Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Roy Brandon, Eithne Browne, Danny Burns, Suzanne Collins, Carl Chase, Paul Duckworth, Emily Linden, Andrew Schofield, Francis Tucker.
Two’s company, two is the sound of laughter taken to great heights, two is a sequel to which a comedy penned by the superb duo of Dave Kirby and Nicky Alt is completely on top of its game and is one that surely will be seen as a true worthy successor to a production worth its weight in Liverpool gold.
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.
Eithne Browne in The Star. Photograph by Robert Day.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Eithne Browne, Michelle Butterly, Helen Carter, Kevin Harvey, Danny O’Brien, Jack Rigby, Michael Starke.
Musicians: James Breckon, Elliot Chapman, Danny Miller.
Looking up into the Heavens, one can see the gallery of happy faces, the stars are there to perform, and they find no reason to ever stop beaming their light on the world below. For audiences making their way to the Playhouse this festive season, The Star is shining brightly and it is one that captures all that is good about modern theatre and the remarkable memory it invokes of hearing about the good old days of the music hall experience.
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.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Natalie Campbell, Simone Lewis, Harvey Robinson, Luca Rutherford.
Every show at this time of year is special, it the one that can bring families together, that good will is truly spread with and the one that children get their first taste of the uniqueness of drama to express emotion, the much used phrase magic of the theatre is not wrong when it comes to this special time of year, as each wide eyed child, each grinning parent could attest to in the Unity Theatre’s fabulous show for 2016, Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Danny Burns, Tom Connor, Stephanie Hockley, Adam Keast, Greg Last, Raj Paul, Lauren Silver, Emmy Stonelake, Lucy Thatcher, Francis Tucker.
Christmas only truly begins once the pantomime season starts in earnest, the faithful chime of the yearly bell in which many furry creatures, the beasts of the imagination come hurtling out of the writer’s pen and prove above anything that the media or consumerism can dole out in response, that the family and friends you spend time inside the theatre with are the best days you will have.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Jake Abraham, Michael Fletcher, Lindzi Germain, Hayley Hampson, Michael Ledwich, Andrew Schofield, Alan Stocks, Keddy Sutton.
Musicians: Ben Gladwin, Greg Joy, Emily Linden, Howard Gray.
There may be a house in New Orleans in which many a poor lad has lost his way, but they never quite lose their way, or regain the right path, as a Liverpool lad fighting the evil intentions of a maniac hell bent on destroying the city, not even a hero of a popular 60s song could match the heroics of the Scouse of the Rising Sun.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Kat Rose-Martin, Luke Adamson, Sophia Hatfield, Mark Stratton, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Adrian Hood, Sue Devaney, Steve Huison, Kate Anthony, Lisa Howard, Matthew Booth, Barrie Rutter, Zoe Lambert, John Gully, Andy Hall.
Mr. J. B. Priestley never fails to deliver, even if there are those out in the dark who fail to get the nuance of the times and denounce the clever introspection the playwright had on British Society and making it look back on its own peculiarities and diminishing importance on the future. Whereas the epic An Inspector Calls is very much in the calm outraged camp, the heated tongue of a barracking old outdated ways of thought, his classic drawing room comedy When We Are Married is firmly in the chaotic tranquillity mode and it is one that never loses its heart, especially not in the hands of the superb Northern Broadsides.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Nathan Benjamin, Bow Towers, Yahya Baggash, P.J. Murray, Michael Cavanagh, Helen Lanceley, Peter Durr, Pam Campbell, Laura Connolly.
There is a stark and simple truth, an element of wholesomeness and direct appeal that Burjesta Theatre bring to the stage; the stripped back but achingly beautiful way of producing their adaptive productions, be it dealing with great weighty historical novels such as War and Peace or the huge wonderful explorations of Greek tragedy theatre, all is given the reverence of the magisterial, the subtle timings of players performing for the enjoyment of the words and the greatness of the play.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: David Acton, Matthew Spencer.
A good ghost story never flinches in the face of modern day scepticism, if anything it can grow with stature, it can take on almost a life of its own, of becoming a haunting reminder of the world in between realities that shape and bend our perceptions of what is clear and unsullied and what is blurred, distorted and afraid to step out of the shadows. A good ghost story is one which you can feel the person next to you wanting to jump out of their skin, their creeping flesh tingle with nervousness and anticipation; there are many that have this effect but few capture the pure sense of emotion that is inherent as The Woman In Black.