Sewell Barn Theatre, Norwich Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 23 March 2007 An Enemy of the People Marking the centenary of Henrik Ibsen’s death, this classic of ideas and social issues resonates sharply, sadly, with today. The whistle-blower becomes the outcast; the baying mob damns the man with the conscience. A doctor finds impurities from a factory in the town bathwater supply. The revelation incurs the wrath of the business community including his own bother. Director Peter James brings to life the upturning of stones through Victorian characters and the constraints of the stage shape with more humour than one would have thought possible from Ibsen. The doctor (Bob Young) carries rebel’s passion well and his funereal brother (Ralph Yarrow) is an excellent foil. Petra (Rachel Miller), the doctor’s daughter, is a chip from his … Read entire article »

Theatre Royal, Norwich Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 7 March 2007 Dennis Lacorriere To describe an album or show as “the soundtrack of your life”, is not a bad strap-line for marketing. But this concert was all that and more – for those of a certain age. Celebrating almost 40 years since Dr Hook and the Medicine Show was formed, Dennis “The Voice” Lacorriere came to Norwich to take us down Memory Lane. Sylvia’s Mother, When You’re in Love With a Beautiful Woman, If Not You, Sexy Eyes, More Like the Movies … these were melodies to luxuriate in with lyrics both emotional and comic. All done with a crazy panache as fresh today as they were originally. The band at first had Ray Sawyer with his eye-patch and some original material that ignited … Read entire article »

Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 18 August 2007 Charley’s Aunt One of the signs of a good comedy is a pain from laughing. The new offering from the Maddermarket creates that, plus a tide of well-being and enjoyment. It’s a Victorian comedy of manners which is more than pure farce. All the classic ingredients are woven throughout. There is mistaken identity, cross-dressing, ludicrous coincidences, doors for endless, improbable timed arrivals of near stereotypical comedy characters. Born in 1892, the play carries some whiskers and linguistic anachronisms, but has stood the test of time rather well. The quality of the performers is the magic touch that brings it to life. Two young blades Charley and Jack (Barnaby Matley and David Blood) in need of a chaperone persuade their friend (the priceless hilarious Trevor … Read entire article »

The Cut, Halesworth Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 8 September 2007 Cambridge Footlights Fun seekers go to a comedy sketch show with certain expectations. Cambridge Footlights raises anticipation even higher. Think of stars like Peter Cook, Eric Idle, Fry and Laurie and Mitchell and Webb. It’s the perfect testing ground for young comic talent, and it has been around since 1883, in fact. Today’s version, whimsically called Wham Bam, begins as a two-hour journey down the road of the obvious. Sketches in a bookshop, playing chess, teachers, a Christmas party, a speaking ATM… Gradually it dawns on the audience that the road has become decidedly more surreal and ends in a land of comic high ground with tragedy and pathos for good measure. Some poignant moments at the edge of life and death are brilliantly … Read entire article »

RoughCast Theatre at the Fisher Theatre, Bungay Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 1 December 2007 Broken Glass A relatively modern play from the Arthur Miller catalogue, this challenging piece about love and Jewishness is set in 1930s New York as the persecution of European Jews begins. The challenge of entering a tight, claustrophobic world is embraced warmly by the continuously maturing RoughCast Theatre. Director David Green exploits the Miller device of unfolding global affairs punctuating an unravelling relationship. The central protagonists are a middle aged Jewish couple. Sylvia (an impeccable performance from Yves Green) is suffering a physiological paralysis brought on by fear of Jewish persecution. Her husband (Paul Baker) is at sea in relationships and uncomfortable about love. He is extremely effective. The devious doctor who lasts after the wife (Mark Burridge) shows conflict with … Read entire article »

Sewell Barn Theatre, Norwich Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 23 November 2007 Fallen Angels “Several drinks never did anyone any harm. It’s only the first one!” An early Noel Coward, this play is clearly a forerunner of his greater work to come. It is light, spicy, witty and dramatically theatrical. In the Sewell Barn company hands, ably directed by David Hare, it is a comic gem. Julie, mistress of the house, is the central character and Ginny Porteous is playing her quite splendidly, covering sickness at very short notice. Her best friend Jane (Gill Cichbourne) is consistently delightful and her getting tipsy is priceless. Saunders, the know-all housemaid (Jill Fuller), carries off the doing and knowing everything with panache. The flimsy but mannered plot works through well-drawn characters firmly anchored in the 1920s. Costumes are perfect. Drawing-room … Read entire article »

The Cut, Halesworth Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 18 March 2008. StopGap Dance “Challenging” is a catch-all descriptor of experimental, edgy or fusion performing arts. StopGap Dance is all that and more. An internationally-recognised professional group of able-bodied and disabled dancers presents a collection of pieces challenging both dancers and audience. They confront our notions of what is disability; question how far can social integration go and stretch physical and psychological boundaries to new limits. These professionals are celebrating the different giftings people have and the ties that bind us, and the opening piece of six, with a verbal motif, ‘your useless body’, really hits hard. Provocative duets, ensemble segments exploring relationships, behaviour and human limitations, in a spotlight, with a single chair, around a girl in a wheelchair… it’s a stunningly diverse programme. The lonely … Read entire article »

Black Ram Theatre at The Cut, Halesworth Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 4 February 2008 Wildest Dreams A somewhat surreal mix of comedy, pathos and menace is this piece by Alan Ayckbourn, often described as one of his darkest comedies. It begins in a dingy room with a motley collection of friends engaged in a role-play game, not unlike Dungeons and Dragons. It ends in a bewildering concoction of legends and bizarre lunacies. There is Stanley (Ed Birch), English teacher and host of the fantasy. Melissa Ramadan is his long-suffering wife who finally goes mad. Other players are Tom Hartill who thinks he is an alien and whose mother is a disembodied voice and Rachel Porter who lives in squalor and eats cold tinned beans. Into their dull routine life comes Marcie (Rebecca Lewis-Smith) … Read entire article »

Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society at the Theatre Royal, Norwich Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 29 January 2008 Titanic If you think the sinking of the Titanic is a strange subject for a musical, you’re in good company. However, with such quality performing and all the human interest you want, it’s a great show. It’s full of mini tales about real people, though the relentless inevitability of the ship being pushed ever faster while iceberg warnings keep coming in, is the big story. It is compelling. The music and songs convey the impending disaster right into your heart. Jeremy Tustin, the director, captures the sense of tragic destiny against the folly of people believing the largest moving object on earth couldn’t sink. Geoffrey Davidson conducts a magnificent orchestra that swells into the revamped Theatre Royal … Read entire article »

Sewell Barn Theatre, Norwich Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 21 March 2008 Educating Rita (1)   This compelling drama is all about clashes of ideas, personalities, social classes and emotions. The Sewell Barn have come up with a masterpiece of such emotions. Rita, (the outstanding Kiera Long) a working class Liverpudlian hairdresser, decides to get an education, enrols on an English literature course and enters the world of Frank (Bob Young), an alcoholic professor/poet. She yearns to learn about herself and about culture. He’s drained, cynical, a lonely academic taking comfort in the bottle, reluctant to teach her. There is comedy on the surface as class and culture clash. Yet beneath, in typical Willy Russell writing, flows a dark tide exposing what is wrong with education and society and what is important about learning. A full-length play … Read entire article »