Pinocchio
March 8, 2008
The Adventures of Pinocchio
Venue: Theatre Royal
Date Reviewed: 7th March
Opera North have turned Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio in to a family friendly opera that holds the attention of a very young audience for three hours.
We are first introduced to Geppetto who magically carves a little boy (he calls Pinocchio) from a piece of wood before our very eyes. But soon the Pinocchio sets off on his own adventures, getting in to all kinds of trouble, but never far away is a blue fairy (a very delicate looking Mary Plazas) to keep him out of too much trouble.
Jonathan Doves opera stays true to the original story, with Pinocchio encountering, the cricket (who Pinocchio squashes to the childrens delight), fox , pigeon, giant green fisherman, funland and of course the inside of the fish that swallows Geppetto. The story moves at a cracking pace and the costumes are bright and colourful in an almost pantomime fashion Read more
Dancing In The Streets
March 5, 2008
Dancing In The Streets
Venue: Sunderland Empire
Date Reviewed: 4th February 2008
Dancing in the Streets is really a concert designed to present Motown’s greatest hits, which I am pleased to say are performed by a very talented cast.
To hold the show together we have a wafer thin story line as a narrator tells us the story of Motown, but really he is there just to stop the musical numbers running in to each other. As the history unfolds we hear hit after hit by the likes of Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops, Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye backed by such songs as I Heard It Through The Grape Vine, Baby Love, My Girl, I’ll Be There, Where Did Our Love Go, Please Mr Postman, My Guy, Reach Out I’ll Be There,Stop In the Name of Love, Heat Wave,You’re All I Need to Get By, You Can’t Hurry Love,Tears of a Clown,Tracks of My Tears. Read more
Metamorphosis
March 4, 2008
Metamorphosis
Venue: Northern Stage
Date Reviewed: 4th March
WOS Rating: 
Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis has been adapted and directed for the stage by David Farr and Gisli Om Gardarsson and together they present a riveting 90 minute piece of theatre. Designer Borkur Jonsson uses a split level set which on first glance looks like a rundown lived in family home, until you notice the bedroom floor is actually facing you. The bed is hanging on the back wall, which is acting as the floor, so the chair, plant, briefcase and lamp all appear to defy gravity and look as if they are suspended in mid-air. Read more
Twinkle, Little Star
March 3, 2008
Twinkle, Little Star
Venue: Customs House , South Shields
Date Reviewed: 3rd March
Twinkle, Little Star is a 90 minute play that should be known as Twinkle, Twinkle great big star. Kenneth Alan Taylor (one of the UKs leading Panto Dames) plays Harold Thropp, an aged actor who (like Taylor) is one of the few remaining actors who know exactly how to play a Pantomime Dame.
We meet Thropp, who used to top the bill, as he arrives at his dingy basement dressing room and starts to prepare for the photo call at the switching-on of the towns Christmas lights. He has a great big chip on his shoulder and is very upset with the backstage crew and fellow cast members including his Australian co-star who has made his name in a TV soap. Read more
The return of Rambert
March 3, 2008
Having achieved record-breaking audience attendance in London during its autumn tour 2007, Rambert Dance Company embarks on the second leg of its World View Tour, spring 2008. The Company will perform its new work, Scribblings, by American choreographer Doug Varone, L’eveil by Melanie Teall, Swansong by Christopher Bruce and Infinity by Garry Stewart. With Artistic Director Mark Baldwin firmly at the helm, the world-class Rambert Dance Company returns to the Theatre Royal Newcastle from Tuesday 1 April – Saturday 5 April 2008.
Described as a ‘craftsman’ of irresistible intensity, Doug Varone, Artistic Director of Doug Varone and Dancers, uses his extraordinary musical instincts to present Scribblings, his first commission for Rambert. Inspired by composer John Adams’ flamboyant Chamber Symphony, Varone draws on the comic exaggeration and energy in the music to create a daring and complex work set in an off-kilter world with touches of urgency and humour. Read more
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