Aoife Duffin’s portrayal of the girl has been described as ‘career-defining’, and it is certainly hard to imagine how anyone could do it better. . . Duffin swiftly changes from one character to another with protean skill; one moment she is a threatening playground bully, the next the lascivious uncle, a snobbish aunt or a condemnatory grandfather. . . An astonishingly brave performance, and one not to be missed.
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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.
Read MoreTheatre 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.
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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.
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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.
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