The Red Shoes, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. December 4th 2010.

Cast: Holly Wilson-Guy, Julie Langford, Harriet Leah Preston, Aiden Lee Brooks, Graham Geoffrey Hicks, Mike Idris.

The Unity Theatre may be one of the smaller theatres in Liverpool but the productions it puts on are as big as the heart at its core. Groundbreaking and enthusiastic, its successes are numerous and with The Red Shoes it looks as though they can chalk up another much loved production to their expanding list of theatre accomplishments.

The Red Shoes, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(308 words, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)

Scouse Pacific, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre.

Originally published by L.S. Media. December 4th 2010.

Cast: Paul Duckworth, Stephen Fletcher, Lindzi Germain, Rachel Rae, Andrew Schofield, Alan Stocks, Zoei Cozens, Niamh Fitzgerald, Kay Staunton, Sarah Walker.

Gambling, swearing nuns, a lost tribe of Scousers, a Catholic Father who is more uncouth than clean cloth and more bananas than you can shake a banana tree at are just some of the elements in this year’s Christmas stunning production by The Royal Court, the epic Scouse Pacific.

Scouse Pacific, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre. full post

(381 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Sleeping Beauty, The Rock And Roll Panto. Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. December 2nd 2010.

Cast: Jonny Bower, Adam Day Howard, Catherine Henderson, Adam Keast, David McGranaghan, Nicky Swift, Francis Tucker, Sarah Yezmar, Matthew Wycliffe.

To a lot of people in Liverpool, Christmas is nothing without the chance to visit the Everyman Theatre and attend their much talked about Rock and Roll Panto. This year’s production of Sleeping Beauty lived up to all that had been promised and added just a few sprinkles of fairy dust into the mix to deliver a stand out family night of good music, wonderful use of double entendres and wonderfully crafted tale of jealousy, love and water spraying gnomes.

Sleeping Beauty, The Rock And Roll Panto. Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(332 words, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

House of Ghosts, Theatre Review. Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.

Originally published by L.S. Media. November 7th 2010.

Cast: Colin Baker, David Axton, Andrew Bone, Paul Clarkson, Lynette Edwards, Gregory Finniegan, John Fleming, Caroline Harding, Christopher Heyward, Rachel Logan, Judith Rae, Gay Soper, Glynn Sweet, Nicole Ashwood, Richard Stirling.

When Inspector Morse finally solved his last case in The Remorseful Day, television and crime literature lost one of the greatest fictional detectives. Portrayed with aplomb by John Thaw on the small screen, he made the character that Colin Dexter created, seem entirely and wonderfully human. With faults that we all carry, namely, arrogance in our own belief, prone to falling in love with the wrong person and a liking for the odd pint, Morse is quite arguably the best fictional detective of the last 100 years.

House of Ghosts, Theatre Review. Wolverhampton Grand Theatre. full post

(445 words, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

Antony And Cleopatra, Theatre Review. Liverpool Playhouse.

Originally published by L.S. Media.

Cast: Kim Cattrall, Jeffrey Kissoon, Ian Hogg, Martin Hutson, Martin Herdman, Aicho Kossoko, Gracy Goldman, Muzz Khan, Offue Okegbe, Bhasker Patel, Simon Manyonda, Mark Sutherland, Alex Blake, Robert Orme, Ross Armstrong, Mark Gillis.

If ever there was a title contender for most eagerly awaited play to hit Liverpool, then surely Janet Suzman’s directorial adaption of William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra would sweep everything else aside.

Antony And Cleopatra, Theatre Review. Liverpool Playhouse. full post

(379 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

The Sound of Music, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. October 14th 2010.

Cast: Marilyn Hill Smith, Connie Fisher, Jennifer Owen, Suzanne Richardson, Ashleigh Richardson, Jenna Boyd, Michael Praed, Tony Kemp, Claire Fishenden.

Everything about The Sound of Music screams success. From the set design, the musicianship, the much loved songs and the choreography, everything that you could want from a musical, The Sound of Music delivered in spades.

For some The Sound of Music will only ever be about Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer’s dynamic in the 1965 film release but there is so much more to this story than the sight of nun’s and Nazis in pre-war Germany.

The Sound of Music, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(375 words, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)

Gold Mountain, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Cast: David Yip, Eugene Salleh.

What is never in doubt about Liverpool is how the city has survived and thrived as a hotch-potch of different cultures and ideals. From the Irish who disembarked at Liverpool docks during the potato famine and who arrived with not the slightest idea of what was going to happen to their lives or culture, to the Chinese who had to cross oceans and the thoughts of internal tyranny to arrive in Liverpool to face prejudice and suspicion at every corner.

Gold Mountain, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(326 words, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)

Brick Up, The Wirral Strikes Back. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. Theatre Review.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 8th 2010.

Cast: Warren Donnelly, Dean Sullivan, Bernadette Foley, Eithne Browne, Kate McEvoy, Kris Mochrie, Marc Hughes, Emma Nowell.

Sequels can either be hit or miss, whether on stage or at the cinema the hard task of the writer is to make the next part of the story just as enjoyable as the previous one. Sometimes this doesn’t work; there is too much affection for the characters in the first story that any derivation from the plot is never forgiven.

Brick Up, The Wirral Strikes Back. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. Theatre Review. full post

(446 words, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Cast: Darren Bennett, Tony Jackson, Edward peel, Kim Ismay, Nigel Garton, Richard Ashton, Rachel Stanley, Dean Maynard, John Griffiths, Lucy Buckingham, Moray Treadwell, Alex France, Andrew Waldron.

If ever there was a film that was ripe for the theatre then surely it is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. This 1968 cinema graphic smash had all the ingredients of a fine story (much of this down to the original book by James Bond creator Ian Fleming and subsequent script adaptation by Roald Dahl and Liverpool born Ken Hughes), a slightly eccentric inventor with a fantastic name, Caractacus Potts, a sweet factory owned by the Scrumptious family, foreign enemies and of course the most fantasmagorical (sic) car!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(380 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. Theatre Review. Liverpool Everyman Theatre.

Cast: Dean Ashton, Will Beer, Louise Bush, Larry Dann, Tim Francis, Finbar Lynch, Des McAleer, Thomas Morrison, Laura Rees, Paul Regan, Gyuri Sarossy, Nicholas Tennant.

It is without doubt that it is a shame that Robert Tressell never got to see how his seminal piece of work, The Ragged Trousered Philanthopists, inspired and influenced a generation to the point that the old order was swept away and in its place stood the promise of better times for all. Certainly for those who have attended the production during its run at the Everyman will have come away with certain ideas shaken or reinforced.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. Theatre Review. Liverpool Everyman Theatre. full post

(359 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)