The Innocents

 

Review by Paul Towers, 23/10/23

The Innocents by William Archibald

Directed by  Diani Gatenby Davies

Produced by Leicester Drama Society (LDS)

At The Little Theatre until Saturday 28^th October 2023

“A spooky treat for Halloween”

As we creep towards winter and Halloween is just round the corner the atmosphere is just right for a visit to The Little Theatre and the spooky The Innocents. Based on Henry James’ 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw this play premiered on Broadway in 1950 and has been a staple of amateur companies ever since.

In 1880 Miss Gidden (Amber Goddard) is the latest in a long line of governesses brought into the house to teach orphans 8 year old Flora (Amy Rainbow) and 12 year old Miles (Daniel Betties). The only other adult in the house is the housekeeper/cook Mrs Grose (Karen Gordon).

Despite her constant asking nobody will tell Miss Gidden exactly what happened to her predecessors. Slowly she unravels and tragedy ensues.

The small cast of 4 held the audience spellbound with especial kudos to the two actors playing the children. Such assured performances for ones so young.

Special mention has to be made for the sound design of Amanda Priestly and the lighting design of Jenny Harding & Martin Scott which certainly added to the atmosphere.

The Innocents is at The Little Theatre until Saturday 28^th October

 

www.thelittletheatre.co.uk/

www.ptheatre.blogspot.co.uk

 

Shrek the Musical

 

Review by Paul Towers, 17/10/23

Shrek The Musical book & lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, music by Jeanine Tesori

Directed by Samuel Holmes & Nick Winston

At Curve til Saturday 21^st October 2023

“Hilariously spectacular half-term family fun”

Shrek The Musical doesn’t stray very far from the Dreamworks original animated film.

Shrek (Antony Lawrence), the least scary ogre in, well just outside, Duloc, is thrown out by his parents at age 7, as is common with ogres at the time. He is determined to confront the fey Lord Farquaad (James Gillan), regain the freedom of the swamp for himself and the release from banishment of all the fairytale creatures. Along the way he rescues a Donkey (Brandon Lee Sears) who tags along to show Shrek the way to Duloc.

Meanwhile Lord F is desperate to become King but needs to marry for this to happen. The only suitable princess he knows of is Fiona (Strictly’s Joanne Clifton). In return for signing over the deeds to the swamp to Shrek he agrees to rescue Fiona and present her to Lord Farquaad for him to marry.

Eventually Shrek finds the princess and rescues her. He falls in love. Eventually so does she.

This hilarious and spectacular, all singing, all dancing musical will send  you stumbling out into the night believing in happy ever after. With a huge cast of every child’s favourite fairy tale characters and fart jokes galore, this is the perfect half term treat for children of all ages.

Shrek The Musical is on at Curve until Saturday 21^st October

http://www.shrekuktour.com

www.curveonline.co.uk

www.ptheatre.blogspot.co.uk

 

The Book Thief

 

Review by Paul Towers, 4/10/23

The Book Thief based on the novel by Markus Zusak, libretto by Jodi Picoult & Timothy Allen McDonald, music & lyrics by Elyssa Samel & Kate Anderson

Directed by Lotte Wakeham

Produced by Octagon Theatre Bolton

At Curve til Saturday 14^th October 2023

“A powerful indictment of a terrible period in history”

First up I have to say that I have never read the book so I have sat down with no preconceptions.

The Book Thief is set in 1940 Germany, a time when Nazism was making its presence felt across Europe and nobody had any idea of the horrors to come.

Illiterate Liesel (Erini Louskou at tonight’s Press Night giving a very assured performance) has just lost both her parents and brother. Kneeling by her brother’s graveside she steals her first book. Her Jewish foster parents Rosa and Hans Huberman (Mina Anwar and Jack Lord) hide a Jewish boy, Max (Daniel Krikler), in their cellar and it is he that instils in Liesel the wonders of reading and writing so she steals books whenever she can to feed her voracious appetite for education. As Max says, words are the most powerful thing in the world and can change things for good and bad. This theme is beautifully carried through with a sequence where a huge puppet of Hitler is made out of papier mâché, paper covered in words.

Liesel, like Anne Frank, determines to write down everything she sees and shares it with her friend Rudy (Oliver Gordon giving a precociously energetic performance). That way it will never be forgotten. And as we now know, without those testimonies some would conveniently forget. Watching the lines of Jews being herded onto trains we are reminded of modern day efforts to wipe out voices with cancel culture.

You might think that a story of privation, abuse and worse would not be suitable material for a musical but both the authors and the musical composers have layered the narrative with humour throughout, especially the domestic sparring between Rosa and her husband Hans.

The cast includes a large ensemble of talented dancer/singers who inhabit various characters as well as moving props. The set, designed by Good Teeth, is a wonder to behold.

The Book Thief runs at Curve until Saturday 14^th October. At the moment there are no confirmed dates for it to transfer. It deserves to end up in London.

 

www.curveonline.co.uk

www.ptheatre.blogspot.co.uk

 

Stags & Hens The Remix

 

Review by Paul Towers, 2/10/23

Stags & Hens (The Remix) by Willy Russell

Directed by Simon Dickens

Produced by Leicester Drama Society

At The Little Theatre  til Saturday 7^th October 2023

“working class Liverpool at its funniest”

Set in 1970’s working class Liverpool Stags & Hens explores the different sensibilities of men and women on a night out.

It is Linda (Holly Matuisiewicz) and Dave’s (Simon Butler) night before their wedding. Both inadvertently turn up at the same run down nightclub.

As their night progresses and their alcohol consumption increases the different ways the two groups deal with things emerges. In the boy’s toilets testosterone levels rise as Eddy (Lewis Cole) tries to butch up the group. While Robbie (Joey Perez-Jones) is just bemoaning the fact that Dave has thrown up an earlier consumed curry all over his best pulling trousers. Kav (Matt Zebrowski) is the group lush and is more interested in his art that the rough and  tumble of the night. Finally there is Billy (Russell Webster), the odd ball pushed around by the rest of the group.

Meanwhile, over at the graffiti strewn ladies’ toilets the girls are gathering themselves to enter the fray of the dancefloor. Bride to be Linda is locked in a cubicle trying to decide whether she really wants to be married while her friends are jostling for the sole mirror as they put the finishing touches to their war paint.

Maureen (Olivia Phillips) is constantly slurping from the secreted half bottle of cheap vodka in her handbag. She is a maudlin drunk and spends most of the night in tears hoping for a ‘nice time’. Bernadette (Angelica Robinson) is the group leader and imposes her will on everyone while Frances (Amy Hollis) the perpetual best friend tries to smooth everything over. Finally Carol (Carla Field) a work colleague and not really part of the close knit circle watches much of the action in wonder.

While Linda is wavering in the cubicle trouble in the form of her ex Peter (Nick Wilkins) appears as the lead singer of a group appearing in the club later that night. The lads in the Gents are jealous that Peter managed to escape their poverty stricken lifestyle while the girls are worried he will drag Linda away from her impending marriage.

As usual with a Willy Russell play there are hilarious one liners and insightful thoughts of working class Liverpool all couched in the earthy language of the area.

Stags & Hens is not for the easily offended and runs til Saturday 7^th October.

 

https://www.thelittletheatre.co.uk/

www.ptheatre.blogspot.co.uk