York Theatre Royal’s proscenium arch becomes a cross-section of TV chef Caroline’s (the West End’s Janie Dee) show-home kitchen: a faux-Swedish minimalist Pinterest fantasy of muted teal glossy tiles and pine with a modest botanic garnish and a family dinner table modest enough to tell an on-screen story that will resonate with the wider audience. But it doesn’t take long to make a mess on these counters. Continue reading
Jonathan Lewis’s new modern domestic drama poses the question, “Where would you draw the line?”, putting patriarch Mark (Lewis himself) in temptation’s path when it comes to a critical moment in his son Tom’s (Matt Whitchurch) education. This middle-class show-home family of established and prospective politicians debates and philosophises like lawyers sparring before court; the smug elite flexing their wits for pleasure as well as for business – indeed, there is little distinction between the two and it is clear which is their priority. Continue reading
Austen meets Sharpe in this Regency-flavoured reduction of Shakespeare and Fletcher’s Two Noble Kinsmen, in which the playtime of performance gives a new lease of life to characters confined by war, law and societal expectations. Director Tom Straszewski brings considerable historical and geographical context to the chaotic happenings of the play to really make it sing. Women tamed and conquered, scorned and used and even driven beyond wit abound in this tragicomic production featuring as part of York’s Feminist Fletcher Festival. Deemed a marinated hangover of A Midsummer Night’s Dream tinged with influences of older, darker tales, Two Noble Kinsmen errs toward ambiguity and unfinished business. Folk flute and floaty dresses mingle with Macbeth-like harbingers, a modest colour palette of cream and dusty navy enhancing the mixture of oppression and vulnerability. The actors look to the audience often, as if prisoners pleading for forgiveness to save themselves from the gallows. Continue reading
Director Andy Love of Wildgoose Theatre continues his vein of delivering hitherto unseen plays to York with this sumptuous psychological drama by Jez Butterworth, set in a log cabin near a river, somewhere in modern England. The specifics of their surroundings are white noise, while the minutia of the dialogue is honed to a piercing point. Poetry and illustrious speeches furnish what appears to be a confident, if burgeoning, dynamic between The Man (George Stagnell) and The Woman (Claire Morley). These are people at home with each other, themselves and the outdoors. Continue reading
Director Kevin Shaw pools the resources of Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Hull Truck Theatre and New Vic Theatre to produce this new adaptation of Whisky Galore, written by Philip Goulding, set in a nineteen-fifties Cooperative Hall. Inspired by the all-female touring theatre troupe the Osiris Players, this light-hearted show pays homage to a domino-set of communities in its conception, honouring the simple pleasures in life. Continue reading
York Theatre Royal and Theatre by the Lake present Hymn to Love, a loving ode to Edith Piaf’s life and later years framed as the rehearsal for her final concert. Songs are interspersed with fond and poignant memories retold by Piaf (Elizabeth Mansfield) to her pianist (Patrick Bridgman); “silent only in word”. Continue reading
A community ensemble cast aged 16-19 and over 65 are brought together in York Theatre Royal’s first intergenerational project; a dystopian devised piece holding up a two-way mirror to the ways in which we apply technology. Continue reading
Poppy Burton-Morgan’s new musical version of this popular Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale brings a haunting undercurrent to meet an uplifting overall message. Riverdale meets Alice In Wonderland in the soul-stirring music by Matt Devereaux and stunning design by William Reynolds. Vibrant neon purples and reds provide a vivacious backdrop for Loren Elstein’s more domestic costumes that evoke 1950s synchronised swimmers, complete with floral caps. Continue reading
When writing reviews, you’re encouraged to keep your personal context at bay – no one needs to hear about your own history with pantomime or Shakespeare and how it skews your view of a production. However, LIFT’s incredible, raw production is all about the specifics of individual experience being tilled to form a whole truth, and its value is in the personal detail. Continue reading
Moving house is said to be the most stressful event a person goes through, above divorce and even loss. And after a hard day lugging heavy boxes and saying your goodbyes, the last thing you need is a monster in your cupboard. Continue reading