By Graham Hiley. Imagine 7,000 travellers suddenly turning up in your home town – a bit like Southampton when the cruise ships are all in… but without the infrastructure to cope. That was the situation for the small Newfoundland town of Gander (population 9,500) when 38 planes were diverted...
Entertainment Reviews
Review: Caity Baser – O2 Guildhall, Southampton
Pictures: Callum Linklater. Words: Vicky Greer. “This is a big one,” says Caity Baser on stage at the O2 Guildhall at the homecoming show of her Still Learning tour. It’s a full circle moment as she tells us about how she came to this very venue as a...
Review: And Then There Were None, Mayflower Theatre
By Martin Brisland. Image: Manuel Harlan. With a Mayflower programme full of musicals, concerts, opera and ballet it is refreshing to see a classic ‘whodunnit’ play with an intricate plot delivered by a company of excellent actors. Agatha Christie is the undisputed Queen of Crime and the creator of...
Review: Big Special, The Joiners, Southampton
By Anita Foxall. Big Special are the result of a music/spoken word 17-year-old friendship. They claim ‘it’s not Big and it’s not Special’ but they came over to the Joiners on Sunday 7 April and showed us they actually are that big and that special of a band. Big...
Review: The Craft and Crust Music Festival, Winchester Guildhall
By Mabel Welman. On the 6th of April, The Craft and Crust Music Festival came to in Winchester Guildhall. There was the option to book from 12:00 to 17:00 or 18:00 to 23:00, as I work on Sundays I choose the earlier session. The Craft and Crust Beer Festival...
Review: Bonnie and Clyde, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
By Graham Hiley. Who says crime doesn’t pay? Bonnie and Clyde is deservedly playing to packed houses as it Raises A Little Hell around the country. After an all-too-short run in the West End, the latest stop for this top quality touring production is the Mayflower in Southampton where...
Review: The Stranglers, Portsmouth Guildhall
By Nick Mabey. Main image: Hiroki_Nishioka. A packed Portsmouth Guildhall hosted the latest leg of The Stranglers year-long 50th anniversary tour on Saturday (24th March 2024). Two sets, separated unusually by a thirty-minute interval, were packed with songs from the length of their remarkable career. Classic album tracks from...
Review: Welsh National Opea: Cosi Fan Tutte, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
By Martin Brisland. Lessons in love, a day in the school of hard knocks or men behaving misogynistically? Mozart’s opera has divided opinion since it was first performed in 1790. Translated as ‘All women do the same’, it explores sexist male behaviour towards women who are presumed to be fickle and untrustworthy. In...
Photos: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, BIC, 18 March 2024
Photos and words: Ian Cumming. The stage was set for what I was hoping to be an amazing evening of music, and I wasn’t left disappointed. The capacity crowd at The 02 Academy in Bournemouth (18 March, 2024) was buzzing with anticipation the lights went out and the crowd...
REVIEW: Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, 13 March 2024
By Bella Briscoe. Matthew Bourne’s adaptation of Edward Scissorhands, which opened at Mayflower Theatre last night, is a magical journey that brings the beloved film to life on stage. Bourne’s staging maintains Tim Burton’s trademark twisted style, but provides a fresh depth to the characters we know and love....