★★★☆☆ It is remarkable that such a flimsy, improbable concoction set on board the transatlantic liner, Italian Castle, should enjoy an apparently charmed life at the hands of, firstly; Ferenc Molnár, the originator, then P.G.Wodehouse and now Tom Stoppard. . . . This is playful Stoppard without the head scratching.
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★★★★☆ The tradition of cabaret-style musical comedy shows is long and varied and Riddlestick Theatre’s contribution won’t break any new ground. But if it’s entertainment you’re after then this show won’t disappoint; it’s good fun.
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★★★☆☆ Written with a certain amount of sentimentality around a lost love the play offers us false trails; is it about rekindled passion, perhaps in an open relationship, or then is it about past indiscretion, a coming home to roost of an abuse of authority or position? It eventually turns out to be a wistful contemplation on a secret love affair.
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★★☆☆☆ The Verdict is an archetypal example of a legal procedural with a smattering of dysfunctional-but-endearing male protagonist tropes thrown in. Frank’s a bit of a drunk, he’s separated from his wife, he’s got a sad past but ultimately he knows he has to do the right thing
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★★★☆☆ This powerful play is set against the background of the Black Civil Rights campaigns in Bristol in the sixties. With recent publicity about the Windrush generation the play is particularly relevant at the moment.
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★★★★☆ Plunged into a long sleepless night of self-reflection, Lewis is ‘visited’ by three generations of male forebears each bearing harrowing chapters from a story that climbs from the privations of slavery and a harrowing lynching to drunkenness and early death from drug overdose.
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