Author: The Reviews Hub - Central

Music: Miranda Cooper and Jennifer Decilveo Lyrics: Chris Bush and Miranda Cooper Writer: Kate Pankhurst Adaptor: Chris Bush Director: Amy Hodge On a school field trip to a museum, a young girl named Jade finds herself lost. She fears she’s been abandoned, forgotten by her teachers and classmates, and so she decides to explore the strictly off-limits Gallery of Greatness (despite the warnings of a rather pertinent loudspeaker announcer). Once inside the Gallery, she is welcomed by a series of famous women from throughout history. Each of them has a story to tell and a bit of advice for young…

Writer: Susan Hill Adaptor: Stephen Mallatratt Director: Robin Herford The Woman in Black is an English classic. It’s been running in London for over 30 years and has toured successfully across the world. The story is undeniably haunting. The play itself has a good few tricks up its sleeve, ready to keep the audience gasping in shock steadily throughout the two-hour production. This week at The Alexandra is no different. This classic tale begins with a mundane, grave, older man reading dryly from a slim black notebook. It’s a bit confusing – isn’t this meant to be a scary show?…

Writer: Simon Beaufoy Director: Michael Gyngell There can be few who don’t know the premise of The Full Monty, the 1997 British film which, perhaps unexpectedly, hit a nerve and won the BAFTA for best film that year. The award-winning stage version, adapted by the writer of the film’s screenplay, Simon Beaufoy, followed in 2013, followed by various productions, culminating in this new touring production. Two Sheffield steelworkers have their lives turned upside down when the plant closes. They are pushed into a range of sometimes questionable activities to keep the wolf from the door. By chance, they pass the…

Director and Choreographer: Sir Matthew Bourne Music: Terry Davies and Danny Elfman Sir Matthew Bourne is a master storyteller, famous for his mesmerising dance adaptations of well-known works – and his take on Tim Burton’s 1999 film, Edward Scissorhands, is no different. A critical success when it premiered in London in 2005, it enjoyed sell-out performances around the globe, and a revival in 2014/15 as part of a UK tour. What a joy it is, then, to see it return to Milton Keynes Theatre for the first time in nine years, updated with fresh ideas that take absolutely nothing away…

Conductor: Alfonso Casado Trigo In the 1950s and 1960s, the Rat Pack was a fluid group of around half a dozen entertainers, but the members most associated are Frank Sinatra, its effective leader for many years, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. And there can be no doubt that this was a supremely talented group about whom so many, probably apocryphal, stories have been told. If one wants to enjoy their unique style one has to look at film of old performances – never quite the same as being in the room – or enjoy a tribute to them. Symphonic…

Writers: Carl Grose and Spymonkey Director: Joyce Henderson When your theatre company suddenly finds itself just a double act, what do you do? Spymonkey used to comprise a quartet of actors, but after the sad loss of one and the long-term loan of another to Las Vegas they’re feeling lost. So what DO you do? Maybe you decide to tackle the oldest recorded double-act comedy in history, The Frogs by Aristophanes. Not that there’s a whole lot of Aristophanes here to see. No, this is very much a piece of modern comedy, written by long-time Kneehigh writer Carl Grose and…

Book and Lyrics: Tom McRae Music: Dan Gillespie-Sells Director: Matt Ryan Jamie New isn’t like the other boys at his Sheffield school. Openly gay, he is the butt of homophobic bullying from other boys, although the girls, especially his best friend Pritti – who is also the subject of bullying – are generally supportive. So when Miss Hedge asks the class their career plans as they prepare to leave, Jamie, whose “brain is the wrong shape for school,” is nervous about revealing his secret dream – to be a drag queen. But he does have the support of his mum…

Writer: Danny Robins Directors: Matthew Dunster and Isabel Marr This week, The Alexandra in Birmingham has been transformed into the in-progress living room/kitchen of a modern, trendy London flat. There’s a large digital clock on the wall and a small one on the top of the refrigerator, both counting through a 24-hour cycle with those unmistakable red numbers at great speed as the audience enters. All around is a sense of excitement and suspense; the audience is jumpy with anticipation. 2:22 A Ghost Story follows Jenny, a new mom facing an inexplicable presence in her posh new flat. Sam, her…