Review

Writer: Brendan Murray Director: Wendy Harris Designer: Kate Bunce Composer: Christella Litras Movement: Holly Irving Reviewer: Ron Simpson Leeds-based company tutti frutti always manages to combine a playful style with serious intent in its widely-toured productions for young children – in this case, from as young as three years old. It’s surprising to find that, in a colourful, apparently simple ...

Book and Lyrics: Jethro Compton Music and Lyrics: Darren Clark Director: Jethro Compton Reviewer: Karl O'Doherty Cornish mysticism replaces jazz-age American dreaming in this beautiful, engaging, fizzing version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous short story. Transposed and translated from the West Coast of the US to a small fishing village, the curious case now becomes a folk tale revolving around ...

Writers: Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding Director: Lawrence Till Reviewer: Dave Cunningham Comedy duo Lip Service, comprising Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding, are essentially parodists; paying affectionate tribute to the greats of literature and cinema. Despite the title, however, their latest production does not reference the novel Strangers on a Train by Highsmith or the film of the same name by ...

Book, Music, Lyrics and Direction: Andrew Norris Reviewer: Maryam Philpott Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours… closer each day, Home and Away; Helen Daniels doing Tai Chi on the front lawn, Harold Bishop lost at sea and the wedding of Scott and Charlene, the Australian soap opera looms large in the collective cultural memory of the late 1980s and early 1990s. ...

Writer: Selina Thompson Director: Dawn Walton Reviewer: David Guest As the performer smashes a large piece of rock salt to smithereens with a sledgehammer and pounds it with a pestle over the course of 75 minutes it would be easy to think Selina Thompson’s salt .is an angry monologue, full of only sound and fury. In fact, this rage against ...

Writer: Moira Buffini Director: Jo Newman Reviewer: Sam Lowe It is an eye-catching title, Handbagged. Meaning, a woman who verbally attacks a person or idea ruthlessly and forcefully. Margaret Thatcher was labelled “The Iron Lady”, and appeared to always speak her mind and even be pugnacious. Tonight’s comedy play is about women in power. This is an Oldham Coliseum Theatre, ...

Book/Lyrics: Howard Ashman Music: Alan Menkin Director: Stephen Mear Reviewer: John Roberts Credit must be given to Storyhouse for taking the bold creative risk of putting this revival of Little Shop of Horrors into their deep thrust staging format. Not only for how much intimacy the space gives to this comic cult classic, but also how financially they could easily sell ...

Writer: Fiona Coffey Cabaret Reviewer: Simon Topping It’s 1969 and the audience have all been invited to Honey’s Happening. It’s a chance to meet and converse with all types of people, to play some suburban, mid-twentieth century, party games and ultimately a place to come together and make the world a better place. Greeted by our effusive and enthusiastic host ...