show – Page 2 of 2 – The Orbital

12Nov

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Life is a Cabaret, Old Chum

Saturday 11 November saw the opening night of Musical Theatre Society’s (MTS) show, Cabaret. It was held in the SU Main Hall and despite a slightly delayed start to the evening, it opened with pomp, circumstance and a bang. The hall was set up with a thrust stage, meaning the cast performed in the centre of the room, with the audience settled in three sections around the stage area. The 26-piece band was placed up on the stage, in full view of the audience, conducted by Musical Director Flynn Sturgeon. Tom Holmes was the ‘Master of Ceremonies’, or Emcee, who provided an entertaining commentary throughout, peppered with nuanced jokes and cheeky double entendres. Because of the way the staging area was set up, there were many opportunities for the cast to interact with the audience throug...

27Mar

By No Comments

Sports & Socs

Reel Fashion Show

Kathryn Pearson reviews the Reel Fashion Show: a collaboration of societies' designers and performers. Set in Stumble Out under hazy lighting and the soft scent of perfume, the Reel Fashion Show radiated elegance from the outset. The collaborative event was organised by Reel Music, Textiles and Fashion Society, and CoppaFeel, with guest appearances from Dance, Sustainability, Cheerleading and Band Society. The spectacle of artists and designers colluding under one roof was certainly a night to remember, and displayed RHUL student's innovation and creativity at its finest. The evening kicked off with an introduction from Textiles' Rakaya Fetuga and Fashion's Rachel Foster, who outlined the inspiration behind each of the three catwalks. The first, a spring/summer collection of swimsuit...

23Mar

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Sports & Socs

Raise Up Your Talents

Michele Theil reviews the Raise-And-Give Talent Show, an event raising money for three excellent charities. The Raise-And-Give society’s charity event, aptly named ‘Royal Holloway’s Got Talent’ was hosted in the SU Main Hall and allowed students and parents to see a wide variety of talents and acts. The show aimed to raise money for Action Against Hunger, Meningitis Now and The White Lodge Centre. Action Against Hunger is “a global charity committed to saving the lives of malnourished children in over 40 countries”. Meningitis Now is a global charity that researches for and supports sufferers of Meningitis and The White Lodge Centre is dedicated to “supporting disabled people of all ages”. Each charity supports extremely worthwhile causes that RAG is dedicated to raising money for. T...

MTS showcases talent with Summer Cabaret

16Jun

By Jessica Beach-ThomasNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

MTS showcases talent with Summer Cabaret

With its annual show, MTS kicks off the post-exam term of Pimm’s drinking in Founders quad with their ‘Summer Cabaret’. Orbital sends its resident photographer Jessie Beach-Thomas to investigate the action and interviews Violaine Brunelin, a member of the production team. Jessie’s take: ‘Colourful, glittery- everything you would expect from a musical!’ From watching Summer Cabaret, a show directed by Max Harris and presented by both Pippa Gentry and Matthew Siveter, I was very impressed. It is clear to see why so many of MTS’s shows have been sold out throughout the year. MTS take pride in their inclusivity, with both auditioned roles and full cast numbers that do not require any auditioning. If you aren’t into the performing side of things, there is plenty of opportunity for students to...

Review: Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty

26Jan

By Louise JonesNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Review: Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty

Matthew Bourne (or so I should say), Sir Matthew Bourne (New Year’s Knighthood and the likes), famed for his successful take on two of the great Tchaikovsky ballets, reinventing a dark, Dickensian Nutcracker and a wild Swan Lake, has taken to the stage to complete the Tchaikovsky trilogy with Sleeping Beauty. Yet, in tackling Sleeping Beauty, one would consider it to be a much harder challenge. A simple story with much loved, well-known characters, and the Disney retelling cemented in the public consciousness, in theory and on paper, Sleeping Beauty seemed a much harder ballet to reinvent. But Bourne delivers with style and excellence. (more…)

26Oct

By Louise JonesNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Interview with Director of MTS

I caught up with MTS director Kathryn Pickering and spoke with her about the Into the Woods Performance and its production, and why being involved in MTS is such an excitement. Why did you decide to get involved in MTS? – is it because of the course you did or because it is just something you love to do? It is something I love to do (although I do study drama and music). When I started I had to make a decision about whether to continue in drama society or MTS, I chose MTS as I had been cast in their performance of A Little Shop of Horrors, however I wonder how different my university life would have been if I had continued with another society. Was there someone who inspired you to get into theatre? Sounds silly but not particularly. I always wanted to do it (performing), I...

28Jan

By Emma BradleyNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Music, Theatre & Performance

Understanding Opera; Misconception & Snobbery

In its prime, opera was considered in much the same way as we now think of cinema. So what keeps so many young people away from opera today? Two obvious reasons are the initial uncertainty of watching entertainment in a foreign language, and perception of opera being exclusively geared to a wealthy elite. However, there are more subtle prejudgements surrounding the genre, such as how popular music today is linked to a more free and casual vocal style as opposed to the vocal precision and intensity of opera. With this in mind, how do we go about dealing with the issue of inaccessibility in opera? Is it more important to have an audience who can access and experience more of the work, or respect the composer’s original opera? Taking libretto (the operatic text) as an example; the composer...

28Jan

By Emma JefferyNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV, Theatre & Performance

Funny Girls

In recent years there has been a visible surge in the popularity of female comedians, seemingly in correlation with a rise in the awareness of feminism. Their presence on prime-time comedy shows is increasingly noticeable, and rightly so; there is some serious talent which needs to be televised. Dated attitudes such as "she's funny… for a woman" are thankfully fading, as is the distinction between male and female comics. More and more, comedians are appreciated for their wit and creativity, regardless of gender. Despite the excellent progression of women in the comedy business, they are still greatly outnumbered in their field. Upon reflection, I have assembled a list of those who I consider to most greatly embody female success in the industry. So without further ado; here are three of m...