Reviews

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

Ringwood Musical & Dramatic Society has established a tradition of performing a trio of succinct shows for their summer production, each individual and stand-alone but with a common theme running throughout, the respective directors given free rein on the kind of show that they present. This summer, RMDS has chosen diamonds as their theme in order to help celebrate Greyfriars’ 60th anniversary year (Greyfriars Community Centre being the venue for their productions). I have been to progressive suppers where each course is in a different location; I have attended promenade shows where the audience follows the actors around a site