Reviews – Playhouse Pickings

Review: 5* Screamworks Bloodbath – The Immersive Experience. Secret Location near Bethnal Green

Not for the faint hearted but what a fabulously frightening, gloriously grotesque and strangely sexy evening. A thank you letter to Jack – our host. Dear Jack, Despite not knowing what has happened to you since I left your house, when one is invited to a party, it is only polite and correct to sendContinue reading “Review: 5* Screamworks Bloodbath – The Immersive Experience. Secret Location near Bethnal Green”

Tweetingit: 4* The ancient and modern meet head on as social media lends a hand in this inventive production of Shakespeare’s bloodiest tale. The techno phobe lurking deep within me is now under control thanks in no small part to the ever inventive Show Must Go Online. It’s difficult to imagine how a theatrical productionContinue reading “Review: 4**** Titus Andronicus The Show Must Go Online @robmyles #ShakespeareDeck #cultureduringquarantine #staycreative”

Tweetingit: 3*** Andrew Lloyd Webber’s magic touch just about sees this sequel to Phantom through any rough patches. But it’s sometimes difficult to see the join with plainly familiar melodies. The sequel is generally confined to the big screen where we’re accustomed to roman numerals in the title and resigned to the money printing potentialContinue reading “Review: 3*** Love Never Dies – via the Shows Must Go On YouTube @OfficialALW #cultureduringquarantine #stayathome #musicals”

Last Friday I got dressed up, drank champagne, ate ice cream and explored the gloriously odd world of The Grand Budapest Hotel. I did in my living with with 1000s of people from around the world thanks to Secret Sofa. Secret Sofa is a new branch of the highly acclaimed Secret Cinema. It is obviously slightlyContinue reading “Review: Secret Sofa – The Grand Budapest Hotel – Star rating depends on your own efforts but 5***** for making staying home so much better! @secretcinema #secretsofa @haagendazsuk @KieranMortell #staycreative #cultureinquarantine”

Tweetingit: 4* A one-legged man with a parrot on his shoulder looking for treasure never fails to grip the imagination. A classic story refreshed and rebooted for the London stage. For a novel first published in 1883 Treasure Island remains an enduring classic. No less than nineteen film and TV adaptations have been made includingContinue reading “Review: 4**** Treasure Island – The National Theatre at Home via YouTube @PatsyFerran @NTLive #NationalTheatreAtHome #TreasureIsland #cultureduringquarantine”

Tweetingit: 3* A smartly scripted verse play from the cultured pen of Stephen Berkoff is a hit and miss affair but still generates a distinctive aura of time and place. Stephen Berkoff made his name as a villain in numerous film roles where he grappled with James Bond and Rambo among many others. He evenContinue reading “Review: 3*** East – The Vaudeville Theatre @digitaltheatre @VaudevilleTh #cultureduringquarantine #stevenberkoff”

Tweetingit: 5* Victor Hugo’s sprawling epic seamlessly transfers from stage to the stadium rock atmosphere of London’s 02 Arena. A perfect production showcasing rare genius. Once upon a time I acquired the hardback version of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Needless to say 1,232 pages stayed in pristine condition as I contrived excuses not toContinue reading “Review: 5**** Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Concert – The 02 Arena, London via @SkyArts #CultureinQuarantine @AlfieBoe @MsLeaSalonga @realmattlucas”

Tweetingit: 3* A well-drilled, highly talented cast go through the numbers and deliver a slick production. But this feels like an overly sterile approach to an infrequently staged play. Well three hours four minutes and thirty five seconds is a bit of a stretch even for a battle hardened theatre goer like me. But IContinue reading “Review: 3*** Antony and Cleopatra – RSC at Stratford-Upon-Avon @MarqueeArtsTV @TheRSC #staycreative”

There are now many plays and musicals being streamed access the internet but sometimes we all need a bit of variety. You need something you can just watch and enjoy, something where you do not have to follow a complicated story, or get heavily invested in the lives of the characters on stage only forContinue reading “Review: 5***** Cirque Du Solei 60 minute special 27th March 2020 #cirqueconnect @Cirque #staycreative #CultureInQuarantine”

Tweetingit: 4* The big daddy of farce taking pot shots at Victorian social convention to great comic effect. A wonderful production showcasing the legendary wit of Oscar Wilde. When The Importance of Being Earnest premiered in February 1895 it represented the zenith of Oscar Wilde’s career. It was also a personal nadir as his affairContinue reading “Review: 4**** The Importance of Being Earnest – The Vaudeville Theatre @marqueetv @VaudevilleTh #CultureDuringQuarantine #theatre”