★★★☆☆ The fantastical, whimsical device of a magical piano that makes all who hear it start to dance has no small element of a fairy story, but without the darker tones of, say, Hans Anderson’s, The Red Shoes. Today we can only marvel at the success such a piece of silliness had on its first outing in the early 1950’s.
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★★★☆☆ Jack Ellis, an experienced TV villain across several shows, is a very assured manipulator as the primary con man, Mike. He was a real pleasure to watch. On the more extravagant end we have Tim Treloar as Roat, who from the start is a marked as a particularly reptilian kind of sociopath.
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Unfortunately Vincent Simone was injured and unable to dance at all. The groans in the full house at the announcement were palpable testament to the affection with which Vincent and his long standing dance partner, Flavia Cacace, are held. Vincent even limped on stage with the aid of a walking stick to say hello to his fans . . . but the show must go on . . .
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★★★★☆ James Rowland’s show arrives from a successful debut at last year’s Edinburgh fringe and is probably best described as a true story about death and a friendship that can’t die. James has a passing resemblance to the blonde, bushy bearded behemoths of a Viking movie that he and his childhood friends adored . . .
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The Festival of Puppetry is the UK’s foremost international puppetry festival, celebrating puppetry and animation in all its forms on stage and on screen. Bristol seems to enjoy a non-conformist, highly individualistic yet cooperative spirit. That puppetry and animation should find its ground zero UK here should be no surprise.
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★★★★☆ Set in the southern United States in the period 1948 to 1973, Driving Miss Daisy was first performed thirty years ago. . . . Siân Phillips delivers a performances of star quality that exploits the defiant energy of her role to the full. She is feistiness personified. But it is Derek Griffiths’ performance as the noble, resilient Hoke that is truly outstanding. He is splendid.
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