Category Archives: Theatre

Heart Of Darkness, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Keicha Greenidge, Matt Prendergast, Morgan Bailey, Laura Atherton, Morven Macbeth.

Heart Of Darkness holds a distinction in literature, arguably one that was perhaps unintended by Joseph Conrad as he delved into his own life and created, what would eventually become, one of the most iconic characters to dominate early 20^th Century literature and further on, a representation of symbolism in cinema. There are few books that have been as dissected and scrutinised as Heart Of Darkness and there are few that are seen in the right climate that we exist in today that are now considered un-filmable.

Heart Of Darkness, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

My Fairfield Lady, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Helen Carter, Jessica Dyas, Julie Glover, Danny O’Brien, Michael Starke, Matthew Walker.

Whether we like it or not, we are not eternally assessed by our efforts or our accomplishments, our standing or our points of view, but we are judged by our accents and manners, the way we talk is immediately weighed and measured and for most of us this unfair conclusion keeps us in a place to which their no escape, we are immersed into a world which prizes the idea of class, even though we fight against it at every possible moment.

My Fairfield Lady, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(418 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Duncan James, Joanne Clifton, Ben Adams, Laura Harrison, Beverly Callard, Kristian Lavercombe, Miracle Chance, Callum Evans, Ross Chisari, Rees Budin, Shelby Farmer, Katie Monks, Jake Small.

It is the high point of excess and frivolity, the moment when counter culture rubbed shoulders with the inexhaustible and the merriment of cartoonish sing a long, producing without a doubt one of the finest pieces of musical theatre to see the light of day.

Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Around The World In 80 Days, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision rating 9/10

Cast: Pushpinder Chani, Kirsten Foster, Matthew Ganley, Dennis Herdman, Michael Hugo, Nyron Levy, Joey Parsad, Andrew Pollard, Stefan Ruiz.

Time was when travelling meant more than just getting on a plane and complaining that the seats weren’t wide enough, the chance to leave a half-baked witticism on a website that gives you free reign to vent steam or to take the obligatory picture of your legs as they start to resemble sausages left in the frying pan for longer than is safe to do. Time was when it meant adventure, and whilst some still lovingly cling to that idea, now the over-riding thought is that it a holiday deserved, not a moment to be taught a lesson or to have your mind expanded.

Around The World In 80 Days, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(512 words, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

Sweeney Todd, Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision rating * * * * *

Photograph by Marc Brenner, used with kind permission by Everyman Theatre.

Cast: Liam Tobin, Kacey Ainsworth, Emma Dears, Paul Duckworth, Keziah Joseph, Dean Nolan, Bryan Parry, Shiv Rabheru, Mark Rice-Oxley.

Musicians: Tarek Merchant, Daisy Evans, Samantha Norman, Alex Smith.

Sweeney Todd, Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(592 words, 1 image, estimated 2:22 mins reading time)

Mark Thomas: Check Up Our NHS @70, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision rating * * * * *

We never fully appreciate anything until either it has been taken away from us, or we find out the hard way how valued the service is. When the National Health Service was created, people fought hard to create something that would not only be the envy of the world, but which might inspire other countries, other politicians and leaders, to actually care about their citizens’ health, it has been a long struggle, and in Britain it seems that it is always under threat, targeted by groups of people who wish to see it dismantled and torn apart, delivering medicine and care for a price which many cannot simply afford.

Mark Thomas: Check Up Our NHS @70, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(579 words, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)

Pop, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision rating * * * *

Cast: Katie George, Lauren Foster.

If the 1980s was a decade of direct contrasts between social hedonism and the reality of the action taken communities as one by one the life blood of decades old services and the jobs that were dismantled and the people left to rot on the dole, then the mid to late 90s were a period in which lies and deceptions were given public backing as a kind of false hope of a fairer society was raised like a mantra, a chant aired and repeated and one that has joined the 1980s debauchery enjoyed by some as nothing more than an exposing of the personal greed that we all believe is ours to enjoy by right.

Pop, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(543 words, estimated 2:10 mins reading time)

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)

Bottleneck, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre Studio, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Daniel Cassidy.

It is only in recent times that we have urged survivors to talk about the events they have witnessed, whether in terms of clarification so that disasters, tragedies and acts of systematic neglect in terms of safety and the general public can be assessed and never, hopefully, happen again, or so that those same people who saw the catastrophe take place can ease their burden, have the weight and sense of guilt of history taken from their blameless shoulders, start the long journey back to hopeful recovery; never realising that the nightmares perhaps stay with them at each anniversary, each memory that went before analysed and examined, The Bottleneck of emotions that cannot be contained.

Bottleneck, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre Studio, Liverpool. full post

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

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)