Tag Archives: Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre

Jack And The Beanstalk, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Ray Quinn, Lindzi Germain, Claire Simmo, Lewis Pryor, Michael Chapman, Mia Molloy.

The Pantomime is an institution, one of first experiences for many to whom the theatre is a haven to be preserved, of silliness and beauty, of hearing that loud series of giggles and laughter from younger audiences before they become self-conscious and trapped within the confines of fitting behaviour. It is when you see this in action during the Pantomime that it reminds you of what brought you into this fascinating and beguiling world in the first place, magic, the wonderful world of the delightful thrill, where anything is possible and the overall enchantment that the young mind grasps onto with relish.

Jack And The Beanstalk, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(399 words, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Peter Pan, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Dane Bowers, Claire Simmo, Lewis Pryor, Joanne Harper, Michael Chapman, Georgia Austin, Chris Barton, Eleiyah Navis, Adam Coyne, Alliyah Hennessey, Libby Sunter, Faye Keating, Rachel Heron, Libby Walker, Liv Baccino, Beth Baccino, Jacob Robinson.

Humanity needs more people who see the world through the same eyes, the same clarity of vision that author and playwright J.M. Barrie did when he created the characters of Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Wendy Darling and Tinker Bell, perhaps then it might not be so centred on greed and destruction. Instead, as is always hoped for at this time of year, the pull of being decent, of holding out a hand to a fallen lost boy or fellow darling, is the right way to be. It is an ideal, of being brave in a world of adults, cutlasses and poison, of listening to your heart, of believing and one that Peter Pan flies high.

Peter Pan, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(462 words, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: James Templeton, Sharon Byatt, John Schumacher, Sophie Coward, Nick Wymer, Simon Willmont, Sam Donovan, Thomas Casson, Chloe Taylor, Daniel Taylor, Timothy Lucas, Neville Cann, Fra Gunn, Faye Griffiths, Emma Sellars, Emily Chesterton, Georgia Pye.

Something in the undergrowth stirs, a sense of magic is in the air and whilst all theatre productions, across every genre, should have this illusion and allusion readily at its disposal, there is always something incredible, a reason that is fanciful, that should be waiting for William Shakespeare’s timeless comedy and romance in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(479 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

Noises Off, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Kathryn Chambers, Tom Platt, Vikki Earle, Tom Cavendish, Danny Fahey, Lauren Molyneux, Liz Blake, Joey Wishwell, Alec Walters.

Noises Off is one of those gems of a production that an audience can never be introduced to enough, a true blend of British stoicism in the face of absolute charade, a play that revels in its mayhem and one that if you haven’t laughed at during spells doom for British theatre; in much the same way that the ravens learning they can leave the Tower of London would spell the end of centuries tradition, so to if not laughing at arguably one of the great comedies of all time would cause a rip in the curtain of the English language.

Noises Off, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(453 words, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

Aladdin, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Natasha Hamilton, Sean Smith, Jordan Davies, Mark Byron, Michael Chapman, Lewis Pryor, Lesley Butler, Tom Burroughs.

The Christmas pantomime, one of the great cornerstones of life and nowhere in the world really captures the point or the reason of it as much as the British, it takes sheer guts to perform so many shows to an audience to whom many are arguably having their first taste of theatre, of the slapstick fun that is at times extraordinarily paced and presented and the fun that goes with it. It is the possibly the finest of traditions and Aladdin at the Epstein Theatre is no different and one that is all too enjoyable, no matter the age of the person in the seat.

Aladdin, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(405 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

Ball Of Fire, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Michael Hawkins, Ronny Goodlass, Michael Cullen, John Purcell, Sally Tryer, Adam Byrne, Katie King, James Ledsham, Danny Noble, Lisa Symonds.

At best Alan Ball was a world beater, a man to whom Pele described at the finest player in an England shirt, arguably the best player on the pitch on the day the country won the World Cup in July 1966, tenacious, a spirited player to whom Alf Ramsey made a hero of and to whom Don Revie discarded cruelly and without pomp and ceremony, at worst…well there was no worst, just dogged by ill fortune and personal disasters that would go hand in hand with the Lancashire’s lad’s demeanour and psyche for his entire life.

Ball Of Fire, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(439 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. (2016).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: James Hill, Georgia Austin, Debi Jones, Ricky Tomlinson, Tom Burroughs, Michael Chapman, Olivia Horton, Lewis Pryor.

The world is a pantomime at times, someone will always play the villain, someone the dame and there will always be some commotion going on requiring the services of a Prince Charming or at the very least a jester; the world is a pantomime and each person plays the roles laid down to get the maximum laughs possible.

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. (2016). full post

(481 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

Cinderella, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Calum Best, Alison Crawford, Beryl Marsden, Michael Chapman, Tom Burroughs, Lesley Butler, Chris Barton, Lewis Pryor.

The Ugly Sisters are running amuck at Hard-Up Hall, the evil step-mother has all under her spell and Buttons is infatuated with the most beautiful girl in all the land, things are never simple in Panto land and for Cinderella, the day is one where her life gets turned upside down and the story of her rags to riches existence becomes a tale of woe banished by charm.

Cinderella, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(417 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

The Crucible, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Marni Stanley, Anthony Devine, Abby Bush, Amy Dalton, Samantha Westwell, Sara Chadwick, Rebecca Barrett, Olivia Grace, Nadine Cullen, Harvey Fitzpatrick, Georgia Rooney, John O’Grady, Thomas Dalton, Kaylee-Ann Meredith, Peter Shock, Mark Harper, Georgia Wills, Christopher Hird, John Dixon, John McGee, Sophie Powell, Ashley Male, Amy Allen, Liam-Powell-Berry.

The power of a play rests in the hands of those who contribute to it long after the author’s death. The command of its direction, the will to continue to shape modern thought offers energy in the very best of productions and arguably continues to place dynamism into the words of plays, including perhaps one of the very finest of the 20th Century, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.

The Crucible, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(562 words, estimated 2:15 mins reading time)

Waiting For Gateaux, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Cast: Pauline Daniels, Suzanne Collins, Andy Ford, Lynn Francis, Emma Lisi.

Comfort food, it’s there to get us through hardship and pain, the long cold lonely nights when perhaps our will is at its lowest, when the thought of a small sausage roll or chocolate cream cake in front of the fire is preferable to a bit of hot crumpet, or bag of sweets; for some though the taste of Gateaux is worth waiting for.

Waiting For Gateaux, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(414 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)