THE ANGRY BRIGADE at the Oxford Playhouse

THE ANGRY BRIGADE at the Oxford Playhouse

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“. . . James Graham’s new play, The Angry Brigade, is set against a backdrop of anarchy in the UK in the 70s, but paints a pretty damning picture of our current situation. . . It’s an ambitious undertaking, with the cast of four playing fifteen characters, and a raft of issues being covered, but in its boldness The Angry Brigade provides a satisfying response to the political and emotional issues that, though feeling so of the moment, have clearly been around for years”

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COASTAL DEFENCES at the Brewery, Bristol

COASTAL DEFENCES at the Brewery, Bristol

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“. . . All the action takes place in front of a striking backdrop: a red brick wall, emblazoned with the unmistakable Coca-Cola logo in Cyrillic script. There are just three actors, each of them playing a number of roles and quickly changing from one costume to another at the side of the stage. Jill Rutland is particularly affecting as the Bulgarian woman who is not quite sure what kind of relationship she wants with her Facebook friend, and Nic McQuillian is excellent as the young, idealistic visitor from England . . “

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SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER at the Everyman Cheltenham

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“. . . From the moment the characters enter, the self-obsessed, dissolute Tony Lumpkin and his mother, the broad Mrs Hardcastle with a orange candy floss wig wobbling across the stage, both in voluminous leopard and tiger print costumes, we know that mayhem will be served up. . . Director Conrad Nelson has created a good deal of hilarity with the portrayal of the hapless servants versus the snobbish Londoners . . . an evening of absurd fun.”

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SATTF presents The Conquering Hero at Bristol University

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“. . . Why is this play not better known? Like Sherriff’s much more familiar Journey’s End, Allan Monkhouse’s The Conquering Hero seeks to expose the sordid reality of warfare and attack the shallowness and ignorance of jingoistic, death-or-glory patriotism, and it does so with great conviction. . . The Conquering Hero is a fine, brave play, with perhaps greater depth than Journey’s End, and Shakespear at the Tobacco Factory and Bristol University are to be congratulated for giving us this rare opportunity to see it.”

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Simon Callow in THE MAN JESUS

Simon Callow in THE MAN JESUS

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“Mr Callow, to me, is very much an actor of the old school. I see him very much part of the tradition of Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud. He has a certain style, a certain exaggerated panache and command of the stage that you don’t get very much nowadays. I hate to use clichés but Mr Callow really did bring Jesus to life as he told, in simple dramatic (rather than preachy) style, some of the great episodes from the gospels. . . This was a tour-de-force, a truly virtuoso performance . . “

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The 2014 Cheltenham Literature Festival

The 2014 Cheltenham Literature Festival

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We are pleased to have been invited to review events at the Cheltenham Literature Festival for the first time. Naturally enough, we have concentrated on theatre related events and have reviewed Sheila Hancock, talking about her first novel MISS CARTER’S WAR, two SHAKESPEARE AFTERNOONS, the Hungarian man of the theatre Miklos Banffy and comedian Russell Kane who has written a play set in Essex using Shakespearean prose.

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