To Kill A Mockingbird

 

Review by Paul Towers, 28/10/25

Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, adapted by Arron Sorkin

Directed by Bartlett Sher

Produced by Jonathan Church Theatre Productions

At Curve til Saturday 1^st November 2025

To Kill A Mockingbird is essentially about racial tension in a small American Deep South town in the 1930’s, a time when ‘blacks knew their place’. There are two black characters in the story, neither of whom have much to say.

Tom Robinson (Aaron Shosanya), a disabled black farmhand is falsely accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell (Evie Hargreaves) and is put on trial.

Atticus Finch (Richard Coyle) is a run-of-the-mill small-town lawyer mostly used to dealing with minor disputes and sundry legal matters. On the advice of Sheriff Heck Tate (Colin C Campbell) and Judge Taylor (Stephen Boxer) he agrees to represent Robinson as he is convinced of his innocence. His judgement may be clouded slightly by the fact that his household is ruled over by old coloured retainer Calpurnia (Andrea Davy) who may or may not be closer to Atticus than he wants to admit.

In order to bridge the gaps in the narrative Finch’s children Jem (Gabriel Scott) and Scout (Anna Munden) along with their frenetic friend Dill (Dylan Malyn) break the fourth wall.

Mayella’s father, Bob (Oscar Pearce) jumps to all sorts of conclusions and whips up the local chapter of ‘The Klan’ into a lynch mob.

A large ensemble, both front and back stage, ensure that the impressive set by Miriam Buether moves seamlessly around Curve’s huge stage.

Harper Lee’s insight into the bigotry and prejudices of almost 100 years ago still resonate. This is a powerful indictment of what was and may, scarily, become again.

To Kill a Mockingbird is at Curve until Saturday 1^st November and then continues to tour.

Pics: Johan Persson

https://www.mockingbirdplay.com/tour

www.curveonline.co.uk

https://ptheatre.blogspot.com/ 

A Murder is Arranged

 

Review by Paul Towers, 27/10/25

A Murder Has Been Arranged, a ghost story by Emlyn Williams

Directed by John Ghent

Produced by Leicester Drama Society

At The Little Theatre til Saturday 1^st November 2025

Just in time for Hallowe’en the ghostly goings on in London’s St James’ theatre are enacted on the stage of Leicester’s Little Theatre this week.

A Murder has been Arranged by Emlyn Williams tells the story of a legend concerning a murder once committed at the St James’s Theatre. A dumb woman (Dorota Wotjtkowska) will appear on stage to reveal a murderer.

Sir Charles Jasper, an authority on the occult, has chosen this theatre in which to hold a dinner party. Tonight, at eleven o’clock, he will come into a vast fortune. Should he die before eleven, his nephew, Maurice will inherit it. Though uninvited, Maurice arrives and a chain of events are set in motion that culminates not only in a murder but the appearance of not one, but two, ghosts!

First performed in 1930 in the real St James Theatre the play does suffer from the rather stilted language of the period and, although the first two acts bowl along quite nicely my problem is with the third act which is too contrived. It was obviously cobbled together to tie up all the loose ends of the plot by the playwright.

That said, the actors give it their all and do their best with the material available on an inventive set designed by Phil Newman.

Sir Charles’ secretary Miss Groze (Joy Brankin-Frisby) is starched efficiency as she efficiently orders his life with the help of cleaner Mrs Wragg (Angela Hill sounding very like Beryl Reid and adding some much needed comedy). Hidden below the stage (mostly) is orchestra leader Mr Cavendish (Jake Leonard), here supposedly to provide a musical accompaniment to the meal.

A chameleon-like unexpected guest Jimmy North (Daniel Creedon) may or may not be the dreaded long lost cousin of Sir Charles (Andrew Webster) come to claim his inheritance.

To add hysterical drama to the evening Sir Charles’ wife, Beatrice (Charlotte Brown) and her mother (Nadine Hossent) stoke up the ghostly paranoia.

But it is the arrival of the dastardly real long lost relative Maurice Mullins (Paul Large sounding a lot like Leonard Rossiter) that causes murder to ensue.

The spooky goings on at The Little Theatre will continue until Saturday 1^st November.

Pic: Poyner & Mee

https://thelittletheatre.co.uk/

https://ptheatre.blogspot.com/ 

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

 

Review by Paul Towers, 23/10/25

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? By Edward Albee

Directed by Cara Nolan

A Made at Curve production

At Curve til Saturday 8^th November 2025

Very rarely do we, in provincial theatre, get to experience two actors at the top of their game in a production that stretches their talents to such a degree as in this staging of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

A tight cast of just four are lead by the indomitable Cathy Tyson and Patrick Robinson with able complimentary performances by Tilly Steele and George Kemp.

One night in the apartment of long married couple Martha (Cathy Tyson) and George (Patrick Robinson), having just endured a faculty party thrown by Martha’s influential father, they start their familiar alcohol-induced bickering. A young couple, Nick (George Kemp) and Honey (Tilly Steele), come to visit and are immediately drawn into the older couple’s increasingly bitter and frustrated relationship.

As the drinks trolley is depleted tempers raise and secrets are revealed until finally one secret too many comes to light and all hell breaks out.

Albee wrote the play in 1962, his sixth but first full length successful one. But, by making the set fairly anodyne designer Amy Jane Cook has avoided anchoring the time to any particular period. The dynamics of the relationships are just as pertinent today as they were 60 years ago.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is at Curve until Saturday 8^th November. Grab a ticket and witness some of the greatest theatre performances you will see in a long time.

Pics: Marc Brenner

www.curveonline.co.uk

https://ptheatre.blogspot.com/ 

The Producers

 

Review by Paul Towers, 9/10/25

The Producers, the Mel Brooks Musical, book by Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan

Directed by Patrick Marber

Produced by Menier Chocolate Factory

At Garrick Theatre, London

You really need to be a Mel Brooks aficionado to fully appreciate the humour of The Producers. Like the film it is irreverent, outrageous and tasteless. Only even more so!

With a chorus line of both old ladies and Hassidic Jews you know that there will be a deep well of tastelessness. Throw into that mix the showstopping Springtime For Hitler and it is no wonder that some (unprepared) audience members have walked out in disgust.

Of course you need to understand that Mel Brooks’ reasoning is that the best way to confront and debase fascism is to make fun of it. It is hard to be afraid of something you are laughing at.

The show centres around almost bankrupt producer Max Bialystock (the indefatigable Andy Nyman) and his shy accountant Leopold Bloom (Marc Antolin). In going through the books Leo spots the potential to make money through ‘creative accounting’. If Max can raise a lot of money from theatrical angels (investors) and the show fails, it wipes out the debt. And if he raises much more than the show costs to put on, there is a huge profit to be made.

Reluctantly Leo agrees to go into partnership with Max and the scam is born.

Together they pore over scripts until they find the very worst, gold plated potential failure. Springtime For Hitler by not-so closeted Nazi Franz Liebkind (Harry Morrison). Next they need a director an outrageous queen Roger DeBris (Trevor Ashley), a subtle in-joke for the Jewish community, and his partner Carman Ghia (Raj Ghatak).

With the agency getting so busy the guys need a receptionist, enter Swedish bombshell Ulla (Joanna Woodward) who Leo falls for while Max is off servicing a multitude of little old ladies into giving him cheques to invest in the show.

Of course it all goes wrong, the show is a critical success and Max ends up in jail.

As I said at the top of the page this is typical Mel Brooks, hilarious, outrageous and completely tasteless. I loved it!

https://ptheatre.blogspot.com/