A Small Mind At The Theatre

Having had the pleasure of seeing six previous and all excellent productions from White Cobra, it is perhaps inevitable one day that one might eventually disappoint. Setting a standard so high means that anything other than excellent feels below par. Sadly their new show Dizzy Boo fails to hit the spot. Not so much in the performances, as White Cobra have once again assembled their excellent company of actors who have yet to be a letdown, it is more that the play itself by Brian Wright seems a little unsure of itself at times. Set in Saxons Mead housing estate, the play centres around the sale of Nick (Fraser Haines) and Donna's (Kate Billingham) house following his discovery that things may not stay the same forever on the homes overlook of meadows. Add into the mix some roaming immigrants escaped from a lorry and some musical numbers and you have a curious mix between comedy and tough drama. This mix is at times where some of the problems lie as although the best plays balan...

Seemingly ever since I have found theatre, Mr William Shakespeare has had some sort of anniversary and 2016 is no different, this time the anniversary is his death. Now while I admire the significant impact that the bard has had on theatre, I concur with a line that the character of Sue Delve says in Shaxpeare's Box, in that I pretty much forgot about him after GSCE. Well that was until I found myself in the last couple of years at many of his plays, through supporting the performing groups rather than my need to see the plays in question. This is therefore probably why Shaxpeare's Box will possibly be my favourite Shakespeare influenced play this year (and may remain for some time), as its not one of his plays. There is also a love through Brian Wright's magnificent script that went some way to give to me a greater understanding of his work than some pompous academic might relay. Set in modern day Northampton it tells the tale of a discovery of a mysterious box in the ...