HARRY Fehr’s Welsh National Opera production of Handel’s Orlando brought American counter-tenor Lawrence Zazzo to Bristol, demonstating why he is regarded as one of the very best singers of his generation. This demanding role calls for vocal pyrotechnics, and along with the flexibility and speed, a huge range and sensitivity balanced with attack. All these…
THE National Theatre’s production of Simon Stephens’ adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has achieved the sort of success that followed its War Horse. Most non-London theatregoers first heard of it after its West End transfer from the South Bank to the Apollo Theatre came to an…
VISITORS and locals all love The Grange at Oborne, a tiny village on the outskirts of Sherborne. It’s a beautiful old building, with a warm atmosphere that is reflected in the welcome from the owners and their staff. The Grange at Oborne has been a country house hotel for many years, with a great reputation…
A PLAY about early-onset Parkinson’s Disease and Parkour might sound a bit heavy-going and a trifle improbable, but Kinetics is neither. Sue Wylie has deftly turned a serious medical diagnosis into an inspiring journey, and a barmy extreme sport into an accessible and exciting adventure. Sue is well-known as an actress, both professionally and as…
TIME and Tide is a Wareham based non-profit-making company which specialises in acoustic performances. They made a welcome return to Springhead at Fontmell Magna on Sunday 18th October with King’s Shilling, a folk-drama which told the touching stories of a number of ordinary men and women who fought for king and country. The company, which…
JOURNALISTS and playwriting partners Lesley Bown and Ann Gawthorpe quickly recognised the comic potential of the Church of England’s decision to accept female vicars into the once wholly patriarchal workforce. But for their hilarious farce Don’t Get Your Vicars in a Twist, on stage at Salisbury’s Studio Theatre in Ashley Road until 24th October, they…
MYRA McDadd was already a fan of Stephen Sondheim when she and David Grierson saw an Edinburgh Fringe production of Sweeney Todd in 1995. “I realised that I was totally smitten by this show, with all its dark and dangerous themes,” she writes in her director’s notes to the programme for Shaftesbury Arts Centre’s autumn…
THE first time the British theatregoing public saw Arthur Miller’s timeless play The Crucible was at Bristol Old Vic, and now, to mark the 100th anniversary of the playwright’s birth, it is re-staged where it all started. Director Tom Morris says in the programme that the danger of staging the play is that we might…
BOURNEMOUTH’s Arts By The Sea festival is always rich with new work, exploratory, experimental, avant-garde, sometimes just plain wacky! It is ambitious and surprising and if you don’t like some things, you will also find others that will interest and excite you. One of this year’s new works was Freedom, Bread and Peace, a music-theatre…
MEL Brooks’ musical version of his cult film The Producers takes no prisoners, and those easily offended should certainly steer clear. And SMTC, under their director Lois Harbison, do the show proud, pulling no punches as they expose the underbelly of theatrical production to the scrutiny of the audience. Briefly the story is of Max…