8 JUNE 2023 2** The original 2013 London production of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, based on Roald Dahl’s most famous book for children, offered up spectacular sets, great special effects, a group of young actors as the Golden Ticket Winners, quirky and fun Oompa Loompas and a Willy Wonka with huge charisma. This new […]
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24 April 2023 4**** Two middle-aged men meet up via the gay dating app, Grindr, and realise they are old school friends who shared a deep love of the Swedish pop group Abba. They decide to form a tribute band with them playing the women and two females playing the men. Such is the outline
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15 April 2023 3*** ‘KINDLE’ by Hattie Collins takes on some big subject matters; global energy, renewables, death, mental health, family relationships, debt, fossil fuels….. the list goes on. Angela runs a remote petrol station which is in financial difficulty. Her daughters, Holly and Heather are polar opposites in views and lifestyle and have a
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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,
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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
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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
AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS – Exeter Northcott Theatre Read More »
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
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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
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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
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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
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