theatre
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The Curious Incident of the dog – Just awe-inspiring.
Every so often (if I am are truly lucky) I get to experience a piece of theatre that leaves me totally awestruck. Last night, at Birmingham’s stunning Rep Theatre, was just one of the those nights. The Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep’s latest production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, a play based on the novel by Mark Haddon, is one of the most astounding pieces of theatre I have ever watched. With a star-making central performance by the astonishing Alex Keenan, and an ensemble cast that would be hard to beat, I left the theatre both laughing and crying about what I had watched. The…
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Blood Brothers at the Wolverhampton Grand
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The Last Laugh Is A Perfect Tribute To Comic Genius
Picture the scene. An unknown theatre somewhere in England. Backstage a dressing room door opens and a huge man walks in, in his underpants, wearing giant chicken feet. ‘My feet smell fowl’ he says, and we’re off on a trip down classic comedy memory lane. This is the opening of The Last Laugh, a one act play by Paul Hendy that opened at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre last night. The man in the chicken feet is Tommy Cooper, here played by the utterly brilliant Damian Williams, and soon he will be joined by two more comic geniuses. First is Bob Monkhouse, the king of sardonic quick with, brought to life…
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Sweeney Todd At The Rep Is Gothically Good.
The notorious tale of Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street is quite rightly considered a modern masterpiece of musical theatre. The Stephen Sondheim musical classic is a dark and macabre tale of murder, madness and cannibalism, all held together by a glorious score and just a little humour. The newest production, directed by Joe Wright, is currently wowing audiences at the Birmingham Rep, and last night I went to see it and was frankly astounded by its absolute brilliance and horror. The show has the power to thrill and horrify an audience at the same time. Benjamin Barnes has just arrived back in London, 15 years after being…
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Richard lll Is A Triumph At The Gatehouse Theatre
Richard lll is arguably the greatest of Shakespeare’s history plays. It brings to an end the saga of the War of the Roses, whilst telling the sordid story of the last, and certainly the most infamous, of the Plantagenet kings. It is hard to think how a production could make this play feel new as it is just so well known and loved. Last night, however, the Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford, did just that, turning the 15th century story into one set in the 1930’s, in the grounds of a bombed out pub, with the protagonists very much resembling the gangs of the Peaky Blinders. It worked brilliantly, with Richard lll…
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On Tuesdays We Love Mean Girls
Mean Girls, the iconic film that made a star of Lindsey Lohan, is now a fun and frothy musical that is absolutely ‘fetch’. It has arrived in Wolverhampton for a run at the Grand this week, and it truly is the ultimate Summer musical with great songs, cool bitchy performances and a killer of a storyline thst has a lot to say about friendships and the cult of High School cliques. Cady Herron comes to a high school in America fresh from living and home schooling in Kenya. She is adopted by Janis and Damian, who promise to help her find her tribe, but to the surprise of everyone she…
