Today is World Theatre Day, so I thought I would share my picks from the new Norwich Theatre Royal brochure. I am going straight in with what I think is the dark horse of the programming.
Cirkopolis
Saturday 13th - Sunday 14th October 2018
This is a company in the same ilk as Cirque Du Soleil, therefore I thought it was not going to be my cup of tea. I seriously advise you watch the trailer for this production, any preconceptions you have about Circus, this will change your ideas.
Macbeth
Tuesday 30th October - Saturday 3rd November 2018
Despite the not so rave reviews from the current production at the National Theatre, this I think is definitely one to watch this year. Macbeth was the first Shakespeare I studied way back in year 7 and I'm excited to see it live on stage.
Matilda the Musical
Tuesday 16th July - Saturday 17th August 2019
As soon as I heard this was coming to Norwich Theatre Royal I was so excited, as I have been meaning to see Matilda in the west end for years, but haven't achieved that quite yet. This has so many good songs in such as 'When I Grow Up' and 'Naughty'. There were queues out of the door when it went on sale, Norwich is going to go mad for this.
SIX the musical
(Norwich Playhouse)
Wednesday 11th July - Sunday 15th July 2018
This is a new musical being produced in association with Norwich Theatre Royal and Norwich Playhouse, putting the Six wives of Henry VIII in the spotlight. With a similar vibe to Hamilton being a pop musical with serious girl boss feels.
Quite frankly if you haven't heard about Queer Eye, has your internet been disabled for the last week or so? The makeover show we have been waiting for is here, it's not superficial and its building bridges. The Fab Five (Bobby, Karamo, Antoni, Tan and Jonathan) are challenging the perception of gay people in the deep south of the USA, men on the show admitting they simply had not mixed with LGBT people in their lives. Whilst this is in essence a makeover show it is so much more, and I challenge you not to cry during an episode.
Ladybird
Relatable AF. Is my short review of Lady Bird.
The narrative here isn’t the important part of the film, we follow Lady Bird in her last year of high school. It’s an exploration of that relationship between teenage daughter and Mum. I don’t feel like the trailer, really tells you what the film is going to be about, and the film surprised me so much.
I, Tonya
Margot Robbie, I did not realise quite how great an actress you are, entirely transformed within this film.
I, Tonya follows the life and career of Tonya Harding US Olympic Ice Skater up until the 1994 including the infamous attack on Nancy Harrigan. I knew I had to see this film as soon as I saw the first trailer and was instantly curious about Tonya Harding, a little bit of modern history I was entirely unaware of.
Truth was the theme of this film, there were key scenes played with the different versions of events given by the people in Tonya's life. I feel as an audience that it left me feeling a bit agitated at times not being an easy watch, replicating how the characters were feeling on screen.
Since watching the film I have been watching the original footage of the skating and some interviews doing some of my own research.
Call Me By Your Name
A film I was sure I'd be waiting for the DVD release to watch. My friend Grace has been singing it's praises for a number of months, and I was gutted to have missed it in cinemas.
Call Me By Your Name is such a gorgeously shot film telling the story of Elio spending the summer of 1983 in his parent's summer residence in Italy. When Oliver working with Elio's father as an intern meet and after a slow start a summer romance ensues.
A stunning coming of age story, and there are many positives for LGBT people. Firstly neither Elio or Oliver die, or has a terminal illness. Secondly the scene between Elio and his father, whilst Elio is suffering with heartbreak, is every kid's ideal coming out conversation with a parent.
