Review By Hazel Thayre   Oscar nominated Stephen Daldry’s dynamic take on An Inspector Calls surpassed all of my expectations. Sitting in Cardiff’s New Theatre, my mind casted me unwillingly back to my high school days. I saw my 15 year old self gnawing frantically at my biro, desperately trying to unpick J. B. Priestley’s play in preparation for my GCSE English exam. As the theatre’s lights dwindled and a cloud of darkness enclosed the all-suspecting audience, the unpleasant memory…

  When I was young, I was a huge Agatha Christie fan and had read virtually all of her books.  I would imagine that ‘A Murder Is Announced’ was one of them, but fortunately, after all this time, I had completely forgotten the plot and ending!  Without giving any spoilers, Agatha Christie provides her usual twist at the end that you would not have seen coming.  I certainly didn’t guess ‘whodunnit’! This production of ‘A Murder is Announced ‘ is…

Laughter roared through New Theatre as ‘The Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ tour presented it’s opening night.  Fun antics and flicking lights kept the audience thoroughly pleased and in fits of hysterics from beginning to end. The play delivers exactly what the title suggests, it’s a show of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan where nothing goes to plan, full of collapsing stage sets, smoke, explosive electrics, and glitter all based on a set with is a revolving circle of three sets the…

Comedian and TV Star Jason Manford comes to New Theatre, Cardiff from 14 October 2019 to 19 October 2019 starring in a brand-new UK Tour of the Tony Award winning musical CURTAINS. We caught up with Jason to chat about the show, and how he finds life in musical theatre compared to his roots in stand-up comedy.   Firstly, can you tell us a little about “Curtains”? The show was a huge success on Broadway so it’s really exciting to…

  Bill Kenwright brings another sensational show to the New Theatre: as the brilliant Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers lands with a bang, well a few loud bangs in fact. Gun blast that make you jump back in your seat, melodic voices that gain strength and emotion when they combine to form harmonies that could rival any power ballad. Yes, these combined with brilliant characterization and acting form the key elements that make the show a pure delight to watch. As…

    English Youth Ballet opened Swan Lake at New Theatre, Cardiff with a stunning performance directed by Janet Lewis MBE. Everything about the show was impressive which was reflected by the vast and delighted crowd present at the show on it’s opening night. This production of Swan Lake is set in Russia at the time when the Marinsky Ballet was popular with the Tsar, Swan Lakes sees Baron Von Rothbart played brilliantly by Steven Wheeler plot to secure Royal…

A MAGICAL NEW PRODUCTION FEATURING BALLET STARS OF THE FUTURE (3 PERFORMANCES ONLY) English Youth Ballet premiers a new production of Swan Lake at the New Theatre. It promises to be a traditional production but with particular emphasis on the rivalry between the seductive evil Black Swan Odile and the beautiful but vulnerable White Swan Odette, as they compete for the affections of the Prince. Set in Russia in at the time when the Marinsky Ballet was popular with the…

Coming to Wales for the first time Jane Austen’s Persuasion adapted by Barbara Landis and presented by Chamber Opera Tours, treated Cardiff to an excellent performance of the classic novel. The musical theme for this adaptation of Persuasion is Arcangelo Corelli’s La Folia, so it was no surprise that the music was beautifully executed by both the orchestra in the pit, and vocal performances of the cast. The set was simplistic but extremely effective in enhancing the experience of taking…

A Review by Melissa Compton. The latest production to grace the stage at New Theatre Cardiff is The Lady Vanishes, the adaptation of the classic Sir Alfred Hitchcock 1938 film of the same name takes us on a journey with Iris played brilliantly by Lorna Fitzgerald who is travelling home to England from German occupied Austria, when she encounters Miss Froy played by Juliet Mills who helps her after she is knocked on head on the station platform. Miss Froy…

A new adaptation of the much-loved film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave, ranked one of the Best British Films ever. Socialite Iris is travelling home to England on the train when an accident introduces her to the mild-mannered Miss Froy.  After her travelling companion suddenly disappears, Iris is perplexed to find that all the other passengers deny ever having seen her. With the help of urbane musician Max she turns detective and together they…