Tag Archives: Alastair Whatley

Writer: Torben Betts Director: Alastair Whatley Reviewer: Jamie Gaskin Do not be fooled by the very traditional kitchen set. This is no cosy little domestic drama. As befits a tale about a TV celebrity chef, this has teeth. Having toured the UK, including a run in London, it now has its sights set on New York. While the Americans may ...

Writer: Rachel Wagstaff from the book by Sebastian Faulks Directors: Alistair Whatley and Charlotte Peters Reviewer: Dave Smith Sebastian Faulks’ 1993 novel is something of a modern classic and this stage adaptation, originally seen at the Comedy Theatre in 2010, is now being brought to a wider audience via a major national tour timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the ...

Writer: Torben Betts Director: Alastair Whatley Reviewer: Scott Matthewman There is a moment where dinner, as prepared by Caroline Mortimer (“Britain’s second favourite TV cook”) emerges from the oven, charred and smoking, overdone because the character’s attention was wandering all over the place. As goes the family roast, so goes Monogamy, which collapses under its writer’s inability to focus. Torben ...

Writer: Rachel Wagstaff (adapted from the novel by Sebastian Faulks) Directors: Alastair Whatley with Charlotte Peters Designer: Victoria Spearing Lighting: Alex Wardle Sound: Dominic Bilkey Reviewer: Lauren Humphreys Rachel Wagstaff has gamely taken on the adaptation of Sebastian Faulks' sprawling, nearly 500 page novel Birdsong, turning it into a two hour 20 minute stage play. First seen in the West ...

Writer: Torben Betts Director: Alastair Whatley Designer: James Perkins Reviewer: Ron Simpson Monogamy is far from a wasted evening in the theatre – there are too many good lines and dramatic situations for that, plus three fine performances – but it is a disappointment for those who anticipated more solid and consistently entertaining fare, given the strength of the casting ...

Writer: Sebastian Faulks adapted by Rachel Wagstaff Adaptor: Rachel Wagstaff Directors: Alastair Whatley and Charlotte Peters   Reviewer: Dave Cunningham At the conclusion of Rachel Wagstaff’ s adaptation of Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong a character opines that future generations will be unaware of the horror of the first World War. As the audience entering The Quays Theatre at The Lowry gets ...

Writer: Oscar Wilde Director: Alastair Whatley Designer: Gabriella Slade Reviewer: Dave Cunningham It has been a long, brutal winter and we are all desperate for something cheerful and bright. Recognising a cue The Original Theatre Company offers Oscar Wilde’s evergreen classic The Importance of Being Earnest. The works of Oscar Wilde defy innovations; updating the setting to the present day simply ...

Writer: Rachel Wagstaff (adapted from the novel by Sebastian Faulks) Directors: Alastair Whatley and Charlotte Peters Designer: Victoria Spearing Lighting: Alex Wardle Sound: Dominic Bilkey Reviewer: Janet Jepson Any mention of the First World War, otherwise known as the Great War, evokes in most people a sense of waste. All those young, often underage, innocent lives lost needlessly; swathes of ...