Hull New Theatre – until 2 November 2019

Reviewed by Catherine McWilliams

5*****

Bill Kenwright’s production of Cabaret is satisfyingly dark, tugging at every emotion.

I first saw Cabaret on stage in the 1970s in Sheffield and have seen various productions since, but this is the one that will stay with me, the production where all the stories are very complete and every part of the jigsaw fits together beautifully, with no cast member overshadowing the story.

Kander and Ebb’s musical is based on a stage play by John Van Druten, which in turn is based on Christopher Isherwood’s novel “Goodbye to Berlin”. It is set in Berlin in 1930-31, this is a Berlin of decadence, where anything goes, where “no-one should have to explain anything”. Three stories interplay, the first is the arrival of the American writer Cliff Bradshaw (Charles Hagerty) and his meeting and subsequent relationship with Sally Bowles (Kara Lily Hayworth); the second is the bittersweet relationship of Fraulein Schneider (Anita Harris) and Herr Schultz (James Paterson), and in the background is the story of Germany itself and the rise of the Nazi party. The Kit Kat Club and its Emcee (John Partridge) provide the decadence and commentary on the changing world of Berlin.

John Partridge is a stunning Emcee, from the outset when he appears in the camera lens to sing “Wilkommen”, he has the audience in the palm of his hands. He is in turns naughty and very dark and gave us the rawest emotion I have seen on stage. His voice is fabulous. This is a very clever performance as he never overshadows the stories, yet is always the centre of the action when he is on stage.

Unlike the film version of Cabaret Sally Bowles is not the central character. Kara Lily Hayworth’s Sally Bowles is vulnerable and needy and also ultimately rather shallow. This is an often understated performance, played with quietness and stillness. Her voice is beautiful and her performance of “Maybe this time” was achingly beautiful.

Charles Hagerty is an excellent Cliff Bradshaw, as he slowly begins to understand what is happening in the Berlin he has come to love and his hopes are dashed. He too has a beautiful voice.

Anita Harris is a wonderful Fraulein Schneider and James Paterson is perfect as Herr Schultz. They interact beautifully on the stage, providing a gentle humour at first and then so much emotion. Their songs were beautifully delivered.

Basienka Blake as Fraulein Kost gave me goosebumps with her reprise of “Tomorrow belongs to me”, a truly shocking moment.

The music is simply stunning, and Phil Cornwell and his band did a superb job. The Band’s interaction with the Emcee at the beginning of the second act was great.

Javier De Frutos’ choreography was outstanding and beautifully performed by the cast, the timing was superb. All the dancing in the Kit Kat Club was fabulous. I was particularly taken by the dancing in the background at the party and the very clever staging of “My Mother“, seen from backstage.

Everything comes together beautifully in this production, music, choreography, set, lighting and an incredible cast telling an enthralling story. This is often raunchy and naughty and not for the easily offended, but it has an important message about tolerance and “live and let live”.

This was like seeing Cabaret for the first time – I have fallen in love with it all over again. Funny, sad, naughty and ultimately thought provoking, this is a fabulous night out at the theatre.

GARETH GATES

TO STAR IN NEW UK TOUR OF FOOTLOOSE

Following two critically acclaimed tours and huge popular demand, Footloose The Musical is back and better than ever!  The musical is set to burst back onto stage in 2020 opening at the New Wimbledon Theatre 24 April 2020 – before an extensive UK tour. With additional casting to follow, it is announced that Gareth Gates will reprise his role as Willard.

Gareth Gates rose to fame through the inaugural series of Pop Idol in 2002, going on to sell over 5 million records worldwide and have hits across the globe. His version of Unchained Melody sold over a million copies in the UK and is the 3rd best-selling single of the Noughties. Gareth is also the youngest ever-male solo artist to debut at number 1. More recently Gareth has enjoyed a successful career on stage, with credits including Les Misérables, Legally Blonde and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. In 2014 Gareth appeared in the final series of Dancing on Ice, and joined boyband 5th Story as part of ITV’s second series of The Big Reunion, touring arenas with bands including Blue and Five.

Gareth says “I’m thrilled to be back playing the role of Willard in the 2020 UK tour of Footloose. I had so much fun the first time around that I jumped at the chance to play such an exciting role again. I was born in 1984, the year ‘Footloose’ the movie was first released; I used to watch the movie lots as a kid not knowing some years later I’d be playing the ‘cowboy that can’t dance’ on stages up and down the country. I’m a terrible dancer, so it’s pretty much Life imitating Art!”

“The show is packed with classic 80s hits – and audiences get to see a little more of me than they bargained for! I can’t wait to be back on tour with such an incredible show”

City boy Ren thinks life is bad enough when he’s forced to move to a rural backwater in America. But his world comes to a standstill when he arrives at Bomont to find dancing and rock music are banned. Taking matters into his own hands, soon Ren has all hell breaking loose and the whole town on its feet. Based on the 1980s screen sensation which took the world by storm, Footloose The Musical sizzles with spirit, fun and the best in UK musical talent. With cutting edge modern choreography, you’ll enjoy classic 80s hits including Holding Out for a Hero, Almost Paradise, Let’s Hear It For The Boy and of course the unforgettable title track Footloose

Footloose The Musical will be presented by Selladoor Productions in association with Runaway Entertainment, and will be directed by Racky Plews, with choreography from Matt Cole, musical supervision by Mark Crossland and design by Sara Perks. 

Everybody cut loose and join Gareth on stage next year for a night of dazzling excitement music and dancing!  Tickets are on sale on 30 October – for full listings visit

https://www.selladoor.com/shows/whats-on/footloose-the-musical-2020/about

Footloose on Social Media

facebook.com/FootlooseTour

twitter.com/FootlooseTour

instagram.com/FootlooseTour

#EverybodyCutLoose

LISTINGS

24 April 2020  New Wimbledon Theatre*

https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-wimbledon-theatre/

Telephone Booking : 0844 871 7646

Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge.

04 May 2020               Birmingham Alexandra Theatre*

https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/alexandra-theatre-birmingham/

Telephone Booking : 0844 871 3011

Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge.

18 May 2020               Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple*

https://www.queenstheatre-barnstaple.com/your-visit/

Box Office:  01271 316 523

25 May 2020               Sunderland Empire

https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/sunderland-empire/

Telephone Booking: 0844 871 3022

Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge.

01 June 2020   Llandudno Venue Cymru*

https://venuecymru.co.uk/

Box office: 01492 872000

08 June 2020   Aberdeen His Majesty’s*

https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/his-majestys-theatre/

01224 641122

22 June 2020   Brighton Theatre Royal

https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-brighton/

Telephone Booking : 0844 871 7650

Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge.

29 June 2020   Milton Keynes Theatre

https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre/

Telephone Booking : 0844 871 7652

Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge.

06 July 2020    Peterborough New Theatre

Home Page

Box Office: 01733 852 992

13 July 2020    Malvern Theatre

https://www.malvern-theatres.co.uk

BOX OFFICE – 01684 892277

20 July 2020    Blackpool Opera House

www.wgbpl.co.uk

Box Office: 0844 856 1111*

*Calls to 0844s cost 7p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge.

27 July 2020    Edinburgh Playhouse

https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/edinburgh-playhouse/

Telephone Booking: 0844 871 3014

Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge.

03 August 2020          Glasgow King’s Theatre*

https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre-glasgow/

Telephone Booking: 0844 871 7648

Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge.

With Additional venues TBC

*Please note Gareth Gates will not be performing on 24th and 25th March/ 29th – 6th April / 5th – 9th May / 13th – 17th May / 6th – 12th June / 10^th – 15^th August

Signal Theatre Company in association with Park Theatre present
MARTHA, JOSIE AND THE

CHINESE ELVIS

By Charlotte Jones

11 Dec 2019 – 4 Jan 2020 | Park Theatre

Casting has been confirmed for Charlotte Jones’ (Humble Boy – National Theatre) hilarious and heartfelt comedy, Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis at Park Theatre. Winner of the 1998 Pearson Best Play Award, this marks the play’s twenty-first anniversary and first ever London run. The production stars Sioned Jones, Charlie Bence, Kellie Batchelor, Andrew P Stephen, Matt Lim and Jessica Forrest. It is directed by Robert Wolstenholme.

Josie’s tired. Tired of the Bolton winter. Tired of looking after daydreaming daughter Brenda-Marie. Tired of working as a dominatrix to make ends meet. Too tired to celebrate turning forty.

But her favourite client Lionel insists on a birthday party and, knowing Josie’s a huge Elvis fan, invites a very special guest. Just as hips start swinging, somebody no-one expected arrives and skeletons come tumbling out of the closet…  

At its heart this hilarious and heartfelt comedy explores finding a place to fit in. Sweet yet saucy, it’s the perfect ‘adults only’ alternative Christmas treat.  

Sioned Jones plays Martha. She has appeared in 13, Women Beware Women, All’s Well That Ends Well, Oedipus and Never So Good (National Theatre) and in A Woman of No Importance, Shakespeare In Love, Shadowlands, The Letter, Glorious! and Tolstoy (West End). Numerous other theatre credits include an Offie nominated performance in Ghost About the House (King’s Head), Cruella De Vil in the musical of 101 Dalmatians (Wellingborough), Lettice & Lovage (Menier) and Henry VI (Wales Millennium Centre). Television appearances include: Cadfael (ITV), Family Affairs (Channel 5) and The Bill (ITV).

Charlie Bence plays Brenda-Marie, Josie’s daughter who has learning difficulties. Charlie graduated from Mountview in summer 2019. Before that, they appeared in Our Benny (Liverpool Empire), as the Wicked Queen in Snow White (Stiwt Theatre, Wrexham) and in Beauty and the Beast (Chateau Chalain, France).

Kellie Batchelor plays Josie. Kellie is co-founder of Signal Theatre Company for whom she’s played Phyllis in Sellotape Sisters, Jackie in Shang-a-Lang, Sarah in A Place at the Table, Cherry in The Night Before Christmas, Cath in Here and Amanda in Private Lives, all of which she also co-produced. Other theatre includes: Somewhere Over The Westway, Ready, Steady, Date and Octopus Pie (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Under the Blue Sky and Closer (Soho Theatre Studio), Sexual Perversity in Chicago (Canal Café), The Snow Queen (Chelsea Centre) and Kingdom on Earth (Landor).

Andrew P Stephen plays Lionel. Andrew has appeared in Elling, Life x3, Absurd Person Singular and The Woman in Black (West End). Other theatre includes: The Acedian Pirates (Theatre 503), Foreplay (The King’s Head), Madame Bovary (Hope) and UK tours of Gasping, Life x3, Arsenic & Old Lace, Strangers on a Train, Funny Peculiar, Absurd Person Singular, Duet For One and The Woman in Black. Andrew is also a regular with the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival, appearing in thirteen seasons, playing Hamlet, Macbeth, Iago, Petruchio, Benedick, Puck, Bottom, Shylock, Angelo, Pericles, Leontes, Prospero, Antony and Richard III.

Matt Lim plays Timothy. He recently appeared in the Royal Exchange/Birmingham Rep touring production From Shore to Shore and in Break of Noon (Finborough Theatre). He’s appeared on TV in Doctors (BBC) and 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (Indigo Films)and in the film A Confusion of Tongues (Grand Independent). Matt is also a comedian and writer, whose first full play It’s Complicated was shortlisted for the Cambridge Footlights’ Harry Porter Prize and enjoyed successful runs in both Edinburgh and London; he also wrote Way Back, a poignant piece about suicide (Pleasance London).

The cast is completed by Jessica Forrest who plays Louise. Jessica made her acting debut playing Leanne Holiday in Hollyoaks (Channel 4), staying for over three years. Other TV includes: The Cruise and Coronation Street (ITV), as well as regular character Clare on the popular children’s show Dani’s Castle (CBBC). In theatre, Jessica recently toured in Chip Shop Chips, an immersive production set in a fish and chip shop. As a fan of the Edinburgh Fringe, she’s also found herself writing and performing as half of the comedy double act Trolley Girls.

Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis is directed by Robert Wolstenholme. Robert is co-founder of Signal Theatre Company, for whom he directed Sellotape Sisters (The Warren, Brighton/Tristan Bates), Shang-a-Lang (King’s Head), A Place at the Table (Tristan Bates), The Night Before Christmas (Hen & Chickens/Bike Shed, Exeter), Here (Tristan Bates) and Private Lives (Canal Café) all of which he also produced. Other directing includes: Trying and Tender Soup (New Diorama), Brotherly Love (Counting House, Edinburgh), Gilbert is Dead (Hoxton Hall), One Minute (Courtyard), Guerilla/Whore (Tabard), The Unattended (Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh), Bash (Hen & Chickens), Closer (Landor), Road (Croydon Clocktower), Love & Understanding and Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down (Etcetera), Octopus Pie (Landor & Edinburgh), Dracula (Drayton Court), Mother Tongue (Oval House) and Sleeping Nightie (White Bear); Our Town, Caucasian Chalk Circle, Arabian Nights and How to Disappear Completely and Never be Found (Drama Studio, London) and Can You Keep a Secret? (Croydon Youth Theatre), as well as numerous short plays and rehearsed readings including for/at the Arcola, the Bush, the Finborough, Southwark Playhouse, the Pleasance, Old Vic/New Voices, SOAS and at Soho Theatre for Amnesty International.

www.parktheatre.co.uk

Box office: 020 7870 6876*

JODIE MCNEE AND DANNY LEE WYNTER CAST IN FAUSTUS: THAT DAMNED WOMAN

A Headlong and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre co-production, 
in association with Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Jodie McNee (Venice Preserved, Anatomy of a Suicide) and Danny Lee Wynter (The Maids, Comus) have been cast in Faustus: That Damned Woman, a new play from award-winning playwright and theatre maker Chris Bush (Standing at the Sky’s Edge), directed by Caroline Byrne (All’s Well That Ends Well). Jodie McNee will play the title role of Johanna Faustus with Danny Lee Wynter cast as Mephistopheles. This is the first work to be commissioned as part of Headlong and the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre’s long-term commitment to commissioning and producing work of scale by women playwrights.

Faustus: That Damned Woman will premiere at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre on 22 January 2020 before playing at Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 26 February 2020. The production will then tour throughout the Spring visiting Bristol Old Vic, Leeds Playhouse and Northern Stage from March to April 2020.

Drawing on the works of Marlowe, Goethe, and other versions of the Faustus myth, Chris’ urgent reimagining asks what we must sacrifice to achieve greatness and the legacy that we leave behind.

“My name is Johanna Faustus. I was born almost four hundred years ago.
I gave my soul to achieve the impossible.
I watched this city grow sick and I swore to heal it.
I might be damned, but I would save the world to spite the Devil.”

Caroline Byrne directs this radical new work in which the iconic character of Faustus is reimagined as a woman who makes the ultimate sacrifice to traverse centuries and alter the course of history. The creative team include set designer Ana Inés Jabares-Pita, costume designer Line Bech, lighting designer Richard Howell, sound and composition designer Giles Thomas, video and projection designer Ian William Galloway, Movement Director Shelley Maxwell and casting director Annelie Powell CDG. Further casting will be announced shortly.

Jodie McNee is a critically acclaimed actress known for her work on stage and screen. Her extensive theatre credits include Venice Preserved (RSC), Anatomy Of A Suicide (Royal Court Theatre), The Night Watch, Hamlet, Orpheus Descending, A Taste of Honey (Royal Exchange, Manchester); An Oak Tree, Our Country’s Good, Three Winters (National Theatre); Game (Almeida); A Life of Galileo, Written on the Heart, Measure for Measure (RSC); Hobson’s Choice (Regent’s Park Open Air); Canary, When We Are Married, Twelfth Night (Liverpool Everyman Playhouse); The Empty Quarter (Hampstead Theatre); When We are Married (West End); The Frontline, King Lear (Shakespeare’s Globe); Seagull, Knives in Hens, Double Portrait, Jenufer (Arcola) Cymbeline, The Changeling (Barbican/ International tour); Mother Courage, This Happy Breed (ETT) and The Burial at Thebes (Playhouse, Nottingham).  

Jodie’s television credits include Britannia series 1 & 2, Vera, Little Boy Blue, Ripper Street, Criminal Justice, Poirot and The Liverpool Nativity. Her film credits include Judy, Official Secrets, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool and The Physician, whilst her radio credits include Zola: Blood Season and With Great Pleasure.

Danny Lee Wynter is an actor known for his work across stage and screen. He is the founder of the campaign and charity Act For Change. Danny’s theatre credits include The Maids (HOME, Manchester), Cell Mates (Hampstead Theatre), Forty Years On (Chichester Festival Theatre), Deathwatch (The Print Room), The Glass Menagerie (Nuffield Southampton), Much Ado About Nothing (Old Vic), St John’s Night (Jermyn Street Theatre), The Miser (Manchester Royal Exchange),  The Changing Room (Royal Court Theatre), Comus, Bedlam, Henry IV Part II, Henry IV Part 1, King Lear, The Frontline (Shakespeare’s Globe).

Danny’s TV and film credits include the lead in Stephen Polaikoff’s Joe’s Palace & Capturing Mary, Luther, Hot Fuzz, Walliams and Friend, The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth, Partners in Crime, Holby City, Mr Stink, Episodes, Beat Girl, Trial and Retribution and the forthcoming film Censor.

THE MORMONS ARE COMING TO CARDIFF!

PUBLIC BOOKING OPENS ON WEDNESDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2019

“The best musical of this century.”

Ben Brantley, The New York Times

The Book of Mormon, Broadway’s smash-hitmusical written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez, is coming to the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff next year from Tuesday 3 November 2020.

Public booking  for the Tony®, Olivier® and Grammy® award-winning show will open at 10am on Wednesday 6 November 2019 at www.wmc.org.uk and www.thebookofmormonmusical.com, and at the Wales Millennium Centre box office.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone are the creators of the Emmy and Peabody award-winning television show, South Park, now in its twenty second season, and the feature films South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and Team America: World Police.

Robert Lopez co-created the Broadway musical Avenue Q and co-wrote the songs for Disney’s Frozen and Coco. He is one of only fifteen artists to win all four major entertainment awards – Emmy®, Grammy®, Oscar® and Tony® Awards.   

The Book of Mormon follows a pair of Mormon boys sent on a mission to a place that’s a long way from their home in Salt Lake City.

Since making its world premiere in March 2011 at New York’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre, where it won nine Tony® Awards, including Best Musical, The Book of Mormon has been performed on three continents and won over thirty international awards. The musical has smashed long-standing box office records in New York, London, Melbourne, Sydney and cities across the U.S.

The London production opened in February 2013, winning four Olivier Awards® including Best New Musical, and breaking the record for the highest single day of sales in West End history. It has sold out every one of its 2783 performances to date at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

Book, Music and Lyrics are by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone.  Directed by Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, The Book of Mormon has choreography by Casey Nicholaw, set design by Scott Pask, costume design by Ann Roth, lighting design by Brian MacDevitt, sound design by Brian Ronan, orchestrations by Larry Hochman and Stephen Oremus and music supervision and vocal arrangements by Stephen Oremus.

The Book of Mormon is produced by Anne Garefino, Scott Rudin, Important Musicals and Sonia Friedman Productions.

Edinburgh Playhouse – until 2 November 2019

Reviewed by Manetta McIntosh

5*****

Feeling Dirty in a Good Way

Call the fire brigade, Duncan James (Frank N Furter) has set the Theatre on fire, what a way to warm the cockles on a cold Autumn night. For anyone who did not know that Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show was in Edinburgh this week, we do not usually have as many burly men walking so openly in stockings and suspenders.

This delightful anti-panto tells the story of a clean-cut couple called Brad (James Darch) and Janet (Joanne Clifton) who are travelling back from a wedding when their car breaks down, through the darkness they see a light – where? I hear you cry – ‘Over at the Frankenstein Place‘. They are greeted by the creepy butler Riff Raff (Kristian Lavercombe) and his sister Magenta (Laura Harrison) and just want the use of a phone and to dry off, but they get sooooooo much more than they bargained for. Brad and Janet soon have their relationship tested by the sassy, saucy, sensual inhabitants led by Frank N Furter. Duncan James does a superb job in the role made famous by Tim Curry, his muscular physique looks amazing in a basque, did I mention he is a sweet transvestite scientist? Joanne Clifton and James Darch are delightfully innocent…until they aren’t!! Their vocals were on point as was their comic timing, there were a couple of clever dance moves in there which is not surprising as some people might know Joanne from Strictly Come Dancing.

The show is narrated by Phillip Franks, who delivers some excellent pauses in the script allowing the audience to punctuate with innuendo in the form of heckling. This is a ‘thing’ so don’t get offended if it’s you are a RHS virgin, Phillip has some very clever retorts at the ready. If you are easily offended, then perhaps this is not the show for you, the audience do not hold any punches.

Frank, unable to satiate his sexual appetite, decides to make himself a man…in only 7 days…enter Rocky (an opportunity for audience heckling if ever I saw one) played by Callum Evans. He is a perfect specimen, fully ripped beach body but a little naive – well he technically is only a day old. He performs a couple of gymnastic moves that will have you mourning the core muscle strength you never had. What follows is a concentrated series of relationship tests; infidelity, jealousy, envy which results in some hilarious comic moments but eventually Frank goes too far. Riff Raff and Magenta appear as…well I won’t spoil it if you haven’t seen it, but it does not end well for most. Brad and Janet weigh up their options and still ride off into the sunset, or sunrise, it felt like I’d entered a Time Warp again!!!

Performances which cannot go by unmentioned; Columbia (Miracle Chance) who may not have had a large part, but she made every moment count. Her exit was like someone blowing up a balloon and then letting go before they could tie it off. Eddie (Ross Chisari) had us dancing in the aisles with Hot Patootie Bless My Soul and may have eventually lost his head but he doubled up as Dr Scott so was still able to make an impact. The supporting Phantoms and the Usherette should be mentioned as well as it would not have worked so well without them. From set and costume design to the amazing direction, this show is timeless and 40+ years later it is still filling theatres.

Anyone who may have been feeling too self-conscious to dance through the performances made up for it during the encore. Time Warp and Sweet Transvestite had everyone up on their feet, although they never sat down following the standing ovation for this incredible performance. It was hot, hot, hot and I would happily watch every performance.

Grand Opera House, York until 2 November 2019

Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

4****

Written by Willy Russell, Blood Brothers is the tragic tale of twins, separated at birth, who then grow up on different sides of the tracks, only to come back together with disastrous consequences. Mrs Johnstone is left abandoned with 7 kids by her deadbeat husband, to find out that she has twins on the way. She loves her children, but cannot support them, until she starts work as a cleaner for Mrs Lyons, who comes up with suggestion of raising one of the twins as her own. What follows is a story about jealousy and paranoia, which leads to devastating consequences.

We follow Mickey, Alexander Patmore and Eddie, Joel Benedict, through the years. Not bought up together they still seem to be drawn to each other, that invisible bond that only twins have. Not knowing they are related, they become Blood Brothers, which only results in heartache. Patmore is so thoroughly convincing as the 7 year old, but nearly 8, Mickey. We see him grow up, where you can believe that all is ok in the world, before he makes a stupid mistake that results despair and tragedy. Benedict as the posh Eddie, in awe of his super cool best friend Mikey, who is the complete opposite and the perfect foil for Mickey. Throughout their time together on stage you couldn’t help yourself either laughing or crying, through the brilliant comedy and the emotional rollercoaster that their relationship took us on.

Lyn Paul, voted the definitive Mrs Johnstone and after 20 odd years playing the part on and off, is completing her final tour. At the age of 70 she may be too old to portray the role, but she certainly packs a punch and still delivers a strong powerful performance. The emotion she portrays is outstanding, and you can really feel the torment in every note she sings.

One of the most important characters on stage is the Narrator, who is virtually always on stage. Robbie Scotcher delivers a strong performance guiding us through the tale with just the right amount of vigour and devilish darkness. The entire cast are quite excellent in their storytelling, often playing various characters throughout. Tim Churchill morphing into the doctor from the milkman, provided us the audience with great merriment.

Blood Brothers is such a moving musical, emotionally gripping. We laughed, we cried and we jumped in our seats, more than once, a real rollercoaster of a story. It was good to see a full theatre on a cold Monday evening and it thoroughly deserved the standing ovation that it received. A must see for all.

New Victoria Theatre, Woking – until 2 November 2019

Reviewed by Becky Doyle

3***

I had been so looking forward to watching this play, an adaptation of a film that I thoroughly enjoyed and one that had me on the edge of my seat. This show was unfortunately the complete opposite of what I was expecting. I wasn’t captivated by the story nor was I blown away by the suspense or action.

Maybe if I had not seen the film then this review would be different. One positive I can present was that of the acting of Samantha Womack who played the drink loving Rachel Watson, she played the candidate well and with a believable presence, remaining in character throughout as a drunk scorned ex wife.

It is appreciated that the stage was used well for the multiple locations and that of being on the train I thought was particularly clever moving swiftly between each scene and each location with the whole space being utilised and it appeared that it didn’t matter in which part of the audience you sat you would be able to see the full stage.

After being convinced to return for the second half, the story moved quickly and I felt that again, if I hadn’t seen the film or read the book I wouldn’t understand how we got to the conclusion that we had. How did Rachel suddenly realise that Tom had been with Megan? Other than Scott advising that Megan had stopped working as the babysitter? Finally, the final scene that saw the demise of Tom was much less dramatic than again I was hoping for. We had witnessed the empowerment of Rachel and to an extent Anna yet it was completed very quickly and without much focus.

Overall, would I recommend this show? Not to anyone who has read the book or watched the film. Though I can imagine that if this hadn’t been the case it would have been a little more thrilling and enjoyable, but even that I’m not sure of.

Leeds Playhouse – until 2 November 2019

Reviewed By Dawn Smallwood

5*****

The newly refurbished Leeds Playhouse receives Northern Ballet’s Dracula and is the first production to be hosted in the revamped Quarry Theatre. Dracula is the company’s revival since this production first premiered four years ago at the very same venue.

Many know Dracula; a dark Gothic vampire classic with the per se themes and connections and many adaptations, film and stage, have been created, aired and staged. David Nixon, the artistic director, commits to focussing on two key themes, humanity and love which forgoes the definitive and prescriptive conventions around good and evil, dark and light and right and wrong. This thorough focus doesn’t however compromise the well known consensus and spirit of the story.

Northern Ballet takes pride in refreshing every revival since its first ever production and this one sees a change to the opening scenes, its new costumes and also the new staging is bolder and more contrasting. Opportunities are given for each artist/dancer to uniquely interpret and portray their given roles in each performance which certainly adds dimension, dynamics and ownership to this production.

Set to Alfred Schnittke’s wonderful musical score with additional pieces from Arvo Pärt, Sergei Rachmaninov and Michael Daugherty; this production comes alive with drama and projection from the cast with choreographic and co-ordinated integrated movement and dance. Ali Allen’s dark and stunning stage sets, combined with Tim Mitchell’s sombre but ingenious lighting and Nixon’s costumes, compliments the performance of dancing and storytelling.

The most memorable scene must be the seductive draw and love between Dracula (Javier Torres) and Mina (Abigail Prudames). They perform beautifully, intimately, collectively in slow mirrored sequences to Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel. The musical composition connects both characters longingly and lovingly to universal boundaries which are neither conditional nor conventional.

Under the direction of Nixon, the cast has successfully delivered with Torres and Prudames leading the way and support from Antoinette Brooks-Daw and Lorenzo Trossello as Lucy and Jonathan respectively. Dracula has a total focus from beginning to end. It has everything from intricate dancing, dramatic storytelling, emotional expression and ecstatic entertainment.

This production offers more than just a story or dancing with a universal need of love and humanity. It is encouraging to see that more and more people are able to access Dracula this season as it is scheduled to be screened live in cinemas nationwide this Halloween.

Theatre Royal Bath Productions presents
GOD OF CARNAGE
by Yasmina Reza
Directed by Lindsay Posner

• 10TH ANNIVERSARY HIT PRODUCTION OF YASMINA REZA’S AWARD-WINNING FARCE GOD OF CARNAGE TO RETURN FOR 2020 UK TOUR, DIRECTED BY LINDSAY POSNER
   
• DOWNTON ABBEY’S ELIZABETH MCGOVERN AND OLIVIER AWARD NOMINATED NIGEL LINDSAY WILL REPRISE STAR ROLES WITH SAMANTHA SPIRO AND SIMON PAISLEY DAY JOINING THE CAST
   
• THE TOUR WILL OPEN IN GUILDFORD ON 14 JANUARY AND VISIT BATH, GLASGOW, CAMBRIDGE AND KINGSTON THROUGH TO 15 FEBRUARY 2020

Following an acclaimed run as part of its Summer Season 2018, Theatre Royal Bath Productions is delighted to announced the return of its hit comedy production of Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage for a UK tour starting in January 2020. Elizabeth McGovern, fresh from starring in the celebrated Downton Abbey film, reprises her dazzling performance as Veronica with Nigel Lindsay back as her bluff husband Michael. Directed by Lindsay Posner, the production welcomes two-time Olivier Award-winning actress Samantha Spiro who will play Annette and Simon Paisley Day, recently seen in Ralegh: The Treason Trial at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, in the role of husband, Alan.

God of Carnage will run at Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre (14 – 18 January 2020), Theatre Royal Bath (20 – 25 January), Theatre Royal Glasgow (27 January – 1 February), Cambridge Arts Theatre (3 – 8 February) and Rose Theatre Kingston (10 – 15 February).

When 11-year-old Ferdinand hits 11-year-old Bruno with a stick in a playground punch-up and knocks out two of his teeth, the combatants’ enlightened parents decide to meet to talk things over civilly. But once the niceties are done with and the drink starts flowing, it is the parents who turn into spoiled brats.

God of Carnage is a ruthlessly comic study of middle-class parenting. Originally written in French, the play was translated by Christopher Hampton in 2008. The production went on to win the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and the Tony Award for Best New Play.

Elizabeth McGovern is well known for her Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominated role as Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey. She has also played Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime for which she received an Academy Award nomination. Her theatre credits include Broadway productions of Time and the Conways, Hamlet and Love Letters. Other film and television credits include Ordinary People, Once Upon a Time in America, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Wings of the Dove.

Nigel Lindsay is an Olivier Award nominated actor. His numerous television credits include the ITV series Victoria, Spooks, White Gold and The Capture. For film he has appeared in Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa and Four Lions, for which he was nominated for Best British Comedy Performance in Film at the British Comedy Awards. His many stage credits include the title role in Shrek the Musical for which he was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical, Guys and Dolls (West End), Harrogate (Royal Court), A Small Family Business (National Theatre), Broken Glass (Tricycle Theatre) and Awake and Sing (Almeida).

Samantha Spiro is a two-time Oliver Award-winning actress. Her numerous television credits include her British Comedy Award-winning role in Grandma’s House, Game of Thrones and Cold Feet. She recently appeared on stage in Lady Windermere’s Fan (West End). Previous credits include Guys and Dolls (West End), Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe), her Olivier Award winning title role in Hello, Dolly! and Mary Flynn in Merrily We Roll Along which also saw her receive the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Simon Paisley Day’s recent screen credits include Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Born A King, The Crown, Brexit: The Uncivil War and Victoria & Abdul. He previously appeared at Bath in Richard Eyre’s Private Lives. Further stage credits include Twelfth Night (National Theatre), The Lorax (Old Vic), West End productions of Anything Goes, The Philanthropist, The 39 Steps and Private Lives, the title role in Timon of Athens (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Low Road and The Ugly One (Royal Court).

Yasmina Reza has written numerous plays including Olivier and Tony Award winning God of Carnage, Art, The Unexpected Man and The Passage of Winter.  She has also written novels Hammerklavier, Desolation, Adam Haberberg, Happy are The Happy and Babylone and the screenplay for Carnage.

Lindsay Posner’s career includes positions as Associate Director of Royal Court Theatre, Artistic Director of Royal Court Theatre Upstairs and Deputy Director for main house.  Additional credits include Olivier nominated productions of A View from the Bridge (Duke of York’s Theatre) and Carousel (Churchill Theatre, UK Tour and Savoy Theatre) as well as The Lie (Menier Chocolate Factory), The Truth (Menier Chocolate Factory, Wyndham’s), Hayfever (Theatre Royal Bath/West End) and The Winslow Boy (Roundabout Theatre, New York; Old Vic Theatre). Television credits include Two Oranges and a Mango and The Maitlands.

The 10th anniversary production of God of Carnage was staged last year in Artistic Director Jonathan Church’s 2018 Summer Season at Theatre Royal Bath. It will mark the third revival from the season following the critically acclaimed West End transfer of The Price at the Wyndham’s Theatre and Switzerland at the Ambassadors Theatre. The 2019 Summer Season has also proved hugely successful and will soon see the return of Blithe Spirit starring Jennifer Saunders in a UK tour from 22 January 2020 and a strictly limited West End run at the Duke of York’s Theatre from 5 March – 11 April 2020.

Listings

Theatre Royal Bath Productions presents
God of Carnage
By Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Lindsay Posner
Designed by Peter McKintosh

Tuesday 14 January – Saturday 18 January 2020
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
Millbrook, Guildford, Surrey GU1 3UX
Box Office: 01483 440 000
www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk

Monday 20 – Saturday 25 January 2020
Theatre Royal Bath
Sawclose, Bath BA1 1ET
Box Office: 01225 448 844                
www.theatreroyal.org.uk

Monday 27 January – Saturday 1 February 2020
Theatre Royal Glasgow
282 Hope Street, Glasgow, G2 3QA
Box Office: 08448 717 647
www.atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-glasgow/

Monday 3 – Saturday 8 February 2020
Cambridge Arts Theatre 
6 St Edward’s Passage, Cambridge CB2 3PJ
Box Office: 01223 503 333
www.cambridgeartstheatre.com 

Monday  10 – Saturday 15 February 2020
Rose Theatre, Kingston 
24-26 High St, Kingston upon Thames KT1 1HL
Box Office: 02081 740 090
www.rosetheatrekingston.org/