Monthly Archives: August 2012

Memoirs of a Hermaphrodite, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 16th 2011.

Cast: Sarah Leaver.

The mystery and beguilement that surrounds the treatment and life of an individual who was born Intersexed is gently and lovingly portrayed by Sarah Leaver in the Unity Theatre’s latest production Memoirs of a Hermaphrodite.

Drawing on the real life story of Herculin Barbin, Sarah Leaver takes the audience through sections of Herculin’s life, part voyeuristic, part shrouded in fine Greek mythology, the audience is taken through how the young Herculin’s life was changed from being a young girl at the nunnery in La Rochelle and falling in love to her own discovery, and that of everybody else that she was born an Hermaphrodite.

Memoirs of a Hermaphrodite, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(356 words, 1 image, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)

Queen, Queen. Album Review (2011 Remaster).

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 19th 2011.

In 1991 the world lost one of its most favourite performers and subsequently one its favourite groups as it could be seen that they were never the same again after their charismatic leader’s death. Their melodies, rock compositions and dramatic guitar themes would become a by word for the ultimate accolades labeled upon a band when told they have an element of Queen about them.

Queen, Queen. Album Review (2011 Remaster). full post

(412 words, 1 image, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

Dead Heavy Fantastic. Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

Picture courtesy of everymanplayhouse.com

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 17th 2011.Cast: Michelle Butterly, David Carlyle, Helen Carter, Stephen Fletcher, Con O’Neill, Samantha Robinson, Jess Schofield, Alan Stocks.

Dead Heavy Fantastic is the new exciting play by Robert Farquar, that deals with the subject of a world rarely seen by many who live in Liverpool but who will have heard gory tales of hedonism, the party culture, drugs and of out of place postmen.

Dead Heavy Fantastic. Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(407 words, 1 image, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

Queen, Queen II. Album Review (2011 Remastered Edition).

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 20th 2011.

1974 saw the release of Queen’s second album Queen II, whereas the first album had seen the emergence of the band into the nations consciousness, Queen II saw the band experiment with the medium they would come to dominate over the next two decades.

From the album cover with its now iconic picture of the four band members faces staring out from a black background to its idea of a Side Black and Side White as opposed to sides one and two, this blurring of the idea of a rock band and the art of Progressive music became a distinct possibility as listeners were treated to the idea of an emotional (white side) theme running through the tracks and a darker, fantasy driven side that wouldn’t have been out of place in a Tolkien novel.

Queen, Queen II. Album Review (2011 Remastered Edition). full post

(422 words, 1 image, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Rid The World, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Cast: Hugo Chandor, Andrew Sykes, Lewis Marsh, Andrew Roberts-Palmer.

The year 1911 could be seen as a corner stone in the life of Liverpool and yet the life of Tom Mann and The Liverpool Transport Strike of that year is not readily available for the youth and teenagers growing up in the city to learn about.

Thankfully with the run up to the 100th anniversary of this momentous occasion Breathe Out Theatre have adapted Trevor Griffiths Such Impossibilities and created a hard hitting play called Rid the World.

Rid The World, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(363 words, 1 image, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

Hairspray, Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre.

Otiginally published by L.S. Media. August 19th 2011.

Cast: Les Dennis, Michael Starke, Dina Tree, Liam Doyle, Gillian Kirkpatrick, Wayne Robinson, Danny Bayne, Emma Dukes, Clare Halse, Sandra Marvin, Yvonne O’ Grady, Seliza Sebastian, Kane Andrews.

Set against the start of the heightened racial tensions that plagued America socially and politically during the early 1960’s, Hairspray is one of those musicals that stretches the audience’s idea of fun to new limits and leaves them gasping for more!

Hairspray, Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre. full post

(401 words, 1 image, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

Adam Ant, Gig Review. Warrington Parr Hall.

Adam Ant in concert at Warrington’s Parr Hall. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Originally published by L.S. Media. August 26th 2011.

L.S. Media Rating *****

There’s nothing more gratifying than seeing a man personify the word cool. Steve McQueen had it, James Dean knew he radiated it, Johnny Depp oozes it and the man behind the persona of Adam Ant, Stuart Goddard, has it, lives it and breathes it. As Adam Ant stood listening to the crowd singing the words to his huge hit, Stand and Deliver, back to him at the Warrington Parr Hall, it was as if he had never been away. The king of pop punk was back in splendour.

Adam Ant, Gig Review. Warrington Parr Hall. full post

(551 words, 1 image, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)

12. Theatre Review. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. August 24th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Shaun Fagan, Morgan McBride, Nick Crosbie, Jamie Vere, Robbie Locke, Bob Schofield, Owen Jones, Josh Quigley, Josh Hughes, Bradley Walker, Paul Holliday, Sophie Eves.

Transferring a 1950’s Henry Fonda classic film to the unsympathetic existence of 21st century Liverpool takes some imagination and a lot of writing talent to give it the grim reality that post war Hollywood films sometimes glossed over. With Shaun Fagan and Matthew Shiel at the helm of 12, the latest play to be performed at The Lantern Theatre, this was more than was ever needed to show how good writing can shine through no matter how unattractive and prejudicial the story line is.

12. Theatre Review. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(416 words, 1 image, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Queen, Sheer Heart Attack. Album Review. (2011 Remastered Edition)

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 20th 2011.

Sheer Heart Attack was the third album delivered by Queen onto the British public and the third within sixteen months. The album marks a turn in the band’s outlook and was beset with ill health and medical problems for guitarist Brain May who had been ill for the early parts of the recording.

With the band’s popularity spreading, not only in their home county where their previous album had reached the top five in the album charts, but also in the emerging markets of Australia and Japan, it is not hard to see why this particular album had all the hallmarks of one of the early classic albums by the band.

Queen, Sheer Heart Attack. Album Review. (2011 Remastered Edition) full post

(390 words, 1 image, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

Queen, A Night at the Opera. Album Review. 2011 Remastered Edition.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 20th 2011.

For some, the height of Queen’s studio achievements was the fourth album, A Night at the Opera. Released in the November of 1975, the album is the epitome of excellent lyric writing, musical themes to die for, that number one record and ultimate promotion technique.

Queen, A Night at the Opera. Album Review. 2011 Remastered Edition. full post

(567 words, 1 image, estimated 2:16 mins reading time)