Peter Viney's Blog

Fay Hield & The Hurricane Party

27/03/2013 by Peter Viney

Review of Fay Hield & The Hurricane Party at The Point Theatre, Eastleigh added. A superb concert, and the review has long rambling asides about my experience of English folk, and my sudden conversion to the current crop of young artists in the traditional English folk field.

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Bristol Old Vic / Handspring 2013

24/03/2013 by Peter Viney

Review added of the Bristol Old Vic / Handspring Puppet Theatre production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream See link. There are now several Dream reviews on this site. This is a fascinating and original concept that aroused ire in some reviewers. When it’s good it’s very very good. But it doesn’t all work.

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Abigail’s Party 2013

21/03/2013 by Peter Viney

Review of the 2013 touring production of the West End hit, Abigail’s Party, here. It’s very hard to revive this play without the shadow of the 1977 original dominating you. They steer a very careful course here: true to the spirit of the original, but sufficient replotting and rethinking too.

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Peter and Alice

16/03/2013 by Peter Viney

The second play in the Michael Grandage season has Judi Dench as Alice Liddell, inspiration for Alice in Wonderland, meeting Peter Davies, who gave his name to Peter Pan. They meet in the 1930s when he is in his 30s, and she in her 80s. And yes, it really happened. Peter & Alice is by the hugely successful screenwriter John Logan. We found the play “slow and static.”

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Macbeth – James McAvoy

16/03/2013 by Peter Viney

Review of James McAvoy in Macbeth … set in Scotland in a dystopian future … added. A stunning and very bloody production that will resonate for years.

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The Book of Mormon

03/03/2013 by Peter Viney

The Book of Mormon, London production reviewed.

It’s usually irrelevant to read about two plays which are only connected chronologically … seeing one on Friday, one on Saturday. But The Book of Mormon surpassed all expectations. Brilliant. It made up for the major disappointment of Playing Card: Spades the night before!

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Playing Cards 1: Spades

02/03/2013 by Peter Viney

The Emperor Has No Clothes. Review of Robert Lepage’s “Playing Cards 1: Spades” at The Roundhouse. Tedious and pretentious?

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Encounter: Saul Bellow

28/02/2013 by Peter Viney

Short piece added about a seminar with author Saul Bellow.

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The Lock In

24/02/2013 by Peter Viney

Ecstatic review of The Lock In. (Linked). The integration of folk music, hip hop, break dance, comedy theatre left me wondering which section to put it in. It’s dance theatre, so stage.