27 July 2022 3*** Despite the initial denials of the creators of DREAMGIRLS, there can be no doubt that it was heavily influenced by Motown and the music of Diana Ross, the Supremes and Berry Gordy. Set in the 1960s, the ups and downs, the quarrels and love lives of three singers is played out …
25 July 2022 5***** It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen is still enormously popular. Adaptations for film, television and theatre abound with versions of her novels and pseudo-versions appearing regularly. It is a delight, therefore, to witness Tim Luscombe’s lucid and pacey version of ‘EMMA’ which takes us to the half way …
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4**** 18 July 2022 Brandon Thomas’s obituary notice in The Times quoted him as saying “I hoped to go down to fame as a great actor. If I go at all it will be as the author of ‘Charley’s Aunt’.” Prescient words; the actor never made it big on the stage, but well over 100 …
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11 July 2022 5***** Disregard the power of Agatha Christie at your peril. At her best she is a theatrical powerhouse and in the hands of a director with nous and imagination can be a phenomenal stage treat. In this production, Jason Moore is just that director. First performed in 1958, THE UNEXPECTED GUEST was …
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4 JULY 2022 5***** The extraordinary story of the soprano Florence Foster Jenkins, dubbed ‘the worst singer in the world’ was revitalised by the 2016 film starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant; this play, on the same subject, premiered in 2005 starring Maureen Lipman. The third show in the Sidmouth Summer Play Festival presented by …
