Tag Archives: Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre

Amélie: The Musical, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Audrey Brisson, Sophie Crawford, Faoileann Cunningham, Rachel Dawson, Oliver Grant, Nuwan Hugh Perera, Chris Jared, Charley Magalit, Caolan McCarthy, Samuel Morgan-Grahame, Emma Jane Morton, Kate Robson-Stuart, Josh Sneesby, Jez Unwin, Johnson Willis.

To live in a world which is delightful is perhaps everybody’s secret dream, one where kindness truly is its own reward and not a payback from the mealy mouthed who see it as recompense for their actions and who take advantage of the compassionate and gentle for their own amusement.

Amélie: The Musical, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Toast, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Giles Cooper, Katy Federman, Blair Plant, Samantha Hopkins, Stefan Edwards, Nicholas McBride, Alice Keedwell.

When we think of the autobiography, we tend to find ourselves in the realm of the adventurer, the sports personality, the political fixer, the musical star and the celebrity gossip; we are looking for a hero, for the individual to whom we might glean the clink of inspiration from in which our lives might not only improve, but in some we can bask in the glow of a reflected glory. However, the guide and influence does not always appear in such profound ways, sometimes it can be as simple as one who found their passion in another sphere, that the life they have led is just as pressured, they just found another way to rise to the top.

Toast, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(467 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

American Idiot, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Tom Milner, Luke Friend, Sam Lavery, Alexandra Robinson, Christian Tyler Wood, Daniel Law, Glen Adamson, Jennifer Caldwell, Joshua Dowen, Laura Marie Benson, Lucas Rush, Raquel Jones, Rory McGuire, Ross William Wild, Samuel Pope, Shekinah McFarlane, Siobhan O’ Driscoll, Amy Anzel, David Brooks.

Band: Robert Wicks, Chris George, Nick Kent, Charlie Maguire.

American Idiot, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(590 words, estimated 2:22 mins reading time)

Cooped, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Aitor Basauri, Stephen Kreiss, Petra Massey, Toby Park.

Twenty glorious years in the making, and still the riotous laughter keeps coming, for Brighton-based theatre company Spymonkey; there is no sitting delicately on laurels, resting in the plumped up leather chair beside the roaring fire and passion of the audience, even returning to one of the foursome’s early successes means being match fit, confining themselves to the bird house until the pen sparks life once more.

Cooped, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

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 20th 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)

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)

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)

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)

Stones In His Pockets, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Owen Sharpe, Kevin Trainor.

People don’t just change when they appear in front of the cameras, they alter their own perception of who they are, what their purpose is in life, for some it can be the glare of the lights that brings out the worst in them, for others, it is the removal of the make up that takes the gloss and the shine of what they once thought was glamour and all that could be desired.

Stones In His Pockets, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(392 words, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

The Girl On The Train, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Samantha Womack, Oliver Farnworth, John Dougall, Naeem Hayat, Adam Jackson-Smith, Lowenna Melrose, Kirsty Oswald, Matt Concannon, Phillipa Flynn.

Physical human manipulation and ease in which we can find ourselves drowning in a sea of guided abuse never makes for an easy bedfellow in which to immerse yourself in. From the outside looking in you can see all the traits, the subtle digs at the way someone controls another person, influences others to see the worst in that person, and yet when you are the one being expertly handled, all you see is the relief that addiction of any type can bring, that it is no longer your fault.

The Girl On The Train, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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