Author: Alex Da Silva
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RESTAURANT REVIEW | Beefeater Bar+ Block Birmingham
A sincere, surprising, and delicious treat was had at the Beefeater Bar + Block, rivalling every other I have ever been to. There was an immediate warm welcome from a staff member who said that someone would be with us right away, and right away he was.
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THEATRE REVIEW | THE 39 STEPS
★★★★★ The 39 Steps | This production was masterful in every aspect of theatre-craft. It encompassed staging that was bursting with creativity in every nook and cranny. Designed by Peter McKintosh, the set came alive through different entrances and exits which were revealed as actors turned them around, flipped them upside down, and they were even mounted in all sorts of angles.
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THEATRE REVIEW | FLYING SOLO
★★★ Flying Solo |Running a marathon was the hot topic of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre last Friday night, in the form of Flying Solo. A one-woman show which was performed and written by Manjeet Mann tells the story of Amber who is preparing for the London Marathon.
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THEATRE REVIEW| Single Spies
★★★★★ Single Spies | Divided in to two separate plays –‘An Englishman Abroad’ and ‘A Question of Attribution’, ‘Single Spies’ conveys an era in which spying and mistrust was a fashion statement.
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THEATRE REVIEW: Of Mice and Men
In 1929, the Great Depression took place when New York witnessed its Wall Street Crash, leaving 15 million Americans unemployed. ★★★★
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THEATRE REVIEW | The Solid Life of Sugar Water
This is a story that describes events between a couple who go through hell and back again while having disabilities.
★★★
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THEATRE REVIEW | Macbeth, Birmingham Rep
When a story is often told, there is a risk of it getting old, however, with Carrie Cracknell and Lucy Guerin’s Macbeth told the same story but through a completely new lens. It was Stargate meets Resident Evil bent of Macbeth. It had moving chambers and symbols that lit up, just like in the pyramids of the former film, and it had the underground facility feel of Resident Evil, with dim lights, almost appearing like they were trapped in the sewers. ★★★★
Having watched Macbeth the film starring Michael Fassbender, expectations were always going to be high. With this production, you just didn’t know what you were going to get, which made it so much more exciting, and John Heffernan’s Macbeth was his own, and it was genius.
The marvel that was the set made the show start before the actors had even walked on, as the tunnel type design, by Lizzie Clachan, let your mind loose imagining what would be happening first. The set is worthy of stealing all awards for a production’s visual masterpiece.
When the show did start, and through to the end there were no disappointments with the visual of this Macbeth, as every scene was coloured differently with physicality that was otherworldly. Particularly the witches of Macbeth, played by Ana Beatriz Meireles, Jessie Oshodi and Clemmie Sveaas, who stunned the senses with their movement, voice and visual shapes they created as an instrument of telling the story. I was glad to see them throughout the performance.
John Heffernan owned the show with his careful, precise, yet troubled portrayal of Macbeth, where the transitions of the character were strategic and well thought out. There were no exaggerations or contrivance, and there were plenty of shades of Macbeth oozing out of Heffernan, and I particularly loved the end where his last soliloquy was quiet and understated, giving it more a solid effect, as it drew people in to listen.
Unfortunately, Anna Maxwell Martin’s Lady Macbeth was not on the same level. The way she spoke was too quick, making it hard to understand what she was saying, and also overly predictable with presenting herself as mad throughout, not showing much depth to the character. The mad scene became expected and obvious.
Overall, a stunning visual and an outstanding version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth that needs to be seen all over the country and beyond.
Macbeth plays at The Birmingham Rep until 30th January, 0121 236 4455
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THEATRE REVIEW: The Snowman, The Birmingham Rep
The Snowman is a children’s picture book created by Raymond Briggs and was first published in 1978. The Snowman was televised as a 26-minute animated adaptation on the 26th of December 1982, Channel 4, and it conquered many people’s hearts thereon. It is also a production that has graced The Birmingham Repertory Theatre since 1993. ★★★ (more…)
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Restaurant Review: Slug and Lettuce @ Brindley Place, Birmingham
Slug and Lettuce is a cocktail bar that serves food, and it is a place where I have always had a good time, having booked it for my birthday a couple of years ago. Last night was the first time I had ever eaten there, and it was my guest’s first time there too. (more…)