A scene from Faust by Gounod @ Royal Opera House. Directed by David McVicar. Conductor, Dan Ettinger. (Opening 11-04-19) OPERA REVIEW: Gounod’s Faust @Royal Opera House Experience the decadence and elegance of 1870s Paris in David McVicar’s spectacular production of Gounod’s best-loved opera. By Eric Page • 4 min read
THEATRE REVIEW: Rotterdam @Theatre Royal Although highly informative, certainly from this Cis reviewers perspective, it’s also deeply human and authentic and although the gender transition narrative seems to drive the play, as it comes to a close we see if for what it is, a play about unconditional love, acceptance and the need for change By Eric Page • 3 min read
THEATRE REVIEW: A Song at Twilight @Devonshire Park, Eastbourne A stylish and relevant production but the imbalance of the acting rather takes the shine off what could have been a stunning production. Nonetheless it’s a fine piece of theatre, done well, perfectly timed but perhaps tastier with a half kilo less of rant, and a cup full more of conviction. By Eric Page • 4 min read
THEATRE REVIEW: The Picture of Dorian Gray @Devonshire Park Theatre This bold new production based on the classic novel celebrates Wilde’s wonderful language and appeals to this mixed age audience. Featuring Wilde’s famous wit, The Picture of Dorian Gray is presented as a two act thriller with a narrative momentum which keeps the attention up until the final scenes By Eric Page • 3 min read
DANCE REVIEW: ROCKBOTTOM @The Marlborough Theatre ROCKBOTTOM Stuart Waters March 1 @ The Marlborough Theatre ROCKBOTTOM is the new solo dance piece from Stuart Waters and also his debut as an independent artist. It’s a combination of staccato narratives segued into passionate, desperate, urgent segments of (suggested) auto biographical stories of By Eric Page • 3 min read
INTERVIEW: Just One Bullet Eric Page, our Welsh firebrand, chats with Irish writer, Peter Paul Hartnett, to gain some personal insight to his fiercely provocative poetry. By Eric Page • 6 min read
BOOK REVIEW: Ripples from the edge of Life by Roland Chesters This is essential reading for anyone recently diagnosed with HIV or for folk supporting them. Chester’s unexpected humour and rather brutal honesty in talking about how he dealt with this shocking experience. In the days of Prep and the flickering hope of a HIV vaccine, we urgently need to be remind By Eric Page • 1 min read
BOOK REVIEW: Ayiti by Roxane Gay Not shy to call it as it is Gay uses her power of convincing narrative and the strength that comes from belief and struggle to breathe life into the voices in this superb book and to force us, on her beautiful affirming terms to revaluate our own clichéd misconceptions about Haitie and see it seethi By Eric Page • 1 min read
REVIEW: Ghost – The Musical @Theatre Royal This is a great show, a feel good love story of tragedy and the ultimate redemption of loss, a rather hefty narrative done with such a light touch and segue of emotive realism that the audience were both laughing and crying. By Eric Page • 2 min read
BOOK REVIEW: Boy Erased by Garrard Conley By confronting his buried past and the burden of a life lived in shadow, Garrard traces the complex relationships among family, faith, and community. At times heart-breaking, at times triumphant, Boy Erased is a testament to love that survives despite all odds. By Eric Page • 1 min read
REVIEW: Rough Crossing @Chichester Festival Theatre Two famous but desperate playwrights are stuck on an ocean liner headed for New York, feverishly trying to rehearse their latest show before reaching land, and opening night. But they are constantly distracted by their delicate composer’s attempts to end it all, having overheard his lover confess he By Eric Page • 2 min read
FILM REVIEW: Only Trumpets This is a modern queer parable told with care about the importance of acceptance via unconditional self-love, the triumph of hope over despair and how a night that changes everything, changed nothing. By Eric Page • 3 min read
