Review of Flash Festival 2019: The Way by Cosmos Theatre Company at Looking Glass Theatre, Northampton

Solo pieces at Flash have quite a checkered history, one of the very best Flash shows I have seen was a solo one, however, many of the worst also were. They have the balance of either a performer getting everything right, for both the audience and themselves or as sometimes happens, a single person running wild with limited reasoning and it ending in a crash. The Way from Louise Akroyd and her Cosmos Theatre Company gets, fortunately, everything pretty much right.

We meet her character Vicky strewn across her bed, after a very heavy night. Her makeup still on, mostly in the right place. After a distraught and comical search for her phone, she discovers news from her mother that her childhood friend has cancer. A rift has been between them for years, but is now the time right to seal it?

The Way is simple in every way, but that is how it works so well. This is about whether you deal with something that probably wasn't anything in the first place to rebuild bridges before it is too late. It's a gently emotional tale, performed with an incredibly soulful performance by Akroyd. There is no glamour in her initial appearance, and her total belief in the material makes us believe every moment.

I was unsure to the very end whether Vicky was just talking to herself or addressing us directly, but, it mattered not. This story was something we could all understand, we all have someone, or maybe more, who we have drifted away from, most likely for very petty reasons, so The Way is something that works on all levels, and it is just a gloriously little piece of theatre as a result.

Performance viewed: Thursday 4th April 2019

The Flash Festival 2019 ran until Sunday 7th April 2019 at venues across the town.
Details here: Flash Festival 2019

Review of Of Mice and Men at The Playhouse Theatre Northampton

John Steinbeck’s classic novella Of Mice and Men has been a staple of many young people's education, and it is relatively common in curricula; as such, it is a popular choice for theatre groups, both professional and amateur, to bring to the stage. Therefore, this week, The Playhouse Theatre Northampton has brought its own version to the stage at Christ Church Hall as its latest offering. So, after close to ninety years since the first publication, is this still worth a trip to the theatre? For those unfamiliar with the story, published in 1937, Steinbeck’s tale, here adapted for the stage by the author, chronicles a moment in the lives of George Milton and Lennie Small, an unlikely pair of migrant workers, as they move from ranch to ranch. Constantly moving due to the mentally unstable Lennies' constant leaning towards doing something bad, they find themselves at a new farm where they hope to make the coin to pursue the dream of their own piece of land. However, as always for...

Review of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at Milton Keynes Theatre

Music artist Tina Turner was a staple of the music network for a remarkable time, active as an artist for eight decades; her work is, or at the very least should be, familiar to every generation. Therefore, it was little surprise that in 2018, a stage musical of her work and life arrived upon the stage. You could say that for such an artist, it actually took longer than it should have to appear. Now, as part of its first UK & Ireland tour, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical , it arrives at Milton Keynes Theatre for a two-week run. So, the question is, is it worthy of the legendary artist? For those unfamiliar with any part of Tina Turner's life, the content of this stage musical telling her life story might be a surprise to an audience that grew up just listening to her music. It is an early commendation of the show that the show does not shy away from the themes of domestic abuse, racism and parental abandonment that Turner suffered through her life. With all that rich and startlin...

Review of The All New Adventures of Peter Pan at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

For theatres across the land, it's that time of year again. The time when the theatres fill with screaming children and a ridiculous amount of sugar intake and trips to the toilet. Yes, it is panto time, and before you say it, oh yes it is. This year, for the Royal & Derngate, it is time for a trip to Neverland (or Forever Land, that is, but more on that later) and a magical adventure with Peter Pan and the dastardly Captain Hook. Once again, following hugely successful previous runs, Evolution Productions brings this tale to the stage in 2025. And it has to be said, once again, they strike panto gold with The All New Adventures of Peter Pan , with a constantly lively, brilliantly colourful and awkwardly funny production that, as always with Evolution, is totally family friendly. Over the years here, Evolution and writer Paul Hendy have created the essence of pantomime (which just so happens to link to the tale within this story). Keeping all the traditions intact, a ghostly be...

A Small Mind At The Theatre

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