Author: Mike Whitton

WOMAN AND SCARECROW at the Tobacco Factory, Bristol

Somewhere in Ireland ‘Woman’ lies dying, and the cause appears to be her own bitterness and spite. She is accompanied by the taunting figure of Scarecrow, who we come to suspect is her conscience, reminding her of all the dreams and passions that she has failed to explore in a life tied to the raising of eight children, having been abandoned by a serially unfaithful and largely absent husband. . . this is a thought-provoking and imaginative play about the regret that comes with a life only half-lived.”

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FUTURES at the Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol

“A woman in a woolly hat is sat reading on a bench outside a block of expensive apartments . . . In a very engaging performance Joanna Smith skillfully conveys Penny’s sharp intelligence and warm humanity, and she is well-matched by Nigel Jones as Richard, all tension, stress and misanthropy. In their quick-fire banter there are many sharply-honed comments about wage-slavery, and quite a few laugh out loud jokes – there’s a particularly good one involving a turkey sandwich. . . ”

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LITTLE ONE at the Brewery, Bristol

“Directors’ Cuts is an annual season of contemporary theatre presented by the four graduating directors from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Returning to the Brewery Theatre for the second time, and with all four plays directed by women, the season opens with Little One . . . This two-hander is a powerful and unsettling psychological thriller about two adopted children raised by desperately well-meaning parents in a quiet and very respectable suburb in Ottawa . . . This is a gripping production that gets this year’s Directors’ Cuts season off to a flying start. “

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THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE at Theatre Royal Bath

” . . . Only the most hidebound traditionalists would mourn the absence of females in the cast, so convincing is this version. I found it quite revelatory . . . this is undoubtedly a hugely enjoyable show, for having an all-male cast has created new opportunities for comedy that are exploited to the full. This production is as much comic ballet as comic operetta, and Lizzi Gee’s highly inventive choreography is often hysterically funny. Not for purists perhaps, but this is a wonderfully fresh take on The Pirates of Penzance. Highly recommended. ”

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