By Darren Grayer. Photo courtesy of Simon Ward. Heartworms may well sound like a band name, but it is essentially the solo project of singer/songwriter Jojo Orme. Hailing from Cheltenham, she has been confronted by sexist attitudes and racism on her (so far) short journey in the music industry....
Entertainment Reviews
Review: Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of), Chichester Festival Theatre
By Graham Hiley. If Jane Austen were alive today, Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of) is exactly what she might have written – without as many swear words! Or jokes. Or songs. While the Hampshire author’s original version remains a work of literary genius, the satirical musical (at Chichester’s Festival...
Review: Ghost The Musical, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
By Martin Brisland. Having loved the movie the musical is based on; would this production be what I’ve hungered for? The Oscar-winning movie from 1990 with Demi Moore, the late Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg, was the highest grossing film of 1990 and won an Oscar for screenwriter Bruce...
Review: Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Cinderella at Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
By Charlotte Ndupuechi. I think this is when Mayflower Theatre is at its best, when hosting productions of grand scale, and Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Cinderella proved to be a dazzling showcase of artistry, spectacle, and heartfelt storytelling with of course flawless dancing. With detailed costumes, sweeping set changes that...
Review: C Duncan – Heartbreakers, Southampton
By Darren Grayer. C Duncan burst onto the music scene in 2015, with his Mercury Prize nominated debut album, Architect. He is classically trained as a musician, as are his mother and father, who both feature as backing musicians on some of his music, which I would describe as...
Review: Ryley Walker, The Joiners, Southampton
By Darren Grayer. I first became aware of Ryley Walker’s music in 2015 on release of his second solo album, Primrose Green. It picked up a fair amount of critical acclaim and the comparisons to John Martyn, Nick Drake, Michael Chapman, and Bert Jansch were enough to gain him...
Review: Dial M For Mayhem, Middle Ground Theatre Company at The Theatre Royal, Winchester
By Dan O’Farrell. A play-within-a-play is always good value, especially if it goes disastrously wrong. Shakespeare knew this well: he saved the whole last act of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ for the workmen’s hilariously inept production of ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’. In more recent times people have queued in...
Review: New Years Day with Conquer Divide – The Engine Rooms
By Spring Wise. Saturday night at The Engine Rooms was packed full of energy for New Years Day, supported by Conquer Divide. I was excited when this gig exceeded capacity from The Joiners, to fill one of Southampton’s more wheelchair-accessible venues, and it was packed. Conquer Divide are a...
Review: Dear Evan Hansen, Mayflower Theatre
By Jamie Wise. Dear Evan Hansen is a musical, book, and film about an isolated teenage boy. Evan Hansen gets stuck telling a lie that he can’t keep up with, in the hopes to gain friends, love, acceptance, and maybe even popularity. This was an incredible thing to watch....
Review: Now That’s What I Call a Musical, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, 14 January 2025
By Catherine Collins. In 1989 I was 15, so when I saw Now That’s What I Call a Musical – which opened at Mayflower Theatre last night – was set then (and in 2009 for the friends 20 year reunion) I knew I had to go. Much like we...