theatre
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An Evening Without Kate Bush – Review
She’s not there – but you are. By there I mean the Birmingham Rep theatre, and by she, I mean the inimitable Kate Bush, my heroine. But, and here is the crux, she might not be there, but the batshit brilliant Sarah-Louise Young is, and this is probably the nearest you will get to being in the company of the great Kate Bush today. Sarah-Louise’s one woman show, ‘An Evening Without Kate Bush‘ is one of the most uniquely entertaining shows you can watch in theatre today. It is funny, it is poignant, and as Kate, and herself presenting Kate, Sarah-Louise Young is just mesmerising. This is a show that…
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The Croft: Satisfyingly Creepy
It seems that there is a vogue for Summer ghost stories at the moment. Next month will see the return to the Midlands of Ghost Stories, showing at the Wolverhampton Grand, but before that, the Birmingham Rep is giving us all kinds of chills with a Scottish set ghost story. The Croft is an isolated Scottish hideaway in the Highlands and the brilliant cast who stay there largely play duel roles in this production. It is an unsettlingly, dark and absorbing treat, with an ending that leaves you with a serious feeling of unease. The story is set over three different time frames. In the present, Laura brings her new…
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Marie And Rosetta Is A Triumph
Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, who today is referred to as “the original soul sister” and “the Godmother of rock and roll.” Her influence on some of the greatest musicians of all time cannot be ignored, the likes of Tina Turner, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix all revered Rosetta and her incredible playing style that was the true start of electric blues. Yet when she died, at the early age of 58, she was buried in an unmarked grave, forgotten by all but those who had loved her most. Now, Marie and Rosetta revisits the Rosetta story, as well as that…
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The Rats At The Grange Playhouse
Most people know that Agatha Christie wrote a number of plays, Murder on the Nile and Witness for the Prosecution being amongst the most famous. But Agatha also wrote many other lesser known vehicles including a twisty, nasty, one act play called The Rats. This is the play that the Grange Players of Walsall submitted to the recent AETF Awards, where it was awarded the best one-act play in Birmingham! They are now bringing the show to The Grange Stage for two nights only and I was able to attend the very first show. (incidentally my first visit to The Grange Playhouse, but it won’t be my last.) I was…
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Little Women At The Rep
I was eleven when I first read Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Little Women’ and it remains one of my favourite books. The story of the four, very difficult March sisters, set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, is a classic, one that has been much filmed. Now, it has been adapted as a play by Anne-Marie Casey, and this spirited production, which opened at the Birmingham Rep last night, is going to win hearts all over again. The story is slight, four young sisters, all very different, heading towards womanhood and their own hopes and dreams. Beautiful oldest sister Meg wants a husband and family, but knows the family…
