Skip to main content

Review of UoN Fringe: Wonder (W?nder) by Lamplight Theatre at The Platform, Northampton

I have to say as an unreligious person, I approached W?nder with a certain amount of trepidation. Performed by Naomi Hollands, an evangelist in training, as well as an actor, it comes from her theatre company Lamplight, which has in its description that it aims "to give the student population a chance to explore Christianity through the use of theatre".

It was though slightly less of a concern, in reality, this show is presented at a nicely balanced level, which explores more what we find ourselves in life as things of "wonder". We are asked to write down on a piece of paper at the start of the show, where we see the wonder in life. It's an idea that is briefly used later in the show, as Hollands reads out three random ones from the bowl. However, it gets you thinking before the show proper begins.

Hollands takes us through several characters including a young child and an older, more officious and organised person, before finally falling into a very personal piece as herself. Indeed extremely so in it's content and you have to applaud the nature of laying some of the content in such a public environment.

It's simply done, nicely performed and far from preachy in its content, dealing more with how we gain enjoyment from life rather than banging the religious angle. It's also very funny at times, and Hollands performs the whole piece in a confident and believable way, and despite my initial concern of the themes, I left thinking about the themes raised, and from theatre, that is the most wonderful thing we can receive. It very much ticked the box of what I wrote on the piece of paper at the start, "creative ideas".

Performance reviewed: Saturday 24th March 2018 at The Platform, Northampton.

The UoN Fringe ran between Friday 23rd and Monday 26th March 2018.

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Birmingham Rep

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street first appeared in this musical form in 1979. Adapted from an original play by Christopher Bond, the work was set to music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, with a book by Hugh Wheeler. It quickly became a huge success, opening on both Broadway and the West End within a year. Following Tony and Olivier wins, the show has seen revival after revival over the years, as well as a musical film starring Johnny Depp. Now, Birmingham Rep presents its own pared-back version of the show, featuring some big stars of the theatre world. So, the question is, is Sweeney Todd as razor-sharp as it once was? What is clear to all at the outset is that director Joe Murphy, also artistic director at Birmingham Rep, has assembled a remarkable and bold cast for the show. Leading as Sweeney is Ramin Karimloo, whose bio speaks for itself and is the biggest draw for this show, especially for theatres outside London. His Sweeney is a perfectly brooding affair, broken...

Review of Annie at Milton Keynes Theatre

Annie was first performed now a remarkable fifty years ago at Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and since then, the tale based on a 1920s comic strip and adapted for the stage by Thomas Meehan on book, with music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics provided by Martin Charnin, has become a perennial favourite across the world. Indeed, this version, directed by Nikolai Foster, last appeared at Milton Keynes Theatre in 2023. So, after all these years, does Annie still have that appeal? Set in  1930s New York during the Great Depression,  Annie  follows the life of an orphan abandoned to the care  of its evil matron, Miss Hannigan. Annie seeks escape, and after one failed attempt, she finds herself the chosen Christmas guest of billionaire Oliver Warbucks, and things slowly, hopefully begin to improve for the little but fiercely strong Annie. Leading the adult cast for this tour now as the cruel Miss Hannigan is Claire Sweeney. Sweeney clearly revels in the chance to embr...

Review of Behind The Curtain Tour at Royal & Derngate, Northampton

This weekend I went on the "Behind The Curtain" tour at Royal & Derngate and although I was greatly looking forward to it, just to see the ins and outs of behind the scenes of my (disappointingly late in the day) adopted second home, I never thought I would find it quite as interesting as I did. I went on a tour of the Royal part of the theatre at lower school, however this being some twenty years before I was not likely to remember much, and very possibly, at that time I may have not really been that interested. However those intervening double decades and here I was paying for the privilege and not being crocodiled by my teacher. On arrival we all milled around the foyer awaiting our tour guide, Erica. We were offered a warm welcome and once numbers had been counted, we were promptly escorted from the building. Standing in Guildhall Road we were given an aperitif of what was to come, an informal but highly informative tour. Lovely little snippets such as the origina...