Author: Mike Whitton

TUSK TUSK at the Alma, Bristol

If you were wondering whether or not to see Tusk Tusk at The Alma but were hesitant about doing so because it is about children, be reassured. Yes, it features very young actors in all of its main roles, but it is very far from being a ‘children’s play’. Polly Stenham has written an unflinching examination of middle-class domestic dysfunction and parental neglect. She lays bare the emotional chaos that can churn away hidden in leafy suburbia, and no Mary Poppins comes to rescue these children. She lays bare the emotional chaos that can churn away hidden in leafy suburbia . . .

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BREATHING CORPSES at the Alma, Bristol

Breathing Corpses is certainly a play that needs to be delivered with a considerable degree of expertise, for it is far from straightforward. It has a teasingly complex narrative structure and there are mysteries that are never fully resolved. It is full of hints that apparently disconnected characters and events may in fact be closely associated, and we are invited to make links between such themes as death and sex, but these are not made explicit.

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Sharp Teeth THE MARCH EDITION at the Wardrobe, Bristol

For over a year and a half Sharp Teeth Theatre have been presenting monthly shows on Sunday nights that bring together storytelling, poetry, music and, of course, theatre. The aim is clearly to be as varied, inclusive and accessible as possible, a strategy exemplified by their ‘pay what you decide’ policy. The presentational style is determinedly informal and relaxed; this is the antithesis of elitist theatre.

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FIGARO FOREVER Welsh National Opera at Bristol Hippodrome

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE – In this the first of the trilogy, as well as being the barber, Figaro is the fixer of romantic assignations between Count Almaviva and the beautiful Rosina, about which all else spins. This is comic opera in which flawed very human humans parade their frustrations and desires, flaunting whatever power and influence they can bring to bear. . .

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ALL THAT FALL at the Bristol Old Vic Paintshop

All That Fall originated as a radio play, but why adapt it for the theatre if not to let us see it? It might be thought that we are being short-changed, but in fact much is gained in the darkness. One reason is that this approach creates a kind of aural spaciousness, a vivid three-dimensionality of sound as the actors move around an audience that has to rely entirely upon what they are hearing. One’s imagination is set to work hard.

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