A Small Mind At The Theatre

It is safe to say that there have been a lot of Agatha Christie spoofs kicking around over the years, they are ripe material to plunder, and often feeling as if the original author was even sending them up at times as well. So, to discover another one on stage at The Core Theatre in Corby is no surprise. New Old Fiends' Crimes Under the Sun is a patch above many of them, a speedy, witty and genuinely ingenious take on a Poirot influenced case (no prizes for guessing Evil Under the Sun). As our lead, we have a curiously Belgian detective Artemis Arinae, Poirot in all but name, and more specifically gender (it's the first thing I noticed about her, to steal a joke). The show opens relatively badly, with a rather long introduction from our detective played by Jill Myers. It is the only downside of the evening, as once the stage is full of the quite brilliant collection of characters, this show whips along with an amazing intensity. The characters created in Crimes Under the ...

I had created so much anticipation for myself with Danny Hero at The Core, that there was perhaps an almost inevitability that it would end up a disappointment. Sadly it was, despite it still be a tremendously entertaining show. That is a brilliantly weird introduction to a review, so I think I should explain myself. I personally believe that the pre-publicity for the show had a seriously contrasting positive/negative effect and offers interesting thoughts on how to publicise a show. Trailers by their inherent nature offer nuggets of delight, often making a show appear far better than it turns out. Those behind Danny Hero chose to run a large bulk of publicity with a YouTube recording of a song from the show, Man Of Steel . It worked in selling my ticket, as after I heard it, it was pretty much 90% of the reason I decided to make absolutely sure I got to see the show. So, it did its job. Ensemble However the problem lies with the fact that Man Of Steel is a simply incredible m...

I wrote my first review of No Way Back on site in the bar at the Core Theatre and it was a relatively rushed affair. This show however deserved better (or as better as I am able to write anyway). Therefore I now write again a few days after seeing the show twice, reflecting on its contents in a greater way. As it is a show of personal decisions and deep thoughts, this is perhaps appropriate. Without going into too much detail, I have to say that some of the personal material and thoughts portrayed in the stories told within this play resonated deeply with me at this time. Mid life crisis or not, there is indeed as the title tells us No Way Back. Through a series of inter-weaved scenes, stories are told of dating issues, birth of children, an accident prone life and body image thoughts. For the audience at the Core, I doubt that there was anyone that could not relate in some way to the tales told. For those that said not, they were probably kidding themselves. This was indeed the stre...

Having worn out the seats at Royal & Derngate the perfect opportunity arose to experience the little brother at Corby. The Core is situated in the impressive Corby Cube and offers a mix of theatre, cinema and the dynamic space known as the Lab. It is, I have now found out, a wonderfully gorgeous modern theatre. Stylish stage, comfortable seating (the front row I sat in had interestingly low seats for me but huge leg room) and wonderfully cool. The performance I had made a ninety minute bus ride for was No Way Back, a Frantic Assembly/Made In Corby production that utilised local non professional talent. Bringing personal stories from the community performers, Frantic created a unique physical production that anyone who has seen A Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time might be familiar. Despite using what were effectively members of the public there was no let up in the performances they were given to do. There were two performers I was familiar with ahead of seeing the s...