Creative Reviews UK

The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk Bristol Old Vic Friday 27th May 2016

For Emma Rice’s final production as Kneehigh’s Artistic Director, The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk is the chosen piece of theatre that graced the Bristol Old Vic to also coincide with the theatre’s 250th Birthday Celebrations, and what a production so fitted to the occasion. Due to this performance being the opening night, views that I may have and stuff that I may have seen may not be the final product as the show is still in preview stages before the Press Night, but with Kneehigh being my favourite theatre company of all time, with The Wild Bride being one of my earliest memories of being at the theatre, I knew that what Kneehigh were to do next, and have done with this production, is bring something truly magnificent and special to Bristol, and I feel very privileged to be able to witness the genius from this astounding company.

So onto the production itself, where the story is told through our two protagonists of the stor…

Penelopiad Blackfriars Theatre, Gloucester Thursday 26th May 2016

Walking into Blackfriars, a building completed in 1239 and now housed for events such as weddings and theatrical productions just like Penelopiad, we are greeted by members of the cast who water our hands and offer us treats, before we are escorted into the interior of Blackfriars, where we are treated to the first segment of the production from Penelope (Melissa Hornsby), before then being further walked through to sit in a cabaret style seating for the rest of the production.

This production of Penelopiad was incredible, and as first years on the Performing Arts Course at University of Gloucestershire, every single one of the actresses on stage showed huge charisma and potential in their roles, whether they were the many faces of Penelope, or the hilarious gentlemen, right through to all the other characters in this production, because each of them effortless and seamlessly slipped into their roles so elegantly.

The four …

32 Rue Vandenbranden (Peeping Tom) Warwick Arts Centre Friday 20th May 2016
Set in a mountain landscape with six performers and three campervans for shelter, 32 Rue Vandenbranden, translated to Pepping Tom, tells the story of the small community who are faced by their loneliness, in a 80 minute, no interval extravaganza, with incredible movement pieces and gravity defying performances.
Now it’s very hard to explain the plot to this piece of theatre, as there was little dialogue, but there were some fantastic sequences that happened even without the dialogue, which just proved that a piece of theatre could easily be told through movement.
The acrobatics used in the show were slick and and all the performers were clearly used to their advantage, which almost reminded me of a theatre piece I saw digitally called Mnemonic, from the company Complicite, just to the movement pieces in both productions.
Overall, Peeping Tom was a production I would not usually go to see, but due to a recommendation…

Made Up
Birmingham REP Theatre
Thursday 19th May 2016
To celebrate their 25th anniversary as a company, Birmingham based company Stan’s Cafe presents Made Up, a piece of theatre which the company has collaborated with a makeup artist to bring the production to life on stage. Set around the character of Kate (Emily Holyoake), who comes in to see makeup artist Sue (Alexis Tuttle) for some of her television roles, we see a raw performance from the two creatives on stage, whilst also seeing the in detailed makeup through a live feed camera, but ultimately is a very poorly executed production which falls flat half way through and never manages to lift.
The problem with this production is that the set is beautiful lit, with the whole trailer feel like you are actually watching a makeup artist at work in their daily job, which we are essentially, but there is no strong underlying storyline to the piece, and just really feels like random conversations packed into the 75 minute performance, a…

Invincible Birmingham Rep Theatre Tuesday 17th May 2015

When you enter the auditorium for this show, a makeshift interior of a ground floor house has been erected, depicting a homely sense, whereas around this set are at least a hundred houses made from building blocks you would play with as a child, to add to this though, a toy train is then heard and seen moving along all these structures to arrive onto the set of the erected house. This is Invincible, a show about Emily (Emily Bowker) and Oliver (Alastair Whatley), a couple, though not married, who have moved to the north from the south to allow their baby daughter a chance to integrate with ‘Real People’.

Also in the mix with the show are those ‘Real People’, who are depicted as next door neighbours Dawn (Kerry Bennett) and Alan (Graeme Brookes), who have sons and daughters, with one son away in the war. The production centres around a dinner party in the first act, where different opinions that soon result in arguments arise, and it’…

The Father Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham 14th May 2016

In 2014, French playwright Florian Zeller won the Molière Award for Best Play, for his production of The Father, translated to Le Pere, in the country. Kenneth Cranham in the role of Andre was incredible, portraying the character in a witty and comedic sense from right from the start, having the audience in hysterics. His charm and charisma throughout made him believable and realistic in the role, and considering this was the final day of the 7 week tour they have been on, the whole production still felt incredibly fresh throughout, between himself and the rest of the actors on stage.

This was a production about one man’s determination with Alzheimer’s and memory loss, and it was fascinating to watch this being done through the eyes of Andre, where we meet the people in his life who are there for him in the final days and weeks of his life, most notably Anne, Andre’s daughter, played by the beautiful and marvellous Amanda Drew. Her ch…

Eurydice
Warwick Arts Centre
Wednesday 11th May 2016
Warwick University Drama Society's latest production to hit the Arts Centre Studio stage is Eurydice, with this retelling of the Greek Mythology described to have themes of loss regarding romantic and parental, as well as loss of the self. The production is seen through the views of Eurydice, a young lady, played beautifully by Laura Adebisi, who when dies and goes to the Underworld, must choose whether to stay in the Underworld with her dead father, (Thomas Bulpett) or return to Earth and rejoin her husband Orpheus (Aaron Chote).
This production was incredibly well directed by Emma Welton, a current student at the university, who managed to create these worlds that were really captivating, with the use of levels and the creativity of the space, with an example being the stones in the Underworld, who were placed on the balcony, watching the action being explored on the stage below them.
I felt like the actors really understoo…