A Small Mind At The Theatre

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro is regarded as a modern classic, a meander through the life of butler Stevens as he nears the end of his life, and looks back on many things that might have been different, and might certainly have been better. For this latest Made in Northampton production, director Christopher Haydon brings Barney Norris' sharp adaptation to the stage with more than a hint of style and slickness. The central point from this production and your constant presence (he leaves the stage once to grab a coat, while one of the slick cast led set changes occur) is Stephen Boxer as Stevens. Perhaps one of the more remarkable performances on the Royal stage you might have seen in recent years, his clipped delivery and rigidness as the dutiful butler is simply astounding. So much is the brilliance you are witnessing as you see just a butler on stage, and not a hint of acting going on, that a couple of moments where the guard of emotion slips hit home so much m...

Private Eye 's Ian Hislop and writing partner Nick Newman once again reunite after their hit The Wipers Times successfully transferred from TV to stage. This time they take their own Radio 4 play, Trial by Laughter , and transfer it into a remarkably slick stage play. William Hone was, conveniently, the Ian Hislop of 1817, a satirist charged with libel (and a little added blasphemy), and charged and subjected to three trials in three days. His story told here in a witty, but occasionally slightly heavy way is the cornerstone for a lot of the now free press we see in this country. Not that this has stopped Mr Hislop himself from finding himself in the dock countless times of course. Trial By Laughter is a curious piece which has more successful moments than failures. It does take a while to get going, despite an opening scene featuring the brilliant Jeremy Lloyd as Prince Regent, a living and breathing caricature on stage himself, portly and looking every bit the drawn work ...

Seeing the 46-year-old Rocky Horror Show at the theatre for the first time is quite an experience on many levels. First and foremost as a regular theatregoer, the audience, even on a relatively demure evening of a Monday, is something you would never really experience at a theatre beyond this show. Many are dressed up (even on that demure Monday), and so many are so in tune with the show, that these regular fans have become entwined within it. They know every word of the script, they contribute to it, they enhance it, often they make Richard O'Brien's already adult content into something much more adult. It's a revelation of experience, much before a newbie such as myself even considers the show. Laura Harrison's beautifully clear rendition of Science Fiction/Double Feature sets the scene for some generally excellent performances of O'Brien's classic tunes, in a musical which is clearly audible, sadly not something that always happens with many productio...

The premise of Our Lady of Kibeho by Katori Hall is one that on paper would seriously not appeal to many peoples perhaps, mixing religion and the background of the looming catastrophe of the genocide against the Tutsi, it maybe alienates plenty of people immediately. However, this is a great shame, as there is much to genuinely admire, and perhaps more surprisingly enjoy of this latest production from Made in Northampton and director James Dacre. Hall's story of this "true event" opens with a confrontation between Sister Evangelique (Michelle Asante) and Father Tuyishime (Ery Nzaramba) over the fact that pupil Alphonsine Mumureke (Gabrielle Brooks) claims to have seen the Virgin Mary. Few believe her at first, ridicule her and bully both her and anyone who supports her, however, soon another sees visions of the Virgin Mary, and then another, and soon this small little college in Kibeho, Rwanda is very much a focal point of attention. Our Lady of Kibeho perhaps t...

The 1997 film The Full Monty is one of the best regarded of relatively recent British films, due to it being both a warm and emotionally strong tale, solid comedy and a wealth of acting talent, and it's no surprise that its very theme has spawned an immensely successful touring stage version. It literally overflows with the opportunity to be performed in front of a, probably mostly female, audience, well, the final scene does, in any case. However, what of the rest, and how about for a male audience member? So to speak. Well, it was time to find out. The first thing that is apparent from The Full Monty stage show, is how faithful this is to the film. Much of the show is what you have seen if you have seen the film, but translated cleverly to the stage, it feels just that little more real and gritty as well. It opens with a nicely staged scene of darkness and flashes of a torch as Gaz (Gary Lucy), his son Nathan (Fraser Kelly) and Dave (Kai Owen) break into their former facto...

The story of Cinderella lives strongly in most peoples memories, perhaps told as a bedtime story, or perhaps a pantomime at Christmas, perhaps less so first experienced as a ballet. It does though perhaps offer one of the best opportunities for someone to experience ballet for the first time (or the second in my case), as its immediately familiar tale allows you to not try to work out what is going on, but to experience the ballet properly from the outset. The first thing that strikes from this production by the Russian State Ballet of Siberia is the quality of it, there is a striking full height digital projection throughout the show, which moves us from location to location with it's switching backdrop. It doesn't, as sometimes can feel, a cheap alternative to a physical set, and instead keeps the piece flowing better, with concentration purely on the dance. This projection is also neatly used as an interactive element at one point with the mirror of what Cinderella is to...

I can't quite remember how many versions of Charles Dickens' classic tale I have seen (maybe too many), but this dynamic, and at times, very different, version, was the second that I had seen in seven days following a Masque Theatre version the previous week. They couldn't have been more different in places, despite rigidly following the original story very well. This production started with an uncharacteristic mingling of the cast with the audience, including a collection of non-period tunes playing (there goes #Whamaggeddon!). It has a mixture of weird and relaxed to it, and the assembled school kids certainly relished it and the mince pies, candy canes and chocolate coins that were being handed out. As the cast disappeared at their due time, the scene is set for our narrator, Lyric Impraim, complete with dust riddled book to open the tale. She's a great performer, full of enthusiasm for the tale being told, and has a most brilliant cameo later a...