Despite it being 123 years, almost to the day, since the debut performance of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, his works continue to charm audiences with their wicked satirical wit and The Original Theatre Company’s production didn’t disappoint. The tale follows Jack Worthing’s quest to marry his friend Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen. In order […]
Theatre Royal Plymouth
Review: Cinderella @ Theatre Royal Plymouth
Cinderella, set in the Blitz? What seems like an initially challenging concept to imagine is proven to not just work, but enchant. Matthew Bourne (as a known producer of subverted classical ballet) shines the light on ballet’s interesting flexibility as an ever-prevalent art form. Cinderella dazzles in its glass slippers. Set to a score by […]
Review: Son of a Preacher Man @ Theatre Royal Plymouth
In all honesty, before I got my tickets for this show, I knew very little about the song and even less about Dusty Springfield herself. To me, ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ was a song I associated with John Travolta and Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, or with a painfully awkward yet hilarious moment in […]
Review: Ninagawa Macbeth
Shakespeare’s celebrated play of ambition, the supernatural, and a mad tyrant, iconically set in the scenic highlands of Scotland during the Middle Ages, is taken to Japan and transformed into an extraordinary cross-cultural adaptation by the late director Yukio Ninagawa. First performed at the Edinburgh International Festival in 1985, the play gave Ninagawa his name […]
Review: Hedda Gabler
How exactly does one adapt a play for a modern audience without losing too much of the flavour of the original? Frequently termed the female Hamlet, Hedda Gabler certainly has her fair share of misery, a fact not lost on director Ivo van Hove. Adapted from Patrick Marber’s new version of Henrik Ibsen’s play, this […]
Review: Madam Butterfly
Have you ever dreamed of immersing yourself in the world of traditional Japan? Although set closer to our modern age at the start of the twentieth century, the Welsh National Opera’s Madam Butterfly (also known as Cio-Cio-san) is an opera that captures the spirit of Japan on stage with a touch of Puccini, from the smallest […]
Pirouettes in Plymouth: a review of Billy Elliot
I admit, having only ever participated in one ballet dance class many moons ago, and failing miserably, I never felt as if I’d missed out on much (all that Plié-ing was never meant for someone with such a severe lack of agility). Or at least, that’s what I thought until I saw the West End’s touring production of Billy […]