By Joy McKay. The Life of Pi is on it’s first UK tour following successful runs of the West End debuting in 2021 and Broadway in 2023 and opened at The Mayflower last night (14 May 2024). Based on the Booker Prize winning and bestselling novel of the same...
Entertainment Reviews
Review: Dea Matrona – The Joiners, Southampton
By Vicky Greer. A few years ago, Dublin was the centre of the Irish music scene. These days, the North is rapidly catching up, with bands like Problem Patterns, Cherym and KNEECAP making waves in the music industry and putting the cities of Belfast and Derry on the map....
Frank Turner: Record Breaking Most Gigs In 24 Hours
Words and pictures by Callum Linklater. Portsmouth 9am, Sunday 5th May – Show 13 of 15 a self admittingly tired Frank Turner takes to the stage donning a shirt reading ‘Whose stupid idea was this anyway?’. “My name is Frank Turner, Welcome to my mid-life crisis. I am losing...
Review: Wanderlust Festival, Southampton
Words: Vicky Greer. Pictures: Opus Kink by Callum Linklater. For Southampton gig-goers, brand new festival Wanderlust is a dream. A whole day of hopping between our favourite grassroots venues to see the best up-and-coming names in indie and post-punk on a sunny bank holiday weekend? Nothing could be better....
Review: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
By Graham Hiley. It’s not every day that an inanimate object gets a standing ovation – but then it’s not often that a car is the star. And Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is no ordinary vehicle. It has a life and a personality of its own which shone through...
Review: Millie Manders and the Shutup, Bournemouth Anvil
Words and pictures by Billy Perett. As soon as I walked into the venue I could feel that the energy was extremely high – everyone was happy to be there and so excited to see these amazing bands perform and they did not disappoint. Voodoo Radio put on an...
Review Come from Away, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
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...
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...