Tag Archives: James Farncombe

Writer: Ronald Harwood Director: Sean Foley Reviewer: Bill Avenell There is always a slightly guilty pleasure felt in laughing at a play which is based on a harrowing subject, but as well as being a first-rate production of a well-written play, The Dresser at Chichester is extremely amusing, partly because of Ronald Harwood’s tight script and partly because the players, ...

Writer: Samuel Beckett Director: Walter Asmus Reviewer: George Attwell Gerhards   It is much easier to review something when it is close to being objectively good or bad. For instance a stellar cast can transform a drab play but in equal measure some slack direction can completely lose the focus of the audience. These are the closest things you can ...

Writer: William Ivory Director: Matt Aston Reviewer: Jon Wainwright "This is unkind," says Jimmy. "No one deserves this." As old as Lear and as close to death, the king's repeated cry of "Never!" becomes "Not old!" as Jimmy rails against the indignities of an ageing body and his confinement in a care home. He knows what it's like to wake ...

Writer and Librettist: Richard Wagner Conductor: Francesco Corti Director: Harry Fehr Reviewer: Lauren Humphreys [Rating:4.5] It is a truth universally acknowledged that Richard Wagner was a not a very pleasant man, in fact a rather unpleasant man indeed, a man with an ideology almost whole-heartedly abhorrent to a modern audience, an ideology that encompassed: anti-Semitism, racism and rampant misogyny. The ...

Writer: Graham Linehan Director: Sean Foley Reviewer: Lu Greer [rating:4.0]   The Ladykillers tells the somewhat infamous story of the sweet old lady unwittingly housing a gang of criminals as they plan to commit a robbery in which everything gradually goes wrong. This is a story which by now is widely known, which meant that this incarnation of the story ...

Writer: Graham Lineham Director: Sean Foley Reviewer: Sarah Louise Forrester [Rating: 4.5]   Knowing that the stage adaptation of The Ladykillers was written by Graham Linehan (the wit behind Father Ted) I had high expectations that did not disappoint. Under the direction of Sean Foley the cast performed the play with the appearance of effortless enthusiasm. The comedic timing was ...

Writer: Alan Plater with additional material by Lee Hall, Based on stories by Sid Chaplin Music: Alex Glasgow Director: Samuel West Musical arrangement and direction: Sam Kenyon Reviewer: Paul Thurtle [rating:4.5]   Lee Hall (Billy Elliot and The Pitmen Painters) provides the additional material for this revival of Alan Plater’s 1968 musical play about the struggles of the mining union ...

Writer: Alan Plater with additional material by Lee Hall, Based on stories by Sid Chaplin Music: Alex Glasgow Director: Samuel West Musical arrangement and direction: Sam Kenyon Reviewer: Dave Cunningham [rating:4]   There are so many people involved in the development of this production of Close the Coalhouse Door and such a range of styles that it has the potential ...