REVIEW: A Monster Calls, Old Vic Theatre ✭✭✭✭
Sophie Adnitt reviews Sally Cookson’s production of A Monster Calls which is now playingt at the Old Vic.
Sophie Adnitt reviews Sally Cookson’s production of A Monster Calls which is now playingt at the Old Vic.
A wonderful cast of 13 actor-musicians transports us into their marvellously pleasant interpretation of the movie.
Considered a masterpiece of modern cinema, Fellini’s Oscar-winning film, La Strada (The Road), will be brought to the stage in a brand new production with music by Benji Bower, directed by Olivier award-nominee Sally Cookson. La Strada receives its world premiere at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, as the start of a 16 week UK Tour prior to opening in London at The Other Palace, where it will run until 8 July 2017. Tour dates and ticket links can be seen below. A soul-searching story filled with beauty, sadness, humour and acute observation, La Strada tells the tragic and tender tale of wide-eyed Gelsomina who is sold by her impoverished mother to the brutish strongman Zampano, a travelling sideshow performer. Their journey through the Italian countryside leads them to a ragtag touring circus where they meet Il Matto the free-spirited tightrope walker, who tries to rekindle Gelsomina’s broken spirit. Featuring live … Read more
This is a fully compelling night at the theatre. You do not feel the time dragging and can only be impressed at the way the cast finds new meanings in material that we all think we know backwards. This is a true ensemble production with scope for individuals to shine and the whole to resonate with something greater than their individual contributions too. It impressed hugely, made me laugh often, but in the second half rarely touched me as it should.
Hetty Feather is a triumph – although it’s ostensibly for children, it’s a touching and absorbing tale for all ages. It combines multiple artistic elements to fantastic effect and manages to be funny, uplifting and sad, sometimes all in the same scene.