Reviews

Rock of Ages (High School Edition), performed by Centrestage Youth Productions was a lively and entertaining production, which the whole audience seemed to enjoy. This well-established company works tirelessly to fundraise for themselves in order to give young people in the area a chance to be a part of an amateur dramatic group. Their hard work certainly paid off tonight. Sherie Christian, who wants to make it big in acting was played effortlessly by Morgan Dunn. Her note perfect singing went hand in hand with her slick acting. She is a star in the making. She was well supported by

If you’ve never been to the Shelley Theatre in Bournemouth you really should go. It is a delightful little place with lovely courtyard and bar. The theatre itself has a low small stage and raked and comfortable seating; rescued, apparently, from the Imax. The next few weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays up to 28th August would be particularly fine days to go if tonight’s performance was anything to go by. A story of psychological warfare, Brian is financially dependent on his wife Sheila, and he is in love with another woman. An acquaintance convinces him he would be better off

I make no apology for the fACTS that I so enjoy coming to see this group’s work. The facilities are limited and the stage is the size of a postage stamp in comparison to other venues, yet the quality of staged production is always of high value with incredible attention to detail, be it costumes, choreography, blocking or casting.   This show is a delight from start to finish. Audrey in the hands of Zoe Denyer has never been so poignantly played, with a lovely vocal and sense of loneliness and isolation permeating throughout. Matching her with vocal style as

“Titus” is one of Shakespeare’s lesser known and least performed plays and also has a reputation for being the bloodiest.  It is a fictional account, set loosely in a late period of the Roman Empire during a conflict with the Goths.  Titus Andronicus is a Roman general who has just defeated a Gothic army and captured its queen, Tamora, and her sons, Alarbus, Chiron and Demetrius.  The theme is mainly “revenge”, first by the Gothic queen and her sons against Titus and his sons and secondly by the Andronicus family (the Andronici) against the Gothic queen turned empress, her sons

This year, there is talent in Highcliffe! The Highcliffe Charity Players have returned with a crowd favourite – their biannual revue, full of song and dance, alongside comic sketches and stand-up that, at times, is just a little raunchy! Having never attended before, I did not know what to expect, but I’m pleased to say I had a ‘wonderful time’ – just as the programme promises. The show opened with ‘We’re Going to put on a Show’ from Disney’s live tour of Phineas and Ferb; not the most well-known song but suitably cheesy with top-hats, waistcoats and sequins galore. Amongst

When reviewing amateur productions in Swanage, I have often marvelled at the standard achieved by quite a small talent pool, not easily augmented from outside because of the town’s comparative remoteness. One of the reasons why the standard is so high can be summed up in two words: June Ranger. For over fifty years her School of Dance has been giving the town’s youngsters – and not-so-youngsters – the chance to develop their skills and to enjoy the freedom of expression that comes from moving to music. Many of her students leave the town, of course, some to follow careers