Tag Archives: Liverpool

Half A Bottle Gone, Queertet. Theatre Review. Lantern Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published on L. S. Media. 8th July 2012.

Cast: Ben Hallworth, Dale Grant, Nuala Maguire.

Perhaps the idea of admission of guilt or even worry is one step too far to cope with after a bottle of wine or two. Even the Half A Bottle Gone may be too much for some to comprehend the seriousness of a life that has been turned upside down by one moment’s indiscretion.

Half A Bottle Gone by Ian Walker deals with before and after, the moments where you blurt out a secret that has been tearing away at your soul and the moment when you first saw the life you lead turn dramatically inside out.

Half A Bottle Gone, Queertet. Theatre Review. Lantern Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(365 words, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)

The Last Five Years, Theatre Review. The Actors Studio, Liverpool.

Originally published on L.S. Media. 24th July 2012.

L.S. Media Rating * * * *

Cast: Helen Carter, Stephen Fletcher, Nick Phillips.

The course of true love never did run smooth, even less so when told over the period of five years and from two different perspectives and times. This is the premise of Jason Robert Brown’s enormously well written musical The Last Five Years.

The Last Five Years, Theatre Review. The Actors Studio, Liverpool. full post

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

Totally Ninja-David Alnwick. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published on L.S. Media. July 17th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating * * * * *

Think you know magic? Until you have seen the spectacle of Gateshead born magician extraordinaire Totally Ninja-David Alnwick on stage, you haven’t seen anything.

Totally Ninja-David Alnwick. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(342 words, estimated 1:22 mins reading time)

The Crucible, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S.Media. July 6th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating * * * *

Cast: Graham Wright, Mary Savage, Beth Anderson, Jessica Olwyn, Anne Irvine, Christine Axworthy, James Lydon, Aimee Marrell, Rachel Rosie, Nakib Narat , Agata Jaroscz, Jason Carragher, Agustin Arraez, Lisa Symonds, Kieran McElduff, Karl Hesketh, Richard Harrickey, Alexander Laurel, Albert Hastings, Stacey Liddell, Robert Carter, Peter Higham.

When it comes to staging an Arthur Miller play, it can go horribly wrong or incredibly right. The pressure of living up to the standards of possibly the greatest American playwright of the 20^th century is not just magnified; it is peered over, analysed and broken down right down to the very facets that make even The Crucible seem daunting to appear in.

The Crucible, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Reds and Blues, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. July 4th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating * * * *

Cast: Roy Brandon, Paul Duckworth, Taylor Parry. Lynn Francis, Lindzi Germain, Lewis Pryor, Connor Laverty, Dan McIntrye, Andrew Schofield, Alan Stocks, Francis Tucker.

When a theatre gets the start of what will be an excellent makeover, it deserves to reopen with one of Liverpool’s finest writers and a cast that is so well versed in raising the laughter to very highest levels of audience enjoyment.

Reds and Blues, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(438 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Chicago, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. july 3rd 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Ali Bastian, Tupele Dorgu, Stefan Booth, Bernie Nolan, Jamie Baughan, Alex Wetherhill, Chloe Ames, Daniele Arbisi, Karen Aspinall, Nick Blair, Claire Rogers, Ian Oswald, Gregor Stewart, Kate Morris, Genevieve Nicole, Melanie Cripps, Jennifer Hilton, Adam Salter, Dominic Lamb, Ashley Rumble.

Chicago – the very whisper of intrigue, scandal, murder, vice and jazz that’s stalks this musical sets audiences into one of those wild surges of expectation which can make or break every performances. The bigger the expectation can lead to a much bigger and dramatic fall.

Chicago, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(412 words, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

God’s Official, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published on L.S. Media. June 27th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: John McGrellis, Derek Barr, David Kennedy Jones.

God’s Official, the new production at the Unity Theatre, highlights for every fan the moment in the dead of night when the footballing gods have deserted the team you support, the sheer insanity and depraved lengths you would go to save them from sporting ignominy.

God’s Official, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(370 words, estimated 1:29 mins reading time)

Avenue Q, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Stephen Arden, Sarah Harlington, Arina II, Richard Lowe, Richard Morse, Jessica Parker, Etisyai Philip, Rhiane Drummond, Gracie Lai, Cameron Sharp, Josh Tevendale.

Life is complicated, life is not always a bed of roses, neither is it a series of petals that cover up a piece of human anatomy at a time; life, like Time, is brutal, funny, sarcastic and sometimes downright terrifying, we have no way to control it, we have no way to subject it to our own whims; when you share a planet with seven billion other souls, getting everything you want is impossible and for that life is so much more interesting than ever.

Avenue Q, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

The Norman Conquests, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. June 7th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Oliver Birch, Philip Cumbus, Tom Davey, Laura Howard, Emily Pithon, Sarah Tansey.

Liverpool audiences have had to wait for quite a while for an Alan Ayckbourn play to come to the city and then like the proverbial bus, three come along at once.

The special and almost unique thing with The Norman Conquests is that it is not just one show but three specially crafted, incredibly well directed and lovingly bought to life plays that demand more attention for their ample moments of generous laughter that Alan Ayckbourn insists must be within all his plays, even when the subject matter is dour, there is always room for laughter.

The Norman Conquests, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(469 words, estimated 1:53 mins reading time)

Waiting For Brando, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. May 23rd 2012.

L.S. Media Rating *****

Cast: Paul Duckworth, Carl Cockram, Joe Shipman, Daniel Hayes.

The exceptional applause that rang out within the confines of the Unity Theatre’s studio two space said it all. From the exceptional performances by all the actors on stage, to the direction and the incredible writing of Mike Morris and Steven Higginson, Waiting For Brando was one of the most outstanding productions of our times.

Waiting For Brando, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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