Gavin & Stacey's Christmas Special, this definitely is not.
A 'right bootful' Christmas treat.
Director David Green required so many of his cast to take on roles antithetical to their respective comfort zones it served to emphasise that the company is not only committed to the presentation of ambitious work, but also to the continual development and growth of its roster of performers.
The definitive way to kick-start your own Christmas celebrations.
Birdsong staged scenes as powerful as I can recall ever seeing in a theatre, offering a coherent and deeply moving account of bravery in war, the damage war does, and most fundamentally, the wretchedly pointlessness of it all..
I can always admire a show that takes risks, and a theatre company that takes pride in that, especially in devised work. With this, Temper have produced a genuinely thought provoking show. I’m intrigued to see what they get up to next.
The feel-good musical that you will want to see over and over and again
Now, that's what I call a jukebox musical.
A celebration of teenage hopes and dreams
This remains one singular sensation. Go see.
See this wonderful new musical now, if you can.
Another fantastic collaboration between Norwich Theatre and Buxton International Theatre. Thank you to Stephen Crocker, and everyone at Norwich Theatre for managing to pull this one off.
Get an insight to the Spitting Image co-creator Roger Law
After a disrupted opening in the spring, the Sainsbury Centre’s Art Nouveau exhibition has at last opened its doors to the public. Although, not in the way you’d probably expect.
Cheish Merryweather was keen to emphasise the value of critical thinking, investing her audience with a dignified, sober reflection on the machinery of justice, but she was canny enough to indulge a more scurrilous fascination with the macabre. It left me feeling a little uneasy that horrifying photography and unnerving reconstructions were being presented for our entertainment, not least as I found myself being entertained.
Despite its sensational title, Killer Cults was a relatively sober examination of what makes a cult leader, and how a literally fatal combination of narcissism and psychopathy can lead to disaster.
This was one of the most enjoyable nights of comedy I've experienced in a long time. Byrne's warmth and empathy was reciprocated by a crowd eager to have a good time. My only misgiving was how far the night strayed from its advertised ambition.
O'Neill's comedy is notoriously hard to pin down, harder still to categorise - a unique and uncompromising voice that is thoroughly entertaining, but also thought-provoking and mind-expanding in a way that is ultimately far more nourishing than a straightforward chuckle.
An evening that started with foolishness but ended in a Damascene moment of self-awareness
Throughout the near two-hour performance I’m rapt. I leave the Theatre Royal grateful to have witnessed such an assured, skilled and thoughtful act.
For all his ribald profanity, Gamble is an unusually old fashioned comic, building up mental pictures in the mind of an audience from a grain of truth, who then laugh loudest at situations that, but for the grace of God, go I.
Dispensing with the notion of a support act, we collectively jumped into the deep end, as he homed in on the brave souls on the front row. It's not unusual for a comic to break the ice with a bit of a chat with the audience before launching into the act, but it quickly became apparent this was the act. At times, he seemed less like a slick comic, and more like the funniest mate down the pub.
In the words of the famous Norwichonian Delia Smith “Let’s be having you come to see my show!" on the 16th June
· What power do you believe theatre holds?---- It is live. Real people perform in front of real people. It is dynamic and present in the moment for both actors and audience. Therefore, every performance in a production is different.
Tomorrow, (30th April) Alasdair will be bringing ‘Nevermore’ to the Norwich Playhouse, promising audiences a night of wacky and witty comedy!