Dance club music filled the ears whilst the eyes were met with a variety of bar chairs littered across an urban nightclub inspired set. Call girls approached from every angle asking whether the audience might ‘want a dance?’ This was a performance that got straight to the point. The action started and ended with Hippolytus; son of King Theseus. The character is instantly exposed to the audience by allowing us to view him at his home, surrounded by litter, fast food and contraception. He is, however, kept something of a mystery at first by strong backlighting; only allowing the audience a silhouette of his face. As the play develops, the character gets ever more interesting and complex. The audience is also pulled into his obscure philosophies until his final demise. Hippolytus was exquisitely portrayed by Luke Shepherd. From beginning to end his performance was a delight to watch. The character had real depth, which was fully sustained throughout. A quite simply inspired portrayal and reflection of the character. Lauren Carse, as Phaedra, also gave a staggeringly passionate performance that flowed effortlessly from emotion to emotion. The heated scenes with Hippolytus and Strophie, played by Ellie Scott, were of particular...

This brand, spanking-new score is fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe and it has hit Birmingham with a bang. Fresher The Musical is, unsurprisingly, the tale of five freshers who have just moved into their new flat at university. Whether you’re a first, second or third year there is no doubt that you have experienced those hilarious, awkward and embarrassing moments that only occur in that fateful freshers’ week. This show captures the essence of the once in a lifetime situation where you are thrown in a flat with people you’ve never met before, in a city you’ve probably never been to before and doing a course you almost certainly know nothing about. This cast of five totally nailed the challenging songs and comic, if slightly predictable, characters. Some of the songs in Fresher The Musical are technically far harder than many of the songs currently on the West End. For example, Jazz Coll who played the role of Ally managed to almost perfectly hit notes that are only really audible to dogs. Similarly, an exceedingly strong set of vocals came from Joe Hinds; his character, Tuc, encapsulates the archetypal lad who is secretly a bit of a softy. This...

Edinburgh Evening News http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/edinburgh-reviews/Review-The-Investigation-Zoo-Southside.6825025.jp The Investigation dramatises the 1960s Frankfurt war trials of those responsible for the day-to-day running of Auschwitz, the Polish concentration camp, during the Second World War. Peter Weiss' script pieces together the testimonials of those that gave evidence, interspersing their stories with ever more incredulous questioning from the judges. This is a difficult play. The subject matter is weighty and the script produces one revelation of man's inhumanity after another in horrifying succession. The young cast make an impressive attempt at conveying the full horror of life in the concentration camp. With delicate use of music, dance and physical theatre, they present a thoughtfully choreographed interpretation of the script that helps to dramatise some of the horror of the retold stories when the words fail to do them justice. Minimal set, great costumes and imaginative use of props enhance the atmosphere of foreboding. This is an ambitious play for a student company and they tackle it with sensitivity and tact. The audience is left with the lines echoing in their heads. EdinburghGuide.com http://www.edinburghguide.com/festival/2011/edinburghfringe/theinvestigationreview-8865 **** The Investigation’s writer Peter Weiss, was born in Germany in 1916. In 1934 he and his family were forced to flee...

Bloody Chamber Reviews Threeweeks **** Angela Carter’s dark and quirky take on the ancient tale of Bluebeard, the notorious sadist and torturer of French folklore, is brought to the stage by a young and smooth cast. Believably transforming the stage to a windswept, isolated castle on the cliffs above the sea, and from there to a bloody chamber of horrors, the actors move gracefully and softly into a web of fear and anxiety until they are cornered and expecting… not the obvious! Bluebeard’s charming, silky voice lures his young wife, as innocent as Eve, into tasting the forbidden apple. She uses the key to the room she is not allowed in, and ultimately has to face death. Never write off the mother and a blind piano player! TV Bomb *** One of several Angela Carter adaptations on the Fringe this year, The Bloody Chamber explores themes common to the feminist author’s work. In this highly charged production, we join the young bride on the eve of her wedding to a rich and powerful man, and watch as she gradually discovers the price she has unwittingly paid for her imagined security. The power struggle between herself and her mysterious husband...

The Company of Wolves Reviews Threeweeks **** “Don’t stray from the path”, Rosaleen’s grandmother warns her throughout this adaptation of Angela Carter’s adult version of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and this performance benefits by straying away from the beaten track and offering an innovative retelling. The audience are invited to sit upon picnic blankets as the action unfolds around them, and such an arrangement – when combined with soft acoustic interludes – gives such a sense of whimsy that the shocking and adult content benefits hugely from the juxtaposition, in a way that reflects Carter’s text. The energy of the cast really lifts this performance, whilst the use of body language is particularly impressive moving from childlike to eerie, foreboding to violent in a heartbeat. TV Bomb *** Angela Carter’s take on the classic Red Riding Hood story is a deeply eroticised one, full of suppressed appetites and an undercurrent of sexual menace. As our young heroine comes of age, her grandmother tries to warn her of the many threats she will soon face. Granny’s stories, like this adaptation, step up and down like a ladder through multiple layers of metaphor. Carter’s version of the myth is a meditation...