Taking place in the 1990’s in East Village, New York, Rent follows a group of young bohemians trying to work their way through personal issues, doing so by finding each other. Clich├® though it may sound, this rock-musical touches on so many issues leaving the audience reaching for tissues for both tears of sadness and of laughter. The cast of the 20th Anniversary tour contains … Continue reading Review: Rent, Wales Millennium Centre
Buffalo Comedy, Sunday 2nd April, Buffalo, reviewer: Hannah Hopkins Acts: Rhys James, Tanya Spence-Kelly, Calum Stewart, Leroy Britto; MC: Clint Edwards. Buffalo is one of the more vibrant and trendy venues in Cardiff, and of course, I was pretty happy to see that the venue hosts a regular comedy night. It’s been running for quite a while, but I’ve never had the opportunity until now … Continue reading Review: Buffalo Comedy, Buffalo
Louder is Not Always Clearer, Saturday 1st April, Chapter Arts Centre, reviewer: Bob Wigin A man stands in front of the audience and begins to flail and jump, looking to the crowd for a response. Before long, he types outs sentences which are projected on to a large screen behind him. We learn that he is deaf. Louder Is Not Always Clearer is an impressionistic, … Continue reading Review: Louder is Not Always Clearer, Chapter Arts Centre – Experimentica Season
Kasimir Malevich’s ‘Suprematism’ (as pictured) represented freedom, an abstraction of worldly forms. Russian Avant-garde artists like Malevich, Kandinsky, Suetin, created a revolution rising up against traditional expression.┬áRevolution: New Art for a New World┬áprovides us with an in-depth explanation of how the rise and fall of this movement was intrinsically linked with socio-political change. Margy Kinmonth’s feature documentary charts Russian art’s movement from realism, to the … Continue reading Review: Revolution: New Art for a New World
Richard Herring: The Best, Sunday 2nd April, St David’s Hall, reviewer: Becca Moody Richard Herring is showcasing the best of his material from the last twelve shows, after revisiting them all for one-off performances in 2015. The aim is to represent each of the various aspects of his comedy style equally: a summary of the past sixteen years for the comic; a smorgasbord of Richard … Continue reading Review: Richard Herring: The Best, St David’s Hall
Class: The Elephant in the Room, Friday 31st March, Chapter Arts Centre, reviewer: Claudia Rutherford Influenced by the injustices circulating his political climate, Pierre Bourdieu proposed the theory that a ÔÇÿcultural capitalÔÇÖ exists within Western societies. It is one, he claims, to be systematically sought after, and promotes the idea that the culture enjoyed by the middle classes, is regarded as more valid than those … Continue reading Review: Class: The Elephant in the Room, Chapter Arts Centre – Experimentica Season
Round and Round and Round, Wedneday 29th March, Chapter Arts Centre, reviewer: Emily Murray Before we walked into the theatre, we were told, “Men enter on the right and women on the left,ÔÇØ followed by, ÔÇ£When you get into the room, men are allowed to sit and women must stand.ÔÇØ The man then handed over a piece of paper to each of us, that read … Continue reading Review: Round and Round and Round, Chapter Arts Centre – Experimentica Season
By Ellie Philpotts CardiffÔÇÖs community of caffeine connoisseurs has manifested itself in the form of a real culture of cosy cafes. So much so, new addition 200 Degrees would be right to expect a welcome as warm as their freshly brewed coffees… NB: That was a tenuous link. Also does not apply to iced lattes. Anyway, 200 Degrees is a truly charming business. There are … Continue reading Interview: 200 Degrees
Chris Ramsey has just embarked on his biggest tour to date, Is That Chris Ramsey?, culminating in a massive homecoming gig at NewcastleÔÇÖs Metro Arena. He’s also bringing the show to Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on┬áThursday 27 April, but before, the Geordie star of Comedy Central’s┬áThe┬áChris Ramsey Show tells us about life on the road and how adjusting to first-time fatherhood hasnÔÇÖt stopped him from … Continue reading Interview: Chris Ramsey
Frankenshow, Wednesday 29th March, Chapter, reviewer: Rachel Nurse Postmodernist art with a technological twist. This was a very creative and different, but at times, a confusing show. A war between humans, robots and dinosaurs paralleled Earth’s own wars between nations. The narrator explained that war is not the answer to the questions – enacted with dolls, which were cleverly utilised in a scene which saw … Continue reading Review: Frankenshow, Chapter – Experimentica Season
Foreign Television Drama as a Window Into the Rest of the World: Welcome to the Wonderful World of Walter Presents Sinead McCausland If you have watched an episode of the Spanish prison drama Locked Up, the German spy thriller Deutschland ÔÇÖ83, or, say, the French political thriller Spin, all available on Channel 4ÔÇÖs streaming service Walter Presents, you will be aware of the man behind … Continue reading Interview: Walter Iuzzolino on Foreign TV Drama
Dirty Dancing, Monday 27th March, New Theatre, reviewer: Mel Lynch If you do nothing else this month go see Dirty Dancing at the New theatre, it is genuinely sublime. Quick paced choreography twinned with an emotionally charged narrative results in an unmissable performance, which is quite simply a pleasure to watch. Set in the vibrant 1960ÔÇÖs Dirty Dancing tells the story of two lovers pulled … Continue reading Review: Dirty Dancing, New Theatre
Killology, Tuesday 28th March, Sherman Theatre, reviewer: Tom Morris This is the kind of life affirming art one might not expect local theatre to show. Yet here it is, right here in Cardiff, literally on the students unionÔÇÖs doorstep, a play that would cost an awful lot more in London and would be a highlight at the Edinburgh Fringe. There are just three characters, and … Continue reading Review: Killology, Sherman Theatre
The Circus of Horrors,┬áWednesday 22nd March, St David’s Hall, Reviewer: Mel Lynch Despite forming in 1995 The Circus of HorrorsÔÇÖ first rose to celebrity status after performing on BritainÔÇÖs Got Talent in 2011. Initially I thought I had some idea about what to expect. However, upon seeing the shows promotional t-shirts which read ÔÇÿKeep calm or fuck offÔÇÖ I started to fear for what I … Continue reading Review: The Circus of Horrors, St David’s Hall
The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli M├ñki (2016) is a charming and beautifully stylised film from Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen; perfectly bringing the WoW Festival to a close. The film retells the true story of underdog boxer Olli M├ñkiÔÇÖs big fight with American champion Davey Moore in Helsinki, 1962. M├ñki (Jarkko Lahti) becomes distracted throughout his preparations for the match however; he has … Continue reading Review: The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli M├ñki, WoW Festival
Evita, Monday 20th March, New Theatre, Reviewer: Hannah Hopkins Evita has always, for me at least, been one of those musicals known for a few great songs whilst the rest of the plot has often faded into obscurity. Yet, this production completely changed my mind. The story is powerful and poignant, though the musical elements make it fun and all the more engaging. Following a … Continue reading Review: Evita, New Theatre
A sunny Sunday morning brimming with optimism didnÔÇÖt feel like the appropriate time to be watching Mohamed JabalyÔÇÖs harrowing film which follows an ambulance crew around the streets of Gaza City in summer 2014; but as the film progressed I realized there is of course never an ideal time to be so unapologetically presented with the images human despair that this film depicts. The documentary … Continue reading Review: Ambulance, WoW Festival
By The Time It Gets Dark follows the overlapping narratives of a group of seemingly separate individuals as their lives begin to weave together across the course of the film. An actor, a director, and a number of other characters ranging from a cleaner to a Buddhist, are all linked together across the structure of Thai society. As the director interviews actors in a … Continue reading Review: By The Time It Gets Dark, WoW Festival
W├╣lu ÔÇô Review Directed by Daouda Coulibaly, W├╣lu follows the story of Ladji (Ibrahim Koma), a likeable Malian bus conductor turned drugs smuggler, in a desperate bid to better not only his life but also his sister (Inna Modja) who is forced to work as a prostitute In order to make ends meet. As this gritty narrative unfolds, we watch as he works his way … Continue reading Review: W├╣lu, WoW Festival
I walked in the Chapter Arts theatre with no prior expectations, my knowledge of the ÔÇÿArab SpringÔÇÖ being limited simply to the date it began, 2011. Needless to say, I was blown away by the spectacle of film-making that subsequently followed. The premise of the movie rests on the riots that took hold of Egypt following July 3rd 2013, in response to the military removal … Continue reading Review: Clash, WoW Festival
