I am feeling very envious: I should love to be able to write a play that is one tenth as good as this one, or, failing that, be given the opportunity to play the role of Ray (Stephen Kennedy). I am too long in the tooth to play Matthew (Matthew Blaney), the aspiring young actor. In truth, this is a wonderful, life-affirming play that is well-nigh perfect! It is very, very, laugh-out-loud funny. But David Ireland, the playwright, knows that his audience cannot laugh all the time, so there … [Read more...]

Forever branded as Gilbert and Sullivan’s 'serious' comic opera, The Yeomen of the Guard is in fact a skilful blend of whimsy, comedy, sentimentality and poignancy, based around the pending execution of Colonel Fairfax (Anthony Gregory) for sorcery at the Tower of London in the sixteenth century, giving Gilbert scope for some pseudo-Elizabethan dialogue and Sullivan the opportunity of composing some imposing music. Jo Davies’ production at the London Coliseum moves the action forward to … [Read more...]

It was depressingly apt to be asked to review this play about the ‘troubles’ in Northern Ireland on the day that political parties in the province decided not to resume power-sharing at Stormont and instead triggered yet another general election. This two-handed, 65-minute play is probably the best written, acted and directed that I have seen at the Jack. The playwright and director/producer, Daryl J Blair, says that it is set in an unspecified future when there is a hard border between … [Read more...]

South African Road Trip has been touring the world since 2006 presenting their “swinging and exuberant musical experience, including uplifting songs, close harmony and invigorating dance and music”. The cast is led by eight men from the Khayelitsha United Mambazo Choir and four female singers, with musical accompaniment by two marimba players, Mkokeli Moses Masala and Sabu Jiyana. In fact, it is these two players who are the undoubted highlight of Good Hope. In the second half of this … [Read more...]

Scene Unseen was conceived during ‘lockdown’ in 2021 and is a collaboration between singer Jessica Walker and composer/pianist Joseph Atkins: available to experience via English Touring Opera’s website. The result of their collaboration is a song cycle lasting almost an hour which has been imaginatively filmed by Joseph Lefeber and directed by James Dacre, with computer-generated illustrations by Thomas Hicks. The result is about “sexuality, identity and what makes us who we are”. The music … [Read more...]