Author: Simon Bishop

THE BEST THING at Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol

Vamos are masters of body language. Wearing full-face masks, not a word is spoken throughout the 80-minute performance. Yet we know exactly what is in the minds of the players, and what they are conveying to one another. In the hunch of a shoulder, the flick of a head, or the fidgeting of fingers, not only do we get all the narrative we need, but the layers that language can introduce are stripped away, leaving us with pure essence of character . . .

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JSLN DANCE at the Redgrave Theatre, Bristol

To all you lovers of dance and spectacle I suggest you book seats at tonight’s performance of the JSLN Dance Company . . . Variations of Pointe presents an intriguing and highly entertaining triple bill that reflects Artistic director Sören Magnus Niewelt’s desire for classical and populist narratives to be explored through classical ballet, but also through other dance forms.

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REHEARSAL FOR MURDER on tour

Playwright Alex Dennison is a man on a mission. The woman he loved and planned to marry, actress Monica Welles, was found dead ten stories below her balcony a year ago, within a few hours after her opening night as the lead in his latest play. Was this an unfortunate and sorry suicide? Case closed. Or not? Dennison hasn’t let go of the idea she was murdered. But what lengths will he go to in order to prove it?

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ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL at the Tobacco Factory, Bristol

Director Andrew Hilton has conjured a scintillating interpretation of this tragi-comedy, with individual performances lighting up another fine night at the Tobacco Factory . . . This Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory production of All’s Well That Ends Well was just that, a terrific performance cheered at its conclusion by an enthusiastic full house. Strongly recommended.

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OH, WHISTLE at the Tobacco Factory, Bristol

Wearing a ‘lived-in’ suit complete with shirt, tie, waistcoat adorned with pens and a chain watch in the pocket, round spectacle glasses on his nose and sometimes holding a pipe or a glass of brandy in his hand, Parry set to work in a disarmingly genial way to entrap the imagination of those of us lucky enough to be in this sell-out show’s audience. That another earlier performance had to be rapidly convened to satisfy the demand for tickets is testament to the appeal of good old-fashioned storytelling, and of course the promise of a frisson of fear.

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