Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Jamie Glover This is an absolutely joyous evening’s entertainment, with a truly stunning set, simply and effectively directed, placing Shakespeare’s timeless lines at the heart of the show, which the talented cast deliver on in spades. It’s extremely funny, with some fabulous performances, incredibly atmospheric music and a heart as big as the huge sun that is a constant at the back of the stage. It’s a limited run, so get your tickets now! Amanda Stoodley’s glorious set proves the idiom that ‘less is more’ – a huge sun as a backdrop (very reminiscent of Olafur…
Author: The Reviews Hub - Yorkshire & North East
The Reviews Hub - Yorkshire & North East
The Yorkshire & North East team is under the editorship of Jacob Bush. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. Our mission is to provide the most in-depth, nationwide arts coverage online.
Writer: Margaret Atwood Director: Juliet Forster It’s now some 21 years since the distinguished novelist, Margaret Atwood, re-wrote the Odyssey for Canongate’s Myths series, taking the story of Penelope and Odysseus and re-telling it from Penelope’s perspective. Penelope, of course, in the original, was the soul of honour and loyalty, weaving her tapestry by day and undoing it by night to keep at bay those suitors who pestered her during Odysseus’ long absence after the Trojan War, having all those adventures that Homer recounts. Atwood then adapted the novella for the stage and, with one or two additions from the original, this…
Book: Jessie Nelson Music and Lyrics: Sara Bareilles Director: Diane Paulus “I was drunk, I do dumb things when I’m drunk, like sleep with my husband” It’s ten years since Waitress first exploded onto the stage in a flurry of sugar, butter and flour. A musical with huge potential to be as sickly sweet as the pie-based framing device, this surprisingly gritty show tells the story of Jenna (played by West End royalty Lucie Jones), a baker with big dreams and a big heart and a terrible husband. On the cusp of leaving, she discovers she is pregnant. Enter Dr…
Writer: Thomas Harris Adaptor: Gina Gionfriddo Director: Nikolai Foster This is the first stage adaptation of the iconic psychological horror novel by Thomas Harris, brought so memorably to life on the screen in 1991 by Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. Such is the power of the original novel and film in the public consciousness that any theatrical production has a hard act to follow. The fact that it succeeds brilliantly is down to the quality of the script, an arresting and engaging set design, a terrific cast and two stand-out performances from the central pairing of John Partridge and Mollie…
Music: Christoph Willibald Gluck with additional music by Leo Grant Words: Ranieri de’ Calzabigi, translated by George Robarts Director: Jenny Ogilvie Conductor: Iwan Davies One of the great tragic love stories from Greek mythology is the tale of the musician Orpheus and his wife Eurydice. When she dies very young, he is utterly bereft and his heartbreaking music is heard by the Gods who take pity on him and give him the chance to bring her back to life. He jumps at it. But to do so, he has to travel to the underworld to lead her out without turning…
Writer: Joe Carnall Jnr Director: Lauren Partridge This impactful play with music at its heart tells the story of Granddad Jack McBride’s dementia and how he, his wife Jean and grandson Billy face the new reality of his condition. Written and composed by Sheffield musician Joe Carnall Jnr (Milburn, Reverend & Makers), How Could I Forget? is his debut offering as a playwright and has taken five years in the making. The result is a moving, compassionate ‘love letter to grandparents.’ Jack McBride, the granddad, was quite the lad in his younger days. He came from Glasgow to work in…
Composers: Elena Langer, Henry Purcell Librettos: Glyn Maxwell, Nahum Tate Conductor: Alex Robinson (Dido and Aeneas) Directors: Anna Morrissey, Rebecca Meltzer Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas is the first great British opera – and English Touring Opera’s production, conducted stylishly from the harpsichord by Alex Robinson, proves once again that it is a very great opera. It does have one little drawback, however: it runs for about an hour, long enough for the girls at Josias Priest’s dancing school for whom it was written, but decidedly short for an evening in the theatre. English Touring Opera’s solution? To begin with Elena Langer’s work…
Writer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Director: Patrick Nolan The stands of a brutalist Soviet stadium, being steadily bedecked with flags and banners is the back drop for Opera North’s bold and stirring new production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. The infrastructure of Leslie Travers’ set visibly crumbling, the delivery of gaudily coloured costumes, destined by this rural community of performers for the opening ceremony of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, is a welcome burst of colour. Sisters, Olga and Tatyana are amongst the crowd. Olga is lively and bright in her yellow polka dot ra-ra frock, whilst her more reserved sister is drably…