I wasn’t exactly disappointed but I wasn’t satisfied either – for several reasons. This puts me in a minority of one, as it seems both the play and this production have been universally well-received: – A must see – a talented young cast – terrific energy as the fight goes on – so good all … Continue reading Review Blue Stockings, Storyhouse, Chester By Simon Kensdale
⭐⭐⭐ (Please note this review contains detailed discussion of the play’s plot) Based on the hugely popular novel by Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner, adapted for the stage by Matthew Spangler, had a lot to prove. Despite enjoying two runs in the West End in 2016 and ’17, I wasn’t as enamoured with the piece … Continue reading Review: The Kite Runner, Theatr Clwyd by Beth Armstrong
CARMEN Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Opera: Georges Bizet Libretto: Henri Melham and Ludovic Haley Director: Jo Davies Reviewer: Barbara Michaels ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Opera aficionados are fortunate to have seen Jo Davies new production of Carmen for WNO when it was first staged here in the Donald Gordon theatre last year. Now there is another chance to see this production again, with different … Continue reading Review Carmen, WNO by Barbara Michaels.
Written by John Cleese, directed by Daniel Buckroyd, Theatr Clwyd, February 18th 2020 Was this a farce or was it farcical? With big names come many expectations and in the world of comedy in the UK, they do not come much bigger than John Cleese, from whom have come some of our seminal comic experiences. … Continue reading Review Bang, Bang, Dermot McLaughlin Productions Charles H Duggan & Brian Zucker In association with Farces Galore Exeter Northcott Theatre by Richard Evans
I couldn’t take it any longer and I left at the interval. I know I should have stayed but I couldn’t. Hedda Gabler was awful. The reviews are all ecstatic, but I only saw incongruous old-fashioned theatre. There is nothing of Ibsen, there is nothing of bourgeois anxiety, and nothing of women’s suppressed individuality in … Continue reading Review Hedda Gabler, Sherman Theatre by Eva Marloes
Hedda Gabler will not be coerced. It’s the mantra of a general’s daughter, the battle cry of a woman so enmeshed in the art of war that she keeps loaded pistols in her living room. Henrik Ibsen’s convention-demolishing heroine raised eyebrows (and tensions) when she first stormed onstage in 1891, and the Sherman Theatre’s bold … Continue reading REVIEW Hedda Gabler, Sherman Theatre by Barbara Hughes-Moore
Play: Henrik Ibsen Adapted from the original by Brian Friel. Director: Chelsea Walker A dark play, dealing with themes of manipulation and obsession, with a feminist agenda rampant throughout, Hedda Gabler is not a work to be undertaken lightly by any director. All the more credit, then, to Chelsea Walker not only for tackling the … Continue reading Review Hedda Gabler, Sherman Theatre, Cardiff by Barbara Michaels
Working in the industry for around 10 years, it is a wonder I have only just made the essential pilgrimage for every Performing Arts professional. This is not for want of not wanting to. Time, money… all those factors. And each year I have major FOMO through all the pictures and social media, friends and … Continue reading Tips and Tricks as a First Time Ed Fringe-r By Hannah Goslin
Community Critics Wales reviewer / volunteer Gemma Treharne-Foose’ press night review of Club Tropicana’s opening night at the Wales Millennium Centre
Music and lyrics: Cyndi Lauper Based on the book by Harvey Fierstein Director and choreographer: Jerry Mitchell Reviewer: Barbara Michaels Plaudits for this musical, based on the book by Harvey Fierstein and the 2000 British film, are thick on the ground – and deservedly so. Brash, bright and beautiful throughout, Kinky Boots tells the story … Continue reading Review Kinky Boots, Wales Millennium Centre by Barbara Michaels
