Photos by Charlie Hislop and Anita Foxall. More than 50 black-led organisations in Southampton and Hampshire-based organisations teamed up to create Southampton’s first ever Black Businesses, Art and Music Festival, held on Sunday 1st October, the first day of Black History Month. The idea was conceived by The United...
Entertainment Reviews
Review: Frantic Assembly – Metamorphosis, MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton September 27
By Anita Foxall. “One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect,” is the first line in Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Frantic Assembly brought their fantastic stage adaptation (written by poet Lemn Sissay) to the MAST, and they took...
Review: Greatest Days, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, September 26
By Joy McKay. Image: Alastair Muir. Greatest Days is the official Take That musical, premiering in 2017 under the name The Band. It has recently been made into a film and has been renamed in order to match. The Mayflower production stars Jennifer Ellison who originally came to fame...
Review: Ferocious Dog, The 1865, Southampton, September 23
By Graham Hiley. This is probably one Ferocious Dog the government wishes it could ban! The Celtic folk-punk rockers put social conscience front and centre of their high-octane set at Southampton’s The 1865. The message is as important as the music as lead singer Ken Bonsall implored fans to...
Review: Ailey 2, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, September 22
By Joy McKay. Image: Ailey 2 in Francesca Harper’s Freedom Series. Photo by Erin Baiano. Alvin Ailey was an American dancer and choreographer who grew up in the rural South under the reign of racism and segregation. He founded his American Dance Theatre in 1958 to carry out a...
Review: Shania Twain – The Queen of Me, O2 Arena, London, September 16
By Graham Hiley. Shania Twain – that did impress me… but not quite as much as I expected! Nothing against the singer who looks and sounds fantastic. Her voice is now fully recovered and stronger than ever; she can sure belt out a tune! But the opening night of...
Review: The Little Big Things, @Sohoplace, London
By Graham Hiley. The Little Big Things will be the next Big BIG Thing. It is not just a musical you should see, it is a show everyone must see – not just because it is the greatest hidden treasure in the West End but because it is life-affirming,...
Review: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra – Musicals from the Heart, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, September 17 2023
By Nick Mabey. Heartbeat (formerly Wessex Heartbeat) celebrated its 30th anniversary in fine style on 17th September with a wonderful concert at Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre. The show, titled Musicals from the Heart, offered two hours of music provided by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, with vocal performances by six West End...
Review: Southampton International Boat Show is back
By Nick Mabey. The 54th Southampton International Boat Show opened to beautiful weather and good-sized crowds. 322 vessels of all shapes and sizes provide the centre point of this large, sprawling trade show, which has evolved over the years to include water sports activities, presentations from hardy explorers and...
Review: Dead Freights, Papillon, Southampton, September 15
By Anita Foxall. Photos by Chris Martin. Local band Dead Freights headlined a fantastic show at Papillon on the 15th of September. It was very exciting to have the band performing in their home town again, especially in an incredible new venue. Papillon was probably known to us all...