Tuesday 5th April 2022 at the Grand Theatre and Opera House, York. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It’s been 40 years since its Liverpool premiere and Willy Russell’s multi award-winning Blood Brothers remains one of the most popular musicals around - and with good reason. The laughs are plentiful and the heartbreak inevitable - throw in the lively and... Continue Reading →
Review: Far Gone (Touring)
Thursday 31st March 2022 at Harrogate Theatre (Studio) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “As a little boy, aged eight, I was nearly kidnapped from my home in Northern Uganda by the rebel group the Lords Resistance Army… This play is not about me, the kid who was lucky enough to escape. This play is for the hundreds of thousands... Continue Reading →
Review: Here’s What She Said to Me
Thursday 17th March 2022 at York Theatre Royal. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ In Here’s What She Said to Me, three African women joined together by blood explore the timeless themes of love, family, heritage and legacy. Along the way, as we hear their intertwined stories, we are invited to consider how generational and geographical shifts influence life choices... Continue Reading →
Review: Macbeth (Leeds Playhouse)
Friday 4th March, 2022, at Leeds Playhouse. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ In Shakespeare’s epic tragedy, ambition provides the ultimate downfall for its eponymous tragic hero. In this production though, ambition finds rich rewards, and as with her 2019 Hamlet, this take on Macbeth provides a great example of Director Amy Leach’s impressive talent for staging Shakespeare’s work for... Continue Reading →
Review: The Bone Sparrow
Wednesday 2nd March 2022 at York Theatre Royal. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Zara Fraillon’s novel about a young boy born in an Australian detention centre for refugees has been adapted for the stage by S. Shakthidharan - and it’s an adaptation with a keen sense of its own emotive power. Esther Richardson’s direction of this Pilot Theatre production... Continue Reading →
Interview: Alastair Michael Talks Ransack Theatre’s “Catching Comets”
February 2022 Ransack Theatre’s “Catching Comets” is a “multi-dimensional genre mashup” which sees a lonely heart find love and action hero status all at once. Promising honesty and laughter through an ambitious merging of rom-com and action, the play offers up an exploration of love, vulnerability and the impact of notions of masculinity. “Catching Comets”... Continue Reading →
Interview: Nicole Acquah Talks Award-Nominated Play “Sankofa”
February 2022 san - to return ko - to go fa - to fetch Nicole Acquah’s award-nominated play, “Sankofa”, weaves together live music, storytelling, and traditional pottery to explore legacy, heritage, and what it means to belong as part of the African diaspora. The play will take to the stage at The Bread and Roses... Continue Reading →
Interview: Tom Foreman Talks New Play “Swell”
February 2022 Following on from the success of “Big Boys”, the latest new work from Tom Foreman is “Swell” - a climate-conscious drama based on real events which follows siblings in a town decommissioned due to rising sea levels. The play runs at The Lion and Unicorn Theatre from 8-12 February, so I caught up... Continue Reading →
Interview: Zana Fraillon, S.Shakthidharan & Esther Richardson Talk “The Bone Sparrow”
January 2022 Published in 2016, Zana Fraillon’s The Bone Sparrow tells the story of Subhi, a young Rohingya boy who has spent his entire life inside an Australian detention camp. His world has been shaped by fences, but in his imagination he is free. The book was shortlisted for both the Carnegie Award and the... Continue Reading →
Review: Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks (Touring)
Tuesday 14th December 2021 at the Grand Theatre and Opera House, Leeds. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is to know the secrets of the illusions in this show… I’ll start as others have and confess that I don’t know the movie and I didn’t know anything about the story going in, but... Continue Reading →