A Family Business

Often, theatre is a device for escaping our troubles, and I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, but for those of us that yearn for more nourishing fare, it's good to know something reliably substantial is still being served up on a China Plate.

Tom Allen

Tom Allen is the master of the pointed question, the cheeky put-down and the witty response

The Woman in Black

Such was the atmosphere generated, it was easy to imagine, out the corner of your eye, that you caught a glimpse of the eponymous Woman, such was the descriptive power of the text. Who would have thought that possible with only two actors on a bare stage?

John Otway and his Band

The appeal of John Otway remains largely inexplicable. He performs the same songs, interspersed with the same patter, and does so with a self-deprecating acknowledgement epitomised by one of the last songs of the night - I Don't Know What I'm Doing, but I Shouldn't Be Doing This. Yet there's something so unremittingly joyous in the chaos and cacophony of an Otway gig, that once you join the cult, it's nigh on impossible to let go. He may not be the Messiah, but he is a very silly boy.

Grayson Perry - A Show About You

Despite ambitions to be the enfant terrible of British art when he won the Turner Prize in 2003, Grayson Perry is officially a National Treasure. His recent reinvention as an investigative explorer of countercultures and communities, albeit in his civvies, offered a clue as what to expect from his live show. What I didn't expect was for him to break into full throated song.

Noises Off

First staged forty years ago, Michael Frayn's Noises Off continues to be performed all over the world, and continues to have audiences howling with laughter. With Norwich only its third outing, I got the sense the cast had not yet entirely settled into their roles, but for most part this was a thoroughly entertaining, and mercilessly funny, night at the theatre.

Quiz

Anyone under the age of thirty must find it bewildering that such a prosaic misdemeanour is even remembered, let along dramatized for the stage. And yet its grip obstinately refuses to let go. It’s a testament to the quality of Graham's writing that the show was not only entertaining, but gripping, with an ability to surprise in spite of its well-trodden path.

2:22 a Ghost Story at the Theatre Royal

I don't think I can recently recall seeing a play that so exactly matched my expectations, which was for a jolly night out watching hokey nonsense delivered with style and brio.

John Robins in Howl

The promise of a five-star hit at Edinburgh is no guarantee of a good night out - the unique bubble of the Fringe can distort and filter perception - but this was one of most extraordinary, and genuinely unique, stand up shows I can recall seeing.

Fraser Anderson - All We Are

Let's Rock Norwich 2023

The Let's Rock festival is unashamedly a retro festival - often a curate's egg of one hit wonders, war horses and hardy-perennials, but the roll call for Norwich was unusually eclectic. Whether that was by design, or just who they could get, is hard to say, but the inclusion of bands like The Farm and Happy Mondays suggest the festival is starting to take itself more seriously – becoming more about music and less about mullet wigs – which has to be a good thing.

John Osbourne

John Osbourne's uncanny ability to draw on universal truths by discussing the particular is the key to all his work, and has never been better than in this outing. What might seem like a wistful nostalgia for times past is underscored by a commentary on the changes that happen in all our lives, as the person we once were becomes as strange to us as the people we once knew

Paul Weller

Paul Weller has been praised, and rightly so, for continually reinventing himself as time and tide moves on. It would be downright silly to be singing about Eton Rifles or a Bomb in Wardour Street at his time of life........I can’t argue with any of that.

Julius Caesar

Plaudits are due to the RSC for performing and touring Julius Caesar, challenging in its structure and content, but while this was a bold attempt to enliven a problematic play, ultimately the embellishments employed buried the narrative under the weight of stage trickery.

Legends of Variety

It’s all too easy to sneer at old fashioned entertainment, and old- fashioned entertainers for that matter, but there seemed a lovely bond between everyone on stage. They are all such consummate pros I suppose that could be confected, but I don’t think so.

The Bohman Brothers and Richard Crow

The Bohman Brothers and Richard Crow used a table top of home-built instruments, tape cut-ups, spoken word, and all manner of ephemera to create a collage of sound. With these raw materials they produced an intriguing mash up of spoken word, found sound and general bonkersness.

Neil Brand Presents Laurel and Hardy NNF 2023

Its asking a lot to expect Laurel and Hardy to entertain a modern audience in quite the same way as they did a h

Simon Munnery

Munnery is a performer that divides people. You either haven't heard of him, or you consider him a legend. Not a legend in the sense of greatness, but a literal legend - a near mythical character that reinvented comedy. Sandwiched somewhere in between Ted Chippington and Andy Kaufman, he redefined what being a comedian could mean back in the day.

Alasdair Beckett-King: The Interdimensional ABK

The Zombies - Bruce Sudano

It's an astonishing sixty years since vocalist Colin Blunstone and keyboardist Rod Argent first set up shop, and on the evidence of their performance at Epic they are still fighting fit. Rod Argent's keyboard skills were as nimble as ever, while Blunstone's fine voice was impeccable all night. For men in their late seventies, the combination was little short of astonishing.

The Damned

Devoting a great chunk of your set, especially for a band that has such a powerful back catalogue, to so many songs off of the new album, as yet unreleased, might be thought brave to the point of foolhardiness, but hats off to them for having the confidence and commitment do to so.

His Lordship

His Lordship commanding the stage from the outset and didn't let go, barely stopping for breath in between songs. Their set was over and done with in less than an hour, but was packed so full that I don’t think anyone felt short changed. They may have felt like a lie down and a rest, perhaps, not short changed.

Derren Brown - Showman

Derren Brown, as he so often does, wrapped things up in a broader theme, this time daring to reveal more of himself that we're used to. His humanity has rarely been in doubt, but here we saw some of his fragility when faced with personal trauma, adding emotional heft to his accomplished stage craft

The Higsons – Run Me Down

Wish You Were Dead

Clive Mantle's villainous Curtis lit up the stage, injecting much needed energy into the night with a performance that was both menacing and funny. He got all the best lines too, as if Shaun McKenna had finally got his teeth into a character of substance.

Paul Foot - Malcolm Head

High Performance

A Christmas Carol @ Blackfriars Hall

This was nothing less than a magical, spell binding experience. The company not only offered up the thrill of being told a ghost story by Dickens, but also provided a genuinely entertaining experience for a contemporary audience.

Gong, Ozric Tentacles

The chance to hear the swirling, sonic extravagances of two of the finest practitioners of spaced out, trance infused rhythms on the same night felt almost greedy, like breaking into a second box of chocolates when the first had already given you a sugar rush.

The Book of Will

John Heminges and Henry Condell took it upon themselves to collect and thereby preserve Shakespeare’s work after his death. Lauren Gunderson’s fascinating play takes the bare bones of what we know about their endeavour and builds a compelling narrative, imagining how they might have gone about it, and why.

John Ottaway and Wild Will Barrett

In sharp contrast to Otway's puppy like enthusiasm, Wild Willy Barrett mordant disinterest in Otway's buffoonery fails to disguise an obvious mutual affection. No one would seriously argue that Otway has been gifted with the finest singing voice, but he is a proper songwriter when he wants to be.

The Mirror Crack'd

There was much to enjoy in Rachel Wagstaff’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic novel. Susie Blake was excellent as Miss Marple, the plot was pleasingly convoluted yet neatly resolved, and there were some genuine laughs along the way. What a shame it had to be viewed through the prism of Philip Frank's pedestrian direction.

Anoushka Shankar

This was one of only five outings for this world class collaboration, and I’m still scratching my head how we got on the short list. Whatever the reason, hats off to whoever at the Theatre Royal bagged with one.

Wishbone Ash - Hardwicke Circus

Andy Powell tipped us off from the outset that we were in for the long haul, and so it proved with a mammoth two hour set that included their seminal album Argus played in full. He must have had the mathematicians in the audience scratching their heads at the youthful vigour of a man already grown up when it was released fifty years ago.

Elf Lyons

A closely choreographed assault on the senses, as a combination of story-telling, mime and vegetable annihilation had her audience reeling with laughter and discomfort in equal measure - this ferociously talented performer confronted and questioned tired stereotypes and lazy preconceptions at every turn.

Public Service Broadcasting

I can’t say this was the best gig I’ve ever been too, but I can say I’m struggling to think of a better one. A perfect marriage of stagecraft and musicianship, it’s certainly the finest thing I’ve seen in Norwich for a very, very long time.

Midge Ure

Graham Norton

Los Bitchos - O

The Penguin Café

Woman in White

Let's Rock Ipswich

Midge Ure

We Are Scientists - Coach Party

Neither current nor heritage, We Are Scientists remain part of a noughties phenomenon of acts that burned bright with their debut album but never quite matched it, producing literate songs heavily disguised with pop camouflage, just in case anyone noticed how clever they were.

Latitude 2022

Latitude is set in a beautiful park tastefully enhanced with all manner of frills (and purple sheep). There is music, and lots of it, with main stages of mainstream acts complemented by the quirky and intriguing if you dig deep enough, while the manageable layout tempts you to poke about more than your aching feet appreciate. In short, despite the sometimes suffocating branding and sponsorship liveries, it’s a nice place to be.

Mark Thomas – Black and White

Gesualdo: Cruel Ecstasy – performed by the Exaudi Vocal Ensemble

The Exaudi Vocal Ensemble took to an otherwise bare stage to perform a selection of Carlo Gesualdo Madrigals that were dripping with melancholy and emotion. Using only the considerable power of their voices, this unamplified concert was the music the acoustics of St Andrews Hall were built for.

Grand Day Out at NNF READ ON

Last Saturday, it felt like the gauntlet had been thrown down, as a string of shows offered up a truly varied festival experience for those with a strong constitution and keen knowledge of the city’s layout. It just went to show that a festival that has sometimes felt constricted by practical and financial considerations, can, on the day, deliver.

Daniel Pioro and Erland Coope

Slowly, very slowly, the sense of something musical emerged, as if the performers were teasingly grappling for out of reach harmony. Only then did Cooper join the party, with delicate, gossamer light touches on the piano. Subsequently, he would play music of sublime beauty, as Daniel Pioro prowled around the performance area, accompanying and complementing faultlessly.

Barry Humphries: The Man Behind the Mask

Les Patterson was an ungracious slob, and while Edna softened in her dotage, it’s worth remembering how she longed to turn Norm’s life support off. Both revealed a cruel streak that ran through Humphries work, perhaps born of the days when he was the bully, not the bullied

Nina Conti - The Dating Show

"There is no one to match her, both with regard to her technical ability and her brilliant improvisational skills. Ironically, she is such a good ventriloquist it's all too easy to forget that everything funny happening on stage is coming out of her head and her tight lipped mouth."

Kenneth Williams: Cult Figure

I think Elmer would argue that the evening was presented as Williams would have constructed it, and as such was guarded where the man himself would have been guarded.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

This was a great show, well written, well acting, and one which explored challenging themes. How to top that? The answer was in a tiny epilogue, which those hasty to catch the last bus home might have easily missed. To say more would be spoil a lovely surprise, but I will say it left a big, fat silly smile on my face.

The Nightingales - Rats on Rafts- Ted Chippington

What I got was a seamless set list of quite brilliant, and quite brilliantly performed, tunes.

Magic Goes Wrong

An Interview with Linus

Gong

Basil Brush - Unleashed

Animal Farm

Triffids

For the most part, this was an imaginative, energising and wonderfully original approach to a literary classic.

Frankenstein

The use of puppetry to represent Victor’s creation was an absolute masterstroke, and on many different levels.

Echo and the Bunnymen

Cluedo

The Book of Mormon

Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Tornado and Snowflake: Stewart Lee

The Neutrinos

Lubomyr Melnyk

My Car Plays Tapes - John Osborne

Handel’s Messiah performed by Glyndebourne

Hayseed Dixie

Heaven 17 - Pete Wylie

Dal:um

Focus

Jonathan Pie: Fake News (Corona Remix)

Wild Paths - All over Norwich

Norwich seemed to shift on its axis just a little for the weekend, offering up one giant playground that not only changed the city but celebrated it. Meticulously curated, Wild Paths presented an astonishing (both in number and quality) array of acts

Sam Lee

Roger Taylor

The Dresser

Six – the Musical - at the Theatre Royal

One Man, Two Guvnors

Mark Steel

Police Cops - Badass

Pavel Kolesnikov at the John Innes Centre

Russell Kane

Paul Lewis at the John Innes Centre

Steven Isserlis and Sam Hayward at the John Innes Centre

Norwich Chamber Music – an interview with Chairman Peter Lawson

NNF 2021 - Tony Cragg at Houghton Hall, PrimeYarc at Yarmouth and Mona Arshi at Cley

NNF 2021 - Manchester Collective and Mahan Esfahani

Sarathy Korwar + Future Cargo

NNF 2021 Abel Selaocoe + Nabihah Iqbal - The Halls

NNF 2021 - The People’s Cabaret

Luke Wright - Stand Up Poetry While Sitting Down at Home

The Unthanks - Diversions Vol. 5

A collection of songs recorded during the Unthanks tour last year, when they returned to their roots, singing unaccompanied and in harmony. More a miscellany of tunes than a curated collection, this is nonetheless what traditional folk music is all about - reflecting on hard times with both stoicism and good humour. It's a timely reminder of happier times, when folk congregated in big rooms and listened to other people singing.

Blithe Spirit

The Red Shoes

Geoff Norcott

John Shuttleworth’s Back

Drink Rum with Expats

Dial M for Murder

Adrien Munden – The Truth is Weaponised

Dripping with melancholy, this is an astonishingly assured and mature work. In an age when we select rather than browse and skim rather than immerse, it’s such a pleasure to fall across an album of such substance.

Graham Fellows discusses his new show, John Shuttleworth’s Back

"Sometimes I have to check myself and think whether John would really say something. I worry that John might be a Daily Mail reader who supports Brexit – I don’t think he is, but sometimes it’s tricky to come down one side or the other..."

Boris + Arabrot

The music itself was full of stark, thunderous menace, counterpointed with moments of surprising delicacy. On occasion I was gobsmacked by the band’s symphonic ambitions; at other times I felt I was listening to little more than a cacophonous row.

Uriah Heep + Diamond Head

The evening inevitably finished on a rousing encore of Easy Livin’ (proving not that every song had to be tricky to be good) and the band grinning from ear to ear as they played. It only served to consolidate the abiding impression throughout, of the strong bond between the men on stage, delighted that they still got to do this for a living.

Comet Is Coming + Leaftcutter John

A Taste of Honey

It also says much for this production that a cocktail of an unmarried teenage pregnancy, gay friendships, mixed race relationships, alcoholism and unremitting poverty, could be presented with such defiant stoicism and good humour.

Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons - King Creature

..it was with some trepidation that I went along to see him play with his Bastard Sons, and I desperately wanted to like what I found.  What a pleasure it is, therefore, to report what a great band they are....

Trying it On

Why did so many of the Sgt Pepper generation turn their backs on revolution?

The Membranes + Other Half + Skint and Demoralised

The band was uniformly excellent....

Pizza Shop Heroes @ Stage 2 NTR

Pizza Shop Heroes is a significant and worthwhile attempt to explore the harsh realities of seeking asylum in the UK. It is episodic and uneven, but has a huge heart.

Hawklords

The gentlemen of Hawklords have long since been able to stand on their own feet, a comfortable distance from their Hawkwind association as they prolifically pump out freshly minted material that continues to impress

Acid mothers Temple - Our Quiet Friends

Acid Mother Temple are a quite extraordinary genre-defying ensemble of talented Japanese musicians that from the outset delivered  a wall of thunderous sound that was energising, uplifting and just a bit bonkers

Kevin Kendall's Deep Skies Experience

Visit most of the various musical venues in Norwich, and I’ll warrant you will do so with a preconception of the kind of act you’re going to see. The exception is surely Epic Studios, frequently playing host to the eccentric and undefinable that doesn’t easily fit in anywhere else

My Kind of Michael

an evening of knockabout fun with a charming host that was warm and inclusive, but how frustrating that, with a just a little more work and attention to detail, we could have had so much more.

The Mousetrap

Armstrong’s ensemble cast looked to be having enormous fun chattering their way through acres of exposition in clipped, received pronunciation, delivering their lines with exactly the right degree of knowing humour, without ever quite lapsing into parody

Al Murray - Pub Landlord

Al Murray - Pub Landlord

Educating Rita - Review

The Rutles

… the evening was always going to end too soon

10 Soldiers

This production left me wondering at my appraisal of the earlier work.

Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque

Colin Currie Quartet (NNF)

The end came too soon, in an evening that had flown by

Bells and Spells (NNF)

Bells and Spells is an episodic, hallucinogenic journey through increasingly loopy vignettes drawn from Chaplin’s weird and wonderful imagination.

Tenebrae (NNF 19)

Stunning soloists, extraordinary harmonies, and flawless execution were evident throughout a performance

Wild Longings

Jess Gillam

What proved consistent throughout the evening was Gillam’s infectious enthusiasm and commitment to her instrument and the eclectic pieces she had chosen to play, something that shone through her brief chats with the audience

The Showhawk Duo

Andrew Maxwell. Showtime

The Slow Readers Club

The Slow Readers Club may have cornered the Indie electro doom pop market, such as it is, but they’ve been clearly influenced by some of the finest acts of the last century, mixing up a cocktail of sounds in a way that is both discriminating and imaginative.

Swan Lake

It proved to be as stunning and breath taking as ever, confounding the prejudices of anyone (not least me) who thinks ballet simply isn’t for them.

Rough Crossing

Stoppard’s text constantly reminds us that this is a play about a play, poking fun at theatrical convention, making a virtue of its shortcomings, and openly taking the mickey out of anyone investing too much energy into proselytising art

Hayseed Dixie

A stunning set of imaginative rearrangements, which combined with a healthy sprinkling of their own composition, stretched for over two hours.

The House on Cold Hill

...from the outset, a jolly thrill ride that takes full advantage of the possibilities of live theatre, presenting a classic haunted house story with a combination of impressive stage trickery and winning performances

Caroline's Kitchen

The chemistry between Elizabeth Boag’s convincingly drunk Sally and Alan Gillett’s character lifted the production just when it needed it

10cc

I know reviews are not supposed to be lists, but when the first five songs are Wall Street Shuffle, Art for Art’s Sake, Life is a Minestrone, Good Morning Judge and The Dean I, it warrants a special mention

The Life I Lead – Miles Jupp

Miles Jupp’s achievement, in bringing to life an actor known for only a handful of roles, and doing so in a way that was utterly engrossing and a complete delight, was surely all the more remarkable given the relative obscurity of his subject

Lost Voice Guy

His opening salvo is a warning that if I don’t laugh at the disabled guy I will go to hell

Gyða Valtysdóttir - Epicycle

What is so inspiring about Valtýsdottir is her ability to take other peoples music as merely the starting point for what she creates

Focus

The Neutrinos

Graham Fellows

Andrew O'Neill's Black Magick Fun Hour

From The Jam + Nine Below Zero

Hawklords

Camille O'Sullivan

Dr. Feelgood + British Blues Foundation

Rich Hall

Macbeth

Editors + Talos

Still Alice

Mark Watson: The Infinite Show

Gig In The Park, Diss

Love From A Stranger

WoW Music Festival 2018

Rival Consoles

Kathryn Tickell and The Darkening

The Sixteen: An Immortal Legacy

David McAlmont presents 'Billie Holiday At Carnegie Hall'

The Nature Of Forgetting

The Wilko Johnson Band

Editors - Violence

Mark Thomas: Showtime From The Frontline

Boris and Sergey's Vaudevillian Adventure

John Otway

Thomas Truax - All That Heaven Allows

BBC Radio Three: Exposure

Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy

Goodbye Christopher Robin