A Small Mind At The Theatre

I have followed Tap the Table on both Twitter and Facebook for a couple of years, however Macbeth Gone Mental is actually the first time I have seen one of their productions. Three of the cast members were also new to me, however Ashlee Sopher; who as well as other roles plays lead Macbeth; I did happen to see in his final year of the BA Actors University of Northampton course, with the final time being the Flash Festival. I mention Flash here for two reasons, one its on again next week, please go if you can. However the more relevant reason here, is that I felt Macbeth Gone Mental very much plays out like an extended and enhanced Flash production. Many of these shows take difficult subject matters and create not only an entertaining, but also a thoughtful stimulating piece of drama. This is Macbeth with a bizarre edge, a piece that follows the story very well despite featuring little of the bards prose, but adds many genuinely weird moments. However the title has a double meaning ...

I arrived at St Peter's Church for Looking Glass Theatre's Sleeping Beauty slightly jaded and apprehensive for my third pantomime of the season. However I always love to support this little theatre and this years show had the bonus of having a quartet of those magnificent University of Northampton students that I get great pleasure in also supporting. The four on this occasion were Matt Larsson, Tara Lawrence, Nikki Murray, Ashley Thomas Sopher and they made a quite excellent and youthful quartet and showed surprising skills in the challenging art of pantomime (no doubt very useful to have on the CV). Tara held the obvious affinity for working with children following her Flash Festival success the children's storytelling show and she has that quietly gentle style that offers no menace. Here she was once again joyful and even as a baddie in the second act remained playful. Ashley was quite a revelation as the dame of the show, playing up the part with glee and doing everyt...

Following the tough subject nature of I Forget What I've Forgotten, the perfect antidote came with Do Gentlemen Prefer Blondes? from Whiplash Theatre Company. It also highlighted at the end of the first day the huge contrast and therefore delight in the different pieces. From storytelling to children's entertainment, from technologies impact to tough health issues, I proceeded to high humour and a little pathos with this one. I love the fact that an hour after the tenderness of one show I witness two grown men running around a stage pretending to be apes. Only at Flash maybe? Our introduction to the show comes in the form of Ashlee Sopher attempting to wear away a pub bar. For five minutes as we await the start of the show as people take their seats, a glass is polished, but mostly the bar is polished. This is presented with perfect showmanship and heralds the delights that are to come. The aforementioned apes are played by Dale Endacott and John Shelley and complete the male...

From all the many highlights I had during my R&D 2014, the University of Northampton's Animal Farm and Love & Information were well up there. The main showcase for all the third year students to strut their considerable skills upon the Royal stage before those Flash Festival dissertations. This year two shows had become three, with my first The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot. As has been common in my crash course theatre year, I knew absolutely nothing of Judas and not being a religious person, I was also wary of whether it would be for me. That was my unknowing form thinking this was all going to be serious. However written by Stephen Adly Guirgis this was not serious business most of the time, in fact it was actually incredibly funny stuff. Occasionally deliberately offensive (especially in the language department), it tells the story of an imagined court case of Judas Iscariot and the calling of a rather interesting collection of witnesses to the stand. As of The Odys...

I arrived at the avenue campus on a dull, rainy afternoon having left a pile of washing up behind me, how these pesky students knew of such things I have no idea. However, having received my ticket (a piece of string), I and the assembled crowd were invited into the Isham Studios (dark edition no less). Inside was a set consisting mainly of string, either hanging from the ceiling or pooling upon the floor. Also present was one of the actors wafting incense around which was leaving a pleasant aroma. Also music, a soothing, soulful song was playing, perfect to fall asleep to. Taking our seats (please take them, oh the agony), we waited for proceedings to begin. Our introduction came from Lydia Rose Blagg, one of those that I was able to identify in the show (thanking you Twitter), and I say now from the outset that I am yet to be able to know all of the stars in the show, but this detracts from not one of you, because, you were all mighty fine. However Lydia spirited us away from the...

Its safe to say and needs saying from the outset that I am not one of Mr Shakespeare's greatest fans and watching two three hour odd productions in two days would not always fill me with a warm glow. However over the last couple of months, the Northampton University (of all current three years) have shown talent in abundance and I was never going to let my petty opinion deprive me of seeing them again. This year I had seen both Troilus and Cressida (by the Masque Theatre) and King Lear (via NTLive) and its safe to say that I enjoyed Macbeth and Richard III more than both of these (yes even with Mr Shakespeare, Simon Russell Beale in action). The acting was of course not better than Lear (it was Russell Beale, that would be impossible), but the productions for me were both much more enjoyable to watch. The Shakespeare purist would no doubt cry that there was too much gimmickry with these productions, but for me this made them more modern and more acceptable. I listen to Shakespe...