THE Trojan wars have provided material for countless dramas, epic poems and books. The characters are larger than life, heroic, mythical and unknowable. It is the task of the interpreter – author, playwright, director, actor and artist – to help us to understand them. In the performances of four young Bristol Old Vic Theatre School…
THE last few years have revealed to many of us that maths and science can be exciting, interesting, even fun. Marcus du Sautoy, Brian Cox and his sidekick Robin Ince and others have brought complex ideas into our homes through the power of radio and we love it. Similarly a new generation of illusionists and…
JOHN Nicholson and Javier Marzan, two thirds of anarchic comedic theatre troupe Peepolykus, have turned their attention to Flaubert’s great tragic novel Madame Bovary, but fight as they may against its gravitas, the story shines through. Directed by Gemma Bodinetz, this co-production by Liverpool Everyman, Northampton Royal and Derngate, Bristol Old Vic and Southampton Nuffield…
Chausson: Soir de fête De Falla: Nights in the Gardens of Spain Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande Suite Stravinsky: Suite: The Firebird (1919 version) Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, leader Mark Derudder Fabien Gabel: Conductor Frank Braley: Piano ALL four works in this richly enjoyable and varied concert were first…
THE received wisdom in some theatrical circles is that everything has to be edgy and dangerous and shocking and NEW! This production is a very good reason why this is a shallow and doomed policy. Hobson’s Choice is a very good play. It is described as author Harold Brighouse’s masterpiece and that’s not hyperbole. It…
THERE are many reasons to honour someone in this country, from the battlefield to the classroom, and of course, on the stage, and in the old-fashioned decorous language of pomp and heraldry, “services to dance” sounds so reserved for what Matthew Bourne has achieved in the past thirty years, but that is the reason he…
AS director Doug Cockle is keen to point out, the idea of reverse casting for Shakespeare’s cross-dressing comedy Twelfth Night is not new. But it IS new for the drama students at Arts University Bournemouth, and new for the audience enjoying it at Poole until 27th February. In the original, which would have been played…
ABOUT half-way through Brendan Murray’s new play, Martin Butler recalls a workmate commenting on the Butlers’ four-year old son Matty. The man says what a lovely little boy he is, but adds “what a shame” that he has Down’s syndrome. Martin (Vic Llewellyn) realises that he and his wife Odette love Matty as he is…
PLAYING the world’s most famous detective is anything but elementary, but the talented members of Salisbury Studio Theatre’s youth section certainly rose to the challenge in Tim Kelly’s clever and amusing play, on at the Ashley Road theatre until 27th February. All the favourite characters are here – Holmes, Dr Watson, Prof Moriarty, Mrs Hudson,…
FRENCH-Canadian actress Catherine-Anne Toupin won awards for her play A Present, translated as Right Now and given its UK premiere at Bath’s Ustinov Studio until 19th March. Michael Boyd’s direction, closely linked with Oliver Fenwick’s lighting design on Madeline Girling’s set, increases the dreamlike – sometimes nightmarish – essence of the story. Running for 75…