______ 4 August 2024 ______ 4**** ______ The story of Arnold Ridley is extraordinary. Known to millions from his portrayal of Private Godfrey in the (still) enormously popular TV series ‘Dad’s Army’ and as author of one of the most popular plays in the English language, ‘The Ghost Train’, this new biographical play is engrossing, […]
______ 29 July 2024 ______ 5***** ______ Yasmina Reza’s extraordinary 2008 play lifts the lid off the genteel politeness of middle-class Parisians as two couples meet to discuss the fallout from an incident between their respective sons – one has hit the other in the face with a stick, breaking two teeth. In trying to
GOD OF CARNAGE – Manor Pavilion Theatre, Sidmouth Read More »
______ 27 July 2024 ______ 4**** ______ Within the delightful grounds of the, sadly, derelict and fire ravaged, Poltimore House, near Exeter Devon, the scene is set on a beautiful summer’s evening (kicked off with a very short shower just before curtain up), for a production of one of Shakespeare’s lesser known plays. Locally based
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______ 25 July 2024 ______ 5***** _____ As an astonishingly popular TV series of the 1970s, it took until 2018 for a stage version to hit the stage – with great success – it starred Joe Pasquale as the hapless character Frank Spencer, the role created on screen by Michael Crawford. The delightful Barn Theatre
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______ 22 July 2024 ______ 4**** ______ Playwright Richard Harris has written some of the most performed plays in the UK – ‘Stepping Out’ and ‘Outside Edge’ to name the best known; ‘Party Piece’ is a much lesser known work, but based on his earlier play, ‘Local Affairs’. In ‘Outside Edge’ the central characters are
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______ 15 July 2024 ______ 3*** ______ The TV series Yes, Minister and sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, were pivotal situation comedies of their time; garnering support and praise from politicians to critics to the man on the street. Running collectively through the best part of the 1980s whilst Margaret Thatcher was in Number 10 Downing
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______ 8 July 2024 ______ 2.5   **½ Opening in 1987 at an Off-Broadway Theatre, ‘Perfect Crime’ is still running; a younger equivalent to London’s ‘The Mousetrap’ (now in it’s 70th year!). More astonishing is the fact that (apart from a small handful of performances), the leading role of the psychiatrist, Margaret Thorne Brent,
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______ 1 July 2024 ______ 5***** ______ Written when Noël Coward was approaching his mid-twenties, it is difficult to believe that his hugely popular play ‘Hay Fever’  is celebrating its centenary having been written in 1924 with its stage premiere the following year. Noted for the strength of the comedy and the verbal sparring between
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______ 26 June 2024 ______ 5***** ______ A year ago I came across Rendez-Vous Dance for the first time. The show was ‘What Songs May Do’ and I described it in one word, ‘Outstanding’. Following such a fulfilling experience, one yearns for any follow-up to be on an equal standard. ‘The Monocle’ is just that.
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______ 24 June 2024 ______ 3*** ______ A yearly celebration takes place in the seaside town of Sidmouth in Devon; the opening of the Summer Play Festival; 12 plays performed in 12 weeks forming the longest running repertory theatre season in the UK. With advance ticket sales as good as they have ever been there
HOUSE GUEST – Manor Pavilion Theatre, Sidmouth Read More »
