Tag Archives: Simon Darwen

The Flare Path, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast: Leon Ockenden, Olivia Hallinan, Philip Franks, Adam Best, James Cooney, Simon Darwen, Stephanie Jacob, Shvorne Marks, Siobhan O’ Kelly, William Reay, Holly Smith, Alastair Whatley.

The Second World War asked a lot of the men and women of Britain, of Germany and the greater population of the world, it asked of them for sacrifice, of more resilience than at any time and in many ways to be more selfish in the face of adversity; it is a selfishness of spirit, to not give in despite overwhelming odds and face the world with a smile. It is this selfishness, or at least a singular part of it, that sits at the heart of Terrance Rattigan’s World War Two drama The Flare Path.

Catch 22, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating: * * *

Cast: Daniel Ainsworth, Philip Arditti, Geoff Arnold, Victoria Bewick, Simon Darwen, Michael Hodgson, Liz Kettle, Christopher Price, David Webber.

Joseph Heller adapted his novel Catch 22 for the stage in 1971 and today the script is more or less unchanged. As it is difficult to get the rights to adapt the script, Northern Stage’s director Rachel Chavkin has done what other companies have shied away from, and has put her own mark on this classic war tale.

The Bletchley Circle, Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Anna Maxwell Martin, Rachael Stirling, Julie Graham, Sophie Rundle, Hattie Morahan, Mark Dexter, Faye Marsey, Paul McGann, Tim Piggott-Smith, Simon Chandler, Richard Hun, Paul Ritter, Simon Darwen, Mabel Watson, Freddie Anness-Lorenz, Nick Blood, Joanne Adams, Victoria Alcock, James Weaver.