ANY production of Shakespeare’s comic splatterfest Richard III stands or falls by its central performance. So it’s no wonder that Headlong and Bristol Old Vic, co-producers of the version that opened in the city and goes on to launch the refurbished Alexandra Palace in London, were excited to cast Tom Mothersdale in the role of…
THE majority of crime fiction fans count Ian Rankin among their favourite writers, but, somehow, I have missed out on his best-selling books. Coming to Rebus: Long Shadows free of preconceptions or expectations about the stories or their protagonists, but as a great fan of adaptor Rona Munro, I can say that this tense, taut…
WHEN John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger burst on the theatrical scene in 1956, changing the face of English theatre completely from the mainly escapism plays that had dominated the scene for the previous half century, it ushered in the new era of the angry young man. The targets may have changed since that date…
ANYONE who has had to deal with rebellious teenagers will tell you that there comes a time when they become so determined to be different from the previous generations that their actions become predictable. Having given fair notice of his intentions in the programme notes, director Mike Tweddle, in his anxiety to present “a true…
WHOEVER dreamed up the title Kinky Boots and those provocative thigh-length sparkling platform-soled stiletto-heeled red boots for the publicity material deserves a medal from the producers of this show. There can be few more attention- grabbing titles and images around than that combination, but while they do their job in encouraging potential audiences into the…
IMAGINE going to a Puccini opera, but discovering a Mass had been substituted at the last minute! Last Saturday the New Elizabethan Singers performed just such a work, The Messa di Gloria of 1880, written by teenage Puccini as his graduation piece, and with more than a nod to Verdi. The young Italian used every…
Wellhayes Vineyard (Devon), Bridport Arts Centre (Dorset), Ilminster Arts Centre (Somerset), Dance House, Crewkerne (Dorset) TRIO Sōra was the memorable opening tour of the 14th Season for Concerts in the West, featuring the Trio of Pauline Chenais (piano), Magdalēna Geka (violin) and Angèle Legasa (cello), who presented a programme of compositions by Beethoven (Piano Trio…
I FIND it hard to believe that, 50 or more years on, this stimulating and highly original production of The Mirror Crack’d should actually be the first ever UK stage adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery. There have been several film, TV and radio productions of course, including, somewhat bizarrely, a Bengali language…
IN the 1950’s Noel Coward’s standing was at its lowest ebb since he had first burst onto the theatrical scene with his 1924 play The Vortex, many critics declaring that his writing was out of date and out of step with the then modern theatrical moods. Although plays like Relative Values, Quadrille and Nude with…
IT’S sometimes difficult, living in an ethnically uniform area like rural south west England, to understand the continuing fuss about (for example) changing the name of the Colston Hall, pulling down statues of confederate soldiers and otherwise seeking to re-write history. If you have fallen into that mindset, go and see Tanya Barfield’s play Blue…