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 Shrek the Musical at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Once upon a time, there was a splendidly green ogre who went by the name of Shrek. For many years, Shrek starred in a captivating and thrilling adventure set upon a theatre stage. This came to pass following a tale told in a Dream(works) in a cinematic spectacle. His tale was told in a truly fun way, with staging sublime, and endless mirth from a nefarious baddie who in many ways came up short. However, around the corner, there was greater evil afoot as our green friend's show was undergoing a transformation for further adventures on stage. What possible way could this evil be stopped? Sadly, for all, it could not and the evil reigned for a full UK tour which journeys most recently to the magical kingdom of the Royal & Derngate after a long adventure across the land. So, dear reader, forgive my fairy tale preamble, and perhaps, from that you might imagine this show isn't up to much and sadly you would be right. Shrek when it toured before to Northampton was a little ligh

Review of Disney's Aladdin at Milton Keynes Theatre

Back in 1992, Disney took the age-old tale of Aladdin and did their classic Disneyfying of the story and with the genius of Robin Williams in the role of the Genie, the film remains an immensely popular one to this day. Forward to 2011 and Disney took the show to the stage for the first time and with it the classic songs from Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin with a few additions. Since then it has continued to have huge success across the world. Having now arrived at Milton Keynes Theatre on a new tour of the UK & Ireland, it is easy to see why that success continues. This is a truly epic and spectacular show, perhaps the largest that you could find outside of the streets and avenues of the West End. From the opening number as the Genie welcomes us to the streets of the fictional Arabian city of Agrabah, the show simply oozes quality. Performances are top-notch with a large cast of leads and an ensemble at the top of their game. As Aladdin, Gavin

Review of Shrek (NMTC) at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Three and a half years ago, in a land far far away, in a world very different to the one we are now in, I saw the touring professional production of Shrek The Musical , it was a mixed bag of quality, tilted extremely heavily in favour of one particular character (not the one you might expect) and not firing on all cylinders much of the time. One and a half years after my last visit to the Derngate theatre, I return to see the homegrown Northampton Musical Theatre Company's own take on the very same show. Would they be able to breathe more life into the show than the professionals did in that distant land? It is a bit of a yes and no really. Pretty much all of this is done to the best possible standard, and at times, with being an amateur show you could easily forget, they all have normal day jobs. The show oozes professional quality at times. The set looks magnificent, the costumes (from Molly Limpet's Theatrical Emporium) are superb, and as ever with NMTC, the backstage team c

A Small Mind At The Theatre

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