Author: The Reviews Hub - East Anglia & South East

Writer and Director: Paul Hendy The Marlowe Theatre Pantomime maintains its tradition of being the best way to start the Christmas season with yet another superb festive offering with Beauty and the Beast.  In its twentieth year, the partnership between Evolution Productions and Canterbury’s Marlowe Theatre continues to go from strength to strength, with Beauty and the Beast being a dazzling delight from start to finish. Eastenders alumnus Maisie Smith shines as Belle, proving a triple threat as a performer by singing, acting and dancing with aplomb. Pantomimes often hinge on how much their stars are willing to put into…

Production Company: Acosta Danza Choreographer: Carlos Acosta Original Score: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Arrangements and Orchestrations: Pepe Gavilondo and Yasel Muñoz With November comes the Christmas season and the annual retellings of The Nutcracker. With there seemingly being a new take every year there’s always the question of what new magic can continue to be woven into its well-known tale. The Nutcracker in Havana’s renowned choreographer Carlos Acosta and his Havana-based company, debuting in Norwich, succeeds. Gone is the grand European mansion; in its place, we find a bustling 1950s Cuban household on Christmas Eve. Clara (Laura Rodríguez) is surrounded by…

Writers: Irene Sankoff and David Hein Director: Christopher Ashley In what absolutely does not sound like the formula for a musical, Come From Away is based on the real life events in Gander, Newfoundland, in the direct aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001. On that day all United States airspace was closed, and Canada offered a safe harbour for flights bound from Europe, which included some seven thousand passengers landing in Gander, which only had a population of nine thousand to begin with. And yet, this is a story of sharing cultures, languages, and experiences in what amounts to an exceptionally…

Writer : Jón Atli Jónasson  Translator: Brian Fitzgibbon Director : Jake Smith Djúpið, The Deep, is best known in the film of 2012, directed by Baltasar Kormákur. Jónasson’s original play – a monologue lasting just an hour – is touring East Anglia this month, ending, in fine Eastern Angles tradition, in the splendid modern Village Hall at Shotley, where the Orwell meets the Stour and the sea. The narrative, such as it is, is based on true events. On March 11 1984, Hellisey VE-503 sank east of Heimaey. The play isolates one young fisherman, Gulli. His chance of survival is small; his hopes inevitably fade. It’s often…

Writer: Agatha Christie Adaptation: Ken Ludwig Director: Lucy Bailey In winter of 1934 an avalanche stops the most famous train on its most famous journey and the occupants of the Orient Express find themselves trapped in the snow with a killer on board and only Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot to crack the case. Ken Ludwig’s adaption of one of Christie’s best known works sets off on its journey with Norwich as the first station stop in a show which works to bring to life her eclectic cast of characters while keeping her signature cosy feel in the wide open theatre…

Writers: Mark Stanfield, Richard Short and Barry Sloane Director: Scott Williams It will have escaped the notice of very few that the Gallagher brothers recently patched up their differences to re-form the pop band Oasis. Yet, with much less publicity almost half a century ago, an even more momentous reunion seemed, briefly, on the cards. Two of Us is an account of a real-life meeting that took place between John Lennon and Paul McCartney in New York City in 1976, six years after the Beatles had split up. Mark Stanfield’s screenplay has been adapted for the stage by himself, Richard…

Music/Lyrics: Max Martin Book: David West Read Director: Luke Sheppard Debuting in the West End in 2019 and quickly becoming a fan favourite, & Juliet is written by David West Read of Schitt’s Creek fame with music from songwriting genius Max Martin. The show brings us the story of what happens when Juliet doesn’t end it all over a boy. Told as an artistic argument between Shakespeare himself and his wife Anne Hathaway, the story thrives on the unexpected. What should be a jukebox musical of pop classics instead creates a thought-provoking show which considers gender, feminism, sexuality, and acceptance,…

Director: Christopher Gattelli The Silence of the Lambs is a dark psychological thriller that follows FBI trainee Clarice Starling as she seeks the help of imprisoned cannibalistic murderer Dr. Hannibal Lecter to catch serial killer Buffalo Bill. It is a narrative which examines the complexities of the human psyche, the nature of evil, and the blurred lines between hunter and prey, ultimately highlighting themes of manipulation, power, and the search for identity within a chilling cat-and-mouse game. Silence! The Musical is… not. Yet somehow that is meant in the best, most complimentary way. This show absolutely should not work, but…