BRISTOL Old Vic brings its Year of Change to a triumphant conclusion with two five-star Christmas shows that underline the importance of imagination, courage and transformation. In the newly-created Weston Studio, Ad Infinitum joins with BOV to bring colour back into a grey world, in a show that’s aimed at audiences aged from four to…
THE new Bea Roberts version of Mary Norton’s fantasy children’s book The Borrowers is on stage at the Tobacco Factory in Bedminster until 20th January. To judge by the audience reaction on the press night, this is going to be a monster success, with its clever props, agile cast and live band. The writer’s Little…
BILLED as “a giant of a family pantomime”, Steve Bennett’s new version of Jack and the Beanstalk is on stage in Exeter until 6th January. Steve has not only written the script, but directs AND plays Dame Dotty Trott in this traditional telling of the story of a village under greed siege and how a…
THE incredibly prolific Alan Ayckbourn has turned his attention to Christmas with the Family on more than one occasion, and perhaps his funniest play is Season’s Greetings, chosen by Anthony von Roretz and Studio Theatre in Salisbury for the festive show, on stage until 8th December. Set over three days in the home of Neville…
NEVER, ever, make a promise that you can’t keep. That’s the message behind Bumblefly’s 2018/19 show, touring until 13th January. Dom Phillips was stage manager for Forest Forge for many years, quietly honing his acting skills, and when Bumblefly emerged four years ago, there he was on stage. Since then he has delighted young audiences…
DONALD Margulies’ play The Model Apartment was first seen in the US in the late 1980s. It is set over one night in a show apartment in Florida, where Lola and Max have been directed pending the completion of the apartment they have bought. The decor might be early Trump luxury, albeit cramped, but the…
IVAN Gil Ortega and Irena Pasaric who restaged this classic ballet obviously believed in the old saying that “if it ain’t broke, don’t mend it”. Picking up from Derek Deane and Frederick Ashton’s choreography, which in turn owed a great deal to Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov’s original concept in 1877, Ortega and Pasaric lovingly…
DAVID Walliams can add musical triumph to his varied CV, in a career which seems to have settled him into a successful role as a writer of children’s books. They may not be great literature but they are hugely enjoyable, relevant and POPULAR. He was at the new Nuffield Theatre in Southampton on Wednesday for…
Stravinsky Pulcinella Suite (1949) Walton Cello Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No 1 Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, leader Amyn Merchant Kirill Karabits: Conductor Johannes Moser: Cello THE latest in the line of distinguished holders of the BSO’s artist in residence post was unveiled last night at the Lighthouse. He is the 39-year-old German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser. This is…
SOCIAL media, “me too” et al have led a move away from professional reviewers to “citizen journalists”, every one of whom has an equal right to an opinion, and each opinion equally valid. If you were put off by the almost universal national press slatings of Rufus Norris’s National Theatre production of Macbeth and you…