Category ★★★½☆

REVIEW: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra: Sheku Kanneh-Mason performs Weinberg

Reading Time: 2 minutesThe concert at Liverpool’s Philharmonic opens with a rendition of Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade, a lively and almost playful piece of around ten minutes, which is performed with vivacious enthusiasm by the orchestra. This gives way to the eponymous piece of the night’s event: Mieczysław Weinberg’s Cello Concerto in C minor op.43, in which visiting musician Sheku Kanneh-Mason takes centre stage as lead cello. As both the orchestra and Kanneh-Mason launch into the strident introductory motif that will become the piece’s throughline, the first and most obvious issue with this performance becomes apparent. 

REVIEW: Long Day’s Journey into Night

LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT by O’Neill’s, , Writer - Eugene O’Neill’s, Director - Jeremy Herrin, By: Eugene O'Neill
Director: Jeremy Herrin
Cast list: Brian Cox (as James Tyrone), Patricia Clarkson (as Mary Tyrone), Laurie Kynaston (as Edmund), Daryl McCormack (as James Jr), Louisa Harland (as Cathleen)
Design: Lizzie Clachan
Costumes: Lizzie Clachan
Lighting: Jack Knowles
Sound: Tom Gibbons
Other info: Movement direction by Polly Bennett, Wyndham's Theatre 2024, Credit: Johan Persson/

Reading Time: 3 minutesO'Neill's semi-autobiographical masterpiece is often seen not only a reflection of his own family, but a profound anatomy of human psyche, which was especially popular in the United States in the 20th century - when Sigmund Freud was as big both in literature and in modern clinic.

REVIEW: The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner

Reading Time: 3 minutesThe Collective Ma’louba’s latest production, “The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner,” invites audiences on a captivating journey through the tangled webs of history, memory, and human experience. The collective always performs in Arabic, with English subtitles projected onto a screen. It was easier than I expected to watch the actors whilst following the subtitles - but I would suggest coming in early and getting a seat as close to the front as you can if you are not an Arabic speaker. 

REVIEW: Maybe Dick

Reading Time: 2 minutesWhile not nailing every step of the way,  John Hewer definitely gives it a hell of a try in this comedic reiteration called “Maybe Dick”, performed at the White Bear Pub Theatre. The writer and star of the show takes us on a one-man voyage to do his version of Moby Dick, originally conceived by author Herman Melville, where multiple puns, mannerisms and body movements consume the evening.

REVIEW: Hide and Seek

Photo by Mariano Gobbi

Reading Time: 2 minutesGio is hiding out in a cave deep in the forest of an Italian village. He ran away, leaving behind a mass of confused chaos. Gio was bullied, treated terribly by his blatantly homophobic high school classmates. Feeling alone in the world, he decides to leave it behind and start a new life in the cave, shrouded by darkness. He’d been there for eight days when Mirko stumbles upon him. Mirko is both scared and intrigued, surprised that he has accidentally discovered the missing boy from his high school. The two strike up an unlikely companionship, Gio becoming more and more reliant on Mirko’s visits, both for practical reasons, such as increasing his supply of food, but more importantly, for company. As the weeks go by, the two grow close, sharing sheltered moments in the isolation of the cave. In the outside world, the frenzied search for Gio rages on; news campaigns galore implore the public to help find the missing boy, search parties scour the village and its surrounds, TikTok booms with Gio and Mirko’s peers obsessing over Gio’s mysterious disappearance. Gio feigns annoyance at the attention, but the moment it starts to wane, he and Mirko cook up another means to keep the crowds searching. Their small world within the cave appears to suck the two of them in further and further as they grow closer, sharing intimate secrets, growing dearer than either of them seemingly expected to.