Tezza's Theatre Place

In 2016 I reviewed 180 shows either as a full reviewer or an assessor for the Offies. Most of my reviews are done for London Theatre 1  and Neil of LT1 has asked his reviewers for their top shows of the year. The full rundown can be found here , and includes all Neil's reviewers. The list below is my own top 10 - and believe me it was very difficult to whittle it down to only 10, which is why there are honourable mentions at the end. You may agree or disagree with my list but, like reviewing itself, its subjective and if everyone liked exactly the same shows all the time, theatre would be exceptionally boring.  So, away we go with my countdown of the top 10 shows of 2016: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 and 2, Cambridge Theatre No doubt this is the No 1 show of the year for me.   J K Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, have captured the essence of the Harry potter books and brought them to life in wonderful style with these two fantastic play...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/155934/review-matthew-bournes-the-red-shoes-5-star/ THE RED SHOES. Ashley Shaw ‘Victoria Page’. Photo by Johan Persson Occasionally a show is so overwhelming in its awesomeness that I have real trouble translating my thoughts and feelings about it into words on a screen. Just such a show is Matthew Bourne’s new production  The Red Shoes  which is firmly ensconced for the Christmas period at Sadler’s Wells. Based on the cult movie of the same name by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and using music by acclaimed composer Bernard Herrman, arranged by Terry Davies,  The Red Shoes  tells the story of Victoria Page (Ashley Shaw) a ballet dancer who is discovered by Boris Lermontov (Sam Archer) and becomes a member of his touring ballet group. As well as Victoria, Lermontov also discovers composer Julian Craster (Dominic North). Lermontov is a hard taskmaster who believes the only thing his dancers should have an interest in...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/153579/swan-lakeloch-na-heala-by-michael-keegan-dolan/ Swan Lake by Michael Keegan-Dolan. Photo by Colm Hogan Sometimes a review is the easiest thing in the world to write. Everything works with a show and the words flow so fast I can’t type them fast enough. At other times, it is the opposite. For whatever reason, or reasons, the words don’t run smoothly. Michael Keegan-Dolan’s  Swan Lake/Loch  na  hEala  at Sadler’s Wells is an example of the latter type. Loosely based on the traditional tale, this version has been transferred to contemporary times and moved to a small town in Ireland. Loosely based on the traditional tale, this version has been transferred to contemporary times and moved to a small town in Ireland. The princess is a thirty-six-year-old man (Alexander Leonhartsberger), with mental illness, living with his mother (Elizabeth Cameron Dalman) in a run-down house in rural Ireland. Unusually for what...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/152905/review-princess-the-good-girls-gone-bad-lost-theatre/ Without straying too far into gender stereotyping, lots of young girls (and one or two boys as well) dream of one day being a Disney-style princess. Of course, that’s not a realistic career goal and most people do grow out of it. However, Disney princesses have also grown up and are no longer the weak young innocents hoping a handsome prince on a white charger will pop up and save them from whatever vile thing is trying to hurt them. Today’s princess is more likely to be some Xena type ready to defend herself against all comers. All this talk is merely a way to tell you that I recently saw Stuart Saint’s new production  Princess – The Good Girl’s Gone Bad  at the Lost Theatre. Using a combination of dance, music, video and mime, Stuart’s piece tells the story of a girl (Jennie Dickie) who wants to be a fairytale princess and then one day is taken by her trusted rabbit (Morgan...