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Under The Umbrella, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Mei Mac, Laura Tipper, Charlotte Chiew, Minhee Yeo.

It is in the exploration of another’s history that we find that we have more in common than we may believe at first sight. By listening to a story that we might find fantastical, unbelievable, uncompromising in its detail and one that isn’t afraid to show emotion, we might find the empathy and understanding in which to not only accept a different culture, but praise those who bring out the very best of its ideals and philosophy.

Under The Umbrella, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(476 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

Shetland: Series Five. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Douglas Henshall, Alison O’Donnell, Steve Robertson, Mark Bonnar, Julie Graham, Lewis Howden, Anne Kidd, Rakie Avola, Derek Riddell, Catherine Walker, Ayanda Bhebe, Lorn Macdonald, Owen Whitelaw, Tracy Wiles, Isabelle Joss, Conor McCarry, Robin Laing, Ryan Fletcher, Meghan Taylor, John Kazek, Francis Mayli McCann, Angus Miller, Emma Mullen, Olivia Barrowclough, Titana Muthui, Erin Armstrong, Kirsty Stuart, Natali McCleary, Kate Dickie, Jenni Keenan Green, Itxaso Moreno, Therese Bradley, Robert Cavanah.

Shetland: Series Five. Television Review. full post

(463 words, estimated 1:51 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 Ryk Mead Band, Me & The Blues. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

We must be allowed the right to demand the perpetual freedom of self-expression. Such an emotion of humanity should not be considered a luxury, available to only those with the sentiment of deep lined pockets or the backing that their own particular flight of fancy is to be indulged in; and yet for whatever reason we as a species insist on tight rules, unyielding regulations and laws that keep the art of self-expression as one that is praised but not given freely to all.

The Ryk Mead Band, Me & The Blues. Album Review. full post

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

Midsomer Murders: Death Of The Small Coppers. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Neil Dudgeon, Nick Hendrix, Fiona Dolman, Annette Badland,  Ann Eleonora Jorgensen, Mark Benton, Peter Egan, Ellie Haddinton, Ray Fearon, Thusitha Jayasundera, Ella Kenion, John Light, Niamh McGrady, Chance Perdomo.

It never does a television series any harm to rejuvenate itself every now and then, it arguably suggests an element of self-awareness that it is willing to go through the process of reincarnation, like an insect that becomes sheltered in its cocoon, when it re-emerges out into the sunlight it can be seen to be more colourful, more illuminating than it had the chance to be before.

Midsomer Murders: Death Of The Small Coppers. Television Review. full post

(431 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

10CC, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2019).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There is a gracefulness to be thanked for, saluted even, when it comes to enjoying an evening in the presence of one of the finest songwriters of British Pop/Rock history; for when you are in the company of Graham Gouldman and 10cc you instinctively feel the elegance and accomplished hand of musical professionalism resound throughout the venue and reflect the light like diamonds of the faces of the sell-out crowds that give any evening its permanent vibe.

10CC, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. (2019). full post

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

Kitty: Queen Of The Washhouse, Theatre Review. St George’s Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast Samantha Alton.

We raise the idea of heroism up to the point where we often forget the story that inspired such feelings of gratitude in the first place, we see the plinth with their name attached, the statue put up by a grateful populace, and in time the only ones who pay attention to the image, the figure on the pedestal, is the day tripper and the pigeons who survey humanity with the bird-like contempt we deserve.

Kitty: Queen Of The Washhouse, Theatre Review. St George’s Hall, Liverpool. full post

(504 words, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Reckless Heart. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

A Reckless Heart is easy to find, one with soul and creative joy oozing out of every moment it is held is rare, seldom seen but heard of in whispers, as if containing elements of myth and magic within its weaved grooves; for in every reckless heart that embraces the world with art there stands a sculptor and a surgeon fashioning the wounded nucleus of the body with extra compassion and spirit, one that gathers strength to sing, not whisper, of all that caused the rashness and wild to storm the streets and love all they came into contact with.

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Reckless Heart. Album Review. full post

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

Fisherman’s Friends. Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision rating 8.5/10

Cast: Tuppence Middleton, Daniel Mays, James Purefoy, David Hayman, Christian Brassington, Sarah Winter, Dave Johns, Noel Clarke, Jade Anouka, Christopher Villiers, Maggie Steed, Jo Hart, Sam Swainsbury, Oliver Wellington, Julian Seager, Ken Drury, Sandy Foster, Charlotte Baker, Mae Voogd.

A nation apart but attached to England by the narrowest of land borders, a distinctive people who have been ravaged by plunderers and prospectors, who up until only recently have been told that their heritage and language was barren, extinct and their people mocked for their accent, their willingness to not join in the race that has splintered other communities in the name of gentrification. Cornwall may be an English county but it is to be argued that it is own country and woe betide the incomer who tries to take away their language, their song.

Fisherman’s Friends. Film Review. full post

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

What Men Want, Film Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating *

Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Kristen Ledlow, Josh Brener, Kellen Lutz, Mathias Alvaraz, Chris Witaske, Max Greenfield, Paul B. Johnson, Brian Bosworth, Kauser Mohammed, Richard Roundtree, Taj-Naranja Jenkines, Aldis Hodge, Auston Jon Moore, Devonta Freeman, John Collins, Tracy Morgan, Shane Paul McGhie, Lisa Leslie, phoebe Robinson, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Tamala Jones.

What Men Want, Film Review. full post

(476 words, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)