Reviews

Christmas Spectacular

I love Christmas and it doesn’t take much for me to feel festive. But if I had needed any more festive spirit, then this show gave it to me in abundance. Arriving at the Regent Centre in Christchurch amidst lots of excited children, I knew I was going to be in for an afternoon of great entertainment. The Glad Rag Production Company return for a fifth year of festive family entertainment, so it would seem that this is becoming something of a tradition. The stage is set with a simple but beautifully lit Christmas tree, and once settled in my
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Bob and Lorna’s Christmas Party

People who traditionally go to Christmas shows seem a bit more pious and family-oriented than those who don’t. I’m not talking about those ‘adult pantomimes’, which, if performed at any other time of the year, you would have thought had been written by someone incarcerated in Broadmoor. No, I’m talking of those who like to recreate an idyll of Christmases past which only ever really existed in stories or on Christmas cards. Close scrutiny of this demographic would show that over the Yule period, they prefer to be surrounded by family of all generations, limit their television viewing, partake in
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Christmas concert

Arriving early in the hope of a space in the car park at the back of the church, I was intrigued to see that there appeared to be an exercise class going on in the rear hall, but strangely, it seemed that everyone was in evening wear. Closer inspection revealed the truth: musical director Ivy Tan is clearly not content with simply a few pre-concert vocal gymnastics for her performers but has them bending and stretching too – and very energetically at that. It certainly paid off in the way everyone marched smartly to their seats, standing and sitting as
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The Real Inspector Hound & Black Comedy

Surely it is easier to write a one-act play than a full-length piece? On the contrary: to tell a story well in one act, let alone to convey any sort of message behind that story, you need tautness in both writing and thought. BLTC are offering a double bill of comedies by masters of the genre, and the similarities and differences between the two are fascinating. First up is The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard. Two theatre critics are watching a traditional Agatha Christie-type thriller set (of course) in a remote manor house cut off by the weather. At
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Upton Priory

Mighty oaks from little acorns grow, and if the commitment of the cast in the first production by False Perspective is anything to go by, this tiny seedling certainly deserves to develop into a majestic tree. Upton Priory is home-grown, with a script written by Nikki Wilson. In case we didn’t get the titular pun, it opened with the theme music from Downton Abbey, and reflected many of the characters in the latter; for example, Karen Ward channelled her inner Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess of Southbourne, while the daughters of the house, charmingly played by Amey Dawe and
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Edward II

As usual, this is a collaborative performance from a group of third-year students from the BA Acting, BA Costume and Performance Design and BA Make Up for Media and Performance courses at the Arts University. This is the last of the four group productions this term; in the others there has been plenty of action and movement, some brilliant set design and some exquisite work from the costume students. Now with this Christopher Marlowe classic, ‘highly edited’ into one 90-minute act, the emphasis is predominantly on the text, the demanding, lyrical and sometimes poetic text which has stood the test
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