Tag Archives: Liverpool

The Two Gentlemen Of Verona, Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Leah Brotherhead, Garry Cooper, Aruham Galieva, Guy Hughes, Amber James, Charlotte Mills, Dharmesh Patel, Fred Thomas.

William Shakespeare is arguably the pinnacle of the English language, the most brilliant observer of human behaviour and the writer of some of the world’s finest plays; from Hamlet to Richard III, from Macbeth to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and onto Henry V and Love’s Labour’s Lost, all are instantly recognisable and charged with experience. Yet even the Bard had to start somewhere, even Shakespeare had to grind out an initial play that even in modern times is under produced, labelled problematic and one that even the B.B.C. in its infinite wisdom has shied away from repeating more than once.

The Two Gentlemen Of Verona, Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Lloyd Cole, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

For the unexpected, the unforeseen droll and beautifully humorous, sometimes you have to go that extra mile, you have to put yourself into the path of the genius and let their song cleanse your spirit.

Lloyd Cole, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Level 42, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Level 42’s Mark King at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. October 2016. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There was always something about them that was so right, the sound that was different to the pop dominance of British music in the 1980s and 90s. It was enough to make sure that their style of performing, the hard swish of the distinctive bass and funk undertones, was guaranteed a special status in the hearts of music fans; Level 42 were always going to be a positive influence upon the ears.

Level 42, Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

(395 words, 1 image, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

Vonda Shepard, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Television may have brought the name of Vonda Shepard to the vast majority of British music lovers but the genuine appeal of her touching song writing and piano playing is the truth of why she has retained that adoration from her audiences and the abundance of spirit in her recording career. Vonda Shepard is remarkable, a woman of clear and precise musical beauty and to whom the smile never seems to fade.

Vonda Shepard, Gig Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

The Girl On The Train, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Édgar Ramírez, Laura Prepon, Allison Janney, Darren Goldstein, Lisa Kudrow, Cleta E. Ellington, Lana Young, Rachel Christopher, Fernando Medina, Gregory Morley, Mac Tavares, John Norris, Nathan Shapiro, Tamiel Paynes, Peter Mayer-Klepchick.

When you reach the bottom of the glass, perception is everything, it can define who you are because of what you see or what you fail to register; the comfort of the glass might be the great pain killer and momentary healer but it does nothing for your eyesight or your ability to think through a situation clearly.

The Girl On The Train, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

(451 words, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

The Rivals, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Desmond Barrit, Nicholas Bishop, Lucy Briggs-Owen, Lily Donovan, Keith Dunphy, Henry Everett, Jessica Hardwick, Julia Legrand, Lee Mango, Shaun Miller, Rhys Rusbatch.

One of 18^th Centuries Europe’s finest wits and tamer of words never truly gets the praise he deserves in modern society, it is to be enemy of Time when figures such as Richard Sheridan are venerated and applauded by 21^st Century audiences and readers of his work but to whom never seem to see the plays due to the length of the production and the fear of producers to take them beyond the boundaries of London.

The Rivals, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(423 words, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

Happy Hour, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Ian Cook, Adam Davies, Eleni Edupidi, Jennifer Essex.

Like convenience food, happiness is pre-packaged, put on a shelf and marketed, it is what everybody desires, everybody grasps for, fights over and goes out of their way to show to the world that they have seen a fleeting glimpse of it as the show an endless parade of pictures of their life on social media; happiness is no longer a cigar, it is an emotion that becomes more flawed and cracked the higher life takes you, for like money, the more you have, the more you need to keep the thrill going.

Happy Hour, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Swiss Army Man, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Antonio Ribero, Timothy Eulich, Richard Gross, Marika Casteel, Andy Hull, Aaron Marshall, Shane Carruth, Jessica Harbeck.

There are moments on screen when you wonder who exactly gave the green light to a project that on the face of it seems so incredibly preposterous that it surely only exists in the minds of the wonderfully imaginative but creatively bonkers. A story that somehow really should not work at all on film; yet has the power at the closing credits to have you smiling as you walk towards your bus or contemplate catching your train, a smile that borders on the enticed and cinematically romanced.

Swiss Army Man, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool. full post

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

Tiffany Stevenson, Seven. Comedy Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

It doesn’t seem five minutes since Tiffany Stevenson was wowing the crowds at this year’s Edinburgh Festival and yet in the month since she has been to America to discuss a film, reaffirmed her belief that Donald Trump is bad for women as well as others who may share the land of the free but somehow great for comedians and that somewhere along the line Giant Hogs are as dangerous a prospect in Louisiana as the possibility of Isis striking a direct hit in the swamps and that the great state relies heavily upon guns, lots of guns, weapons carried in full view and more than likely allowed in the disturbing scenes associated with a particular porn empire.

Tiffany Stevenson, Seven. Comedy Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(443 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

Bec Hill Caught On Tape, Comedy Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound And Vision Rating: * * * *

Cast: Bec Hill

It will be the last time that the Liverpool Comedy Festival will be housed in the Unity Theatre before it begins its major refurbishment at the beginning of next year, and leading us into the festival is acclaimed Australian comedian Bec Hill. After making the finals of the Raw act competition in her native country and wining the Barry Award for best show in Edinburgh 2014, this comedian has gathered quite a following with her quirky style of comedy.

Bec Hill Caught On Tape, Comedy Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(356 words, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)