Tag Archives: Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre

Princess & The Hustler, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Kudzai Sitima, Donna Berlin, Fode Simbo, Seun Shate, Jade Yourell, Emily Burnett, Romayne Andrews.

We either don’t know enough about our own history, or if we do we selectively tune in to the moments which make us feel a false sense of pride, the stirring of the heart as it clings to a despairing sense of nationalism that is both futile and dishonest; we forget the moments that led to change and only the act itself, and never mind the hardship, the disgrace of our words that went before, hiding behind the celebrations of equality gained as if we somehow played a part.

Princess & The Hustler, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Stones In His Pockets, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Owen Sharpe, Kevin Trainor.

People don’t just change when they appear in front of the cameras, they alter their own perception of who they are, what their purpose is in life, for some it can be the glare of the lights that brings out the worst in them, for others, it is the removal of the make up that takes the gloss and the shine of what they once thought was glamour and all that could be desired.

Stones In His Pockets, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(392 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

The Girl On The Train, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Samantha Womack, Oliver Farnworth, John Dougall, Naeem Hayat, Adam Jackson-Smith, Lowenna Melrose, Kirsty Oswald, Matt Concannon, Phillipa Flynn.

Physical human manipulation and ease in which we can find ourselves drowning in a sea of guided abuse never makes for an easy bedfellow in which to immerse yourself in. From the outside looking in you can see all the traits, the subtle digs at the way someone controls another person, influences others to see the worst in that person, and yet when you are the one being expertly handled, all you see is the relief that addiction of any type can bring, that it is no longer your fault.

The Girl On The Train, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(452 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

The Crowd, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision rating 9/10

Cast: Ross Almond, Natalie Barton, Ruby Bains, Leo Bertamini, Ellen Boyland, Erin Clarke, Stuey Dagnall, John Dixon, Olivia Dougherty, Joe Edwards, Georgie Evans, Spike Fairclough, Will Flush, Grace Fordham Bibby, Alisha Foriyire, Helena Harvey, Amber Higgins, Jake Holmes, Chloe Hughes, Esther Johnson, Connor Kelly, Neve Kelman, Luke Logan, Niamh McCarthy, Callum McCourt, John McGuick, Jack Malloy, Aimee Marnell, Chloe Nall-Smith, Joe Owens, Jamie Pye, Phil Rayner, Jess Reilly, Adam Rohan, Nathan Russell, Harry Sergeant, Kaila Sharples, Hannah Thornton, Ellie Turner, Laura Tryer, Natalie Vaughn, Tommy Williams.

The Crowd, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(555 words, estimated 2:13 mins reading time)

The Cat In The Hat, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Sam Angell, Melissa Lowe, Charley Magalit, Nana Amoo-Gottfried, Celia Francis, Robert Penny.

An acrobatic skill weaved around one of the most beloved children’s books and characters to come out of America in the last 100 years, a set of beautiful nonsense in exacting verse and perhaps the first pull of the magic that is theatre, Dr. Seuss’ The Cat In The Hat is not just meant to inspire young minds, it allows them free range to see the world as a place in which the creativity that is possible goes hand in hand with anarchy and order, that learning can be fun rather than insipid, dull and routine.

The Cat In The Hat, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(449 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

A Christmas Carol, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Spymonkey’s A Christmas Carol at the Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. Photograph used with kind permission by the Playhouse Theatre and Johan Persson.

Cast: Aitor Basauri, Petra Massey, Toby Park, Sophie Russell.

Musicians: Ross Hughes, Marcus Penrose, David Insua-Cao.

A Christmas Carol, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(533 words, 1 image, estimated 2:08 mins reading time)

They Don’t Pay? We Won’t Pay!, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Lisa Howard, Steve Huison, Suzette Ahmet, Matt Connor, Michael Hugo.

We are living in a time of farce, a period of political instability in which nobody understands the game anymore, and which is unravelling to the point of embarrassing absurdity; if it wasn’t so frightening, so tragic, and with the constant concern of extremist views being able to sit at the same table as common decency and compassion, then it would be funny.

They Don’t Pay? We Won’t Pay!, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(502 words, estimated 2:00 mins reading time)

The Habit Of Art, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: John Wark, Alexandra Guelff, Matthew Kelly, Veronica Roberts, Benjamin Chandler, David Yelland, Robert Mountford.

Almost half a century on from his death, the writing, the conscious of one of Britain’s most revered poets, not only of the 20th Century, but arguably of all time, hangs over the nation like Banquo’s Ghost at the table, accusing in many ways the country of neglecting its soul, of pursuing a course of action in which poems such as September 1st 1939 have been forgotten in their entirety, the message of W.H. Auden becoming an almost whimsy-like fascination. It is perfectly acceptable for the poet to come to hate his own creations, become embarrassed by them, shun them even, but a nation should never forget the deep riches left by the fire, singed, but never completely turned to ash.

The Habit Of Art, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(527 words, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

Persuasion, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Matthew Atkins, Ceri-Lyn Cissone, Siobhan Gerrard, Indigo Griffiths, Jason Ryall, Lucinda Turner.

In a past literary history that is dominated by men, many women stand above them for the sheer depth of human experience, the joy of wit, the penetration to the bones of fear and exploration of the subject; and whilst the names of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Tolstoy stand at the gates of greatness, it is too the scribes of women such as Charlotte Bronte, Agatha Christie and Jane Austen that we should acknowledge perhaps as the greater skilled writers and finer observers of the human condition.

Persuasion, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(450 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

Love From A Stranger, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Helen Bradbury, Sam Frenchum, Alice Haig, Justin Avoth, Molly Logan, Crispin Redman, Nicola Sanderson, Gareth Willams.

Despite being one of the few works by Agatha Christie which has not had the major investment by television and film and has which received perhaps less attention than most when it comes to being adapted by theatre, Love From A Stranger is a compelling piece in which the idea of the hidden psychopath is explored and manipulated to the point of the absolute style becoming of the Queen of British Crime fiction.

Love From A Stranger, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(421 words, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)