Book Reviews

September 2019 will mark the fortieth anniversary of the death of Dame Gracie Fields, who rose from being a mill girl to becoming a Global superstar and a champion of the British working classes. Her down to earth persona earned her the affectionate nickname of ‘Our Gracie’, and as such she became the epitome of traditional British values and beliefs. ...

Writer: Angela Carter Adapted by: Emma Rice Director: Emma Rice Designer: Vicki Mortimer Composer/Musical Director: Ian Ross Reviewer: Ron Simpson Wise Children is the name of a new theatre company founded by Emma Rice, after her long tenure of the role of Artistic Director of Kneehigh and her rather shorter stay at Shakespeare’s Globe. Wise Children is also the name ...

Writers/Directors: Andrew Quick and Pete Brooks Music: Jeremy Peyton Jones Reviewer: Ron Simpson There are many problems when adapting a novel as a stage play, from length to numbers of characters, from reproducing or rejecting the original setting to finding a modern dramatic equivalent, to the author’s narrative style. So distant have some recent versions been that they are best ...

Author: Max Hafler Reviewer: John Roberts Max Hafler has been teaching voice for well over a decade and his new book Teaching Voice - Workshops for Young Performers will easily become a go-to book for any theatre practitioner who works regularly with young people and or has to teach voice. The book is spilt into several sections - firstly there ...

Author: Bella Merlin Publisher: Nick Hern Books Reviewer: John Roberts “You’re standing on the stage in front of a packed auditorium. All eyes are on you. The lights. The darkness. The moment of glory. Then suddenly – out of nowhere – the dry mouth… the sweaty palms… the shaking knees… and the empty head. Lines well learnt - now lost ...

Author: Chris Duggan Publisher: Ancon Hill Publishing Reviewer: John Roberts Published to coincide with The Globe’s 20th year of performance and of course in the 400th year of Shakespeare Drawn to the Globe is a little gem of a book for any lover of theatre and indeed Shakespeare. Artist Chris Duggan has over the past 20 years stood through all ...

Author: Mel Gussow Reviewer: Glen Pearce   A writers life is often a solitary one and for their audience the only insight into the personality of playwrights is the work they share on stage. While Arthur Miller’s personal life may have been as interesting as his stage work, his life is somewhat overshadowed by his impressive catalogue of work, something ...

Authors: Louise Dearman &Mark Evans Publisher: Nick Hern Books Reviewer: John Roberts   Musical Theatre performers Louise Dearman and Mark Evans’ book Secrets of Stage Success is aimed at “anyone who’s seen a show and thought: “That could be me…’ While this might have been the original aim, the way the book is written and presented, one perhaps would change ...