A Small Mind At The Theatre

At some point, a regular audience member of Flash Festival needs a show that lightens the mood completely, as the trauma of themed issue shows can take its toll no matter how good they are. So, step forward Oh Arthur , a combination of some of the best moments of comedy and setpieces perhaps yet seen on the Flash Festival. I might have to hark back to the exceptional Sell-By-Date in 2014 to find a more consistently funny offering. Arthur is a layabout, a generally useless creature, bringing nothing to the world. In his wake are the victims of his inability to even attempt life in a good way, so, here is his mother, his girlfriend, his best mate, and others, dealing with him and his horrible behaviour. So, what's to like about a show with a person with no endearing features. Oddly enough, the superb performance of Simon Roseman and the intricate scripting make him likeable, sort of, in a way we like David Brent, well a little. It makes the unlikeable likeable in a devilish way...

Five years ago, I hadn't seen a panto since I was the proper kiddie age to appreciate them, and they hadn't been something missing in my life really. Even the first few I saw as a grown-up left me mostly cold, and teeth gritted at the whole experience. However, I have now seen rather a lot of them, supporting the many groups and collections of actors that I follow, and have started to acknowledge their importance in the theatre world for both actor and first theatre contact for many a person and more importantly, child. Last year, the University of Northampton BA Actors course also got in on the act, introducing Christmas shows to the mix, one of which was a pantomime, of variable quality, as the course itself got to grips with the situation. This year, they return to take up the challenge once again, and clearly having learnt much from last year's first attempt, bring a much more solid and smoother show to the stage, with Suzan Holder's version of Aladin direc...