Tag Archives: Liverpool

The Sunshine Boys, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Andrew Schofield, Alan Stocks, Helen Carter, Michael Fletcher, Stephen Fletcher, Liam Tobin.

Sometimes there are no words that can ever justify the praise or warmth you wish to impart to people or future audiences on how good a play or performance is.  You just have to watch the crowd’s reaction and listening to the cheering of those that had made their way Epstein Theatre to watch The Sunshine Boys too know that the production is just simply amazing.

The Sunshine Boys, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(478 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

Lennon, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: John Power, Matt Breen, Tom Connor, Jessica Dyas, Kirsten Foster, Ross Higginson, Adam Keast, Jonathan Markwood, Mark Newnham.

Even almost 33 years after John Lennon was cruelly and untimely taken from his fans and from the city of Liverpool and the world, his iconic memory still has the power, the absolute authority of spirit, in which to inspire and encourage rousing feelings of love and joy and ultimately the sadness of a life cut short well before his time.

Lennon, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(559 words, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)

Joe Bonamassa: Gig Review. M & S Bank Arena, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Joe Bonamassa at the M & S Bank Arena. April 25th 2025. Photograph by David Pickles.

The air is filled with the sound of expectation, the faithful 3000 inside the M & S Bank Arena that adds an extra sense of gravitas to the historic view of the skyline of Liverpool’s waterfront can feel the intensity of solemnity radiating from the back of the stage as the momentum and the drama of music that emanates from the guitar of Joe Bonamassa is ready to deal all the aces in a night of high value and atmospheric pulses that went on to rock the space inside the venue with passion and the sound of freedom.

Joe Bonamassa: Gig Review. M & S Bank Arena, Liverpool. full post

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

Chris De Burgh: Gig Review. (2025). Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The appeal of Chris de Burgh thankfully never wavers, the consummate professional on stage, the twinkle in the delivery between songs, the genuine affection of his fans as they elevate the mild mannered star to the threshold of immortality…this is no glib statement, but an observation as the singer songwriter returns to Liverpool on the first night of his latest tour, and seeing him work the sense of the common man into an artform; and he endeared himself to the crowd, you could feel the drama of his songs play out, as he intends, as the audio cinematic touch overwhelms and passionately throws hearts into a flutter.

Chris De Burgh: Gig Review. (2025). Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

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

Rapunzel: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Panto. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Emma Bispham, Ben Boskovic, Adam Keast, Ai Kumar, Rebecca Levy, Alice Merivale, Tomi Ogbaro, Adam Scott Pringle, Michael Starke, Dylan Townley, Zoe West.

It is no hair-lucination, the style and delivery will cause a wave of laughter for all ages, and with the deadly Danny Ruff on the prowl to corner the hairdressing market, the buzz of the razor’s edge as it cuts through the dastardly machinations is only enhanced by the terrific sound of laughter that fills to the trim of the Everyman Theatre as the city’s audience are once more treated to the Rock ‘N’ Roll Panto, and as the Francesca Goodridge directed and the Jude Christian written Rapunzel brings families together no perm is left untouched and no pun safe from being teased out.

Rapunzel: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Panto. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

The Scouse Red Riding Hood: Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Emma Grace Arends, Chantel Cole, Lindzi Germain, Adam McCoy, Lydia Rose Morales Scully, Andrew Schofield, Keddy Sutton. Liam Tobin.

Band: Ben Gladwin, Jack Hymers, Greg Joy, Chris Nicholls, Mike Woodvine.

Excellence rarely comes as a surprise, the joy of the eternal is forever and unequivocally stands on its own legendary status, and for the creatives, the cast, and the audiences that will make their way to the Royal Court Theatre between now and the new year, The Scouse Red Riding Hood theatrical offering is as ever one of tremendous and fantastic irreverence to the staid and the cautious that grips the stony hearted and loosens the funny bone with the skill of a night with Liverpool’s own Ken Dodd and a large dose of double entendre at his disposal.

The Scouse Red Riding Hood: Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Wendy James: Gig Review. Rough Trade Records, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

The show must always go on, the dedication to the cause despite all that life may casually throw at you must continue unabashed and with sincerity be held up for all to witness; for you never know who you may inspire with just a simple acknowledgement of your time in the spotlight despite all that has happened, and how your life is one of creative cool.

Wendy James: Gig Review. Rough Trade Records, Liverpool. full post

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

Drop The Dead Donkey: The Reawakening. Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Susannah Doyle, Robert Duncan, Ingrid Lacey, Neil Pearson, Jeff Rawle, Stephen Tompkinson, Victoria Wicks, Julia Hills, Kerana Jagpal, Claire Louise Amias, Adam Morris, Riya Rajeev.

They argue that you cannot recreate magic, that nothing is truly timeless, and in comedy that is especially true, the lighting that was captured does not stay in the bottle because attitudes to what makes people laugh alters so drastically that it the pressure inside the glass can do nothing but break, and all that remains is a puff, a glimmer of the electrifying pulse that once was seeping out into a world whose view has shifted and the approach of farce is pushed aside in favour of a new regime designed to no make people guffaw and snort wildly but be downcast and dull.

Drop The Dead Donkey: The Reawakening. Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(549 words, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)

Haunted Scouse. Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Helen Carter, Paul Duckworth, Lynn Francis, Julie Glover, Michael Starke.

We deal with grief in our own way, but we must allow humour to part of the therapy in taking us from a place of heartbreak to one where we can look back at the times before the moment and take solace in the joy what came before, the small things that make a smile and a laugh the most beautiful response in the world.

Haunted Scouse. Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Toyah And Robert’s Sunday Lunch: Live. Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Toyah has never lost her sense of fun and style, and her husband, the legendary Robert Fripp, exudes such an air of gentlemanly grace that to be in their presence can often feel measurably overwhelming.

For to watch two of Britain’s most experienced performers on stage can lead to the listener being comforted and dominated in the same breath; and when they are together on the back of their hugely successful Sunday Lunch show online that sartorial elegance on stage for a Liverpool crowd is one that is to be acknowledged as being performed by a king and queen of Prog and Punk.

Toyah And Robert’s Sunday Lunch: Live. Gig Review. Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. full post

(490 words, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)