English Touring Opera’s LA CALISTO is blessed with excellent singing in all the major roles, but director Timothy Nelson’s interpretation is too heavily weighted with symbolism. The central theme of this opera is surely an examination of the qualitative differences between carnal desire and spiritual love, but in this production that theme plays second fiddle to the debate between rational thought and spiritual faith.
Read More
A young man with a hideously disfigured face has become a member of a travelling show. One day he removes his bandages and discovers that the sight of his injuries has a strangely transformative effect upon his audience. They become happier, more caring and more fulfilled, but he remains tormented by the need to discover how he came to be so cruelly scarred. Who did this to him? . . . Last night’s performance received a well-deserved standing ovation. This is a must-see show.
Read More
There certainly is comedy, often of the laugh-out-loud kind, though the overall tone is most certainly dark. We are left in no doubt that the Don is a nasty piece of work, even if we are sometimes amused by his outrageous bravado. When George von Bergen’s Don is not being persuasively seductive he is often being vicious, and in his final rejection of the hopelessly conflicted Donna Elvira we see him at his most ruthless.
Read More
In this adroit stage version of A Room With A View, adapter Simon Reade has given prominence to the sheer fun Forster had in mocking the stifling conventions of upper-middle-class Edwardian society. This is a warm-hearted production, and that warmth is emphasised in designer Paul Wills’ clever use of scenic back projections, soft-focused and full of colour . . . Forster’s sunniest and most optimistic novel, and it is those qualities that shine through in this highly enjoyable production.
Read More
This story is less substantial than Isherwood’s, and its lack of depth limits what can be achieved in a stage adaptation. The original is too fragmentary, too implausible and too reliant upon Capote’s dazzling prose style. Breakfast At Tiffany’s is a worthy attempt to bring Holly Golightly and her sparkly, amoral world to the live stage. Though it does not entirely succeed, there is certainly much to enjoy in this show, for there are some memorable performances.
Read More
Had enough of Twitter / X?
Now follow StageTalkMag on Bluesky Social and Threads too