Wednesday, 21st February 2024 at the Yard Theatre, London ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reviewer: Emma Dorfman When I first encountered Samuel Takes a Break... in 2021, in a teeny, 15-minute scratch as part of Omnibus Theatre's Engine Room, I still remember one line nearly 3 years later. It's a line that tour guide Samuel (played with equal parts levity and... Continue Reading →
Review: A Song for Ella Grey (Touring)
Wednesday, 22nd February 2024 at York Theatre Royal. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ There’s something about Greek mythology - and more specifically Orpheus - that continues to grab creatives and audiences alike. Just in recent years, we’ve had Testament’s Orpheus in the Record Shop, Rambert’s Death Trap, Ben Haggarty’s Orpheus Dismembered and Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown, and interest in this... Continue Reading →
Interview: writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran talk “Cluedo 2 – The Next Chapter”
February 2024 Cluedo 2 - The Next Chapter will soon be arriving in York, when it stops off at York Theatre Royal from 12-16 March as part of a wider tour. Here, Richard Barber chats to BAFTA Award-winning writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. Cluedo has been a stalwart of family life since the Hasbro... Continue Reading →
Review: Imitating the Dog’s Frankenstein (Touring)
Saturday, 17th February 2024 at Leeds Playhouse. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This latest show from Imitating the Dog offers a key departure from the company’s usual approach: having no live cameras on stage. It does however maintain a characteristic cinematic quality in a bold and intriguing production. Billed as “inspired by” Mary Shelley’s brilliant novel, this take from... Continue Reading →
Review: Casting the Runes (Touring)
Wednesday, 14th February 2024 at Harrogate Theatre ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Drawing on classic tropes of gothic tales and cinematic thrillers, and combining this with clever puppetry, Box Tale Soup Theatre’s Casting the Runes illustrates the versatility and impact of puppetry very nicely indeed. The show is an adaptation of M.R James’ ghost stories, and in it we... Continue Reading →
Review: Beyond Caring at Theatre @41 Monkgate
Tuesday, 6th February 2024 at Theatre @41 Monkgate, York. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Angie Millard directs this production of Alexander Zeldin’s 2014 drama with a keen focus on the sympathetic elements of Zeldin’s characters. Beyond Caring is a pointed, well-observed glimpse at an undervalued workforce, and The York Actor’s Collective do well to stage such a static piece... Continue Reading →
Interview: David Almond Zoe Cooper and Esther Richardson talk “A Song for Ella Grey”
February 2024 Pilot Theatre’s latest show, A Song for Ella Grey, is arriving at York Theatre Royal later this month (20-24 February). Here, Natasha Tripney talks to author David Almond, playwright Zoe Cooper and director Esther Richardson about the forthcoming stage production. “People have been telling this story forever,” says author David Almond about the... Continue Reading →
Review: Gwyneth Goes Skiing at the Pleasance, London
Friday, 2nd February 2024 at Pleasance Theatre, London ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reviewer: Emma Dorfman Based on real events- which you can hardly believe actually happened- Awkward Productions’ Gwyneth Goes Skiing is a deliciously campy drag/comedy that, despite the occasional hiccup, will leave any audience member (in the words of Linus Karp’s Gwyneth) “gooped and gagged” for more.... Continue Reading →
Interview: Emma Rice talks latest production – “Blue Beard”
February 2024 The latest production from Emma Rice’s theatre company, Wise Children, is opening at Bath’s Theatre Royal this week, and is set to arrive at York Theatre Royal later this month (February 27 - March 9) as part of a wider tour. Here, Rice reflects on what inspired her to take on Blue Beard... Continue Reading →
Review: Orpheus Dismembered at York Theatre Royal
Friday, 2nd February 2024 at York Theatre Royal ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Cronus and Rhea. Aphrodite. Zeus and Hera. Persephone. Dionysus. Eurydice and Orpheus. Aside from the wonderful poetry of the names, the stories of the Greek gods are an assortment of the unexpected, the macabre and the downright bizarre. Orpheus Dismembered takes audiences on a whistle stop... Continue Reading →