Tag Archives: Mike Shepherd

Writer: Carl Grose Directors: Carl Grose and Mike Shepherd Reviewer: Richard Maguire Ubu! A Singalong Satire from theatre company Kneehigh is easily the show of the year. Updating Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi of 1896, a play about an evil dictator, into a karaoke setting may seem like a bonkers idea, but Kneehigh bring the house down. And the audience sings ...

Writer: Carl Grose Music: Charles Hazlewood Director: Mike Shepherd Reviewer: Stephen Bates John Gay’s 1728 musical immorality tale, The Beggar’s Opera has proved to be a durable piece. Not only is it revived regularly, but it has also inspired variations, the most notable of which is Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s The Threepenny Opera. Now Kneehigh has given it a ...

Writer: Emma Rice, adapted from the novel by Angela Carter Director: Emma Rice Reviewer: Selwyn Knight Wise Children is the acclaimed final novel by Angela Carter, now adapted by Emma Rice as the inaugural production of her new company, also called Wise Children, following her tenure as artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe. The plot concerns twin girls, Nora and Dora ...

Writers: Anna Marie Murphy and Carl Grose Adaptor and Director: Emma Rice Reviewer: Kris Hallett If theatre ever had their own version of Desert Island Discs, Kneehigh would have to be a strong contender for the luxury item. No company brings as much joy to a packed auditorium as them when they are in full flow. No company fulfils the mantra ...

Writers: Anna Maria Murphy and Carl Grose Director and Adapter: Emma Rice Music: Stu Barker Reviewer: Harriet Brace A twelfth century tragedy is hardly what you’d deem a crowd-pleaser, so it’d be easy to assume the anticipation surrounding Kneehigh’s Tristan & Yseult has been over-egged. Having made the company’s reputation internationally, resulting in a US tour, and with performances lined up ...

Writer: Carl Grose Composer: Charles Hazlewood Director: Mike Shepherd Reviewer: Thom Finch   Kneehigh, arguably one of the country’s most interesting theatre companies are on top form in this new adaptation of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera. Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs) is a bizarre satire and morality tale that follows the (mis) fortunes of the ...

Writer: Carl Grose Music: Charles Hazlewood Director: Mike Shepherd Reviewer: Stephen M Hornby A menacing stage picture greets the audience on arrival. Blackened scaffolding can be seen through the fog that hangs mid-air. It stretches from floor to ceiling, suggested a skyline of polluted brick in a broken city. Figures mill about in the shadows of the stage and around ...

Writer: Carl Grose Music: Charles Hazlewood Director: Mike Shepherd Choreographer: Etta Murfitt Reviewer: Gemma Hirst The world is poor and man’s a sh*t. Did that get your attention? Good. We should hope so, as that is what it is like to experience Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other Love Songs) by Kneehigh Theatre. Radically rewriting John Gay’s satirical piece ...