by Catherine Collins. As the lights rise in the intimate setting of MAST Mayflower Studios, a dimly lit two-up-two-down house down an alleyway is revealed and the bittersweet comedy that is The Rise and Fall of Little Voice begins. Little Voice and Mari Hoff – are the mother and...
Entertainment Reviews
Review: Sheila’s Island, MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton
by Martin Brisland. Want cheering up? Then this comedy drama is for you and had the audience laughing throughout. Think Lord of the Flies meets Dinnerladies meets Miranda and The Office. Described as “a comedy in thick fog”, Sheila’s Island is a reimagining of Tim Firth’s 1992 play Neville’s...
Review: Blood Red Shoes album launch at Vinilo Record Store
by Anita Foxall. Brighton duo, Blood Red Shoes, started this year with the heartbreak of seeing their European tour being cancelled, for the obvious reasons. Musicians are not unfamiliar with cancelled tours and gigs, with album launches being postponed hoping for more social, better times to do so. Blood Red...
REVIEW: Cinderella at Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
by Catherine Collins. Panto is back with a bang at Mayflower Theatre – complete with a flying coach and horses, tap dancing pumpkins, and childhood legends Sooty and Sweep – in a production that entertains the whole family from beginning to end. It’s been a long couple of years...
Review: Night of the Living Dead – SUP Theatre Company, Hangar Farm Arts Centre
by Oli Jacobs. The line between comedy and horror is a fine one. The same scenarios that can cause screams can also cause laughter, and panicked actions can also become absurd slapstick. Therefore, it is not surprising that the SUP Theatre Company production of Night of the Living Dead...
REVIEW: Chicago at Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
by Catherine Collins. Chicago certainly dazzled the audience when it opened at the Mayflower Theatre on Monday (15 November) in a show-stopping production that delivered glamour, glitch and the best vocal performances I think I’ve ever seen on a theatre stage. Set amidst the prohibition era of the 1920s, Chicago tells...
Preview: Great women at MAST this month
The MAST Studio Theatre is premiering a new musical this month. Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World is based on the popular and wonderfully illustrated award-winning book by Kate Pankhurst, and is kicking off in Southampton before heading out on a national tour. In it, the heroine Jade...
REVIEW: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
by Catherine Collins. The Priscilla, Queen of the Desert cast burst onto the stage of the Mayflower Theatre in a show filled with sparkle, sequins and sass, and a soundtrack that kept the audience clapping along for its entirety. Based on the 1994 Oscar-winning movie of the same name,...
Album review: Live at Hewood Farm by Chateau Bateau Band
reviewed by Charlie Hislop. At a time when the world seems to be just a series of angry and sad emojis, it great to get the chance to get the big heart emoji out and splash it around. But that’s what I’m doing to the new album by Southampton’s...
Last night’s review: Million Dollar Quartet, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
by Martin Brisland. There is a ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On’ at the Mayflower Theatre this week, with the most famous recording session in history! In these troubled times, the ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ is pure entertainment – a joyous celebration of the birth of Rock and Roll. I was...