Reviews

Why an opera? Read Road to Freedom, read any biography of Nelson Mandela and you would probably be more moved than at any moment in the Cape Town Opera production currently playing at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton. Libretto and music have to complement each other, to add emotion to thought, and it doesn’t happen here. This is a hybrid. The very fact that acts 1 and 3 are written by different composers seems odd in the first place. You are constantly asked to adjust your response to what is happening on stage. Are you light-heartedly enjoying the ‘Pata Pata’ dance

‘It’s very funny but it’s not very politically correct, is it?’ was my fiancée’s verdict as we left the theatre. If you prefer brevity, read no further as that neatly sums up what is to follow. Ray Cooney has long been acknowledged as a master of farce. This play had its first run in the West End in 1983 and, while some might find its dependence on specific humorous devices, subjects and situations out of place in 2016, it is equally likely to have many laughing out loud. Happily, BLT’s opening night audience fell firmly within the latter camp (sic),

Here’s a quick quiz: where can you get nearly three hours of entertainment and a ‘fish supper’ for £10? No looking at the title now. Drat! Too late! Yes, it’s at the Broadstone Memorial Hall, where I was treated to just that, courtesy of Broadstone Players – the entertainment is in the form of four, humorous, one-act plays, interspersed with some fish and chips and a couple of drinks from the licensed bar. There is one small caveat: seven of the players are notionally first-timers on stage, but that doesn’t put off the audience. I was let into the secret of

Guys and Dolls is an immensely fun show, but not an easy one to do. For RicNic, it is a return to where the company began. RicNic is not your usual amdram company – it is a genuine youth theatre company with every role, both on and off stage, being taken by someone in the 16- to 21-year-old age bracket. But don’t let this fool you: for such youth, there is a great breadth of experience and maturity on show. When the heavy brass overture begins, it is very clear that we are in for an excellent show. Kathy Chalmers,

This play by Amanda Whittington is a sequel to her earlier Ladies’ Day, in which four Hull fish packers took a trip to the races and hit the jackpot. Now we find them using some of their winnings to have the holiday of a lifetime in Australia, and I found myself mightily impressed that the Players had even managed to arrange Sydney-type weather for the production. Actually this is not a first, as I distinctly remember that a few years ago one of their productions featured a thunderstorm – and we actually got the real thing. Clearly someone at Poulner

Alfred Hickling recently reminisced in the Guardian about the Tom Stoppard screenplay for Shakespeare in Love (and/or the Lee Hall adaptation for the stage), where the fledgling Will receives some poignant guidance from the world-wearier Henslowe: ‘Comedy.  That’s what they want.  Love and a bit with a dog.’  And sure enough, as night follows day, in The Two Gentlemen of Verona that is what you get, as it is written on the side of the tin.  This is one of Shakespeare’s initial plays; some say it is the earliest.  It is a dabbling tale of friendship, love, duplicity and friendship