Theatre & Performance – Page 2 of 12

1Mar

By Saskia LeachNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Here We Go! Super Kart: A Review

It's that time of year again when MTS put on their 'Variations' production, a unique show written, crewed, and performed entirely by MTS first-timers. This year, the task fell to Finley Hodges, Jamie O'Connor, and Gabriella Mulé, and they brought us Super Kart: The Musical. Based on the world-famous Mario Kart series, it features everyone's favourite characters and boasts a script packed to the brim with Super Mario references. Finley Hodges's clever writing ensured that even those without an in-depth knowledge of the Nintendo world could appreciate the numerous allusions to the franchise. I came out of the show wondering whether I had actually ever hit someone with a green shell, and why poor Blue Toad bore the brunt of so much mockery - I always played as her! Jamie O'Connor was the ...

6Dec

By Saskia LeachNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

In Short: Edges was a hit

Following the success of Songs for a New World last December, MTS opted to continue their production of an autumn term 'mini show' with Pasek and Paul's Edges, a song cycle exploring the themes of love, coming of age, and self-discovery. Most well-known for writing the lyrics for La La Land and the music and lyrics in Dear Evan Hansen, Edges served as Benj Pasek and Justin Paul's first venture into musical theatre. It was written while they studied at the University of Michigan in 2005, and made Pasek and Paul the youngest ever winners of the Jonathan Larson Award. Aside from listening to Carrie Hope Fletcher's covers of I Gotta Run and Perfect (the latter of which was sadly omitted from this performance), I must admit, I was unfamiliar with the majority of the songs in Edges. But, if ...

26Nov

By Saskia LeachNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

What You Want is to see Legally Blonde.

After bringing us the delights of Bake Off: The Musical last year, Lucy Wilson, Faye Tolliday, and Jenny Tipple return to whip us into shape with the Broadway and West End hit Legally Blonde. Based on the 2001 film of the same name, it tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrols at Harvard Law School. On a wet November evening, we were welcomely transported from the SU hall to sunny Malibu and Harvard Law School. The pink drapes hanging from the ceiling over the audience were a great addition and really helped the audience to suspend their disbelief. A couple more drapes around the stage would have helped to take this even further, particularly as Elle’s pink door had to be wheeled offstage at points. The effective use of lighting really helped bring the production tea...

31Oct

By Isobel ClarkeNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Junk Junk Junk: A Review

Junk Junk Junk, the latest Student Workshop production, featured a quirky ensemble of cardboard box millennials in a gloriously abstract performance. The cast were extremely entertaining to watch, with their personalities shining through with each turn in the performance, particularly with their wildly personal conversations and stories. The production set out with a mission statement, ‘In a time of ecological crisis, what role can theatre practices play in sustainability?’ The production process certainly achieved this, as the company scavenged for any materials they could get to create this piece of theatre. The use of the cardboard box as their focal point, combined with the performers bodies created a visually aesthetic performance that adhered to their goal of sustainable pr...

Review of A Night at the Theatre: A Night of Riotous Fun

26Oct

By Ezra Elver-FiddimoreNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Review of A Night at the Theatre: A Night of Riotous Fun

On arriving at A Night at the Theatre, a variety night of Royal Holloway’s various performing arts societies, it was hard to know what to expect. There was a palpable air of giddiness and nerves even in the audience: parents and friends excited to see people they knew, but daunted by the hodgepodge of performances ahead. As it happened, though, there was nothing to worry about! This show offered a series of bright, fast-moving snapshots of the workings of an enormous number of societies and their talented members, with all of it pulled together by Daniel Loosley as the MC. The vocal performances gave structure to this show, each of them impressive and totally unique. Absolute Harmony opened the show with a lively, skilful rendition of George Ezra’s ‘Shotgun’, complet...

19Mar

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

A Glass Slipper is No Match for MTS

As a self-proclaimed Musical Theatre geek, I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of Musical Theatre Society’s (MTS) spring term production, Soho Cinders. It is described as ‘Cinderella with a Twist’, adding in elements of contemporary London and bringing in an LGBT+ relationship as well. It is an interesting show, with catchy up-beat numbers that definitely stick in your head long after it’s over. The show starts slowly, with the ensemble filing in to the room subtly – people barely notice until cast members interact with and speak to audience members, catching their attention and keeping their focus for the first number. A narrator, played by Reuben Havelock, appears to introduce us to the characters as they sing Old Compton Street. Bryony O’Hare as the sassy best friend Velcro shines fro...

5Mar

By Emma CurrieNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Wherefore Art Thou, Shakespeare Society

Shakespeare Society’s second term production of Romeo and Juliet was a pleasurable way to spend a Monday night. Set against the backdrop of the Irish Troubles, the play – conceptualised by Matt Bird and assistant directed by George Collins – brought to life Shakespeare’s famous love story. Niamh Smith and Sophie Barton played the eponymous couple, Smith acting with sensitivity and power throughout, notably in the tender reunion scene between the pair. The take on their love was deliberately sweet and chaste – not quite to my liking as it lacked some of the desperate irrational passion that drives them to their eventual deaths – however, they captured the youthful innocence of their love. Some of these tender moments sadly were swallowed up by the sound void that is the SU. Special ment...

7Feb

By Noelle SpillmannNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Horses, Brains and Apples at Midnight

Having had mixed experiences with Midnight At The Boilerhouse in the past, I found myself feeling a cocktail of excitement and dread attending this term’s Student Workshop’s Original Theatre Night. Should you have never attended a MATB – as it is so lovingly called - it is in essence a night of original, student written theatre performed in the Boilerhouse theatre by students for students. Pieces range between five to ten minutes and cover a variety of genres - from conventional comedy to thought provoking physical theatre pieces. That being said, from my own experience there tends to be a slight focus on theatre of a certain nature every MATB. The last one I attended (which was not last term’s I must confess) heavily leaned towards physical theatre whilst this MATB seemed more inclined to...

13Dec

By Insiyah AdamjeeNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

When The Clock Strikes 00:00

Engaging, thought-provoking and transparent are some of the adjectives that come to mind thinking back on the brilliant performance at The Packhorse, ‘00:00’, a play put on from the 7th to the 9th of December by ‘from (a)basement theatre collective’. The plot involves an exploration into the lives of employees of the Network Rail and is a conversation starter for tough and heavy topics such as mental health, suicide and social conventions. The small cast of four manage to tackle these serious and controversial topics in an empathetic yet frank way, unapologetically showing the audience the truth of the lives and struggles of those who run the behind-the-scenes of England’s Rail system. The cast are not given names, but instead letters of the alphabet, which further reiterates how unreco...

A Midsummer Nightmare: A Dream of a Performance

5Dec

By Abel FenwickNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

A Midsummer Nightmare: A Dream of a Performance

Comedy. Tragedy. Star crossed lovers. Deceptions, donkeys and a play within a play. All of the above sound tremendously Shakespearian until I mention the Post-it notes, don’t they? Like any adaptation of the Bard worth its salt, the RHUL Shakespeare society’s original production ‘A Midsummer Nightmare’ contained all of the above and more, with the audience invited to peer behind the scenes of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and watch Tarquin-Ann Richardson the Third and troupe attempt to make it to opening night without unlearnt lines, gargantuan egos and a four-person Swedish pop band destroying all of their hard work. With choreographed dance numbers, acting tips and actual passages of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ performed throughout, on paper the play seems in danger of feeling a litt...