> THE THRILL OF LOVE

 Apollo Theatre, IoW
22 February 2020

The team at the Apollo present a hauntingly beautiful dramatisation of the true story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain.

The Thrill of Love, by award winning playwright Amanda Whittington, sheds new light on the life of Ruth Ellis, who was hanged for shooting her lover in 1955. Using the language of film noir and the distinctive voice of Billie Holiday, Whittington creates a haunting and beautiful piece of theatre which, despite the inevitable outcome, maintains dramatic tension to the last.

Holly Squires was wonderful as Ruth Ellis

A divorcee with a young child to care for, Ruth Ellis works in the kind of nightclubs where there’s more than just a drink on offer. The girls work hard, play hard and dream of a movie-star lifestyle. Then she meets the wealthy, womanising David, a racing driver with whom she becomes obsessed.  Fame comes – but not in the way she imagines. Why does their relationship end in murder? Why does she plead not guilty, but offer no defence? Why does she show no remorse? And who is she trying to protect?

An elegant set, perfect costume and a super cool soundtrack made for a very stylish and gripping eve of live Theatre.

On a positive note: Within two years of Ellis’s death, and on the back of massive public outcry. The Homicide Act 1957 limited the death penalty by restricting it to certain types of murder. It was a rather compromised piece of legislation but it set the tone for what was to follow in 1965, when Harold Wilson’s Labour government passed the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act. The last hangings in Great Britain had taken place a year earlier. Such changes are not brought about by one person’s case. But, for all that, Ruth Ellis remains a highly significant figure – both in shining a light on the long road to abolition and reflecting capital punishment’s impact on Britons’ emotional lives in the 1950s.

10 out of 10

> SUDDENLY AT HOME

Apollo Theatre, Isle of Wight
7 September 2019

Suddenly at Home - Set in a quiet, luxurious 1970s apartment, this play exudes glamour, sophistication and all the thrilling elements that we have come to expect from the exciting creations of Mr Durbridge. Twists and turns all the way, and some real 'gasp-out-loud' moments, we loved this fabulous production!

Francis Durbridge’s ‘Suddenly at Home’ is an intricate classic thriller with unexpected twists and surprises, in which an avaricious scheming husband kills his wealthy wife in pursuit of his idyllic dream. The intrigue and suspense come from his clever attempts to evade justice as he manipulates situations and other characters to achieve his objective. Dramatic telephone calls and unexpected visitors punctuate the action and heighten tension.

Francis Durbridge, master storyteller, conquered television from 1950-1980 with baffling and complex thrillers that gripped audiences and kept them on tenterhooks. Record viewing figures were recorded for his best-known series featuring Paul Temple, one of the most successful characters ever created for broadcasting. His radio plays, with their famed ‘cliff-hanger’ endings, were always eagerly awaited. He is credited with over 35 novels, 22 TV series, 30 radio play serials and 9 stage plays – the most famous of which is ‘Suddenly at Home’.

Professional actor, Graham Pountney stepped in to take the lead role after a cast member had to drop out. A strong cast and a very good set made for an enjoyable eve of live theatre on our isle (With those lovely Bailey's).

10 out of 10

> THE WEIR

Apollo Theatre, Newport
29 March 2019

The Weir - In this haunting drama, Conor McPherson shows an intuitive understanding of wasted lives; how in Ireland the past is eternally present and how the supernatural reflects your own anxieties and fears. A subtly fascinating and powerful play about ‘the quiet desperation of the unfulfilled’.

It sounds like the set-up for a joke:  four men gather in a bar in rural Ireland to drink away their solitude – and then a woman walks in. Except this is the start of Conor McPherson’s breakthrough hit ‘The Weir’ and although there are plenty of laughs and stories along the way, when the punchline comes it goes straight to the heart.

In the bar...

...a story unfolds!

Another enjoyable eve of live Theatre at The Apollo. This production was stylish, believable and lifted throughout by moments of black comedy. All the cast were fantastic... great set, effects and styling too - we certainly felt that we had been transported back to the windswept countryside of rural Ireland. Lovely to have the compant of the Bailey's too!

10 out of 10

> BRONTË

Apollo Theatre, Isle of Wight
9 Feb 2019

Brontë - Polly Teale’s ingenious and gripping interpretation of the Brontë family legend. The Theatre has been re-imagined for this groundbreaking production, we sit on the stage and enjoy the unfolding drama in the round!

In Polly Teale’s play, the year is 1845 and the once prodigal son, Branwell Brontë, returns home in disgrace, dismissed from his job and plagued by alcohol and drug addiction. Meanwhile his sisters endure their restricted and isolated existence by channelling their intellect, frustrations and buried desires into the creative furnace of their writing. The external lives of the Brontë sisters were dreary, repetitive, uneventful, and yet their inner lives were the opposite. Teale dramatises the collision between drab domesticity and unfettered, soaring imagination, showing us the real and internal worlds at once and making visible what is hidden inside. The familiar characters from their novels are woven into the action, haunting their creators and serving as embodiments of all that is suppressed. While the sisters cook and clean and sew there exists another world full of passion and fury in an ingenious and gripping interpretation of the Brontë family legend.

We enjoyed this production with Helen and Frankie Bailey. Such an amazing evening of live theatre. Solid performances from a very good cast. Great staging, costumes and fabulous direction from Di Evans. This has to be one of the best pieces we have seen on the Island!

10 out of 10

> THE APPLE CART

Apollo Theatre, IoW
31st March 2018

The Apple Cart - a satirical comedy which follows the fictional English King Magnus as he spars with, and ultimately outwits, Prime Minister Proteus and her cabinet, who seek to strip the monarchy of its remaining political influence. The team at the Apollo do it again!

"A comedy in which a King defeats an attempt by his popularly elected Prime Minister to deprive him of the right to influence public opinion through the press and the platform: in short, to reduce him to a cipher. The King’s reply is that rather than be a cipher he will abandon his throne and take his obviously very rosy chance of becoming a popularly elected Prime Minister himself." The play was completed in December 1928 and first performed at Warsaw (in Polish) the following June. Its English première was at the first Malvern Drama Festival in August 1929. 

George Bernard Shaw based King Magnus largely on himself, and Amanda Postlethwaite, the ‘Powermistress-General’, is said by the biographers of Beatrice Webb to be modelled on Susan Lawrence, an old colleague of Shaw’s from the Fabian Society."

Another fantastic production from the team at the Apollo. Director, Michael Arnell, peppered the production with subtlety, energy and a good dose of friction. The cast, the costumes, set and attention to detail are what make this teams productions shine, this show was no exception. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful and creative troop on our doorstep.

10 out of 10

> DON'T DRESS FOR DINNER

Apollo Theatre, Newport
10 February 2018

Don't dress for dinner - Marc Camoletti’s comedy has all the earmarks of classic French farce: marital infidelity, misunderstandings and mistaken identities. Perfect for a fun night out!

The team at The Apollo did it again...  A marvellous evening of live Theatre on the Isle of Wight. Great production, a very strong cast and perfect comedy timing. We giggled our way through the performance and left with big smiles.
  

The story goes a little like this: Bernard is planning a romantic weekend with his chic Parisian mistress in his charming converted French farmhouse, whilst his wife, Jacqueline, is away. He has arranged for a cordon bleu cook to prepare gourmet delights, and has invited his best friend, Robert, along too to provide the alibi. It’s foolproof; what could possibly go wrong? Well … suppose Robert turns up not realising quite why he has been invited. Suppose Robert and Jacqueline are secret lovers, and consequently determined that Jacqueline will NOT leave for the weekend. Suppose the cook has to pretend to be the mistress and the mistress is unable to cook. Suppose everyone’s alibi gets confused with everyone else’s. An evening of hilarious confusion ensues as Bernard and Robert improvise at breakneck speed. This boulevard comedy was a smash hit in Paris, where it played for over two years, and in London, where it ran for six years at the Apollo and Duchess Theatres. It has since played in theatres all over the USA and the English speaking world and was revived in Chicago and on Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre in 2012.

9 out of 10

> GHOST TRAIN

Apollo Theatre, Newport IOW
7th July 2017

Apollo Theatre - is THE Isle of Wight Theatre that consistently produces brilliant theatrical experiences. This classic ghost story kept us on the edge of our seats... a chilling way to spend a hot Summer night!

Arnold Ridley's classic spooky drama was first produced in 1925 and filmed no less than three times. Better known as Private Godfrey in BBC's long-running Dad's Army, Ridley conceived the idea for this thriller horror on a deserted platform waiting for a train. The story begins when a young man accidentally strands six passengers at a small Cornish wayside station. Despite the stationmaster's weird stories of a ghost train, they decide to stay the night in the waiting room. Soon they regret this decision as a ghostly apparition terrorises the group. A detective hiding his true identity from the passengers soon discovers the real truth, but is it too late?

 

A strong cast of regular faces, a simple set and great period costumes helped to make this a totally absorbing night of live, (spooooky) local theatre.

10 out of 10

> THE LOVES OF CASS McGUIRE

Apollo Theatre, Newport
24 March 2017

The loves of Cass McGuire - A bittersweet story about life, family and getting old.


This play is set in 1960’s Ireland, where the respectable, middle-class McGuire family are ready to welcome home 70 year old Cass who has lived in New York for the previous 50 years. But if they’re expecting a staid spinster aunt, they’re in for a shock! So much so that they send her to a retirement home – or workhouse as she calls it – where she meets others in the same situation. Rejected by their families, disappointed in their lives, they retreat into a fantasy world. Cass’s scorn gradually wears down to an acceptance that you have to find ways to deal with what life throws at you. This is a true tragic-comedy... funny and heartbreaking in equal measure!

 

Fiona Gwinnett as Cass McGuire

Another well produced show from the team at Apollo. A bit wobbly in places, this play kept us entertained... a great way to spend a Friday eve in Newport! Fiona Gwinnett played her heart out as Cass, she certainly helped to carry the weaker members of the cast. An interesting set and well observed wardrobe also helped to bring the story to life in a rich and engaging way.

7 out of 10.

> THE LADYKILLERS

Apollo Theatre, IOW
3rd February 2017

The Ladykillers - The team at the Apollo Theatre bring this 'black comedy classic' to life in spectacular style... Originaly a film made in 1955 by Ealing Studios, this 'crime caper' is a guaranteed crowd pleaser from start to finish.

We have just enjoyed another fantastic night at the Apollo Theatre. This busy theatre, based in the heart of Newport, is consistently developing top nights out! Their production of The Ladykillers is a hoot... great cast, a stunning set and immaculate attention to detail. Marylyn Ford plays a wonderfully cautious Mrs Louisa Wilberforce and Michael Arnell plays Professor Marcus like a pro.

 The fantastic set

The Ladykillers – one of Ealing Studios’ finest and funniest offerings, has been reworked for the stage by Graham Linehan, his other credits include Father Ted and The IT Crowd. Di Evans deserves a special mention for her magnificent direction...

Most people will know of this immensely entertaining crime caper as one of Ealing Studios’ finest offerings, in which elderly widow Mrs. Wilberforce, who likes to report suspicious behaviour to the police, rents out rooms in her house to the dapper Professor Marcus (originally played by Alec Guinness) and his cohort of thieves without honour, constantly bickering among themselves. Posing as a string quintet, they pull off a bank robbery, but slip up in front of the old lady as they try to escape. Agreed that they need to murder her, the bumbling crooks prove no match for Mrs Wilberforce’s old-fashioned Victorian values: they’re dispatched to their early graves with witty heartlessness, as she goes magisterially on her way, hatpin firmly in place.

10 out of 10.

> HABEAS CORPUS

Apollo Theatre, Newport IOW
10th September 2016

Habeas Corpus - Alan Bennett’s blissfully funny 1973 farce romps onto stage like a live version of a saucy seaside postcard... 

Habeas Corpus is a legal term, meaning 'you may have the body’, but in Bennett’s play, it is physical bodies that are the subject of various characters’ lusts, fantasies and worries.
From the middle-aged doctor dreaming of his young patients to his sister wishing to artificially enhance herself, the situations arising in Habeas Corpus are hilarious in the extreme.

The team at The Apollo do it again. The cast, the set, the styling... everything was perfect. Michael Anrell was a most wonderful Mr Wicksteed while Fiona Gwinnett was sensational as his long suffering wife.

10 out of 10.

> 'ALLO 'ALLO

Apollo Theatre, Newport IOW
15th July 2016

'Allo 'Allo - the timeless comedy written by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft is still massively popular. This saucy live production from the team at Newport's Apollo Theatre is a sell-out smash!!

We all know how 'Allo 'Allo works: The farcical wartime comedy about the French Resistance, set around a café run by René Artois. This stage play is derived from the long-running and very popular television series of the same name. Set in Nazi-occupied France during the Second World War,‍ ’​Allo ‍ ’​Allo! tells the fictitious story of René Artois, a café owner in the town of Nouvion, who, while trying to remain impartial, has been dragged into the war by both sides and at the same time is trying to keep his passionate love affairs with the café waitresses secret from his wife. Military have occupied the town and the café is being used as a safe house for two brave but clueless British airmen. With classic farce set-ups, physical comedy and visual gags, amusingly ridiculous fake accents, a large amount of sexual innuendo and a fast-paced running string of broad cultural clichés. This is a production that delivers brilliantly on every level. Great charter portrayal, great costumes, an innovative set, and perfect comedy timing. The Apollo can do no wrong!!

10 out of 10.

> THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

Apollo Theatre, Newport IOW
8th April 2016

Apollo Theatre - Harold Pinter’s comedy of menace.  Who are Goldberg & McCann, and why have they appeared on Stanley’s birthday?

The Birthday Party (1957) is the second full-length play by Pinter and one of his best-known. It is both edgy and disturbing ...we left the theatre quetioning the plot, the characters and the outcome. Gripping stuff and amazingly well acted out by the very talented cast. Great set too!

The play is about Stanley Webber, an erstwhile piano player in his 30s, who lives in a shabby boarding house, run by Meg and Petey Boles, in an English seaside town, ‘probably on the south coast, not too far from London’.  Meg organises a birthday party for Stanley, but two sinister strangers, Goldberg and McCann, who appear to have come looking for him, turn the seemingly innocuous birthday party into a nightmare.

Directed by Marylyn Ford
Meg Sue Edwards, Petey Simon Cardew, Stanley Pete Harris, Lulu Ellie Warren, Goldberg Michael Arnell, McCann Colin Ford.

10 out of 10.

> NSFW*

Apollo Theatre, Newport, IOW
16th Nov 2014 

NSFW* - Not Safe For Work!

We had a really enjoyable Sunday afternoon at the Apollo Theatre in Newport. It was tipping it down with rain outside, but things soon got steamy on stage! The talented cast romped through this edgy comedy by Lucy Kirkwood. Funny, relevant and entertaining from start to finish.

The story went a little like...
Carrie’s getting them out for the lads. Charlotte’s just grateful to have a job, Sam’s being asked to sell more than his body and Aidan’s trying to keep Doghouse from going under. Money, sex and photo-shop. This new comedy looks at power games and privacy in the media and beyond.

Produced by Red Tie theatre for the Apollo Theatre
Directed by Joe Plumb

9 out of 10!