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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)

Big Up!, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Jack Hobbs A.K.A. Hobbit, Dorcas Sebuyange, Iestyn Evans, Clarke Joseph-Edwards.

Outwardly we might forget what it was like to be little, to see through the eyes of a child, we neglect the belief in what playing can achieve, we turn our back on the youngster we once were because we fall into line with the conviction that at some point it is not the done thing, simply unacceptable, and then we wonder why we have such trouble identifying with the young, with the children who look up to us; we want them to grow, to be adult, to lose their sense of questioning and creativity, yet all the time we should just be imploring them to Big Up!

Big Up!, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

All Is True, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Lydia Wilson, John Dagleish, Kathryn Wilder, Sam Ellis, Alex MacQueen, Jack Colgrave Hirst, Margaret Wheeler, Gerard Horan, Doug Colling, Lolita Chacrabarti, Philip Dunster, Freya Durkan, Flora Easton, Matt Jessup, Sabi Perez, Michael Rouse, Kate Tydman.

It is a beautiful story and one that will break the heart of anyone with half a romantic soul in their body and yet like all beautiful whispers that we seek to take advantage of by seemingly learning something of the poet’s soul, fiction, that forgiving beast of bounty, leads to a comedy of inaccuracies and yet we still pursue it as if it were a fair maiden covered in buttercup petals or a rueful youth displaying muscles and brawn on the beach.

All Is True, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T, Liverpool. full post

(507 words, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

Two Black Sheep, The Earth Below. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

We don’t know what goes on in The Earth Below, we all too often train our thoughts on the horizon or indeed towards the stars, so consumed are we by the world that we can see, that we forget there is a whole world that sings to us, hoping to catch our ear from deep in the soil, reminding us to reveal layer by layer what has been buried, not only in the ground, but in our souls and hearts.

Two Black Sheep, The Earth Below. Album Review. full post

(434 words, 1 image, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

Jerome Tubiana And Alexandre Franc, Guantánamo Kid: The True Story Of Mohammed El-Gharani. Book Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There is something so dreadfully wrong with the world that it is only after the fact that we collectively feel the shame that should be felt by those entrusted to keep us safe, to provide justice, to deliver on the way we all want to live, without harm. When we learn of a single human being’s treatment at the hand of the government machine, we begin to see past the lies told, the fabrications dealt out and the sense of discrimination faced.

Jerome Tubiana And Alexandre Franc, Guantánamo Kid: The True Story Of Mohammed El-Gharani. Book Review. full post

(631 words, 1 image, estimated 2:31 mins reading time)

Endeavour: Pylon. Television Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, James Bradshaw, Anton Lesser, Simon Harrison, Caroline O’Neill, Sara Vickers, Sean Rigby, Abigail Thaw, Colin Tierney, Abby Barnes, Khali Best, Daniel Boys, Katherine Bubbear, Lindsay Campbell, Tom Canton, Ed Colman, Adam De Ville, Mike Grady, Simon Harrison, Simon Hepworth, Ava Masters, Roger May, Aston McAuley, Alison Newman, Cera Rose Pickering, Richard Riddell, Hugh Sachs, Fiona Skinner, Elizabeth Wells, Kit Young.

 

Endeavour: Pylon. Television Review. full post

(634 words, estimated 2:32 mins reading time)

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Wilko Johnson Interview.

 

“You’re mine as I’m yours. And if we die, we die. But first we’ll live.” It may be the words of fiction, a quote from the mind of a character that understands the point of existence is to be, to live each day and take each breath as if the world might blink and then one day all that you achieved will only be remembered in the minds that have loved you, admired you, needed your ambition and passion to push them forward in their own endeavour.

Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Wilko Johnson Interview. full post

(3001 words, estimated 12:00 mins reading time)

Punch And Judy Versus The Devil, Theatre Review. Casa Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Yahya Baggash, Mikyla Jane Durkan, Peter Durr, Lindsay Fooks, Maggi Green, Robbie J Harper, Maria Hutchison, Angela McComb, PJ Murray, Sam Tolmie.

At one time there was always the Punch And Judy performance to entertain people, a side show that was not confined to the seaside, there was one that used be played out between Lime Street Station and St. George’s Hall in the dim and distant past; however it could be argued that for some this puppet show which relied on aspects of unsightly violence in which to carry its message of suffering and the higher question of morality was a reflection of some of our own relationships, of humanity at its most course and despairing, one in which the likes of Mr. Punch never fully felt the force of local anger and retribution.

Punch And Judy Versus The Devil, Theatre Review. Casa Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Yellow Breck Road, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Jake Abrahams, Gemma Brodrick, Eithne Browne, Paul Duckworth, Lynn Francis, Jamie Greer.

Once in a lullaby…such dreams are made of, the chance to see how life brought you to this point, and one that comes out of shock and the game played out by adversity. All you have to remember is that to follow the Yellow Breck Road might mot lead you to the wizard, but it will lead you to a place in which the tragedy and humour of life go hand in hand, where joy is welcome, where the despicable finally get their just deserts.

Yellow Breck Road, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Joshua Burnell, The Road To Horn Fair. Album Review.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

They urge you to take the road less travelled, that the one that everybody uses is worn out, the feet that scuff and kick up the dust because all and sundry have gone that way before and yet the one less explored can also seem stale, everybody knows it is there, you can see the edges of the overgrown bushes and the webs that have been weaved in comfort, undisturbed, busy, never ending. What is perhaps required is one which takes you to a place of magic, the approach to an open mind, to a parade of colour and a carnival of folk mystique, The Road To Horn Fair is one such walk of life to stroll smiling towards.

Joshua Burnell, The Road To Horn Fair. Album Review. full post

(432 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)