dancing touches on the issues of class and the expectations that come from the place of your birth, helping “Baby” to grow up and remove her rose-tinted glasses and to begin to see the world as it is.

Robert Comotti’s set design is wonderfully minimalist, some stairs, two doors and a raised area provide all the different areas of the resort as we zip through the story. The story line does move along very fast and with a change of lighting the stage can quickly become another area of the resort, so make sure you’re paying attention!

Kira Malou is a perfect “Baby” wonderfully idealistic and gauche as she starts to learn to dance with Johnny (Michael O’Reilly). Her dancing was superb, and she had superb timing as she “learnt to dance” providing some wonderful comedy moments. Michael O’Reilly, as Johnny, provided the perfect foil for “Baby” slightly awkward and not at all sure he should be speaking to her, constantly worrying about his job. His dancing was a joy to watch and the duets between Johnny and “Baby” were beautiful. The final scene with “that” dance and yes “the lift” practically brought the roof down, breath-taking to watch.

The dancing throughout was wonderful and the ensemble pieces were a real treat. Carlie Milner as Penny was spectacular to watch as she danced with Johnny.

It was great to see Kellerman’s band (Ben Mabberley, Tom Mussell and Miles Russell) on the stage and in the thick of the action as they so skilfully played an astonishing number of different instruments. Colin Charles, as Tito Suarez, has a stunning voice and he sang a brilliant rendition of “Love Man” as he whipped up the audience with consummate skill, ready for the rest of the performance. A huge mention should also go to Samuel Bailey (Billy Kostecki) who also has a wonderful voice.

Lizzie Ottley as Lisa Houseman, Thomas Sutcliffe as Neil Kellerman and Mark Faith as Mr Schumacher provided us with some real laugh out loud moments with their characters.

So, film or stage version? There is no contest Dirty Dancing on stage is a knockout with its stunning live music and dancing, it is far superior. As the show came to an end our “hands and hearts and voices“ didn’t belong to Kellerman’s but to the cast and production of Dirty Dancing.

Go to see Dirty Dancing and I promise you will leave the theatre with the biggest grin, walking several feet taller and feeling the best you have in an awfully long time.

York Theatre Royal – until 23 October 2021

Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

5*****

Murder, Mystery, and Mania? The famed character of Sherlock Holmes, in The Hound of the Baskervilles, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is briefly visiting York Theatre Royal. This production is brought to the stage by the Original Theatre Company and is touring nationally.

Three actors take on the roles of multiple characters from the novel, while the novel may be a gripping tale of ghostly curses and evil intentions, the play is anything but. A comedic journey though the moors and pages of the tale, we are shown the story in a new more farcical light. Full of slapstick, sarcasm, and silly nonsense.

As I mentioned, composing of just three actors, mainly playing the characters of Sherlock Holmes (Jack Ferretti), Sir Henry (Serena Manteghi), and Dr Watson (Niall Ransome). Though I’ve just listed three characters, they all played a plethora of personalities, from Scottish doctors, to country yokels, to a fiery Latin lady, and a seemingly useless house servants.

What I witnessed on stage was phenomenal and I loved watching it happen. Three actors working so in sync and expertly together to create an entertaining performance, where there is never a dull moment. With perfect comedic timing and the ability to jump between character and actor was hilarious. With many gags gracing the night, from horses that won’t come on stage, lifeless rubber bodies, and diva attitudes within the cast. Although one thing stood out for me more than anything else, which made me howl with laughter, a surprising and out of nowhere gay subplot from Watson, who seemed to swoon over both Sir Henry and Holmes. Whilst this was subtle it made for some iconic moments on stage and made everyone laugh.

During the interval I was already stunned at how much I enjoyed the show and was excited for act two well. I wasn’t disappointed, we were even treated to reprisal of the first act, at breakneck speed. This was so fast paced that I was exhausted just watching it and was amazing to watch.

With the impressive set on stage, which had a light-up mini mansion, and the incredible comedy skills of the cast, it is basically a recipe for a perfect evening of theatre. This is a show where you can take your kids, bring your gran and even your worst enemy, because not a single soul would be straight faced throughout this performance.

This show is slick, high energy, full humour and greatly entertaining. This is the best show I’ve seen since theatres have reopened.

The Hound of the Baskervilles is at the York Theatre Royal until Saturday the 23rd of October, so get seeing it right now, you will not be disappointed

Postponed The Merchant of Venice starring Tracy Ann Oberman

confirms it will return for 2023 tour

The radical new production previously postponed by the COVID 19 pandemic is set in the East End at the time of the Battle of Cable Street, which had it 85^th anniversary earlier this month

@watfordpalace | #Merchant36 | watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk

By William Shakespeare   Director Brigid Larmour

Leading actor, writer and ‘accidental activist’ Tracy Ann Oberman, currently appearing in the major BBC1 drama about British Fascism in the 1960s, Ridley Road, will reinvent the role of Shylock in a major production of The Merchant of Venice. Directed by Brigid Larmour, Artistic Director of Watford Palace Theatre, the production shines a light on an earlier dark chapter in our history, the growth of a British Fascist party in the 1930s, and the East End community coming together to stop them in the Battle of Cable Street on 4 October 1936.  Originally slated for 2020, but postponed due to Covid, the production will open in early 2023 with detailed touring dates to be announced soon.

Oberman was inspired to reframe The Merchant of Venice drawing on her own great grandmother’s experience as a single mother in London’s East End. She and her sons – Tracy’s great-uncles -were part of the Battle of Cable Street, a watershed moment of popular resistance to fascism in Britain.  The East End stood together to stop Sir Oswald Mosley’s uniformed British Union of Fascists confrontational march through this  predominantly Jewish neighbourhood.

This vivid retelling reimagines Shylock as an East End matriarch, a widowed refugee from Russian pogroms. An immigrant, running a small business from a cramped house in Cable Street, she’s working to give her daughter Jessica a better life.

The play’s heroine Portia and her circle are aristocratic Fascists. Their playground is piano bars at the Savoy, bias cut silk gowns, white tie and tails. 

Tracy Ann Oberman said, “I’ve always wanted to reclaim The Merchant and wanted to see how it would change with a female, single mother Shylock. My own great grandma and great aunts were widows, left in the East End to run the businesses and the homes, which they did with an iron fist. When I spoke about it to Brigid, she instantly got it, and said it gave a brilliant way into the problematic aspects of characters like Antonio and Portia –  she saw them as aristocratic young Mosleyites, supporters of the British Union of Fascists led by Oswald Mosley. That led us to an East End Cable Street, with pawn shops and money- lending under the counter of shmatter stalls and seamstress jobs, in the weeks leading up to Mosley’s Fascist march against ‘The Jew’ in 1936.”

Director Brigid Larmour said, “The great Polish critic Jan Kott called Shakespeare ‘our contemporary.’  This fast-moving production brings together Tracy’s powerful stage presence as an actor with her courageous activism, in a story with acute contemporary resonance. Our national sense of pride in the ‘Britain stood alone’ view of 1940 can sometimes makes us forget how much support there was for fascism here in the 30s.  It is dangerous to forget.”

The Merchant of Venice will tour in 2023, to be added to the mailing list for future announcements and ticket sales please go to https://watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk/#signup 

The Merchant of Venice

Playing the Watford Palace Theatre and touring the UK 2023

watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk

ORANGE TREE THEATRE ANNOUNCES FULL CAST FOR THE RETURN OF TERENCE RATTIGAN’S WHILE THE SUN SHINES

Following the success of its sold out run in 2019, the Orange Tree Theatre today announces the return of Terence Rattigan’s While The Sun Shines, directed by OT Artistic Director Paul Miller. Rebecca Collingwood, Conor Glean and Sophie Khan Levy join original cast members John Hudson, Philip Labey, Michael Lumsden and Jordan Mifsúd. The production opens on 24 November, with previews from 20 November, and runs until 8 January 2022, with livestreamed performances via OT on screen on 6 and 7 January. While The Sun Shines continues with socially distanced seating and safety measures.

★★★★

The Stage

A lot of laughs… Miller’s production is one of immense charm.

On the eve of his wedding, the young Earl of Harpenden – Bobby to his friends – has offered his room to Joe, an American soldier he drunkenly met the night before. When Bobby’s fiancée Lady Elizabeth turns up, Joe makes a move, thinking she must be Bobby’s ex, the wonderful Mabel Crum. But a Free French lieutenant also has eyes for her… And to complicate matters, Bobby’s future father-in-law turns up too. London in the Blitz, and identities get confused: time to make hay…

This first major revival of Rattigan’s delectably charming comedy in decades has an acclaimed sold out run in 2019. It was the writer’s greatest hit playing for over 1,000 performances in the West End when it opened in 1943.

Completing the creative team is Simon Daw (Designer), Mark Doubleday (Lighting Designer), Elizabeth Purnell (Sound Designer and Composer), and Vicky Richardson (Casting Consultant CDG).

Rebecca Collingwood returns to the Orange Tree to play Lady Elisabeth Randall – she previously appeared in Precious Little Talent and Widower’s House. Her other theatre credits include Malory Towers (Wise Children), The Hartlepool Monkey (Gyre and Gimble/Fuel), Castle (Finborough), and Much Ado About Nothing and Love’s Labour’s Lost (RSC/Chichester/Theatre Royal Haymarket).

Conor Glean plays Lieutenant Mulvaney. His theatre credits include After Life (National Theatre/ Headlong), One Night in Miami (Nottingham Playhouse), Mother Courage and Her Children, Wuthering Heights, Queens of the Coal Age and Scuttlers (Royal Exchange Theatre), and Boys (Pappyshow).

John Hudson returns to the Orange Tree to play Horton – he previously also appeared The Dark River, Hamlet, Diary of a Scoundrel, A Journey to London, Sauce for the Goose, Flora the Red Menace, The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles, The Maitlands, The Memorandum, What the Heart Feels, Family Circles, The Women of Lockerbie. His other theatre credits include, The Deep Blue Sea (Queen’s Theatre/Hornchurch), The Browning Version (Mercury Theatre), A Man for All Seasons (Chichester Festival/Savoy), Woman in Mind (Stephen Joseph Theatre/Vaudeville), Exchange (Nuffield Theatre/ Vaudeville Theatre), Richard III, The Importance of Being Earnest (New Wolsey Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), and The Secret Rapture (Bristol Old Vic). For television, his credits include The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Miser, Make and Break, Oscar Wilde, and Absolutely Fabulous.

Sophie Khan Levy plays Mabel Crum. Her theatre credits include Measure for Measure, As You Like It, Maydays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Christmas Truce, Love’s Labour’s Lost and Love’s Labour’s Won (RSC), Hanna (Arcola Theatre/Papatango), Fracked (Chichester Festival Theatre), 30 (PLAY) and Cymbeline (Belgrade Theatre). Her television credits include Ride.

Philip Labey returns to the Orange Tree to play The Earl of Harpendon. His theatre credits include Shakespeare in Love (Theatre Royal Bath), Posh (Nottingham Playhouse/Salisbury Playhouse), First Episode (Jermyn Street), Not About Heroes (Theatre by the Lake), The History Boys (Mercury Theatre), The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (Belgrade Theatre), The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Rupert Goold 360 Theatre), Peter Pan (New Vic), Hamlet and Henry V (Cambridge Shakespeare Company), and Adam Lives in Theory (Finborough). His television credits include The Power, Vanity Fair, The Royals and Red Dwarf and for film On Chesil Beach and London Wall.

Michael Lumsden returns to the Orange Tree to play The Duke of Ayr and Stirling – he previously also appeared in The Philanderer, Middlemarch, Mary Broome, The Years Between and Mary Goes First. His other theatre credits For Services Rendered (Jermyn Street Theatre), Eastern Star (Tara Arts), The Fitzrovia Hour’s A Christmas Carol (Spiegeltent/The Vaults), Killjoy and Last Confessions of a Scallywag (Mill at Sonning), Our Brother David (Watford Palace), Star Quality (Ian Fricker Productions), Entertaining Angels (Chichester Festival Theatre/UK tour), The Real Thing, How the Other Half Loves, The Secret Rapture and Tom Jones (UK tours), All Things Considered (Stephen Joseph Theatre/Hampstead Theatre), Pravda, Funny Peculiar (Leeds Playhouse), Bedroom Farce (Plymouth Theatre Royal), Who Killed Hilda Murrell? (New Vic, Newcastle under Lyme), Othello (Lyric Hammersmith), Macbeth (Nuffield Theatre), You Never Can Tell and The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Derby Playhouse), Twelfth Night (Redgrave Theatre, Farnham), Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!, A Man for All Seasons, Twelfth Night (Victoria Theatre), and The School for Scandal (Northcott, Exeter). His television credits include Birds of a Feather, Jonathan Creek, William and Catherine: A Royal Romance, House of Anubis, Wire in the Blood, Crisis Command, Barbara, Pig Heart Boy, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Letters to Alice.

Jordan Mifsúd returns to the Orange Tree to play Lieutenant Colbert – he also previously appeared in Shaw Shorts, Misalliance and The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd. His other theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s Globe), Pride and Prejudice (Regent’s Park Open Air/UK tour), The Silver Tassie (National Theatre), Our Ajax (Southwark Playhouse), In Your Image (Soho Theatre), Moth (Bush Theatre/HighTide), Thatcherwrite (Theatre503), 55 Days (Hampstead Theatre), The Two Worlds of Charlie F (Theatre Royal Haymarket). His television credits include Whitstable Pearl, The Bay, and The Looming Tower, and for film; Alone Together, RISK, Kingsman: The Golden Circle and The Siege of Jadotville.

Paul Miller directs. As Artistic Director of the Orange Tree, he has directed French Without Tears (also UK tour with ETT), Losing Venice, Humble Boy, Misalliance, The Philanderer, Widower’s Houses, Poison, The Lottery of Love, Sheppey, Each His Own Wilderness and The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd. He was previously Associate Director at Sheffield Theatres and has directed major productions at the National Theatre, Royal Court, The Old Vic and in the West End.

Orange Tree Theatre

Listings

1 Clarence Street, Richmond, TW9 2SA

Box Office: 020 8940 3633

orangetreetheatre.co.uk

20 November – 8 January

OT On Screen:                  6 – 7 January, 7.30pm

Audio Described:             18 December 2.30pm
Captioned:                        14 December 7.30pm

Tickets:                              From £15

Under 30s:                        £15

ABOUT THE ORANGE TREE THEATRE

The Orange Tree (OT) is an award-winning, independent theatre. Recognised as a powerhouse that creates high-quality productions of new and rediscovered plays, it entertains 70,000 people across the UK every year. In May 2021 the OT reopened with its Recovery Season. As an independent theatre and registered charity that relies on ticket income, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to post significant risk to the OT. To support the theatre’s return to a producing powerhouse at this time, it is raising funds through its Recovery Fund.

The OT’s home in Richmond, South West London, is an intimate theatre with the audience seated all around the stage: watching a performance here is truly a unique experience. We believe in the power of dramatic stories to entertain, thrill and challenge us; plays that enrich our lives by enhancing our understanding of ourselves and each other.

As a registered charity (266128) sitting at the heart of its community, we work with 10,000 people in Richmond and beyond through participatory theatre projects for people of all ages and abilities. The Orange Tree Theatre’s mission is to enable audiences to experience the next generation of theatre talent, experiment with ground-breaking new drama and explore the plays from the past that inspire the theatre-makers of the present. 

Artistic Director Paul Miller   

Executive Director Hanna Streeter

Website orangetreetheatre.co.uk | Email [email protected]

Twitter @OrangeTreeThtr | Facebook/Instagram OrangeTreeTheatre

SEE IT SAFELY

We have been granted the use of Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre’s See It Safely mark. The mark certifies that we are complying with the latest Government and industry COVID-19 guidelines, to ensure the safety of our staff and audiences. You can find out more here https://orangetreetheatre.co.uk/covid-19-safety about the measures put in place ready for your visit, and what you will need to know beforehand.

SEASON AT A GLANCE

RICE

Until 13 November 2021

Mon – Sat 7.30pm (except 13 Oct at 7pm)
Thu & Sat 2.30pm (from 16 Oct) 

Audio Described performance: Sat 13 Nov 2.30pm
Captioned performance: Tue 9 Nov 7.30pm

Tickets from £15, £25, £32

WHILE THE SUN SHINES

20 November 2021 – 8 January 2022 

Mon – Sat 7.30pm (except 24 Nov at 7pm)
Thu & Sat 2.30pm (from 27 Nov)
Additional matinees 24 & 31 Dec at 2.30pm
No performances 25, 27 Dec & 3 Jan
Audio Described performance: Sat 18 Dec 2.30pm
Captioned performance: Tue 14 Dec 7.30pm

Tickets from £15, £25, £32

Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge – until Saturday 23 October 2021

Reviewed by Steph Lott

5*****

‘Groan Ups’ is the latest offering from Mischief (the company that brought us gems such as The Play That Goes Wrong and The Comedy about a Bank Robbery). It’s the story of a group of five friends and follows them from primary school to adulthood.

Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, the show starts with the voices of 2 teachers speaking to the audience as if they were school pupils. Then the 5 main characters come bundling on to the stage: Archie (Daniel Abbott), Simon (Matt Cavendish), Moon (Yolanda Ovide), Spencer (Dharmesh Patel) and Katie (Lauren Samuels). They are part of a year 2 class and they play a game to set the scene of the play which introduces the 5 children.

The opening of the play is a bit confusing as you try and work out who is who, amongst various references to the parents of each of the characters in the play. But it gets steadily better once you get the hang of this as the adult actors play a group of naughty 6-year-olds. There was toilet humour and a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, and the audience very soon were happy to be transported along with the story. I suppose the opening sequence in which the class make an inadvertently smutty presentation about their weekends is a bit “ooer missus” but judging from the sniggering going on around me, the rest of the audience were not averse to a bit of smutty innuendo!

All the scenes take place in a primary school classroom and I absolutely loved the changing size of the chairs and the height of the doors as the children grew older in each scene.

The performers in Kirsty Patrick Ward’s production are all very engaging. We see them change from unruly kids, to typical teenagers, through to young adults at a school reunion, each act becoming stronger as they become older and we get to know them. I particularly enjoyed Dharmesh Patel’s performance as the bright, mischievous trouble-maker Spencer who steals Smarties from the teacher’s desk. I’m not sure how many hamsters met their unfortunate ends at his hand! However it was Jamie Birkett in her dual roles as Chemise/Miss Murray who stole the show for me. Her face and her timing had me and the rest of the audience in absolute stitches! There was some excellent running gags in the show which I won’t repeat for fear of spoiling them but who knew hamsters could have so many names?!

Overall, Groan Ups was a bit clunky at the start but as the characters grew up and the story began to flow as it progressed through the scenes, it quickly grew on me too. If you’re after a laugh-a-minute show densely packed with jokes, witticisms and visual humour, this is the one to go and see. It’s a mix of the funny, the charming, the sad and the painful. But isn’t that true of growing up?

New Victoria Theatre, Woking – until 23 October 2021

4****

Reviewed by Alexandra Sykes

19 months later than planned, Priscilla has finally arrived in Woking in all her pink, glittery glory.

Following 3 friends on their trip across the Australian outback, Priscilla is the jukebox musical with everything you could ever ask for. Drag Queens Mitzi (Edwin Ray), Felicia (Nick Hayes) and Bernadette (Miles Western) sing and dance their way across the outback and meet some interesting characters along the way, from homophobic townsfolk to Bob (Daniel Fletcher) the mechanic who joins them on their adventure. The Divas (Claudia Kariuki, Aiesha Pease and Rosie Glossop) sing their hearts out with their powerful voices and make the audience listen as they sing.

The set works well with a backdrop made to look like the outback and costumes that make the characters stand out, the drag queen outfits are fun and colourful, just like the show. Priscilla the bus is also there in all her glory and is used well in the scenes to add to the story. 

With hit songs from the 70s and 80s, this show will have you singing along as well as laughing at the jokes and well-timed innuendos. Despite being over a year late, this show is worth the wait and a fabulous night out.

Hope Mill Theatre has today released a trailer for the forthcoming production of The Wiz

The video was created by The Umbrella Rooms. The video shows Cherelle Wiliams (Dorothy) and Hope Mill Theatre ‘going green’ as they prepare to be transported to Oz this Christmas

LISTINGS INFORMATION
Hope Mill Theatre in association with
Ameena Hamid Productions presents

The Wiz: The Super Soul
Musical “Wonderful
Wizard of Oz”

Music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls
Book by William F. Brown
Based on The Wizard of Oz
by L. Frank Baum
Original Orchestrations
by Harold Wheeler

24 November 2021 –
16 January 2022

Hope Mill Theatre
Hope Mill
113 Pollard Street
Manchester M4 7JA

7.30pm, matinees Saturday and Sunday

Box Office: 0161 275 9141
(Tuesday – Friday 12pm-6:30pm)
online

https://hopemilltheatre.co.uk/whats-on
Twitter: @Hopemilltheatr1
Facebook: Hope Mill Theatre
www.hopemilltheatre.co.uk

The Yvonne Arnaud – until 23 October 2021

Reviewed by Heather Chalkley

2**

How many ways can you prevent people from leaving a solitary village set by an eerie swamp? The inhabitants of Sleepy Hollow have dark secrets they do not want outsiders to know about. Anyone who visits is unlikely to leave, alive or dead. That is until Ichabod Crane (Sam Jackson) arrives, with the purpose to reveal the truth that underlies their macabre history. Will he survive? Will his logic outwit the legend and witchcraft that the village is steeped in?

So many questions to keep you engaged in this new iteration of an ancient legend.  Although the actors apply their craft with commitment and skill,  you are left sometimes confused and not clear by the script. At times the dialect is spoken at speed which takes concentration to follow. Your attention can wane when the sometimes high pitched dialogue of Widow Papenfuss (Wendi Peters) accosts your ears. I was left cold, not with fright but with boredom.

A good attempt to bring a new slant to the ancient legend. However, the script needs clarity to bring the audience with them.

Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham – until Saturday 23 October 2021

Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh

3***

Manipulation, murder and mayhem, Chicago is a murky parable of injustice. A musical extravaganza, Chicago transports you to the decadent 1920s where on the surface it seems a world away from the one, we live in, however, the paparazzi frenzy, corruption and the courting of the press is as relevant today as it will ever be.

Can the housewife/nightclub dancer, who has murdered her lover, escape hanging with the help of a super slick lawyer and avoid the rivalry of her other cellmates who are just as publicity hungry? The music, the story, the nail-biting conclusion all makes for a rip-roaring ride.

As we walked into the theatre, we were greeted on stage with a spot lit bowler hat on a chair. The audience’s excitement grew. Unfortunately, this production did not live up to expectations. It had timing issues, both in landing the lyrical jokes but also in the dance numbers, which make up such a huge part of Chicago, causing the show to lose some of its sass and finesse. There were also occasions when accents were dropped, all of which caused jarring and jolted us out of the world of Chicago.

This aside there were some outstanding performances from most of the cast and the live band, who were on stage throughout, brought the theatre to life. The Band played the audience out and had and an incredible vibe about them. We were dancing down the aisles, singing and clapping, in a covid friendly manner of course.

Joel Montague, who played the cuckold husband Amos Hart, superbly, was an absolute treat. Combining humour and pathos, he blew us away with his performance of Mr Cellophane.

All in all, the elements to make this an excellent production of Chicago are there. I feel with a bit more cohesion it would be amazing. Nailing the dance numbers, landing the jokes, and holding the accents would elevate this show to where it ought to be