Central Reviews

Book: Terence McNally Music and Lyrics: David Yazbek Director: Adam Lacey Reviewer: Selwyn Knight It’s hard to believe that it’s over 20 years since the film, The Full Monty, burst onto cinema screens, telling the story of a group of Sheffield steelworkers made redundant from the only living they’d ever known. In 2000, the action was moved to Buffalo, NY for ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Fiona Laird Reviewer: James Garrington If you’re hoping to see how Shakespeare can be brought up to date, then look no further than this fun-packed production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. There is little doubt that Shakespeare designed many of his plays to be crowd-pleasers, aimed at entertaining and engaging with the general public of the ...

Book: Kevin Del Aguila Music and Lyrics: Geoge Noriega and Joel Someillan Director: Kirk Jameson Reviewer: Selwyn Knight Marty the zebra and his friends have it pretty good in Central Park Zoo. But on Marty’s tenth birthday a mid-life crisis has hit him. After talking to a commando unit of penguins who are plotting their escape to Antarctica, he hankers after the wild, albeit ...

Book: Douglas Day Stewart and Sharleen Cooper Cohen Director: Nikolai Foster Reviewer: James Garrington Many movies have iconic moments, moments that linger in the memory long after the rest of the film is fading. An Officer and a Gentleman has one such moment – it may be over 35 years ago, but a lot of people will remember the final scene, ...

Writer: Amanda Whittington Directors: Jason Capewell and Alasdair Harvey Reviewer: Selwyn Knight Four disparate and apparently breezy ladies escape their humdrum lives in a fish packing company for a day, celebrating Pearl’s retirement by having a day at the races. During their day away, we find each has hidden depths as secrets are revealed. For each, the day is a turning ...

Writer: Jennifer Farmer (City Final),   Directors: Leon Phillips, Naomi Wood, Paul O’Donnell, Reena Jaisiah, Claire Proctor, Natalie Russo (City Final), Oliver Scott (Retold) Choreographer: Olver Scott (Retold) Reviewer: Selwyn Knight The 1950s was a big decade in Coventry’s history. Much of the city, including its historic St Michael’s Cathedral, most of its industrial capacity and over 4000 homes, was flattened in ...

Book: Dennis Kelly, from the book by Roald Dahl Music and Lyrics: Tim Minchin Director: Matthew Warchus Reviewer: Selwyn Knight Matilda Wormwood is a precocious, intelligent, imaginative and resilient girl with a strong sense of what is right.  By the age of five, she has taught herself the three Rs and has read many of the classics. Yet in a world where ...

Book, Music and Lyrics: Sam Kenyon Director: Erica Whyman Reviewer: James Garrington “We know about so many unremarkable men and so few remarkable women”. So says Joan Littlewood in this production, in a clear reference to herself – because for many outside the world of theatre, the name Joan Littlewood may not mean very much at all. Working during the mid-20th century, ...