Reviews

You can’t beat a Cinderella or an Aladdin, but it is good to see modern pantomimes branching out into new stories while preserving the tried and trusted features of traditional panto. Pinocchio is hardly a new story, but it certainly gets a new treatment in this entertaining production. The script is by the Society’s musical director, Lee Redwood, who proves as talented with words as he is with notes. The story flows well and the jokes are good – and not always corny. Much imagination and innovation has also gone into the direction by Rachel Leggett and Matt Tyler; inevitably,

Compared to many of Shakespeare’s plays Timon of Athens is relatively little known and not often performed. It is a brave move by director Don Cherrett and the Bournemouth Little Theatre company to take on this challenging work. It is traditionally associated with the tragedies, but some regard it as a ‘problem play’. Some commentators compare it with King Lear; its conclusions about wealth, life, friendship and mankind in general are certainly not uplifting. In anticipation of this review, I read the play a few months ago – so I had an idea of its themes, plot and complexity. Watching it performed live, with

This week’s production of The Revlon Girl is sold out, which is no less than it deserves. An entirely original and largely unexpected take on the tragedy (and aftermath) that happened at Aberfan in 1966, both tone and period are set from the moment we enter the Green Room. Sound, lighting, projections and effects are all superbly realised, as is the set design, and the atmosphere is firmly established from the outset. To quote from RAODS’ publicity, this is “the real-life story of a group of bereaved mothers who meet every week above a local hotel to talk, cry and

Masterclass is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional masterclass by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. Maria Callas was an American-born Greek Soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Receiving her musical education in Greece from 13 years of age, she later established her career in Italy. In her final years she gave 24 Masterclasses at the Juilliard School in New York, on which this play is based. This production is performed by the new group Questa Teatro, the

For those of you who have never heard of this show, it is loosely based on Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice, with Music by Joshua Saltzman and Book and Lyrics by Ryan Cunningham. It was first produced off-Broadway in 2006 and the first UK production was in 2007. So much for its history. The show itself is, quite simply, wonderful, with a simple but engaging story-line and beautiful songs, and it deserves to be seen and experienced by a far wider audience than it probably has been in the past. Here, SUSU have handled it with skill, energy and creativity,

Those who have tickets for this sold out run are in for a treat of the highest order. Exquisitely directed by Jill Desborough, every nuance of this script is exploited with pathos, humour, charm and class. Four actors at the top of their game made the feeling of old age and yearning for past glories literally sing out. They all worked so well together and clearly are having a ball, and this was so clear to a sell-out audience, who sat mesmerised. Philip De Grouchy is salaciously warm as Wilfred the baritone, his facial expressions perfectly conveying the front he