Tag Archives: Connaught Theatre

Writer: Peter James Adapter: Shaun McKenna Director: Ian Talbot Reviewer: Simon Topping It’s 2019 and the Harcourt family have taken the plunge to move to a beguiling 18th-century manor house just outside Brighton, which has laid empty since the late 1980s. Ollie Harcourt (Joe McFadden – Casualty star and Strictly Come Dancing winner) has sold his advertising business in the ...

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.  ...

Adaptor: David Wood Director: Michael Fentiman Reviewer: Simon Topping As the audience enter the theatre their eyes are drawn to the stage and the sheep pen, which is constructed upon it, where four innocent looking “sheep” bustle and baa together.  As the lights drop the sheep begin to sing and dance in unison.  There are audible whispers of “Wow” from ...

Writer: William Nicholson Director: Alastair Whatley Reviewer: Jo Payne Based on some true events and with the surrounding circumstances imagined by writer, William Nicholson, Shadowlands tells the story of beloved author C.S. Lewis in his later years. Known to his friends as Jack, Lewis is a bachelor who is invited to tea by a fan with whom he has been ...

Writer: Richard Bean Director: Eleanor Rhode Reviewer: Jo Payne Containing every form of humour and wit, this is a charming play. Through a careful build-up of characters and a fine balance of comedy, the audience is told a simple but effective story set in a bake house in the 1970s. The events start at 3pm and time becomes a key ...

Writer: Terence Rattigan Director: Justin Audibert Reviewer: Jo Payne Flare Path is one of those rare productions which requires only one location – the residents’ lounge of the Falcon Hotel in Milchester, Lincolnshire – to effortlessly lure the audience into its time period and the lives of its characters. Some, particularly the Countess, Doris (Claire Andreadis), feel more like friends ...

Writer and Music: Meredith Willson Director: Max Reynolds Reviewer: Jo Payne   Opening with the sound and look of a circus, and ending with that of a pantomime, it is the only the recognisable festive songs and some superb cast members that rescue this somewhat lacking production. With the help of some tinsel, fairy lights and snow machines, Christmas spirit ...

Director: Guy Retallack Reviewer: Jo Payne As Christmas nears and the cold sets in, this production provides a cosy getaway from the busyness of life, bringing with it important messages through a poignant story. Advertised as a radio play, the structure is a surprise until the cast arrives on stage and welcome you, the studio audience, to the live performance ...