Reviews

This type of concert show is a staple of the amateur musical society, its chief role being to put money in the bank to be able to splurge on the next big, expensive production. There are also opportunities for society members, who perhaps don’t get the lead roles in the big shows, to showcase their talents in a song or two in their own slot on stage. Sometimes it can be a case of recycling the same tired old numbers which may be tried and tested, but the audience have all heard them soooo many times before (mentioning no particular songs

This is superb entertainment from start to finish. Directors Olivia Krauze and Natalia May have produced something very special, all the more so for the limitations of the Annex stage/lecture theatre. The stage design and lighting are so atmospheric that even upon entrance you know you are entering a warped world: mirrors deliciously placed at angles give just a hint of what is behind, and then further engulf us with images for the turbulent second act. The acting is pure class from everyone and not one of Wilde’s bon-mots is wasted as the well-disciplined, clear-dictioned cast dispense both sage and

We theatre snobs like to say that the stage has virtues to which the cinema can never aspire, but the truth is also that film can do lots of things that theatre cannot do. Quite apart from being able to portray wide open spaces, a talented film director has many more devices at his disposal to create an atmosphere or to trigger the audience’s reactions. Take, for example, the 1955 film of The Ladykillers, the well-known story of a gang of bank robbers who set out to dupe an old lady, Mrs Wilberforce, but get their come-uppance. Even though it

I’m not too proud to admit that, as I don’t know everything about everything in theatre, I had a quick squizz at Wikipedia before venturing out to see this play, to give me a sense of what to expect. On the one hand, I’m glad I did as it proved a useful insight. On the other, however, what I expected from my interpretation of the aforementioned squizz and what I then witnessed were starkly different. Not the story, but the telling of the story. Blimey! The story (it says here…) is a semi-autobiographical one from playwright John Osborne, who was

Sweet Charity is well loved within the amdram community, particularly due to the well-known musical numbers, the broad range of minor roles and the large number of female parts available. This makes it an ideal choice when your company is predominantly women, as so many societies are these days. Of course, it also benefits from good singers and dancers, and the age mix needs to be right, but it is possible to get away without these qualities and still put on a good show. The musical itself premiered on Broadway in 1966, but most people will have seen the iconic

When the lights fall dark at the end of a rehearsal (or during!) how different are the actors in real life? What are their relationships? How do actors interact with each other and the director? What would push you into murdering the leading actress? These were all the questions that Lyndhurst Drama and Musical Society are asking in their latest offering, Murder in Play, a murder mystery comedy by Simon Brett. Without wanting to give too much away, the play focuses on the murder of the leading actress, Renee Savage (Hilary Causey) in Boris Smolensky (Richard Barnett), a budding Director’s,