Theatre & Performance – Page 4 of 12

14Mar

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Bare: A Glowing Review

Musical Theatre Society’s (MTS) exceptional performers and crew members were laid bare last night in the explosive Bare: A Pop Opera. This largely niche musical by Jon Hartmere and Damon Intrabartolo has been brought to our attention due to Director Anthony Underwood's brave decision to stage it - a decision that paid off immensely. George Lambourne and Daniel Edwards were amazing in their roles as Peter Simmonds and Jason McConnell, the couple that this entire show was centred on. They were extremely convincing and effective in portraying the emotion required of the show - which is a testament to their skills as actors. The chemistry between Lambourne and Edwards was really great, as was the chemistry between Edwards and Molly Cheesley, who plays his sister Nadia. Their brother-sister ...

5Mar

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

An evening with the King himself

Having never seen a Shakespeare Society production before, I was unsure of what to expect of Director Bethany Wilkinson’s adaptation of the infamous tragedy, King Lear. King Lear is one of my favourite plays in the world and, being quite a traditionalist with regards to Shakespeare plays, I hoped that the play would do it justice. In some ways, it definitely did. In others, it did not. Before the play officially starts, as audience members file in, the play has clearly already started, introducing us to Lear from the beginning. Jack Davies as King Lear, epitomises the idea of a ‘mad King’ by trailing around the hall, mumbling nonsense and cackling maniacally. He moves into audience members’ personal space, balling up paper and throwing it at key targets - me included. He is mad, obvious...

2Mar

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Late Night Laughs

"Welcome to Late Nights in Egham!”, is the tagline accompanying Philipp Carl Kostelecky’s new project, a late-night talk show set in “our wonderful town of Egham”. Kostelecky’s pet project came to life after more than a year of discussions, writing and set up, with him dressed in a snazzy suit and ready to be the charming late night talk show host we have come to expect. His biggest inspirations come from Conan and Eric Andre, both of which he has drawn from to influence his own talk show idea. The idea was conceived on a long plane ride last summer and Kostelecky and the rest of the production team are extremely excited to see it “finally come into fruition”. Kostelecky says that he “thought the idea of a late night talk show in Egham would be fun”. The show concept was originally quit...

25Feb

By Josip MartincicNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Playing War: A Review of Pink Mist

Putting on this show was a bold choice, but one that most certainly paid off. The cast and crew need to be congratulated because putting on a relatively unknown play that deals with the subject of war in Afghanistan is difficult but they managed to strongly resonate with the audience and keep everyone engaged and entertained. Issues of psychological and physical effects of warfare on lives of young soldiers, written so well by Owen Sheers, were staged in a powerful but respectful way. Incorporating physical movement with the verse was a triumphant achievement by director Emil Rousseau, and the lighting designed by Matt Fry added another level to this fascinating and complex production. It runs at about an hour and forty five minutes without an interval, but it honestly didn’t feel long ...

22Feb

By George WhiteNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Three Fish in a Tree: Review

“If you forever judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its life thinking that it's stupid”- Albert Einstein. This quotation is the foundation on which the Student Workshop’s recent production, Three Fish in a Tree, is based. I’m not normally one to endorse the use of Instagram-bio pseudo-philosophical quotes, however I would argue that in the context of this production the quotation is actually quite profound. Three Fish in a Tree is a celebration of originality: following the story of three characters whose lives have been affected by Dyslexia, Autism and ADD. The charming nuisances were at first completely lost upon an uncultured swine such as myself, as the abstract script is ambiguous towards the concept of time and space, which was somewhat confusing. However, onc...

19Feb

By George WhiteNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

A Comedic Break from Valentines Day

The Comedy Society has put on a number of shows since the start of the year: having tested the waters with early shows, they’ve definitely had the chance to improve over time. However, there is certainly still plenty of room for further improvement - I look forward to seeing said improvement. But, for now, they’re still quite rough around the edges. Despite this, every performer did manage a couple of laughs from me, at the very least. This isn’t the Apollo, the odd awkward silence or distastefully joke is to be expected and it’s safe to say there were certainly significant peaks and troughs. However, after a somewhat slow start, things began to pick up, and it was pretty much all uphill from there. There was however a small collection of significant blunders, most of which were, t...

19Feb

By Emma HalahanNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Review: Love Island The Musical

Love Island: The Musical transports us to a sunny island resort in the unlikely venue of Jane Holloway Hall. Incredibly innovative production skills use a projector, a voting app and a star performance by Director Connor Wood as the hot tub, to produce a lot of laughs and a substantial suspension of disbelief. The performances mimics the style of the hit reality TV show that swept the nation last summer, Love Island, which sees couples deserted on an island to find love and win some hefty cash prizes. It is clear that the production team from the beginning have thought long and hard about how to squeeze what they can from an incredibly low budget production. There are pre recorded ‘ad breaks’ that left the audience in hysterics and the infamous Love Island texts show up on the projecto...

15Feb

By George WhiteNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Review: Three Fish in a Tree

“If you forever judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its life thinking that it's stupid”- Albert Einstein. This quotation is the foundation on which the Student Workshop’s recent production, Three Fish in a Tree, is based. I’m not normally one to endorse the use of Instagram-bio pseudo-philosophical quotes. However, I would argue that in the context of this production the quotation is actually quite profound. Three Fish in a Tree is a celebration of originality; following the story of three characters whose lives have been affected by Dyslexia, Autism and ADD. The charming nuisances were at first completely lost upon an uncultured swine such as myself, as the abstract script is ambiguous towards the concept of time and space, which was somewhat confusing. However, on...

MTS Weekend Show ‘Musical Moments Through Time’

29Jan

By Josip MartincicNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

MTS Weekend Show ‘Musical Moments Through Time’

The now already traditional showcase of talent within the Musical Theatre Society took place in Jane Holloway Hall this Sunday. What differentiates this show to other performances seen on campus is explained in the name - the entire show is put together in one weekend. All of the songs and choreography are learned and rehearsed on Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday, and finally performed on Sunday evening. The performance from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat started the tour-de-force through history, which included performances from such hits as Chicago, Annie, Oliver!, 9 to 5 and many others. Though the numbers differed in style and tone, what was consistent was the high level of quality and execution by the stellar ensemble. The amount of hard...

The Importance of Being an Ideal Oscar Wilde Fan

25Jan

By Josip MartincicNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

The Importance of Being an Ideal Oscar Wilde Fan

Dominic Dromgoole, having been artistic director of The Globe 2005 – 2008, founded his own company, Classic Spring Theatre Company, and decided for its inaugural season to pay respect and honour to the great playwright and public figure Oscar Wilde. For a whole year, the public is treated to performances of four of his plays, A Woman of No Importance, Lady Windemere’s Fan, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest, several shorter runs of a dramatized versions of his children’s fairy-tales, including The Selfish Giant, as well as several talks by, amongst others, Stephen Fry. Truly something for everyone, for all ages and all levels of knowing and loving Wilde. Watching any performance as part of the season in the stunning and intimate Vaudeville Theatre feels like watching a...