Reviews

In the Baroque era copyright was unheard of, and it was common for composers to recycle arias from one opera to another, or borrow one from another composer if they ran out of time. So it was Victorian Opera and Musica Viva came together to create a new Baroque opera, based on an epic poem of the time, and using music borrowed from the same period.

The three male roles were taken by a soprano, mezzo and bass-baritone, with the soprano also becoming the Guardian of the Moon, a female character similar to the Queen of the Night.

StageArt keep raising the bar for Independent Musical theatre: so much so that one wonders, when one looks at how far they have come, just how far they can go. It’s certainly an interesting journey, as are their choices in musicals we haven’t seen before in professional productions.

The beauty of Saturday Night Fever is its demographic appeal. The Bee Gees have written so many songs that are now pop standards and it’s unlikely that anyone in the audience hasn’t been touched by these iconic melodies at some time in their lives.

A showcase of music, circus antics and eccentric characters make this an event not to be missed. Performed in a large tent within the Royal Croquet Club, enormous video screens either side of the performing space means there is not a bad seat in the house.

Stoppard’s Arcadia was inspired by the book, Chaos: Making a New Science by James Gleick. Such a title should be enough of an alert to the intricate nature of this piece; enough perhaps to deter first-timers to Stoppard; but somehow STC have managed to present the text tangibly without detracting from its intelligence. Of course if you’re worried, it doesn’t hurt to pick up a copy of the play and become acquainted with the cerebral subject matter before walking in.