The Arts Section

Matilda -the musical at Bristol Hippodrome

IT is said that you can always tell the quality of a Gentleman by the cut of his clothes, and if you apply that saying to theatrical productions, Matilda must be classed as being a gentleman of considerable quality. Everything about the production had class stamped on it : a multi- purpose brilliantly lit set,…

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The School for Scandal, Swan Theatre, Yeovil

RICHARD Brinsley Sheridan’s immortal comedy of fake news, The School for Scandal, is the apposite choice for Swan Theatre Company spring production, dir­ec­­ted by Alan Morris and sold out for its run from 6th to 11th May. Set in the late 1700s in London, it’s the story of Sir Peter Teazel, a confirmed old bachelor…

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The Rocky Horror Show, Theatre Royal, Bath

A REGULAR visitor to Bath in the 46 years since it was first seen in London’s  Royal Court Theatre (Upstairs), the locals have now become so used to seeing members of the audience – men and women – arriving to see The Rocky Horror Show in torn fishnet stockings, mini skirts and full garish makeup…

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Beauty and the Beast, Birmingham Royal Ballet at Bristol Hippodrome

WHEN the interval arrived in this Philip Prowse-designed beautifully-staged, expertly-lit and sumptuously costumed production, I was at a loss for a moment to work out why it had so captivated me and my fellow audience members. Yes, it had been a delight on the eye, the animal masks enhanced the characters immensely, and Delia Matthews…

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The Remains of the Day, Salisbury Playhouse

KAZUO Ishiguro’s Booker prizewinning novel The Remains of the Day, and the subsequent film, are favourites with readers and cinema goers, so I was probably in the minority of the Salisbury audience, seeing the story (adapted by Salisbury playwright and author Barney Norris for Out of Joint) for the first time. It is the story…

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The Comedy About A Bank Robbery, Theatre Royal Bath

“THE best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men  Gang aft agley” – that line from Robert Burns poem To a Mouse just about sums up the problems that befall Mitch Ruscitti when, with the help of an incompetent Warder, he escapes from prison with one aim, to steal a priceless diamond from a Bank run…

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Fiddler on the Roof, BODS at Bath Theatre Royal

ON the front of the programme for this show there is a note informing  this is an amateur production. Many people still confuse the word amateur, which comes from the French word for “lover of”, with amateurish, a description that most certainly can not be applied to Maisie Carter’s production for Bath Operatic and Dramatic…

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Our Country’s Good, Tobacco Factory, Bristol

AUSTRALIAN author Thomas Keneally, from whose novel The Playmaker Timberlake Wertenbaker created this play, is a master at using historical facts and people as the basis for a fictional work without loosing the honesty of those facts and people. The best known example of this is his Booker prize winning novel Schindler’s Ark, later to…

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Anything Goes, Milborne Port Opera

MILBORNE Port Opera, set up in 1990 to sing Gilbert and Sullivan, has branched out in another new direction, choosing Cole Porter’s Anything Goes for the annual show. There are also three directors, which makes for lots of new ideas, many of which work well. The big difference for the audience is that the story…

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