Art

 

Review by Paul Towers, 28/9/26

Art by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton

Directed by Steve Illidge

Produced by Leicester Drama Society

At The Little Theatre til Saturday 3^rd October 2026

Art is a sharp, witty and thought-provoking stage play that takes a seemingly simple disagreement between friends and turns it into an examination of friendship, taste, ego and insecurity. It also punctures the pomposity that surrounds modern art appreciation.

At the centre of the play is a white painting that wealthy dermatologist Serge (Piers Flavin) has bought for the ridiculous sum of 100.000 Euros. One of his best friends, Marc (Matt Evans) is vocal in calling out the vacuous idea that a white canvas with white paint and white lines can be art. Late arrival to the social gathering is Yvan (Graham Muir) who is more interested in people pleasing than taking sides in the discussion. What follows is far more than an argument about whether the painting is actually art. The artwork becomes a catalyst, exposing tensions and resentments that have been quietly building between the three friends.

The strength of the play lies in its dialogue which is funny, fast-moving and often uncomfortable, with humour sitting alongside moments of genuine hostility. Each of the three brings a different perspective, making it difficult to see the conflict as simply right versus wrong.

The minimalist, monochrome set by Stephanie Nicholls works particularly well. With so little on stage, attention remains firmly on the actors and the shifting relationships between them. The painting itself becomes almost another character, being constantly shunted off and on, provoking questions about value, taste and what we choose to believe is important.

Beneath the comedy is a much more serious exploration of friendship. How well do we really know our closest friends? How much honesty can a friendship withstand? And when personal pride becomes involved, can an argument about something as trivial as a painting reveal something much deeper?

Overall, Art is an intelligent and entertaining piece of theatre. It combines humour with uncomfortable truths and leaves the audience considering not only what constitutes art, but also what holds friendships together.

Director Steve Illidge has been gifted a talented cast, especially Graham Muir’s Yvan’s hilarious 3-way telephone conversation with his bride-to-be, his mother and step mother. It got a well-deserved round of applause as he collapsed in an exhausted heap.

Clever lighting allows for each character to break the fourth wall and address the audience.

Art is at The Little Theatre until Saturday 3^rd October

Pics: Russell Webster

https://thelittletheatre.co.uk/

https://ptheatre.blogspot.com/ 

Sweeney Todd

 

Review by Paul Towers, 15/9/26

Sweeney Todd, music & lyrics Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler

Directed by John Bale, musical staging by Keiran Whelan-Newby

Produced by KW Productions

At The Little Theatre til Saturday 19^th September 2026

Surprisingly the tale of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, first appeared as a weekly serial in a ‘Penny Dreadful’ in 1846 and was staged as a play in 1865. By then his dreadful deeds had made him the bogeyman to most Victorians.

In 1970 Christopher Bond fleshed out the story to give it a psychological backstory and it was this version that Sondheim used as the inspiration for his 1973 musical version.

The story and staging were ripe for Gothic Horror, which the Victorians loved. But wasn’t until Tim Burton’s blackly comic 2007 film version that the full gory, blood-soaked horror hit the modern audience between the eyes.

On stage, understandably, much has to be imagined and implied.

In recent years KW Productions have made a name for themselves as proponents of Sondheim’s work with great success. Sweeney Todd is no exception.

The barber (Keiran Whelan-Newby) has returned to London after having had his heart broken and been deported by a corrupt Judge (Steve Elliot) who had designs on Todd’s wife (Nicole Collins). Years later, alongside shipmate Anthony Hope (Dan Rowberry), Todd has returned to exact his revenge on the Judge and takes his old barber’s shop above Mrs Lovett’s Pie Shop (Alexandra Elliott). Her pies are the worst in London due to the scarcity of fresh meat. The pair conspire to remedy that problem as well as indulging Sweeney’s lust for revenge when he kills his first victim, Adolfo Pirelli (Freddie Perkins). The Italian’s gofer, Tobias Ragg (Harry Woodward), is left without a protector and Mrs Lovett takes him under her wing. Thus the grotesque double act of barber and baker is born as the ideal method of body disposal is to use them to fill her pies.

With his nemesis, the Judge, in his sights, Todd continues his murderous mission to fill Mrs Lovett’s pies as quickly as she can sell them. All the while he schemes to entice the Judge to within striking distance so he can despatch him to the meat grinder and Mrs Lovett’s best pies.

Sondheim’s score is both sinister and comedic as the story becomes more and more grisly, unlike Mrs Lovett’s pies.

A live band of ten under the auspices of musical director James Steven fills the auditorium as each victim is despatched. While a suitably gloomy set incorporates the grubby pie shop, Todd’s gruesome barber shop is above with its notorious chair which tips to slide the bodies down into Mrs Lovett’s meat grinder.

If you like your musical horror laced with comedy then get down to The Little before Saturday 19^th September for the best pies in town.

Pics: Russell Webster

https://thelittletheatre.co.uk/

KW Productions

https://ptheatre.blogspot.com/