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Floating Solo by Shelley Wilson #Review

  Fancy taking a leisurely boat ride along a beautiful Warwickshire canal? Floating Solo by Shelley Wilson was published by Hillfield Publishing on November 5th. Are you single? Have you lost your confidence when it comes to travelling? Would you welcome a few weeks away to find that missing spark? Climb aboard the Creaky Cauldron for an adventure like no other! Budding entrepreneur Kat Sinclair wants to grow her quirky solo narrowboat holiday enterprise but faces rejection at every turn. Until a Hollywood film crew gets in touch with the potential to change her business, dreams, and love life forever. 'Enemies to lovers' 'Small town romance'   My Thoughts   You can't help but fall under the spell of life on the canals when you read this story. Kat has big dreams for her business but seems to lack confidence to put it into action. Her Floating Solo holidays are very successful for her clients and many use the experience to sort out their thoughts and plan their ...

Play: Into The Woods


Performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and directed by Matthew Xia. Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine








Into The Woods was a tapestry of  well known fairytales, woven into a single ‘Once upon a Time ‘ story where hopes and wishes came true- but only for the first Act. As it continued past the interval, it seemed that getting your heart’s desire did not turn out to be all that was wished for and happy ever after went astray. I loved it. 


As the story goes, once upon a time, Cinderella, Jack (and the Beanstalk), Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel were all in the forest, all on their own journeys. Their paths crossed with the Baker and his wife and the witch. Watching the play, it seemed that good and bad, selfishness and selflessness existed in different measures in both of the characters. The Baker and his wife had been cursed with childlessness. On the promise of the witch, that she would lift the curse if they brought her certain objects, i.e.  a red cloak, cornflower yellow hair, a golden slipper and a milky-white cow,  they ventured into the woods, and into each of the fairy tales in turn.



The play had wit and humour, both in the lyrics and the score and also through elements of the staging. The audience applauded the emergence of Little Red Riding Hood from the wolf. The puppetry of the milky white cow was clever and effective. Having a live orchestra added to the production's dynamic feel.




The mood changed with the post modern world of Act 2, as the reality of living happily ever after came to light. The atmosphere darkened. The Giant, voiced by Maxine Peake, cast about indiscriminately over the little people below. I would say that even though the production was three hours in duration, the pace and energy never flagged. 

In short: a clever staging where adult life intruded into the fairy tale dream.
  






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