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Sept 2024I Am My Own Wife

Act UK Sept 2024

This play is a dramatization of the life of Charlotte
van Mahlsdorf (born Lother Berfelde ) who
openly lived as a trans woman in Berlin during
the terrifying oppression of Nazi rule and the
ensuing communist occupation of East Berlin. It
takes the form of a series of interviews between
Charlotte and the American playwright, Doug
Wright, embellished throughout by further
interactions with a number of different people
as her story unfolded.
It appears that Charlotte was quite well known
in her era, but I must admit that I knew nothing about her, nor this play. I was
intrigued when.....

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May 2024Allo! Allo!

Act UK 15th May 2024

Surely everyone, over a certain age, knows
just what to expect from this play based on
the hit TV comedy about life in a French
café during the German occupation in
World War II which was on our screens
(and arguably part of British folklore)
between 1982-92. This popular play
is described as pantomime-esque with
ludicrous situations and irreverent humour
played out by larger-than-life characters.
To quote from the programme “cultural
cliches, memorable catch phrases, visual comedy (and) innuendo” abound.......

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January 2024LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

Act UK 18th January 2024

A visit to this lovely theatre being entertained
by a pantomime was just what we needed
to cheer up a dark evening in what has been
a particularly cold and blustery month of
January. Knutsford Little Theatre’s production
of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ fitted the bill with
the traditional well-known story, given a
ghoulishly fun twist. The cast were able to win
over their audience from the start with their
fun and enthusiasm. It was everything we
wanted to see and hear with bright costumes,
good tunes to clap along to, baddies to boo at,
goodies to cheer’ with and lots of jokes – the
new and the old! ......

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November 2023REMEMBER REMEMBER

Number 9.... Reviewing the Arts UK Wide 9th November 2023

What is the recipe for a good thriller / whodunnit? That is the million dollar question, and if the recipe is right, the play is an instant hit. In this play, 'Remember, Remember' `{` an updating of the author's own play 'Penny For The Guy'`}` there are as many plot twists as you have had hot meals, and this keeps us very much ...........

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Act UK 9th November 2023

This is billed as a World Premiere
performance of David Soames’s play. It
is a new updated version of ‘Penny for
the Guy’ which has only been on stage
once before for a run of 2 weeks 30
years ago.
It was interesting to read the
background history of this play and how
it was brought to Knutsford, thanks to
the tenacity of the director Sean Duvall........

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January 2023Beauty and the Beast

Act UK January 2023

Pantoland is reviving former titles such as “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Beauty and the Beast”, and why not? All the traditional formatting can be applied to most fairy tales. Let us not forget the evil character always enters stage left (known as the dark side). The creative team delivered a fun-filled pantomime with upbeat songs and choreography. There was a very workable set with two clever.......

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November 2022Lady Killers

Act UK November 2022

Almost everyone knows the film, if you don’t
shame on you, it is a classic of British cinemas,
and is much loved and a firm favourite of
mine. Action is set in the post war world in
Mrs Wilberforce’s bomb damaged house next
to King Cross station.
The set was a cross-section of two floors of
the house; creating many challenges for the
designer: the effect created as the passing trains rattle pictures, the set
dressings, and the demise of each of the villains via the window. All
worked well until the need to use the window......

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September 2022Educating Rita

Act UK September 2022

The audience was presented with a box set, with
a door up stage right and window up stage left:
Set dressings of hung pictures, bookcases, books:
the furniture consisting of chairs, a filing cabinet
and desk. This is the world of the old soak of an
“Eng Lit” tutor Frank. It was maybe just a little
too tidy as it didn’t reflect the heavy drinking
and boredom of life of its inhabitant. Costumes
have to make such a strong statement......

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February 2022Hobsons Choice

Act UK February 2022

Harold Brighouse’s 1916 comedy, Hobson’s
Choice, is “as well made as a pair of Hobson’s
stout boots”. It is a portrait of a middle-class,
prosperous Salford boot maker with Victorian
values. Set in 1880 there are changes ahead for
Hobson brought about by the “upishness” of his
three daughters. Brighouse was a modernist of his
time: this play, with its social subtext, is proof of that.
The scenery locates the action from the Hobson’s shop to Maggie and
Willie’s cellar cum shop, and the parlour of Hobson’s shop.....

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2023Spot Light Awards

Act UK Spotlight Awards 2023

Nominations for Spotlight Awards

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