Reviews

The Girl On The Train

The Girl On The Train

Castle Players  The Village Hall, Lytchett Matravers Caroline Burr 13 February 2025 Having never read the famous book by Paula Hawkins, or seen the subsequent film, I was fascinated to see the stage version of The Girl On The Train. As a psychological thriller, the intrigue revolves around firstly where Megan is, and secondly who murdered her. What perhaps sets this whodunnit apart is that the protagonist Rachel (Kelly-Ann Singleton) is a barely-functioning alcoholic, unhappily attempting to recover from divorce, who invents the life of a couple she sees each day from the train. When Megan goes missing Rachel realises she
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Dick Whittington

Dick Whittington

Lyndhurst Drama & Music Society  Vernon Theatre, Lyndhurst Darren Funnell 26 January 2025 75 years? Congratulations Lyndhurst Drama & Musical Society. What a fun way to start with Dick Whittington at the Vernon Theatre. I was rather spoilt. I had a ‘sneak peek’ at the Dress rehearsal. This Society has always been very welcoming. Seeing a show ‘ready to go’ on an otherwise windy and damp afternoon certainly lifted the spirits. I was glad I went along. You will be too. True to the spirit of pantomime, the performance delivers a family-friendly mix of humour, music, and audience interaction, all
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All My Sons

All My Sons

SUSU Theatre Group  Annex Theatre, University Of Southampton, Southampton David A Putley 29 January 2025 If the sins of the father are visited upon the sons, then Arthur Miller’s classic “All My Sons” is the ethical conundrum for our time. In this precursor to his signature piece, “Death of a Salesman,” Miller tackles the father-son conflict revealing what happens when the patriarch of the family is revealed to be just another imperfect man whose tragic errors in judgment bring down all he knows and loves. Ripped from a small newspaper article in which a woman informed on her own father
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Goldilocks And The Three Bears

Goldilocks And The Three Bears

Highcliffe Charity Players  Regent Centre, Christchurch Becki Dawson 24 January 2025   Highcliffe Charity Players have been performing pantomimes and shows since 1971. This is their last January pantomime at The Regent in Christchurch… but they’ve promised to come back at Easter instead! This year, Director Pete Whitaker, Choreographer Shannon Cook and Musical Director Stuart Darling have worked together to put on Goldilocks And The Three Bears. And what an enthusiastic show! I have never seen so many excited faces up on a stage enjoying every minute of what they are doing like I saw this evening. The big stage at
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Hercules The Panto

Hercules The Panto

Bishopstoke Players  Durley Memorial Hall, Durley Anne Waggott 23 January 2025 Villainous Hades, god of the Underworld, is scheming to take over the Universe – and the only one who can stop him is Hercules, son of Zeus, king of the gods. Trouble is, Hercules doesn’t realise he’s a demigod, rather believing he’s a misfit living in a tiny village with his mother and brother… until he receives a message from Zeus, which sets him on a quest to fulfil his destiny to become immortal and defeat the monstrous Hades. Well… what an unexpected little gem of a pantomime! Who
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Life X 3

Life X 3

Chesil Theatre  Chesil Theatre, Winchester Mark Ponsford 19 January 2025 Take a small group of well-off (and faintly entitled) characters, give them a simple elegant interior setting, put some nibbles on the table, throw in some escalating tensions and arguments… It’s a pretty safe bet that you’ve alighted on yet another play by Yasmina Reza, and anyone familiar with either Art or the more savage God Of Carnage will already have an idea of what to expect. In Art, the catalyst was the ludicrous canvas; in God Of Carnage, a child’s pet (I have an abiding memory of Matthew Kelly, in
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