Rhys John Edwards

2 months ago | playstosee.com | Rhys John Edwards

(Reviewed at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff – ahead of its run at Swansea Grand Theatre from 16th – 25th April)County lines is undoubtedly a worthy subject to explore on stage, particularly if, like Rebecca Jade Hammond, your intention is to bring something new to the conversation. For her, too much of the existing discourse seemed to focus on young boys and the men that groom them, so she decided to flip the issue on its head and write both victim and villain as female.

Oct 2, 2024 | playstosee.com | Rhys John Edwards

Shirley runs ‘the best pub you’ve ever been to’. A place where every night ‘is a night to remember’. Above all else, this landlady wants all her patrons to feel two things: ‘welcome… and magic’. Quite a high bar, but if first impressions are anything to go by, it looks as if it can be easily cleared. The audience are immediately met by an expansive set that has totally transformed the Sherman’s Studio theatre into a local Cardiff watering hole.

Sep 23, 2024 | playstosee.com | Rhys John Edwards

Before the lights went up on Gemma Prangle’s debut play Splinter, there was already a sense that they could only illuminate so much. It would have been impressive if you had made it to your seat without hearing about the play’s subject matter. With a plot description keen to stress its troubling themes and further efforts made to caution the audience with a trigger warning for ‘scenes which some might find upsetting’, I had suitably braced myself to be swept away by a bleak wave of misery.

Aug 15, 2024 | chortle.co.uk | Rhys John Edwards

Written by former stand-up Danielle Ward, BBC Three’s new sitcom Daddy Issues centres on Gemma - a messy, relatable, twentysomething who enjoys a bit of casual sex and doesn’t take life too seriously. At last! A break for the sort of people so woefully underrepresented in TV comedy… Okay, initial eye-rolls aside, my fears of déjà vu were soon eased by the excellent Aimee Lou Wood, who utilises her offbeat charm to elevate this overly familiar archetype.

May 13, 2024 | playstosee.com | Rhys John Edwards

Aside from being a wedding dancefloor staple, I didn’t know an awful lot about The Drifters. And now, after watching The Drifters Girl – the jukebox musical biography of the band – I think my ignorance can well and truly be forgiven, because it seems like The Drifters didn’t really exist. ‘The Drifters’ was merely a title associated with a conveyor belt of singers that had no real creative identity – think Sugababes circa 2009, who were essentially a different band with every single they released.