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Review, Man to Man, Royal Court Theatre, By Hannah Goslin

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out of 5 stars (5 / 5)

I never thought I would get the chance to watch such a phenomenal actor and chameleon on stage, in the flesh, as Tilda Swinton. A performer to not be typecast, this deep and dark tale, revived from her previous performance of the same production in 1988 (while I cannot comment on the original) I imagine is not only as good the second time but maybe even better. 

Man to Man is the story of Ella who in 1930’s Germany, takes on the impersonation of her husband Max after he dies, in order to survive. As the world around her turns upside down and she is more and more the character of her husband, this mask becomes even more for her survival but begins to blur the boundaries around her own identity. 

This is a one person production. Highly stylised, the tipping stage is completely white, with knick knacks and seemingly random objects until they all make sense throughout. The white walls are used to project slightly grainy images and words throughout, giving a modernised appearance to the time period of the narrative. Swinton is dressed in a mismatch of male-female clothing, highlighting this cross between her and her alter ego, again, blurring identities simply by aesthetic alone. Swinton’s make up is bizarre and almost clown-like, with white skin and cartoonish colouring for bruises and stains. It all melds to give a hyper reality to the production. 

Swinton is a tour de force. She never stops and, while the energy isn’t fast and high octane, the effort in her performance to become the character, with the decision to make “Max” a bit of a east end cockney type despite being set in Germany, you can tell this takes extraordinary skill and energy to be able to do. She is likeable, in that loveable rogue sense. As the production starts slightly comedic and light hearted, she seamlessly transitions into the more serious moments and the hyper-realistic make-up and set drifts away in the raw emotion she shows simply and not melodramatically. 

Man to Man is such an intriguing and interesting narrative but it truly comes to life when the unrecognisable and astonishing Swinton steps on the stage. 

Tilda Swinton in Man To Man by Manfred Karge @ The Royal Court Theatre. Directed and revised by Stephen Unwin. Translated by Anthony Vivis. Designer, Bunny Christie. Lighting Designer, Ben Ormerod. (Opening 11-09-26) ©Tristram Kenton 09-2026
Theatre

Review: Othello, Theatr Clwyd, Mold by Richard Evans

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A Northern Stage, HOME Manchester and Citizens Theatre co-production, in association with Royal & Derngate. Directed by Anthony Almeida

Theatr Moondance, Theatr Clwyd, Mold, Tues 20 – Sat 24 October 2026

out of 5 stars (3.5 / 5)

The story of Othello makes for compelling viewing: racism, jealousy, betrayal, rage, the killing of an innocent wife and a subsequent suicide.  The problem is how best to communicate the play to make it meaningful to todays audience.  Did this production, directed by Anthony Almeida succeed?

Despite being a Moor, Othello attains the rank of General in the Venetian Army.  He marries Desdemona, a Venetian noblewoman in secret before being posted to Cyprus to hold off Turkish invaders.  He promotes Cassio as his Lieutenant much to the chagrin of Iago, a lower rank Ensign.  Iago, now in a rage, fuelled by a disparaging attitude to Othello, sets about manipulating all around him to poison the relationship between Othello and Desdemona.  Othello, beside himself with jealousy suffocates his wife and once he finds out she had been faithful to him is so consumed by grief and guilt that he ends his life.   

There were some standout performances from the cast.  Dwayne Walcross was convincing and commanding as Othello and two people made their professional stage debut, Will Stanton as Cassio and Phoebe Smith as a captivating and clearly spoken Desdemona.  Matthew Sys as Roderigo was also very clear, but the same could not be said of other cast members.  I expected more malevolence and duplicity from Iago, and perhaps he delivered that, but it was difficult to hear all that he said.  

To contemporise the story, this production sets the play in the Falklands, uses modern military fatigues and a stage which can be surrounded by high fences to replicate an army compound.  These are highly appropriate but present a problem, to what extent should the text be altered to accompany the new setting?  The company chose not to do this which felt slightly odd, the video screen at the back sited the compound in Port Stanley, but all references to geographical place were in the Eastern Med.  Likewise, some directorial decisions were strange.  The closing in of the fences to form a cage around the stage to reflect the sense that Othello was trapped in his jealousy was highly effective, but did Desdemona have to scale a 5 metre fence to meet her doom? 

The glorious feature of the play is that it is possible to telegraph what will happen.  A young person of colour earns a high rank in the army and marries a highly desirable, European noblewoman, much to the distaste of his peers.  He is then subjected to a successful, malicious campaign to destroy all that he holds dear and the audience can see it coming enhancing the sense of tragedy.  Despite its flaws, this production portrays this tragedy well, captivating those watching and making this a memorable theatre event.   

Theatre

Review A Tidy Boy, Grand Ambition by Charlotte Hall

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out of 5 stars (5 / 5)

Images Credit Kirsten McTernan

Please note this review features in-depth description of the plot

A Tidy Boy, starring Lynn Hunter as Ann, Oliver Jacob Davies as Geraint, Eiry Thomas as Sylvia, Geraint DeCarvalho as Kai and Kelsey Short as Kirsty, is a comedic and emotional play about differences in worldview, age, background, sexuality and self-awareness, set in a youth work project in Neath.

The set remained divided into three parts; the entrance to the building where the youth project was set and where project manager Sylvia worked, the main space where youth worker Geraint held his sessions with Kai, and the entrance with a sink and armchair where Kai lived with his girlfriend and mother of his two children, Kirsty. Ann would often come through the entrance downstage left, and she didn’t have an on-stage room in which she mainly occupied because she ran the workshop (which we didn’t see).

The play opens with Geraint being interviewed for a job. He is 22 years old and has been living in London, having gone to university, but has recently moved back home because his mum died. He has the qualifications to be a youth worker and he wants the job. Ann and Sylvia sit in the interview with Kai, pretending to be young people, and as part of his interview, he teaches them how to put on a condom using a banana. Of course the characters were laughing and making jokes themselves and it set the audience off. It was such an effective way to set the comedic tone right from the start and show the audience the themes that would be explored. I don’t think it’s hard to get an audience laughing when condoms are involved!

Geraint gets the job, and although the timeline between each scene may be slightly ambiguous, we can tell that the whole play spans a few months, maybe half a year (it’s not particularly relevant). We see his character grow from the relationships he has with Sylvia and Ann, and with Kai, and we see Kai grow with and away from Geraint.

Kai is 18, and he and his 25 year old girlfriend and their two children moved to Neath from London. He is a youth offender and doesn’t have qualifications, and takes part in this youth project, primarily working with Geraint. Because of their similarity in age, and perhaps their sexuality, even though their background and childhood seems entirely different, their relationship is interesting, and they both help each other become better, even though the highest emotional and dramatic point is when Kai does something to Geraint that they cannot come back from.

How Geraint and Kai impact each other is perhaps the most interesting part of the show, or maybe it’s the difference between Geraint and Ann’s approach to their jobs.

You see, Ann is 72, experienced in youth work, and she says what she wants to say without thinking about the repercussions or whether it’s offensive. She uses bribery and taunts to get the young offenders to do the work they’re supposed to do. Geraint is there to do the job ‘properly’ with modern training and he likes to follow the correct procedures and guidelines. The play wouldn’t be the same, nor would it be half as funny, without their clash of personalities. They butt heads several times, but by the end, you can see how both approaches are needed, although they both need to compromise, and how the system sometimes works against the people it’s supposed to protect.

Through Kai’s actions, by the end, where Geraint may have phoned the police and gone through the correct procedures if it had happened months ago, he recognised that the system may not help everyone involved. He became a better and more open person because of Ann and Kai, Ann became better because of Geraint, and Kai became better because of Geraint too. I love a play that explores humanity and clashes of personality, but in the end, the characters are better off because they have met the other characters.

The play explores issues surrounding sexuality and identity, personality, experience versus modernity, and not only does each character seem so fleshed out, but the comedy is perfect too, and adds to the emotional parts. Every aspect of the show is perfectly thought out.

A Tidy Boy is definitely the tidiest play I’ve seen for a while, and I’d recommend it to everyone!

Theatre

Review The Haunting of Hill House, Theatr Clwyd by Donna Williams

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From the best-selling 1959 novel by American horror writer Shirley Jackson to the hit 2018 Netflix series, The Haunting of Hill House now comes to the stage in a gripping production full of mystery, technical trickery, and spooky suspense.

First adapted for the stage in 1964, Shirley Jackson’s chilling tale returns in a new production that brings Hill House to life (pardon the pun!). With an unsettling atmosphere and a steady undercurrent of tension, this latest adaptation keeps the audience guessing and on the edge of their seats from beginning to end. Having never read the original novel, I was intrigued to see how this production would set itself apart from the many haunted house stories we know and love, and whether it could bring something fresh to a genre so familiar to audiences.

“A ghost can be a lot of things. A memory, a daydream, a secret, grief, anger, guilt.”

When a group of supernatural investigators (think TV show Ghost Hunters, but in the 50s!) set out to uncover the secrets of Hill House, their excitement and curiosity soon turn to fear as the house, or its previous inhabitants, start to communicate with its guests through a series of crashes, bangs, eerie wails and mysterious melodies (I will never again listen to Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree in quite the same way!)

The star of the show is undoubtedly the technical design. From projection mapping to lighting, sound design and illusions, every element creates the impression of a house that is constantly moving, with shifting walls and characters transitioning between rooms, floors, corridors, and staircases. A curtain becomes a narrow corridor; a doorway is concealed or transformed. It’s extremely impressive!

Alongside the lighting and video projections, the atmospheric soundscapes create a constant sense of unease. Even in the opening moments, we witness an abrupt blackout accompanied by an explosive sound, immediately unsettling the audience (cue plenty of nervous laughter!) Bulbs blow, blankets float in mid-air, menacing scrawls appear on walls, and a rocking horse rocks without a rider. There’s even the disquieting suggestion that the set changes themselves are the work of spirits!

“Things look and behave differently in the dark.”

The casting is superb, with every performer settling into their character from the very beginning. Praise must go to Clancy Ryan, who delivers a compelling portrayal of Eleanor’s gradual psychological unravelling. She captures the character’s newfound sense of freedom, deep-rooted insecurities, and desperate yearning for an identity with real sensitivity. Ryan is especially effective in conveying Eleanor’s conflicting feelings towards Hill House: her belief that it is haunted by her mother, alongside her growing conviction that it could finally be the home she has always longed for.

I’ve since discovered that the ending has been tweaked for this stage adaptation. Having yet to read the original novel, I cannot comment on the impact of these changes, but coming to the story fresh, I found this a thoroughly entertaining evening of spine-chilling theatre. Thoughtfully staged and impressively executed, the production deserves praise for its strong cast and technical wizardry. A gripping night at the theatre that proves there’s still plenty of life left in the haunted house genre!

Tour Information

The Haunting of Hill House continues its run at Theatre Royal Brighton from 20–24 October before heading to Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, and Cambridge.

To find out more and book tickets, visit:

The Haunting of Hill House | UK Tour 2026 | Official Site
https://thehauntingofhillhouse.co.uk/

Cast

Jasper Britton: Dr. Montague
Jemma Churchill: Mrs Montague
Sian Howard: Mrs Dudley
Sophie Lenglinger: Theo (Theodora)
Robin Morrissey: Luke
Clancy Ryan: Eleanor
Darryl Oakley: Understudy
Eleanor Hague: Understudy

Creative Team

Original novel: Shirley Jackson
Stage adaptation: Stef Smith
Director: Martin Constantine
Designer: Ti Green
Lighting Designer: Chris Davey
Sound Designer: Johnny Edwards
Composer: Harry Blake
Video Designer: Duncan McLean
Illusion Designer: Will Houstoun
Movement Director: Georgina Lamb
Associate Director: Bobbie-Jean Henning
General Management: James Quaife, Luminous Entertainment Group

Producers and Presenters

Presented by: Mark Puddle, Alexander “Sandy” Marshall, and Patrick Myles
In association with: Wiltshire Creative and Theatr Clwyd

Theatre

Dracula’s Guest (Brother Wolf) – a review by Barbara Hughes-Moore

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A chilling start to spooky season at Newport’s Riverfront Theatre

Inspired by Bram Stoker’s genre-defining vampire novel of 1897, Dracula’s Guest shines a light on a relatively minor character in the Dracula canon; one who is often overshadowed by flashier, more bombastic figures like Van Helsing and the Count. That character is R.M. Renfield: Dracula’s bug-eating mortal servant/familiar who, in exchange for the promise of eternal life, assists his diabolical plans to set up a new vampiric feeding ground in England. While the book never reveals Renfield’s backstory, Dracula’s Guest seeks to answer this tantalising ‘what if?’ – with a few terrifying twists and turns along the way.

The play is directed, adapted and produced by James Hyland, who also stars as Dracula opposite Ashton Spear as Renfield. ​Premiering in 2021, Dracula’s Guest won the Dracula Society’s Hamilton Deane Award and an Offcomm Commendation at the Off West End Awards, both in 2022. This taut two-hander begins with Renfield alone, trembling at a table set for two. On the menu tonight: a glass of brandy and a rotting pig’s head. The second chair is empty – but it won’t be for long. In sweeps the Count, and the Gothic feast begins.

Over the course of a tense and often gruesome hour, we watch the pair engage in a psychological game of cat and mouse. Hyland’s passion for the source text is clear, and he does well to weave in many key motifs from Stoker’s work while striking a few bold, original notes of his own.

One of these is to hone in on Dracula as a figure of compulsion. His Count is a sadistic manipulator, a toxic narcissist, and a staunch believer in his own myth. He embodies some of the new ‘vampires’ of our own age: manipulative and coercive men in positions of power, who use tools like negging and gaslighting to dominate and control. In the novel, he is an old warlord trapped in a new age, waxing lyrical about his gory glory days. This is a sense that Hyland does well to capture in his performance, giving the impression that Dracula was thirsty for blood long before he acquired the dark gift.

His Count is still very much at war, but it is also a stage that he craves: part shogun, part showman. Hyland’s performance leans into the theatrical bombast of Hammer Horror and even further back in film history, to the Expressionistic silent movies which still influence our cultural image of the vampire today. There’s even something of the feral balletics of Gary Oldman’s Kabuki-inspired performance in Hyland’s unsettling physicality and bursts of animalistic rage. Hyland, who I had the pleasure of interviewing earlier this week, clearly has a feel for the Gothic and would surely have brought that to past productions of Jekyll and Hyde and A Christmas Carol that he has created and starred in under his production company, Brother Wolf.

Spear, in contrast, grounds us in a truly empathetic humanity. In a novel so preoccupied with the often-fine line between sanity and madness, Renfield sits at the intersection between truth and delusion. His and Hyland’s interactions play like a dance (at times literally), with moments of dark comedy intercut with sequences of bug-eating grossness that aren’t for the faint of heart. And the psychosexual undertones within Stoker’s novel are present here, too, with Dracula seeking to persuade his captive to ‘join’ with him in perhaps more ways than one.

The play is all the more unsettling because Renfield is not Dracula’s only Guest: the audience, too, has been invited into his hallowed halls, and may likewise be looking for the exit, especially during some of the grislier bits! A testament, I’m sure, to the skilful sense of tension and unease that has been crafted, both by the two actors onstage along with Chris Warner’s spine-chilling score. It’s a taut and unsettling two-hander that will have you sleeping with the light on long after the lights go down.

Vampires are creatures of the past who also represent our present. Through them we might reflect on our own heritage and histories, what haunts us in our waking lives, and what we refuse to let die. While the script could be tighter in parts, the play builds to a genuinely shocking climax that will have you asking yourself what happens next. Dracula’s Guest may well have the answer, but the question remains: would you invite them in?

Theatre

INTERVIEW James Hyland, Dracula’s Guest (Newport Riverfront)

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Dracula’s Guest, which performs at Newport’s Riverfront Theatre this Friday (2nd October), promises to be a bold new take on Bram Stoker blood-curdling Count. In the original novel, we meet the character of Renfield in an asylum, eating insects and raving about his ‘Master’ (Dracula), who has promised him eternal life. But in Dracula’s Guest, we get the chance to meet him as the man he once was – indeed, at his fateful first meeting with Dracula himself. Get the Chance’s Barbara Hughes-Moore sat down with James Hyland, who directed, produced, adapted, and stars in the play, to talk about re-envisionioning this most (in)famous of vampires.

Dracula is one of the most adapted characters in literature. What is your favourite version of the character, and why? What impact did it have on your depiction of the Count?

I think one’s first introduction to the Count often has the most impact. For me, it was Christopher Lee’s portrayal in Jimmy Sangster’s film adaptation for Hammer, directed by the legendary Terence Fisher. Christopher Lee, of course, was an incredibly versatile actor; he could play anything, really, and his extraordinary performance as Dracula has certainly stood the test of time. I adore his command of the screen without saying a single word; beautifully economical and sharply focused. There are many other impactful examples, including that of fellow South Londoner Gary Oldman, whose exquisite portrayal in James V. Hart’s adaptation for the screen, directed by the great Francis Ford Coppola, was one of the very first to grapple with Dracula’s lost humanity. Oldman brought incredible gravitas to the role as well as a delicious rawness.

The short story ‘Dracula’s Guest’ is often regarded as a deleted scene from the novel. What aspects of the original did you want to retain for this play?

I used only the title of the short story, as it perfectly encapsulates the themes of my adaptation. While based primarily on Bram Stoker’s novel, my interpretation also draws from his other works.

What other works of Gothic or horror fiction were you influenced by in crafting the play?

I adore anything related to Dracula or vampires, so my love for the Horror genre with regards to those characters has always been an artistic influence–ever since childhood really. To be honest, it wasn’t my plan to create an adaptation as I was hard at work researching a war story at the time, and I felt that Bram Stoker’s novel had already been successfully explored to “the nth degree”. I believed I had nothing new to add to the long list of stage and film adaptations–until a singular question popped into my head during the pandemic which absolutely thrilled me: “What if…?” That question gave rise to a flurry of notes that continued for the better part of a year. The research was an absolute joy because I was taking another deep dive into one of my favourite genres, having previously adapted Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for the stage which, incidentally, is also still on tour in the UK.

What is especially compelling about the central relationship between Dracula and Renfield?

I remain particularly interested in what brought Renfield to his degraded status as portrayed in the novel, specifically regarding his prior interactions with Dracula. As this had not been previously explored on stage, giving both characters a voice here presented a unique opportunity to write about unfamiliar aspects of their personalities and experiences.

What role does the audience play: are we innocent spectators, or are we complicit in Dracula’s mind games?

That would be telling. No spoilers here.

The Gothic is a genre which is deeply connected to the senses: to memory, psychology, and feeling. When the curtain falls, what do you want the audience to feel?

I rarely talk about what I want the audience to “feel” prior to seeing the play because theatre often operates in a realm beyond words and as a process of discovery. That’s a conversation I’m more likely to have after an audience has watched the performance as I’m always interested in the uniqueness of each person’s response. There are, of course, a multitude of moments that have been carefully constructed to elicit specific responses from the audience in order to accentuate the various themes of the play and its overall objective as a piece of drama. Above all, though, I wanted to create something that was very human, albeit with dark, fantastical leanings.

Nina Auerbach once wrote that ‘every age embraces the vampire it needs’. Why, in 2026, do we still need Dracula – and how does your version reflect the age we inhabit now?

As with all of my plays, I have sought to create a drama that mirrors the human experience and reflects many aspects of our nature, both good and evil. Thus, I have attempted to make the piece as relevant as possible to our most recent collective experiences, but through the prism of the twisted and the grotesque–as Horror is often the perfect genre for the exploration of the unspoken. What those experiences are, I shall let you discover.

Dracula’s Guest is performed at The Riverfront, Newport, on Friday 2nd October. More information on the show and how to book tickets here.

Sport, Theatre, Uncategorized

Review, Don Toberman: Ping Pong Champ, Moonlight Theater, Soho Theatre, By Hannah Goslin

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out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

I’ve been desperately missing Ed Fringe the last few weeks. I miss the volume of audience interaction, silliness, and side splitting that comes with highly insane productions that last all of 1 hour. I was therefore over the moon to spend 1 hour in the company of Moonlight Theater, and especially the Ping Pong Champ that is Don Toberman who left me gasping for air through laughter.

I’m not going to lie to you – I was sold on this production when it hit my inbox and I saw the title and a huge image of a very serious ping pong champ at the top of the email body. I somehow knew this would be completely bonkers and boy was I right.

Don Toberman: Ping Pong Champ, I’d love to tell you is what it says on the tin. But it is and so, so much more. Don Toberman is the world’s leading Ping Pong Champ and, tonight, he takes on his biggest challenge – a final against a whole audience. During this, there is improvisation, both from performers and the audience, curve balls (sometimes quite literally), at times too much flesh of Toberman on show, and silly but well thought out side-scenes for the half time show. It is not only well thought out but leaves bags of room to really pull on the comedy stylings of this whole team.

While the title would suggest this is a one man show, we have a whole group contributing to the narrative – firstly is the audience, where their own improvisation and random retorts could throw anyone off-piste but only seems to fuel the comedy; Toberman’s bodyguard who pops out from the curtain and unknown moments to check the scene and wave a little finger at us, eliciting actual belly laughs; the referee who later doubles as the half time update on the diving championships, swirling and climbing over another performer ungracefully to represent this winning “dive”; a black morph-suited person who acts as clean up and the replay of the ping pong strike; and finally Toberman who also comes on as a half time stripper who we are all given dollars to throw at. These well thought out characters add to the narrative so well, particularly when you think how can one ping pong game between Toberman and the audience last an hour and not get tedious. If we’re honest, even if this was the case, the movements, ideas and narrative is ever changing and, likely, we would never find ourselves in that position if that was all this production was because each one is more funnier than the last.

This production is almost satirical in its delivery. Moments of a small break where Toberman suddenly tries to promote a strange beer-like drink or the aforementioned diver championship are all hammed up to a point that is not only recognisable but so silly and laughable in being recognisable but in its delivery.

It is also a risky production – almost the entire production relies on heavy audience interaction. So if you don’t want to be picked on and you’re not ready to laugh until you sweat and cry, then this isn’t for you. But something really has to be said with how eager to be involved this audience was which I imagine made the performers happy and gave them material to riff from. It also really made us feel like the joint ping pong contenders we were meant to be together.

Don Toberman: Ping Pong Champ is absolutely hysterical. Well created and delivered, it is completely joyous, unhinged and stupid in the best way.

Theatre, Uncategorized

Review, Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It, Xhloe and Natasha, Soho Theatre, By Hannah Goslin

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out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

Sometimes it’s hard to authentically say that you have seen something that is unlike anything else. But with Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It, this was an easy thing to say, if the long title often trips you up first!

Set in a small Appalachian town, two teenagers set light to the rumour mill and feed it further to cover up their own mistakes, allowing the town to believe they are being terrorised by the mysterious Bigfoot. However, when a local’s dog turns up ripped in half, they are forced to question how far their cover has gone and what is the real truth to this tale?

This production is covered by only two performers, who effectively change into a multitude of different characters, with changes to their voices, accents and physicality. We soon begin to recognise our “regulars” by their trademarked stance, movement or vocalisation and this in itself is a feat to behold. They move across the stage to create these “scenes” and sometimes at fast pace and you soon forget there’s only two of them as a full town unfolds before you.

With the use of remixed well known songs, lights, strobe and other technical techniques, they use their clown and acrobatic skills to further create these breaks in the story – to create the image of “Bigfoot” with these almost grotesque broken pieces of fur, climbing upon one another to give a hint of a silhouette to the fictional beast and it gives this uplift in theatricality and a cross between the “truth” and fiction. Often this blurs the lines between what the townsfolk believe to be happening and the reality of these two teenagers enhancing their lie to make it believable and the cross between the two is cleverly created with these techniques.

It also has a healthy dose of comedy meeting seriousness and a crescendo to the story. We are lulled into this banter between the two; the almost 2 dimension characters they create until the story becomes more serious, and develops genuine gasps from the audience, leaving us really questioning what is the real story and what is created for a different agenda.

Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It is, as I said at the beginning, unlike anything else. A really unique piece of theatre, it is smart, one of a kind and extremely clever in not only its narrative but its creation and delivery.

Theatre

Review Cooper The Musical by Charlotte Hall

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out of 5 stars (3.5 / 5)

Cooper the Musical is a funny and emotional show about the magician and comedian Tommy Cooper as he reflects on his whole life in the final moments of his death. Stefan Pejic, writer, stars as Tommy Cooper himself, and he is joined by a cast of Welsh actors including Rhian Morwood (who plays Dove), Olivia Snowdon (Mary), and Mark Cainen (Miff, his manager, and Cainen is also the producer), among other actors who multi-role.

In the foyer before the show starts, you can buy fez hats as well as programmes, and when you walk into the theatre, it plays playful, funfair, seaside type of music, which is similar in the interval but slightly fuller. That, combined with the set, which has playing cards, both Aces for the first act which change to Queens for the second act (the significance of that I don’t know, but the attention to detail is a nice touch), stacked chairs downstage, a basket containing props, and magician’s wands either side of red curtains with black tassels, reminiscent of the iconic hat he wore, immediately got you immersed in the mind and style of the comedian’s life we were about to witness.

Going into this I didn’t know what to expect, as not having grown up in the 60s and 70s when he was around and not being alive when he died, I didn’t fully realise his impact and how popular he was until doing research earlier that day. From the clips and information I found, I learnt about his jokes as well as his relationship with his wife, his assistant, and alcohol. But I didn’t know about his private struggles, who he was when he wasn’t the act he portrayed to the world, to the audience. No one knew. Not even my dad, who watched the show with me and did grow up in the 70s. But I wasn’t disappointed.

The show opens with a voiceover announcing Tommy Cooper on stage along with quiz show music, and four women come on dancing. They leave the stage but he doesn’t appear. The voiceover announces him again and the women repeat the dance before leaving, and so it is a clever opening at setting the comedic tone.

There are a lot of Cooper’s iconic jokes, and Pejic does an outstanding job of embodying Cooper with his mannerisms, his distinct voice, and the style of the entire show encapsulates not only what the audience see of Cooper and his caricature, but more intimate things like his anger, drinking, the ups and downs with his wife Dove and later Mary, his assistant.

This was a very original concept and it was a very fitting decision that the musical was put on in such an iconic and intimate Welsh theatre with Cooper being born in Caerphilly himself. I also feel like it can be taken and adapted to a slightly larger theatre space, not necessarily the size of the Grand but bigger than the Arts Wing, go on tour, and possibly even taken to London, off West End. With how well Tommy Cooper is known, especially with a slightly older generation than mine, I think a lot more UK audiences could have the opportunity to enjoy this show too.

There were a lot of great moments, and overall the production was very funny as well as emotional and really gave you an insight into the man the audience knew as well as the man behind the fez. There were highs and there were lows. However, I felt at times that it was clunky. I appreciate it was a preview and the first night, so not all things will have been worked out, but the physical transitions between scenes were awkward and took longer than necessary, and the writing between scenes felt out of place. It felt like a lot of the scenes individually were good, but they were awkwardly fit together to try and tell a narrative. The second act felt a lot smoother than the first, but it still felt like the writing could have been polished and every scene thought out more carefully. I think they still have some work to do before performing this show again, if they wish to do so.

The songs also weren’t memorable. Parts of them were okay, but I like to come out of the theatre having them stuck in my head, and I couldn’t remember a single one. I also struggled understanding everything that was sung, although the dialogue was a lot clearer.

But I think it was overall a good production. Not excellent, not perfect, but it was a true portrayal of a man’s life behind closed doors and all the actors were fantastic. If you know about Tommy Cooper even a small amount, I think you’ll enjoy it. Just like that.

Film & TV, Musical, Theatre

Review Burlesque the Musical, Wales Millennium Centre by Bethan England

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out of 5 stars (3.5 / 5)

Burlesque certainly is what the Millennium Centre tagline promises, ‘a big new musical’! It’s full of bright lights, flashy costumes, high octane dance numbers and massive vocals across the board. Based on the film of the same name starring Cher and Christina Aguilera, it’s sure to have a cult following and a passionate fan base.

Following the events of the film closely, Ali heads off to New York City to find her estranged mother; a mother who just so happens to run a Burlesque club, full of huge characters, lots of drama, and plenty of backstage shenanigans. Along the way she goes from waitress to centre stage, finds love, foils a dastardly plot to put the club under and, ultimately, reunites with her mother, Tess.

The strengths of the show definitely lie in its incredible performers. The vocals are insanely good, with the performers easily belting out the huge numbers. Gracie O’Brien shines as Ali, effortlessly hitting the audience with big note after big note. She has some of the biggest, most difficult numbers in the show and she doesn’t falter once. More brilliant vocals come from Faye Brookes as the highly flawed, but highly likeable Tess. Her duets with O’Brien’s Ali are particularly lovely. Ryan Carter delivers style and sass as Sean and delivers some of the biggest numbers of the show with ease.

The dancing is slick, fast paced, undeniably full of the sex appeal that makes Burlesque so popular as an art form. The whole cast and ensemble bring huge energy and passion to every number; the talent on stage here is palpable. The large numbers are definitely a highlight and even the smaller numbers feature some exceptional movement and dancing.

A slight weakness for me were antithesis to this high octane energy, some of the scenes feel slower and more plodding by comparison. There are some really funny and heartfelt moments throughout but some of the important plot points seem a little lost in the longer scenes.

All in all though, it’s a night to remember whether you have seen the film or if you’re brand new to the story. It’s big, it’s flashy, it’s the perfect night out and definitely worth grabbing a ticket for! This big new show is the perfect antidote to a long day at work and will make you want to leave your seat and dance along with them.