A Small Mind At The Theatre

Just A Second from Theoria Theatre has my award for the most beautiful play of the week. Tenderly performed, wonderfully written and just quite enchanting. Our two performers Antonia Underwood and Jessica Kay compliment each well with Jessica the almost constantly abrasive one while Antonia despite being a touch grumpy, the gentle one. This is for me Antonia's show, not to discredit Jessica, but that solid performance of Dor, 'The Time Keeper' of Mitch Alborn's novel, of which this is based, is so wonderfully complete that I cannot ignore it. There was also for me that wonderful softening of the voice and manner in the flashback scenes which you felt were still definitely the same character, but also of a distant much happier time. Antonia and Jessica however work wonderfully together as a pair of actors, complimenting each others performances excellently. They are an almost perfect partnership of opposites in this production. The set is simple but as delightful as ...

Written in 1962 by Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange remains even today one of the most controversial stories of all time. Maybe most of this controversy comes from its 1971 film version, which was even withdrawn by its own director Stanley Kubrick, and only became wildly available after his death. Maybe less familiar is the stage version which was adapted by the author himself. Perhaps due a little to the passage of time, the University Of Northampton's vivid performance felt more powerful than the film. Violence on film has become common place so Malcolm McDowell and his droogs attacks have become less powerful on screen. On stage however, much of that violence is more offered in the mind and to that extent feels more powerful. The clever use of screens in particular removing the more barbaric scenes slightly away from the eye and more into the mind. Playing Alex is Sam Billy Behan, once again in the lead following his epic performance as Macbeth . He is the same commanding...