By Martin Brisland. What a performance! This year’s pantomime by Freemantle and Shirley Amateur Theatrical Society is Treasure Island. It is based on the children’s adventure story from 1883 by Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. Jim Hawkins and his loving mother Widow Hawkins, set off on an adventure across...
Entertainment Reviews
Review: Pet Needs with support from Carsick & Samantics – The 1865, Southampton
By Chris Taylor. This is my second night in a row at the 1865 (4/12/25). The Joiners Live team have thrown down the gauntlet for those of us who feel like we’re getting too old by putting on a midweek double of Skinny Lister and Pet Needs – two...
Review: Divorce, Papillon, Southampton
By Dan O’Farrell. There’s an air of anticipation in the air at Southampton’s favourite de-sanctified church – Papillion – tonight (4/12/25). Nottingham’s hottest indie/alt-rock/Americana/country-philes Divorce are in town on tour and the place is suddenly heaving. Entering the temple as a neophyte, I have very little idea what to...
Review: Skinny Lister, The 1865, Southampton
By Laura McCarthy. Skinny Lister are an adrenaline shot to the chest – and I’m Mia Wallace, resuscitated and left reeling from the effects. I’ve seen them numerous times before, both as headliners and support acts, including when they supported Reel Big Fish in London a few years back....
Review: Jack and the Beanstalk, Salisbury Playhouse
By Dan O’Farrell. As a certifiably pretentious graduate of English Literature, full-time English teacher and ‘wannabe’ man-of-letters, I’ve laboured most of my post-childhood life believing that the great British tradition of ’The Christmas Pantomime’ was – most assuredly – not for me. Like a miserly Scrooge confronted with theatrical...
Review: Puss in Boots, Theatre Royal Winchester
By Martin Brisland. Theatre Royal Winchester has a traditional family panto that is as good as it gets. Puss in Boots has all the elements that make panto such a great traditional entertainment such as good versus evil, audience participation, humour and a fairytale ending. The story of a...
Review: Glow Marwell
By Charlotte Ndupuechi. Visitors to Marwell Zoo can now step into a world of sparkle and colour as Glow Marwell returns for the festive season. The illuminated light trail, which winds through the zoo after dark, offers families a magical way to celebrate Christmas while exploring the grounds in...
Review: To Kill a King with support from Keston Cobblers’ Club – The Ivy House, Nunhead, London
By Sally Churchward. Photos: Ritta Boll. The final To Kill a King concert took fans, friends and those who inhabit the blurred space between the two, on an almost cinematic journey from honey and sepia toned nostalgia through mourning and a sense of the endless passing of time to...
Review: English National Ballet – The Sleeping Beauty, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
By Joy McKay. The Sleeping Beauty is a truly classical ballet in the Russian tradition. Based on the collaboration between composer Tchaikovsky with choreographer Marius Pepita from 1890, it is famously one of the hardest to perform. A traditional tale with it’s origins in German folklore, the ballet follows...
Review: Lost Atoms – Mayflower Studios, Southampton
By Anita Foxall. Having been captivated by Frantic Assembly’s powerful productions of Othello and Metamorphosis, I knew I couldn’t miss Lost Atoms. Both plays left a lasting impression with their outstanding choreographically emotional depth, so the chance to see what the company would create next was irresistible. Moreover Lost...