Review By: Ian Howie-Lee & Catherine Collins – Photo Credit: Kate Hunter Photography Thousands of revellers once again descended on Southampton Common yesterday for the return of retro ‘80s festival, Let’s Rock, with headline performances from Soft Cell and Boomtown Rats. There were ‘80s costumes and neon galore, and...
Entertainment Reviews
Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Mayflower Theatre, 4 July 2023
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a National Theatre production based on the best-selling novel of the same name by local author Neil Gaiman. The show premiered in 2019 but this is its first national tour (delayed due to the Covid pandemic). The book was released...
For the Queer Joy of it
By Alex Thurley-Ratcliff. Image of Ri Baroche at Art House show by Anita Foxall. ArtfulScribe, that provoker and promoter of writers and writing in Hampshire and Dorset, recently enticed me into their workshops on Queer Joy. It’s not a phrase I had heard before; growing up in an...
Review: Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Mayflower Theatre, 20 June 2023
By Joy McKay Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story was one of the very first ‘Jukebox Musicals’ premiering in 1989. It is part biopic, part gig and 100% celebration of the incredible and tragically short career of the Incongruously bespectacled Rock ‘n’ Roll legend Buddy Holly. After six years the...
Review: The Isle of Wight Festival, 2023
Words by Nick Mabey (Friday) & Lewis MacLean (Saturday & Sunday). Additional reporting by Paula Wilson. Main image by Chloe Hashemi. Friday by Nick Mabey. Friday at the festival and Newport was rocking. The sun shone, the crowds swarmed, everything was as it should be. For me it...
Review: Isle of Wight Festival, Friday 16 June
by Nick Mabey. A Different Class Friday at the festival and Newport was rocking. The sun shone, the crowds swarmed, everything was as it should be. For me it was all about Jarvis Cocker but more of that later. First things first; a minor rant. For package holiday makers,...
Review: Arctic Monkeys, Ageas Bowl, Southampton – June 14
by Nick Mabey. On Tuesday at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton, Arctic Monkeys were in town bringing sun, great music, and Alex Turner’s iconic Sheffield strut. Crowds arrived early and in massive numbers to enjoy everything the evening had to offer. The food may have been a little overpriced but...
Review: The King and I, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, 13 June 2023
By Catherine Collins I remember singing along whilst watching the film, The King and I, on the TV as a child, so I was excited to be in the audience when it opened at Mayflower Theatre tonight. Set in 1860s Bangkok, The King and I tells the story of the unconventional...
Review: Wish you were Dead, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, June 6
by Nick Mabey. Shaun Mckenna’s adaptation of Peter James’ latest DCI Grace novel is an enjoyable romp in the French countryside. Our protagonist takes his young family and their friend/nanny on a much needed holiday, only to find themselves stuck in a dark, almost gothic chambre-d’hote, whose owners are...
Review: My Morning Jacket at Kentish Town Forum
Words: Tom Williams. Image: Austin Nelson. Note-perfect performance from Jim James and band “There will be bigotry,” sings My Morning Jacket’s Jim James “And there will be open minds”. He’s not wrong, and even the crowd for tonight’s show demonstrates as much; nine tenths of those at Kentish Town...