Reviews

Five characters arrive at a manor house in the English countryside, joining the imperious owner of the house, her downtrodden niece and her incompetent butler. All of them have secrets and no-one is quite what they seem. Murder is inevitable in such an atmosphere, and so it turns out. To the rescue gallops Acting Inspector Pratt, who unfortunately is the most useless policeman this side of Inspector Clouseau. It all adds up to a splendid spoof of an Agatha Christie-type thriller, and Swanage Drama Company make the most of it. Don’t expect deep or subtle humour or ingenious plotting, but

Anything Goes is set aboard luxury ocean liner SS American, where nightclub singer/evangelist Reno Sweeney is en route from New York to England. Her pal Billy Crocker has stowed away to be near his love, Hope Harcourt; unfortunately, Hope is engaged to wealthy English Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Joining this love triangle on board are Public Enemy #13, Moonface Martin, and his sidekick-in-crime, Erma. With the help of some elaborate disguises, tap-dancing sailors and good old-fashioned blackmail, Reno and Martin join forces to help Billy in his quest to win Hope’s heart. I’ve not seen a show by BMT Productions or

Bournemouth Little Theatre’s production of American Buffalo captures all of the intensity and emotion of the dialogue of David Mamet’s script. With a cast of three who spend the whole of both of the play’s 40 minute halves within the confines of only one room, a rather grotty looking junk shop, the play sets its actor quite a challenge which Barry Gunner, Gavin Rand and Bob Ichev all do a wonderful job in meeting. Although symbolically the play is meant to be yet another pop at the American dream, as if this wasn’t a subject matter that hadn’t already been

Lovingly adapted from the Golfing stories of P G Wodehouse by Jon Glover and Edward Taylor, this warm and witty script is never under par from the off. Michael Fenton Stevens immediately breaks the fourth wall and invites the audience for a couple of hours of crisp hole in one story telling. The premise is simple: using props scattered around a gorgeously designed late 1930’s golf club by James Button, the oldest member uses a versatile cast to tell stories of romantic liaisons to educate Jack in the art of love. The golf puns come quick and fast but this

During World War II, the Land Army (spirited women and girls from very diverse social classes and walks of life) were sent to farms to live rough and work hard, filling in for the roles the men who had joined the armed forces had temporarily vacated. Based on letters and interviews with the original Land Girls, this poignant play uses the distinctive characters of four vastly different women from very varied upbringings – upper-class Poppy (Adrienne Ellery), candid Geordie Margie (Mandi Francis), pragmatic Cockney Peggy (Helen Symes) and sophisticated Vera (Caroline Hall) – to reflect on their experiences during WWII,

Once again, Encore Theatre has put on a terrific showcase of the finest musical theatre that has ever graced our stages, and they were not afraid to bring varied and less well known numbers to the stage. The concept and format were well thought through and perfectly executed; we were taken on a journey through eight different musical sections (or stops on the bus journey). The musicals selected were varied and there was something for every audience member to enjoy. I particularly enjoyed the “Young Frankenstein” section as this is not a show I am familiar with. The 17 strong