Reviews by Chrissie Dreier
Hollie McNish
Chrissie Dreier
Tonight marks a return to Oxford for award-winning spoken word artist Hollie McNish for the first time in around 7 years. The sold-out show is the first of McNish’s latest tour, and, from the ...
5 years ago
Hollie McNish
Bear's Den
Chrissie Dreier
Bear's Den's visit to Oxford last night was greatly-anticipated, the gig having sold out a good deal in advance. The band were playing as part of their tour to promote Red Earth and Pouring Rain, the ...
8 years ago
Bear's Den
Luke Wright: Stay-At-Home Dandy
Chrissie Dreier
Mention to someone that you are heading off to a night of poetry and they may well feign interest outwardly whilst inwardly thinking, 'how incredibly dull', and shuddering at the memories of ...
10 years ago
Luke Wright: Stay-At-Home Dandy
The Staves, Flo Morrissey
Chrissie Dreier
The Staves are a trio of sisters - Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor – hailing from Watford who are already making serious waves on the global folk music scene. Having most notably ...
10 years ago
The Staves, Flo Morrissey
Take This Waltz [15]
Chrissie Dreier
Take This Waltz is the second directorial offering from Sarah Polley, a follow up to her successful debut, Away from Her.I came away from the film not entirely sure what to make of it: impressed by ...
12 years ago
Take This Waltz [15]
The Salt of Life [12A]
Chrissie Dreier
Following on from his favourably-received directorial debut Mid-August Lunch, Gianni Di Gregorio returns with his latest filmic offering, Gianni e le Donne (Salt of Life): a touching and often ...
13 years ago
The Salt of Life [12A]
Fratelli's Pizzeria (NOW ATOMIC PIZZA)
Chrissie Dreier
I had a voucher for Fratelli's and, after using it last week, will certainly be going back there soon! The staff were attentive and friendly from the moment of our arrival and the setting creates an ...
14 years ago
Fratelli's Pizzeria (NOW ATOMIC PIZZA)
Romeo & Juliet
Chrissie Dreier
Given the worldwide popularity of Romeo and Juliet, the main difficulty for any theatre company intent on producing Shakespeare’s play is to create something that will stand out from the many ...
14 years ago
Romeo & Juliet
The History Boys
Chrissie Dreier
Alan Bennett’s much-loved play-turned-film makes a very welcome trip to Oxford this week as one of many stops in a West Yorkshire Playhouse Production tour. Given the success of previous national ...
14 years ago
The History Boys
Sex and the City 2 [15]
Chrissie Dreier
For many female TV fans (and perhaps secretly some males too), this week represents the end of a long wait for the second Sex and the City film, highly-anticipated following the success of its ...
14 years ago
Sex and the City 2 [15]
Micmacs [12A]
Chrissie Dreier
Micmacs is the latest offering from director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, most famous for Delicatessen and Amelie. The story centres on Bazil (played by Dany Boon), a movie store worker involved in a freak ...
15 years ago
Micmacs [12A]
Brief Encounter
Chrissie Dreier
On the final stint of its national tour this week is Emma Rice’s stage production of Noel Coward’s popular tear-jerker Brief Encounter. The transition from film to stage (and vice-versa) is often ...
15 years ago
Brief Encounter
Fiddler on the Roof
Chrissie Dreier
Oxfordshire Youth Music take to the stage at the Oxford Playhouse this week with the famous Fiddler on the Roof. Given the popularity of the musical, the challenge of pulling off a compelling ...
16 years ago
Fiddler on the Roof
Oxford Jazz Master Series
Chrissie Dreier
The Burton Taylor seemed the perfect intimate venue for tonight’s concert, which saw contemporary jazz presented to varying extremes by two outfits: George Haslam’s OXJAMS trio and guest London ...
16 years ago
Oxford Jazz Master Series
An Ideal Husband
Chrissie Dreier
Sir Peter Hall’s production of An Ideal Husband makes a welcome return visit to the Playhouse this week for the penultimate stop of its national tour. Tickets are selling fast and, judging by ...
16 years ago
An Ideal Husband
Far From The Madding Crowd
Chrissie Dreier
Given the length of Hardy’s novel, together with the story’s popularity, bringing this popular classic to the stage effectively is no small task. However, The English Touring Theatre’s ...
16 years ago
Far From The Madding Crowd
Sinatra
Chrissie Dreier
This production, a musical celebration of the life and music of Frank Sinatra, is ambitious to say the least. Indeed, such are the technical demands involved in this show, the opening night here in ...
17 years ago
Sinatra
The Clean House
Chrissie Dreier
Poignant, hilarious and at times verging on the ridiculous, Sarah Ruhl’s play, directed by John Dove, is a touching portrayal of five people’s attempts to grapple with the underlying realities in ...
17 years ago
The Clean House
Grigorovich's Nutcracker
Chrissie Dreier
Hailing from Moldova, The Chisinau National Ballet is in Oxford this week for four performances of their production of Grigorovich’s famous Nutcracker and, on the basis of tonight’s opening ...
17 years ago
Grigorovich's Nutcracker
Beverley Knight
Chrissie Dreier
The Oxford New Theatre has been pulling an impressive array of top-class shows and artists over the past year and tonight is a perfect example. Currently touring for her new album ‘Music City ...
17 years ago
Beverley Knight
Dancing in the Streets
Chrissie Dreier
Coming to Oxford on the tail end of a four month national tour, Dancing in the Streets is perhaps best described as a celebration of Motown music, bringing together a collection of classic hits from ...
17 years ago
Dancing in the Streets
Grumpy Old Women - Live
Chrissie Dreier
‘Back by grumpy demand after three sell-out tours’, Jenny Eclair’s Grumpy Old Women returns to Oxford for another night of handbags, tutting, moaning, finger-wagging, singing and damn fine ...
17 years ago
Grumpy Old Women - Live
Bouncers
Chrissie Dreier
Written and directed by John Godber, Bouncers is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The play was borne out of Godber’s own youthful experiences of clubbing and his ‘interest in the dangers ...
17 years ago
Bouncers
Mahabharata
Chrissie Dreier
The programme describes the Mahabharata as ‘the cornerstone of ancient Indian scriptures, and the oldest and longest epic poem in world literature.’ Words such as these make for ...
17 years ago
Mahabharata
Disney's Beauty And The Beast
Chrissie Dreier
It was difficult to know what to expect from this adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, and I have to admit that to successfully bring this Disney hit to the stage felt like a somewhat ambitious ...
18 years ago
Disney's Beauty And The Beast
Dylan Thomas: Return Journey
Chrissie Dreier
Directed by Sir Anthony Hopkins and starring Bob Kingdom as Dylan Thomas, Dylan Thomas Return Journey is an interpretation of the lectures given by the poet in the latter stages of his life. The ...
18 years ago
Dylan Thomas: Return Journey
Feet Of Clay by Terry Pratchett
Chrissie Dreier
The Studio Theatre Club describe themselves as ‘a small, friendly group [who] enjoy rehearsing and staging plays and want to do [their] best for their audiences’. They were also, as they rightly ...
18 years ago
Feet Of Clay by Terry Pratchett
