THE LITVINENKO PROJECT at the Oxford Hub

THE LITVINENKO PROJECT at the Oxford Hub

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“. . . This play could hardly be timelier. With the public inquiry in every news bulletin, it is hardly surprising to find that this show has sold out very quickly. Entering the upstairs room of Oxford’s Turl Street Kitchen, an audience of about 30 people takes seats in sofas and armchairs around the room. Low tables in front of us hold china cups and teapots. We sip Gunpowder Green tea and as the room falls silent, the play begins. . . A stunning, engaging, and unusual piece that well deserves more attention!”

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SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER at Malvern Theatres

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” . . . Every single person in the cast is truly amazing, without exception, as they showcase their wealth of talent across all of the performing disciplines. CiCi Howells has to be mentioned for her powerhouse vocals, as the Club Singer, that were hauntingly woven through the protagonists journey of self realisation . . . This is musical theatre at its best! Make sure you see this production. It runs at Malvern Theatres until Saturday before continuing on the UK tour.

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Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Everyman, Cheltenham

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Everyman, Cheltenham

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I must confess to never having seen Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, nor Jesus Christ Superstar, nor Hair. Never having been a hippy was maybe one reason, although I did have some trousers of many colours, if that counts. It was perhaps those three shows, more than anything, that opened the way to the new, blockbuster musicals that have dominated the West End and Broadway ever since. Without them we would have had no Evita, no Les Mis, no Miss Saigon, no Phantom of the Opera et al.

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CLOSER EACH DAY at the Wardrobe, Bristol

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” . . . Bristol is rapidly becoming something of a centre for improvised theatre and getting an early warm-up for the forthcoming Bristol Improv. Theatre Festival (BITFest) Closer Each Day last night gave the latest instalment of their improvised soap opera . . . Standup is now firmly established as a sub-genre and for one reason or another, perhaps its open-endedness and informality included, has become very popular. With a pint from downstairs to keep you going you might very well get hooked and find yourself going back to see how the unpredictable plots develop.

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THE FORBIDDEN DOOR at Tobacco Factory, Bristol & North Wall, Oxford

THE FORBIDDEN DOOR at Tobacco Factory, Bristol & North Wall, Oxford

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The story itself is a fantastic mix of well-known fairly-tale motifs and new inventions. It shifts – or is shifted – seamlessly, from the gods and the cosmos to the familiar and domestic. As in the myths of Ancient Greece, gods roam the Earth and inhabit human forms. As in all good fairy-tales, familiar, pattern-building repetition is deployed and intercut with surprising twists and turns. Not one, but two epic quests are undertaken, grizzly sacrifices are made and the images and messages conjured by this magic act are as dark, as strange and as vivid as any of Hans Christian Anderson’s or Perrault’s.

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Alan Ayckbourn’s ROUNDELAY at Bath Theatre Royal

Alan Ayckbourn’s ROUNDELAY at Bath Theatre Royal

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” . . . For me the four plays didn’t hang together and were only saved from complete collapse by some good acting. E.M.Forster gives a useful distinction of the difference between a random sequence and a plot; whereas, ‘The king died then the queen died’, is a story, ‘The king died then the queen died of grief’, is a plot in virtue of the fact that the latter contains the element of causality. In Roundelay Mr. Ayckbourn has lost the plot in that sense, but hasn’t quite given us a satisfying replacement . . . ”

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