Mike Whitton

ST JOAN OF THE STOCKYARDS at the Bristol Old Vic

Posted by Mike Whitton | 15 Jan 2016

I think it is clear why St Joan of the Stockyards has seldom been revived. At one point Joan steps out of character to exclaim, ‘I don’t know what’s going on in this play anymore!’ and I suspect that many in the audience will feel the same, for the ‘oily machinations’ of the businessmen are presented in a bewilderingly complex fashion. . . I enjoyed the skill, energy and commitment of the young actors, but I couldn’t help feeling that they deserved a better play with which to demonstrate their considerable talents.

NUTSHELL NUTCRACKER at the Theatre Shop, Clevedon

Posted by Mike Whitton | 16 Dec 2015

Theatre Orchard’s version of The Nutcracker is an ambitious and highly imaginative piece of pop-up theatre. Inspired by the musique concrete movement, Jez Butler has cleverly adapted Tchaikovsky’s familiar music for a ‘kitchen orchestra’ using household objects such as elastic bands, bottles and a draining rack. The sounds he has created are far easier on the ear than might be anticipated, and this technique seems entirely appropriate for a story about how things familiar and domestic undergo a fantastical transformation.

SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS at the Bristol Hippodrome

Posted by Mike Whitton | 9 Dec 2015

The star of the show, of course, is Warwick Davis; he plays Prof, the resourceful leader of the dwarfs. We don’t meet him until Herman has abandoned Snow White in the forest, and his long anticipated appearance was greeted rapturously by last night’s audience. Davis undoubtedly exudes star quality – his Elvis impersonation is a surreal highlight – but not all of his fellow dwarfs deliver their lines with confidence, and some of their slapstick moments fall a little flat.

SMASHER at the Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol

Posted by Mike Whitton | 5 Dec 2015

Following the sell-out success of Vanity Bites Back at the Tobacco Factory in October, Helen Duff was back in Bristol last night with Smasher. This new show has some similarities with its predecessor, as once again she tackles a taboo subject with a mix of clowning, story-telling and a great deal of audience participation . . . Duff is at her best once she allows her story-telling skills to come to the fore, using her many other skills to underpin a strong narrative line. She has a five-star personality and is a talented and original comic; I will certainly look out for her next time she’s in town.

MEN IN THE CITIES at the Tobacco Factory, Bristol

Posted by Mike Whitton | 14 Nov 2015

Chris Goode and Company’s avowed intent ‘is to make space for unheard voices’ and ‘to think out loud about who we all are in the hope we might catch a glimpse of how we might live better together’ . . . It is forthright in its graphic depictions of gay sex and certainly provocative in its use of the murder of Lee Rigby as a metaphor for a society full of alienated, angry, lost men. But Goode’s negativity is so relentless and all-embracing than one becomes weary of struggling to find a meaning in the darkness.

Author: Mike Whitton

ST JOAN OF THE STOCKYARDS at the Bristol Old Vic

NUTSHELL NUTCRACKER at the Theatre Shop, Clevedon

SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS at the Bristol Hippodrome

SMASHER at the Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol

MEN IN THE CITIES at the Tobacco Factory, Bristol

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