Reviews

Although I had watched the movie numerous times the show was a first for me. I was completely blown away by the performances of the main characters. Shrek’s swamp has been invaded by fairy tale creatures sent by Lord Farquaad. Shrek is then sent to retrieve the woman Lord Farquaad wants to marry to make him King. Princess Fiona is in a high tower protected by a fire breathing dragon which Shrek has to overcome. Shrek played by Lewis Edgar did an amazing job at interpreting the ‘grumpy’ ogre. His Scottish accent was consistent throughout his performance and very funny.

It’s a lovely venue the War Memorial Hall in Broadstone; it looks like a giant Nissen Hut left over from the war but it isn’t. It is a great memorial. As far as I can tell, Broadstone Players have been staging plays there since 1957. They have a long history that goes even further back. The curtains opened onto a great set, complete with Cuckoo Clock and started off with great pace. I was a little disappointed that the radio sound was coming from full stage speakers with no attempt to make it sound like it was on the small

It’s certainly a huge challenge to stage a musical that is so well known, with so many characters and with so many immediately identifiable songs, but CPYT met the task head-on, and a considerable success they made of it too. Backed by an accomplished 16-piece orchestra under MD Nigel Finch, this talented cast gave their all, and the whole show was clearly the result of months of hard work under the overall direction of William Ross-Jones and his creative and technical team. Most people will know most of the story; that of farm girl Dorothy and her beloved pet dog

Chesil Theatre has gained a local reputation for creating high quality performances and productions at its intimate venue, often enhanced by first rate scenery, costumes and effects. Tonight, in its Spotlight on Youth, complex aesthetics were stripped back to reveal the pure, raw, burgeoning talent of its very youngest members as the two youth sections presented four short pieces under the umbrella title of Delusions. With each piece lasting no more than around 5 – 10 minutes each, this is a short evening at the theatre – but a genuine treat nonetheless! The senior group (aged 13 – 16 years)

Eager to reboot his diminishing film career, waning Hollywood star Jefferson Steele arrives in England to play King Lear at Stratford – however, this is not the Bard’s birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon, but the peaceful Suffolk village of Stratford St John, and instead of Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi Dench, the cast are a bunch of amateurs trying to save their theatre from developers. Jefferson’s outrageous ego, conceit and unexpected self-doubt are tested to the limit by the keen am-dram performers as two acting worlds collide amongst diva tantrums, intensified passions, misread cast interactions, cynical pursuit by the gutter press, suspicions

The Green Room is perfect for this four-hander and those of you lucky enough to have a ticket will be spoiled with this Russell take on the age old ripe for comedic observation attitude to getting older, regrets for the people age has made you and affluent snobbery; the need to fit in, be it committees, badminton or collective thinking, and yet somehow wanting to be above all that too; or escape it entirely by building a Shawshank-esque tunnel underneath the kitchen floor. Compared to other works, notably Shirley Valentine and Blood Brothers, this Russell offering is more akin to