Reviews

If laughter is the best medicine, then the cast of Christ Almighty - A Comedy of Biblical Proportions measure it out plentifully in this funny irreverent musical satire. Reprising his 2023 performance, Giuseppe Rotondella as a “millennial Jesus” leads a group of “pseudo-revolutionary students and a sex worker” through Jerusalem in an irreligious romp of both biblical proportions and distortions!

When Garrick announced that they were doing Sweeney Todd, there were more than a few raised eyebrows - questioning how to fit such a large show onto the handkerchief sized Garrick stage. Using minimal settings and foregoing a live band, for a quality backing track, Garrick have used a cast of 22 to stage this Victorian stye show.

It’s more than 85 years since The Wizard of Oz burst onto our cinema screens and into our psyche. It is truly iconic and now a staple part of Community Theatre repertoire.

Sometimes the problem with an icon is that everyone expects to see a reproduction of the film, not possible on stage with any kind of budget. Fortunately, BLOC knows the show well, brings out a new production roughly every ten years, and chooses directors and casts with enough imagination to keep the show fresh whilst still paying homage to the original.

Promotional image above by Naz Mulla: Julia Johnson as Hazel, Amanda McErlean as Rose, and Terry Hansen as Rob.

In an intimate seaside cottage soaked in beige and tension, The Children begins with a striking image: a well-groomed businesswoman in a muted green and orange suit, standing awkwardly in a kitchen with a bleeding nose. Something feels off.