A Small Mind At The 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 ...

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 lig...

Back in 2022, the original Cluedo stage play, based on a 1985 play by Sandy Rustin, itself based on the cult US film Clue , journeyed to Milton Keynes Theatre as part of a UK tour. It was, it has to be said, an average affair, made good by some excellent staging and at times a very fair tribute to the original board game. Now two years later, the success of that tour clearly warranted a return to the franchise and we find Cluedo 2 now on stage at Milton Keynes Theatre. So, is a follow-up warranted, and does it address many of the issues of the original? Let's find out. Unlike the original and with no film source material to create a second play from, legendary TV comedy writers Maurice Gran and Lawrence Mark have taken the helm to provide the script for this production. Sadly, the legendary writers have for the best part plowed through their archives of extremely dated, and tiresome comedy. Much of the script is heavy on the obvious, high on the cringe, and while at times it can...

Moby Dick is a story that most people asked would say they have heard of. Less would perhaps be able to give a detailed account of the tale it tells. Even less so, it seems, would be able to claim they have actually read the sprawling 700-plus-page novel. Herman Melville's novel you see seems to be highly regarded, but now, slowly but surely becoming less read in these short-attention-spanned days. So, what can a neatly brief two-hour production from Simple8 in association with Royal & Derngate do for the epic novel? First of all, a brief synopsis to get us going.  Moby Dick tells the story of Ishmael, a young sailor who joins the whaling ship Pequod , captained by the mysterious Ahab. Captain Ahab is a driven man, seeking revenge on the white whale of the title, who rudely took his leg away in a previous encounter. During the tale, we meet a likable assortment of characters, and the impressive ensemble of nine performers brings them delightfully to life to tell this tale. Ou...

Yann Martel's bestselling novel Life of Pi thrilled readers when first released back in 2001, and at the time, many said that the story of  Piscine “Pi” Patel and a Royal Bengal Tiger was unfilmable. Yet, director Ang Lee felt otherwise and in 2012, his film version swept aboard awards aplenty and proved many wrong. Seven years later, playwright Lolita Chakrabarti decided that not only was the story filmable, but, it was very much stageable as this visual spectacle premiered at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Following a hugely popular London run, this tour, which now reaches Royal & Derngate, was always destined to follow. The story of the Life of Pi is a fantastical one which tells, what Piscine (known as Pi) calls in flashback, a true, but totally unbelievable, tale of  the plight he finds himself in when the ship he and his family are travelling upon sinks in high storms Mantel's tale fascinates and captivates, but only once the true story of Pi's adventures begi...

For many a connoisseur of theatre, The Woman in Black needs little introduction. First staged in 1987 on stage in writer Susan Hill’s hometown of Scarborough, this stage adaptation by Stephen Mallatraitt first moved to London in 1989. There it was to stay for over thirty years, before finally taking its last bow in 2023 after 13,232 performances, and the title of the second longest running non-musical play in West End history, second to some show written by someone called Agatha Christie. Beyond the West End run, The Woman in Black has thrilled audiences on numerous UK tours, the latest of which has now arrived at Milton Keynes Theatre. So, what makes The Woman in Black so successful? The simple answer is its simplicity. Susan’s Hill’s tale of Arthur Kipps and his telling of his horrifying experience of attending the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow and settling her estate as part of his job is simply told, very much in the tradition of tales from renowned ghost storyteller M. R. James a...