Madeleine Burton

News Editor at Herts Advertiser

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Articles

Review: All My Sons at the Abbey Theatre is a 'timeless' story

1 month ago | hertsad.co.uk | Madeleine Burton

Rehearsals for 'All My Sons' at the Abbey Theatre in St Albans (Image: Abbey Theatre) In these turbulent times, the strong moral voice of Arthur Miller has more conviction than ever before. Written in 1947, All My Sons, which is currently being performed by the Company of Ten (CoT) on the Abbey Theatre main stage, is a reminder that society was just as flawed back then.
Review: Fun in the sun at 'Ladies Down Under' in the Maltings Theatre

2 months ago | hertsad.co.uk | Madeleine Burton

The cast and crew of 'Ladies Down Under' (Image: Ilka Antippa) Grab those tinnies and get ready for fun in the sun in the Southern Hemisphere with the latest production from Breakaway Theatre Company. By coincidence the play, Ladies Down Under, is a follow-up to Ladies Day, performed by the Company of Ten last month and by Breakaway in 2022. So it’s a fairly safe bet that anyone who saw either of those two earlier productions will enjoy Ladies Down Under just as much.
Review: Godspell at St Albans Cathedral is 'loud, raucous and colourful'

2 months ago | hertsad.co.uk | Madeleine Burton

It’s hard to imagine that the hallowed walls of St Albans Cathedral have ever witnessed anything like last week’s production of Godspell. Loud, raucous, colourful, with an array of talent on display, many of whom were new members, it was performed by St Albans Musical Theatre (SAMT) in the cathedral over 50 years since it was first staged. Given a new contemporary feel, the cast danced, sang and flaunted sequins, fishnets, basques and other striking costumes to bring the musical alive.
Review: Ladies' Day at Abbey Theatre is 'funny, poignant and heartwarming'

2 months ago | hertsad.co.uk | Madeleine Burton

Even if the run had not been sold out, the Company of Ten’s production of Ladies’ Day would be a banker with St Albans’ audiences. The play by Amanda Whittington is, as its name suggests, about the ups and downs experienced by four fish packing workers when they go for a day at the races. It is funny, poignant and heartwarming and features a cast of characters that even us soft southerners can identify with.
Review: Nell Gwynn is 'an evening to remember' at the Abbey Theatre in St Albans

Nov 12, 2024 | hertsad.co.uk | Madeleine Burton

Nell Gwynn at the Abbey Theatre in St Albans (Image: Jon Schick) Pretty witty Nell was far more than just one of the women who caught the eye of the lascivious Charles II. She was a talented actress, singer and comedienne and in the hands of Rachel Maloy as Nell Gwynn in the play of the same name currently being performed by the Company of Ten in the Abbey Theatre, she comes alive.
Review: 'The Father' at Abbey Theatre is a brilliantly cast exploration of dementia

Oct 16, 2024 | hertsad.co.uk | Madeleine Burton

At the risk of sounding crass, Rory Byrne is giving an unforgettable performance in the Abbey Theatre Studio this week. Insensitive perhaps because the play, The Father by Florian Zeller and translated by Christopher Hampton, is about dementia and how its accompanying memory loss can have a terrible impact on the sufferer, their loved ones and their carers.
Review: Hay Fever by Noël Coward is a 'light-hearted crowd-pleaser'

Sep 16, 2024 | hertsad.co.uk | Madeleine Burton

Hay Fever at the Abbey Theatre in St Albans (Image: Anne Frizell) True to form, the Company of Ten gets its new season underway at the Abbey Theatre in St Albans with a light-hearted crowd-pleaser from that master of comedy, Noël Coward. Hay Fever, one of Coward’s earliest works, is a play which even director Alison Wright admits has no real plot as some critics said when it was first performed in 1925.
Review: 'Rollicking' Highwayman musical finishes Roman Theatre Open Air Festival

Sep 9, 2024 | hertsad.co.uk | Madeleine Burton

The Highwayman at the Roman Theatre Open Air Festival (Image: OVO) The Highwayman stood and delivered a pistol-packing finale to the Roman Theatre Open Air Festival. A joint production between OVO, founders of the festival, and the Norwich Theatre, The Highwayman is a brand-new musical by Kitty Morgan. Based on the poem 'The Highwayman' by Alfred Noyes, it demonstrates life in the 17th century in riotous fashion – and demonstrates how little some aspects have changed today.
Review: OVO's gender-swapped performance of 'The Merchant of Venice'

Aug 5, 2024 | hertsad.co.uk | Madeleine Burton

Hamish Sommers as Bassanio and Taya Ming as Portia (Image: Elliott Franks) For Venice in the 16th century read London in 2006 and for Shylock, the hated Jew, read a female chief executive in the modern world. These are the major changes to be found at the Roman Theatre of Verulamium where OVO is putting on The Merchant of Venice. Interestingly, unlike many of OVO’s productions of Shakespeare plays, it sticks closely to the Bard’s script.
Review: 'Excellent' coming-of-age musical Spring Awakening at the Roman Theatre

Jul 10, 2024 | hertsad.co.uk | Madeleine Burton

The cast in rehearsal for 'Spring Awakening' (Image: Origin8 Photography) With summer barely awakening so far this year, it is somewhat ironic that St Albans Musical Theatre Company is putting on Spring Awakening as part of the city’s open-air festival. But don’t be fooled by the name of this excellent production because it is actually a coming-of-age musical exploring the vicissitudes of adolescent sexuality.