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Macbeth electrifies the Birmingham Rep
2016 marks the 400th year anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. And whether you believe that the man from Stratford Upon Avon wrote the plays, or that someone else was responsible, it is true to say that an extraordinary body of work was left, with Macbeth being amongst the greatest plays. Last night a new version opened at the Birmingham Rep, one that brought the horror, intrigue and violence of ‘The Scottish Play’ kicking and screaming into the 21st century. The ancient castles of Scotland have been replaced with a claustrophobic set that resembles a wartime bunker for much of the time, and Guantanamo Bay at others. War…
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Basil Brush is back – Check out the Full on Fox Tour
If you are looking for some fun, family entertainment then I would highly recommend you check out The Basil Brush show that is currently in the middle of a UK tour. We saw the show today at the Lichfield Garrick (which is definitely one of the friendliest theatre’s in the UK), and we all truly enjoyed it, with belly laughs a-plenty and Basil proving he has lost non of his wit and charm after 50 years in show business. Basil Brush has recently had a relaunch that has seen a whole You Tube channel dedicated to the pesky blighter. As a fan of the programme from way back when I…
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Jeeves and Wooster – Supreme Lunacy rules at the Birmingham Rep
It is farce, it is slapstick, and it is absolutely the most fun you will have this month. I’m talking about ‘Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense’, which opened at the Birmingham Rep last night. Starring Robert Webb as the eponymous upper class bumbler Bertie Wooster, Jason Thorpe as the sensible, clever manservant Jeeves, and Christopher Ryan as the old retainer Seppings, ‘Perfect Nonsense is a play within a play, the likes of which you won’t see anywhere else this year. It is sheer lunacy, and your funny bones may take some time to recover. The story, starts with Bertie introducing the events surrounding the solid silver cow creamer that…
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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 the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, was just one of the those nights. The National Theatre production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, a play by Simon Stephens, 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 Joshua Jenkins, and an ensemble cast that would be hard to beat, I left the theatre both laughing and crying about what I had watched. The play is centred…
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Harvey: The Pooka arrives at the Birmingham Rep
The comedic skills of Maureen Lipman and James Dreyfus were put to perfect use last night, when Harvey opened at the Birmingham Repertory theatre. Bringing laughs galore and a heart-warming story, Harvey ensured that the whole audience left the auditorium with a warm glow and a smile on its face. Harvey tells the story of Elwood P. Dowd, a gentle dipsomaniac with a rather special friend, a 6ft invisible rabbit called Harvey. Harvey accompanies Elwood everywhere, much to the dismay of his exasperated sister Veta Louise and his niece Myrtle Mae. Their social life, and indeed, social standing, is being impeded by Elwood’s pal, and after one embarrassing moment when…
