Cormac Richards

5 April 2023 2** Marie Antoinette has been celebrated in many forms since the departure of her head; theatre, film and stage have elevated her to something akin to a cult figure. Thus ‘Cake’ provides a further slice of this historical icon but uses a different kind of recipe. In the ‘blurb’ for the show, […]

4 April 2023 4**** High Schools and Teenage Angst are fertile ground for writers of books, plays, films and musicals. Take ‘Grease’ or ‘Spring Awakening’, for instance, which both deal with growing pains in rather more contrasting styles. The 1988 film ‘Heathers’ falls into this category, but writer Daniel Waters definitely took things into the

28 March 2023 2** Jules Verne’s classic adventure novel has been the basis for many adaptations of one kind or another, including a 20th Century re-enactment for television by Michael Palin; this 2021 version by Juliet Foster, for York Theatre Royal, takes a new approach. Presented here as a co-production with Tilted Wig Productions, the

20 March 2023 4**** It seems inconceivable that a play could still be running in London’s West End after 70 years (albeit with a lengthy gap during the Covid pandemic) – even the author couldn’t fathom the reasons for it and she passed away nearly 50 years ago! ‘The Mousetrap’ is a phenomenon. The London

15 March 2023 5***** In the week after Theatre Royal Plymouth have a major coup in appointing Dame Darcy Bussell as its Chair of the Trustees, they bring to the stage an exquisite production of Swan Lake from Birmingham Royal Ballet. BRB visit Plymouth twice a year and it is always something to look forward

13 March 2023 3*** The popularity and fascination with Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes continues unabated. Continual reinventions, reincarnations, revivals and adaptations highlight the longevity of the stories and the character. Blackeyed Theatre are well versed in bringing new adaptations of classic novels to the stage and have previously presented Holmes in ‘The Sign of

7 March 2023 4**** A quick read of J B Priestley’s opening stage directions for ‘An Inspector Calls’ offers some insight into his thinking behind the play and the decisions taken by director Stephen Daldry and designer Ian MacNeil in this production which has been in existence for over 30 years. Priestley tempts directors to

24 February 2023 4**** Let me just say from the outset that for any actor to hold the audience’s attention and to entertain them royally, to make them laugh and to move them for 90 minutes, all alone, is something to be deeply admired and in this thoroughly entertaining play, Robert Daws is simply outstanding.

14 February 2023 5***** Sometimes it is good to come to a piece of theatre with the very minimum of background knowledge; I have never read any of Neil Gaiman’s work, nor seen adaptations of them in any form, but was aware that the stage version of his book, THE OCEAN AT THE END OF

8 February 2023 4**** Exeter Northcott Theatre has been a crusader in bringing dance to the stage and the audiences have been treated to many variations of the artform over the years. They are usually very well supported and the appearance of Cornwall-based James Wilton Dance was welcomed with open arms by a packed house.