A Small Mind At The Theatre

Thirty-nine years after the instantly successful film of the same name debuted at cinemas, Selladoor Productions brings this touring production, headlined by Mica Paris and Jorgie Porter around the country. However, throughout the whole production, even this forty-odd-year-old who watched the spin-off series, and yes, probably enjoyed it, wonders, what is the point? Fame , the musical version, first on stage in 1988, is not the film of the same name. While the format, auditions, freshman year, etc, and the iconic Fame song are here. Very little else from the film is, music and characters are different, the storyline is reworked, it's a sort of Fame hybrid. That doesn't really matter to be fair, each year would be different. New keen students would bring new tales to the Fame Academy each year in any case. In fact, this musical, conceived by David De Silva, with a book by Jose Fernandez, lyrics by Jacques Levy, and music by Steve Margoshes, lives in a world where the Fame fi...

The Pope weaves the story of the resignation of Pope Benedict into a finely tuned tapestry of entertainment. Enthralling, funny and with two devastatingly brilliant performances from masters of the stage. That's all you need to know really before you go and see this show. However, for those still here, let's flesh it out a bit more. As Our Lady of Kibeho did a few months back, The Pope brings religion to the Made In Northampton range, and once again, it sweeps to every success in making it accessible for all. You don't need to have any religious leanings to be thrilled by this tale, expertly written by Anthony McCarten ( Bohemian Rhapsody ), this is simply told, and intensely funny, there are actually some amazingly good one-liners in this play which cause show-stopping moments due to the audience's laughter. It is unexpected, but superb to see, and also importantly doesn's shy away from the numerous issues of the Catholic church. It helps that we have the in...

I as a reviewer despise having to write negative reviews, although I suspect many reviewers revel in it, in a weird sort of way. They feel unfair as you know in theory that the performers especially are often just doing what they are told and their very best, well you hope so. Therefore as this tour of the iconic Dirty Dancing travels around the UK, I lay virtually all of the blame of how poor this show is on the director and producer, if that is unfair, I'll take that, but believe me, if you are ever going to, this is a shocker of a show at times. I was a huge fan of the original film Dirty Dancing in its day, it was a standard little film, nothing award-winning, it just hit a nerve with many people, whether you swooned over Patrick Swayze, or had a crush on Jennifer Grey (hand up here). Baby coming of age through dance with teacher Johnny Castle was iconic cinema, and that is what makes this production so bitter tasting as it rumbles over the characters we grew up loving ...

Ahead of seeing Arcadia in this University of Northampton production by the Third Year BA Actors, I had been warned that it wasn't a play for everyone. It makes sense in retrospect, it's a bit clever, making you always feel as if you are not as intelligent as you hope you are (in my case, probably a fair point). However, despite this, the young cast in this production make Tom Stoppard's ever so clever play entertaining from beginning to end. Arcadia follows two timelines, modern day as oddball poetry professor Bernard comes visiting Sidley Park looking for a Lord Byron trail, while 200 years before, young Thomasina Coverly is being taught by horny tutor Septimus. Intermixed with these timelines are a further assortment of odd characters. It's all a little weird, but oddly still fun. Thomas Van Langenberg has tremendous fun as Septimus, teaching and flirting with his pupil Thomasina, played to playful perfection by Abi Cameron, demonstrating perfection in playin...

Sometimes in theatre, whether you are in a big London venue, watching a big name star, or just watching a group of perfectly cast individuals, everything just feels right. Magic is happening. Without shooting the bolt of this review in the first paragraph, Red Velvet is that. Maybe the greatest moment of University of Northampton BA Acting history to date (that I have seen, and it's been quite a lot now). It all feels just right. First and foremost, Lolita Chakrabarti's play is a classy piece of theatre, starting out with more than a hint of Ronald Harwood's The Dresser , before spiralling out into a period piece of racism and acceptance. It is just simply brilliant. At virtually two hours without an interval, it also never drags at any point. I said after that I had seen hour parts that had felt much longer, and it's true. When the lights fade at the end of the play, you don't feel you have been seated for that length of time. So, much enthusing about the ...

Bryony Lavery's More Light , presented here in London as the final group performance by the 2019 BA Actors of the University of Northampton, is one of the more stranger plays that you might have the opportunity to see. Also despite is strangeness, it is also alarmingly entertaining as well. Although even now, I'm not entirely sure why. Their Emporer is dead, and these ladies who served him have found themselves confined against their will with his body. However, these ladies do not wish to die, but how to survive? They must eat of course, and sealed in a tomb to the great Emporer, what is the only thing that they can eat? One guess. It was as I came to write this review that I discovered that actually More Light was originally commissioned as a National Theatre Connections play, and on this revelation, all suddenly made sense. It's an accessible piece, ridiculously odd, but totally accessible, even though you might not understand it all. It also has a very large ense...

The Third Year BA Acting & Creative Practice students made their final appearance onstage together in an adaptation of Jekyll & Hyde by Royal & Derngate's Erica Martin, who directs with Trudy A Bell. It offered an inventive, if perhaps overlong, telling of the story, but allowed the diverse range of skills from the students to be fully exploited. This telling of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, might at times feel a little different to those that know the story well. The piece itself, while in keeping with the Jekyll tale of a scientist exploring a hidden self, also developed a separate story, involving another culprit for Hyde's deadly adventures. This revolved around a local piece of history relating to the 1892 murder of Annie Pritchard (Amy Catherine), and the person convicted of her murder, an Andrew McCrae (Ben Loftus). It's a neat spin on fleshing out the tale, especially to allow more depth for the 23 strong year group to all be part of. So...