Review: Blue/Orange, Sherman Cymru

For such a colourfully titled show, Canoe TheatreÔÇÖs Blue/Orange is set in a blandly sterile consultation room, illuminated by fluorescent lights. The audience is placed in the round ÔÇô except itÔÇÖs not round, but quadrilateral, perhaps reflecting the rigidly technocratic themes of the story. The technocracy in this case is the British healthcare system, and its inherent problems in trying to cater for a large … Continue reading Review: Blue/Orange, Sherman Cymru

Review: Singin’ In The Rain, WMC

Reviewed by Matthew Lee Schneider Splashing legs sweep with forceful grace, weaving droplets of rain into curtains which drape across the audience. ┬áA relentlessly rotating rainbow of umbrella navels frolic up and down, left to right, round and round. ┬áTwirling, swirling, tapping, clapping, falling (in love), dancing, jumping, singing, yelling; this is SinginÔÇÖ in the Rain. ┬áArriving at the Millennium Centre by way of the … Continue reading Review: Singin’ In The Rain, WMC

Clod Ensemble: An Anatomie in Four Quarters

Making a piece of physical theatre is a complicated, lengthy process; Culture editors Amy Pay and Sum Sze Tam spoke to Tracy Gentles, the producer of upcoming physical theatre production An Anatomie in Four Quarters, to find out how such a complex work of art comes into being An Anatomie in Four Quarters is showing soon in the WMC. Can you tell us a little … Continue reading Clod Ensemble: An Anatomie in Four Quarters

Physical Theatre: More Than Dancey Acting?

The stage: traditionally a foundation for acting, singing or dancing. Then, physical theatre came along and integrated the disciplines, the primary idea being that performers tell a story through physical means. What is it? Where does it come from? How is it put together? This month, Sophie Barnes unravels these questions As physical theatreÔÇÖs popularity grows, so does its following. This is owed to the … Continue reading Physical Theatre: More Than Dancey Acting?

Review: Romeo and Juliet (Ballet Cymru), WMC

Reviewed by Vaiva Seskeviciute Ballet Cymru challenged itself by producing an adaptation of ShakespeareÔÇÖs most famous masterpiece, Romeo and Juliet, at Wales Millennium Centre this November. The Weston Studio was fully seated and excitement was felt in the air. Classical strings music opened the show as the characters were introduced. Even though Romeo and his relatives owned the stage for the first few minutes, throughout … Continue reading Review: Romeo and Juliet (Ballet Cymru), WMC

Review: 1984, Sherman Cymru

Reviewed by Amy Pay If you look up “scary theatre” on a search engine, youÔÇÖll see that The Woman In Black is widely held as the most frightening show.┬á HeadlongÔÇÖs adaptation of 1984, though, is by far one of the most disturbing pieces of theatre created during our lifetime The success of the play is largely down to OrwellÔÇÖs inventive dystopian novel on which it … Continue reading Review: 1984, Sherman Cymru

Review: National Dance Company Wales, WMC

Reviewed by Vaiva Seskeviciute To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the award winning National Dance Company Wales presented a dynamic programme created by Stephen Petronio, Angelin Preljocaj and Eleesha Drennan. Performed by a team of 12 international dancers, three exhilarating compositions – Virtual Descent, Noces and Water Stories – were brought to the stage in Wales Millennium Centre on the 5th of November. The first performance … Continue reading Review: National Dance Company Wales, WMC

Review: Boing!, Sherman Cymru

Reviewed by Amy Endacott Boing!, devised by companies Travelling Light and Champloo Dance, is a piece of theatre which invited you to relive the excitement and anxieties of one of the most treasured childhood memories: Christmas Eve. The forty-minute piece spanned the tense twelve hours before Christmas morning and showed us all the ways two brothers try to pass the time. Performed on a simple … Continue reading Review: Boing!, Sherman Cymru

Review: Chelsea Hotel, WMC

Reviewed by Matthew Lee Schneider ÔÇ£This hotel does not belong to America. ┬áThere are no vacuum cleaners, no rules and shame. ┬áThe high spot of the surrealÔǪÔÇØ┬á – Arthur Miller. ┬á A stubborn weed in the garden of the American dream, the Chelsea Hotel was, is, and forever more will be a raw and true counter-cultural heartbeat behind the romantic fa├ºade that is Manhattan. ┬áIn … Continue reading Review: Chelsea Hotel, WMC