South East Reviews

Writer: Graham Greene Adaptor: Bryony Lavery Director: Esther Richardson Reviewer: Cathy Swaby Playwright Bryony Lavery’s adaptation of Graham Greene’s 1938 novel Brighton Rock is a haunting, stylish masterpiece, which leads the audience on a journey of life and death, good versus evil, and the angst of youth. Lavery, who’s most well-known play Frozen is re-running in London theatres, has cleverly ...

Writer: Noel Coward Director: Michael Cabot Reviewer: Simon Topping Welcome to the singular wit of Noel Coward. Written in a matter of days, post flu and in a flurry of creative abandonment, Coward’s Private Lives has remained one of his most popular and reproduced plays since its inception in 1930.  The piece explores the infuriating and intense nature of love.  ...

Writer: Khaled Hosseini Adapter: Matthew Spangler Director: Giles Croft Reviewer: Lu Greer Khaled Hosseini’s debut novel The Kite Runner was a massive literary success as it tackled a multitude of complex issues including the complexities of family and friendship, love, politics, class, transnational immigration, and the struggle of the refugee. Told from the point of view of a grown Amir looking back ...

Director and Choreographer: Matthew Bourne Music: Sergei Prokofiev Reviewer: Lu Greer The story of Cinderella is a classic, of course. But the combination of a narrative involving a woman desperately pursuing a man to save her, and the endless themes of pretty dresses mean that it is certainly a dated classic at best. With Matthew Bourne’s company being renowned for ...

Writer: Ronald Harwood   Director: Peter Rowe Reviewer: Molly Richardson Quartet tells of four retired and aging opera singers, who have taken residence in a care home. First, we meet trio Cecily (Wendi Peters), Reggie (Jeff Rawle) and Wilfred (Paul Nicholas), who are unearthing the mystery of who the new ‘star’ resident is to be – there are mixed reactions ...

Writer: The Brothers Grimm Adaptor: Wendy Rouse and Amanda Wilde Director: Amanda Wilde Reviewer: Molly Richardson Mirror Mirror is a new version of the beloved fairy tale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, a tale that’s been passed through the generations and adapted time after time. Poor Snow White’s mother has sadly passed, and she’s stuck with her wicked Step ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Charlotte Conquest Reviewer: Sophie Huggins Set within the four echoed, omniscient walls of Surrey’s largest Georgian church called the Holy Trinity, The Guildford Shakespeare Company play out Shakespeare’s most infamous and tragic love story: Romeo and Juliet. Featuring a cast of nine, this tenacious ensemble clearly and with commitment tell a story of rivalry; a bitter ...

Writer: John Steinbeck Director: Guy Unsworth Reviewer: Victoria Bawtree Canterbury is currently hosting a brand-new touring production of John Steinbeck’s classic American story, produced by Selladoor Productions, in association with The Marlowe Theatre.  Many will have been touched by the story and many will appreciate the beauty of Steinbeck’s narrative style, but far fewer will have had the opportunity to ...