Simon Bishop

Daphne du Maurier’s REBECCA at the Theatre Royal Bath

Posted by Simon Bishop | 3 Mar 2015

” . . . Kneehigh brought trademark sideshow moments to the production. Throughout, moods were heightened by some lovely playing on violin, xylophone, mandolin, accordion and double bass, and there were full-throated Cornish sea shanties that gave roots to the drama – After the Soul is Gone, and Hang Boys, Hang interrupting the gloominess of the plot. There was puppetry too, notably Jasper the dog, and a hilarious ‘scratch’- style Charleston danced by the full cast. . . “

WICKED at the Bristol Hippodrome

Posted by Simon Bishop | 20 Feb 2015

“. . . The two female leads circle and play off each other throughout, unknowingly becoming crucial influences on each other while an unlikely friendship brews between them. . . The staging of the action was wonderfully realised with a mesmerising set that morphed from twirling cog wheels to portcullis bars; time pieces gave way to an extraordinary mechanised Wizard; changing skyscapes dissolved to the green green shininess of Oz . . .”

DETECTIVE O & THE COLD CASE CAPER at the Bristol Old Vic Studio

Posted by Simon Bishop | 18 Feb 2015

” . . . To a great sound track by local musician Kid Carpet, Cori found ‘clues’ amongst the audience and with the children’s participation started to find links to the missing mini-girl . . . The show is fun and quite gentle – no loud bangs for instance, and relies solely on Cori’s unquestionable talent for instilling life into inanimate objects and her confident and friendly manner. As an alternative to the annual panto, this is a good entrée to the world of theatre for the very young.

The Government Inspector at the Tobacco Factory, Bristol

Posted by Simon Bishop | 12 Feb 2015

What better a backdrop to this adapted mid-nineteenth century Russian tale of furtive favours and farce than the current HSBC Swiss branch shenanigans? Today it’s ‘bricks’ of used notes walking out of a culture of silence. Back in 1836 Nikolai Gogol was having enormous fun at the expense of the dodgy geezers in small town Russian bureaucracy – nods and winks divided by almost two centuries, but a common theme to both.

BROKE at the Ustinov Theatre, Bath

Posted by Simon Bishop | 30 Jan 2015

” . . .The Paper Birds have recognised two big truths: firstly that debt is the vehicle by which financial establishments create new money. And secondly that we are all slavishly engaged in the perpetration of this act, but that some are paying a higher price than others. . . Close to the Ustinov you can hear the sound of tennis balls ‘pocking’ away in brightly lit and heated all-year membership-only courts. . . Less than 500 metres away the Bath Food Bank operates out of the Manvers Street Baptist Church. The Paper Birds are right to tap into this dichotomy.”

Author: Simon Bishop

Daphne du Maurier’s REBECCA at the Theatre Royal Bath

WICKED at the Bristol Hippodrome

DETECTIVE O & THE COLD CASE CAPER at the Bristol Old Vic Studio

The Government Inspector at the Tobacco Factory, Bristol

BROKE at the Ustinov Theatre, Bath

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