3*** 6 July 2019 The English writer Ray Cooney began his theatrical career acting in the famous ‘Whitehall Farces’ in the 1950s and 1960s and developed his own work as a writer in that genre. ‘Wife Begins at 40’ had its first performance in 1985 and was a collaboration with American comedy duo Arne Sultan […]
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5***** 28 June 2019 The 2010 film ‘The King’s Speech’ was the big winner at the Academy Awards the following year – quite rightly so. Writer, David Seidler, thereafter, crafted a stage play from his screenplay which had a short tour of the UK in London before a two-month run in the West End in
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22 June 2019 3*** In the recent annals of British Theatre there are probably few entries which make as fascinating reading as the history of ‘The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’, David Edgar’s 1980 adaptation of the novel by Charles Dickens. In his own words, Edgar recalls ‘the reviews had been grudging to hostile’.
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3*** 20 June 2019 The Summer Play Festival at the Manor Pavilion Theatre in Sidmouth is a phenomenon. 12 plays performed over 12 weeks. When one play ends, the set is taken down, a new one is built and the next play opens the following night. For 12 weeks. A company of actors, directors and
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Bristol Old Vic Theatre School’s Production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby – June 2019 THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKLEBY by CHARLES DICKENS, adapted for the stage by DAVID EDGAR THE BRISTOL OLD VIC THEATRE SCHOOL at THE BRISTOL OLD VIC– JUNE 2019 INTRODUCING NICHOLAS NICKLEBY A story of greed and
5***** 22 May 2019 Kazuo Ishiguro’s 1989 Booker Prize winning novel, ‘The Remains of the Day’ created a real buzz when it was first published – I was a bookseller at the time – but it was most definitely not for everyone. The slow burning tale of a grand house butler relating his own story
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1* 11 March 2019 There is patently an audience for a show like CLUB TROPICANA-THE MUSICAL – many rose to their feet and cheered and applauded during the MEGAMIX of the finale – I, however, am not one of that number. Juke Box Musicals have been all the rage for some years and some work,
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2 March 2019 2** In his programme notes, Director Mike Tweddle says “..we’ve discovered a very political and dramatic story. There is so much at stake for the characters, who live in a society that is harsh and problematic. We wanted to make these high stakes as palpable as possible for a modern audience, so
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24 February 2019 5***** Written 111 years ago, The Wind in the Willows has firmly become a classic of English literature and has been adapted many times and in many ways. Kenneth Grahame’s gentle story of animals has, at the heart of it, themes of friendship, good over bad and respect. And now, IN THE
IN THE WILLOWS – Exeter Northcott Theatre Read More »
6 February 2019 5***** David Tomlinson became the archetypal English gentlemen in Hollywood films in the 1960s and 1970s; diffident, correct, slightly daft and always likeable. Before then he was a mainstay of British romantic comedies and films set in WW2. He was a character actor who you were comfortable with, you almost felt you
THE LIFE I LEAD – Exeter Northcott Theatre Read More »
