Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Clifford Samuel, Amanda Drew, Magnus Gillijam, Up For Arts Choir.
All events lead to somewhere. The unseen random strands dissecting, passing along easily in infinite possibilities and unhindered, until they converge, they smash together in such an explosion of such reverberation and repercussions that could be felt for years after. The Events are how we deal with the unfolding drama and how we choose to live with the aftermath.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Bruce Alexander, Andy Apollo, Jason Carragher, Callum Coates, Daniel Coonan, Julia Ford, Scott Hazell, Lloyd Hutchinson, Denise Kennedy, Tom Peters, Joe Ringwood, Shannon Tarbet, Liam Tobin, Daryl Wafer.
Arthur Miller’s plays are such that to miss out on a production of them is simply not good form. All you really need to know about life in the United States in the 20th Century can be found in the writings of one of the keenest minds of the time and his look at certain frailties of life, emasculation, deceit, dishonour and the destruction of a system that was corrupt and hopelessly out of touch with his thinking, are repeated over and again in the hope that someone, anyone might understand what is going wrong in the country.
Mr. Geraint Williams as Geoffrey Chaucer. Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Geraint Williams, Dominic Davies, Daniel Murphy, Shamus Cooke, Alex Webber-Date, Liam Hale, Trixie Roddick, George Parsons, Angela Hehir, Faisel Yousif, Charles Adey, James Rooney, Lewis Smith, Imogen Wignall, Katie Overbury, Jacob Lowman, Madeline Smart, Johnny Campbell, Charlotte Wilson, George Trier, Darren Begley.
Minstrels: Darren Begley, Alex Cottrell, Sarah Peverley, Maeve Sullivan.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
It is said that somewhere between joy and despair lies happiness; perhaps acceptance would be better because happiness is surely attained when you have watched someone almost take themselves the absolute limit, perform something astonishing and see them smile at the end, that surely is the meaning of happiness; the moment in which you have seen someone achieve something great and powerful.
Liverpool Sound & Vision Rating: * * *
Cast: Michael Swift, John Doull.
If you have ever wondered what kind of jobs out of work actors will do, then John Godber’s play The Debt Collectors gives you a good insight into just how desperate some people can be when looking for work. When a vacancy opens up for debt recovery, actors Spud (John Doull) and Loz (Michael Swift) think that they are the perfect pair for the role, with no hint of any acting work and broke to boot they throw themselves into demanding money from the good citizens of Liverpool. Along the way, they discover some home truths and are reminded of just how lucky they actually are.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Martin Bonger, Margit Szlavik, Elisabet Topp.
There is nothing better feeling than coming out of the theatre knowing you haven’t just been entertained but also educated as well. It is like reading for example American Pastoral by Philip Roth and realising just how much you have learned about the art of making gloves or the inside knowledge of whales you find repeating when reading Moby Dick, theatre is another avenue in which to be cultivated and undeniably enlightened, especially when the play is North North North.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8/10
Cast: Francesca Davies, Gillian Hardie, Hayley Davies, Nick Sheedy, James Ledsham, Katie King, Danny Woods, Sophie Tickle, Mike Howl, Rob Boyle.
The Cavern in Liverpool is a place of dreams. Even today, long since its golden age and the days in which the Beatles gave all who made their way to the venue a glimpse of the future. It has the power to bestow a certain magic on the thought of artists performing there and the memories of long since departed audiences, the thought of music history forever encased into the walls is one in which visitors clamber over themselves to see.
Liverpool Sound & Vision rating * * * * *
Cast: James Greaves, Richard J Fletcher, Nanou Harry, Sarah Hawkins
Finding Joy is a beautiful story about one woman’s decline into dementia and the people left behind to care for her. Created by Vamos Theatre, the story is inspired by true events and the show focuses on the relationship between Joy and her grandson. Vamos is unique as there is no script, rather all the drama is told through masks. For those who have never really seen this in a show before (it was a first time experience for me) it took only a few moments for the expressive masks and the physicality of the actors to work their magic and any doubt as to how this could work soon melted away.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Neil Caple, Pauline Daniels, Natalie Dew, Paul Duckworth, Luke Jerdy, Adam Keast, Matthew Kelly, Adam Levy, Jodie McNee, Robin Morrissey, David Rubin, Alan Stocks, Nicholas Woodeson.
If…The stage and greasepaint, the drama and the laughter, the sorrow and the exceptional mirth bring you joy then let the theatre forever live on.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Nir Paldi, Orian Michaeli, Amy Nostbakken, Seiko Nakazawa, Stefi Sourial, Deborah Pugh, Pete Aves.
The tale of one boy growing up in the settlements of Israel, the history behind his family and the darkness that seeps through like an admission of youthful guilt is introduced not with the fading bell of entropy but with the sound of music, the reckless, wonderfully stirring style of Berlin in the 1920s and with the gaze of the a man pouring into your soul looking for understanding and a sort of forgiveness, not many plays have this at its heart, there is probably no play around that captures the soul in quite the same way as Ballad Of The Burning Star.