Friday, May 1, 2015 Follow us on Twitter @Argus_The Guide Dazzling ice spectacular


7 Theatre


A timeless story with a twist set


Iphigenia in Splott


A GREEK drama and the fa- mous Splott area of Cardiff are not the most obvious of bedfel- lows. But that hasn’t stopped


award-winning Welsh play- wright Gary Owen bringing these diverse worlds together. Iphigenia in Splott, at the Sher- man Theatre, Cardiff, in May, is a powerful new one-woman play, which explores the impact of welfare cuts, fusing coarse poetry with the language in- trinsic to Splott, while illumi- nating and re-imagining the tale of Agamemnon’s tragic daughter. Royal Welsh College of Music


and Drama graduate Sophie Melvillestars as Effie. Iphigenia in Splott opens at


ICE SHOW: Frozen’s Ana and Elsa bring some magic to the show INSET: Mickey Mouse meets fans Seren and Jonathan Howells


SUMMER might be around the corner but there’s still plenty of opportunity to stay cool and enjoy a colour- ful ice show, as Disney on Ice proved as it returned to Car- diff Motorpoint Arena on Wednesday evening hosted by eternal favourites Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Donald Duck and Goofy. Mickey and co may be there


for the older generations, however, it soon became ap- parent that the real pull of this latest ice spectacular


Review: Disney on Ice presents Magical Ice Festival


are the colourful characters of The Little Mermaid, Tan- gled, Beauty and The Beast and Disney’s latest box-of- fice smash Frozen. Served up in 25 minute segments, colourfully-choreographed sequences are the stage for popular songs and dialogue from the films. For The Little Mermaid,


Sebastian the crab is accom- panied by a dazzling array of sea life friends including starfish, seahorses, Ariel, Flounder and wicked Ur- sula the sea witch. Similarly, Beauty and The Beast revis- its the tale of Belle and The Beast while bringing to life the characters Lumiere the candlestick, Cogsworth the clock and good old Mrs Potts the Teapot and her son chip. Tangled revisits the fa- miliar tale of Rapunzel and features a comic ice dance


Classic BBC comedy set to shine on stage


SOME of TV’s most iconic comic characters are set to tread the boards of the Dol- man Theatre when Newport Playgoers present Blackad- der Goes Forth in May. Based on the final series of


the BBC hit comedy, this play has the recurring characters of Blackadder, Baldrick and George scheming to get out of the trenches in Flanders during World War One, while General Melchett & Captain Darling thwart their efforts in their own bumbling style. Recreating an undisputed


TV classic – whose charac- ters were made memorable by some of the most endur- ing names in British comedy


– would be a daunting mis- sion for most amateur thea- tre companies. But Playgoers have a great track record of bringing popular sitcoms to life on the stage. Previous successes include The Vicar of Dibley, ‘Allo ‘Allo, Fawlty Towers and Dad’s Army. “This revival of Blackadder


Goes Forth is timely with this year being the centenary of the start of World War One and the 25th anniversary of when the show first aired on TV,” said the play’s director Rosemary Bissex. “Amid all the jokes and satire in the original script by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, the final scene where


our heroes finally go over the top is a classic, truly emotion- al TV moment,” she added. The play is packed with hu- mour but it also has the pow- er to make audiences reflect on the indiscriminate waste of so many lives – all those naive Baldricks, the patriotic Georges and the world-weary Blackadders who never re- turned from the Great War. Blackadder Goes Forth is


at the Dolman Theatre from 13-16 May at 7.15pm with a matinee performance on the Saturday at 2.30 pm. For more details or to book


tickets call 01633 263670 or visit dolmantheatre.co.uk.


IN REHEARSAL: A near-miss in the trenches for George (James Symonds), Blackadder (Steve Drowley) and Baldrick (Gordon Collins) Photo: Phil Mansell


routine with the characters brandishing frying pans to the song I’ve Got a Dream. This sequence particularly stands out as the skaters por- traying Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder really get into their roles,while the addition of Maximus the Horse adds a certain comic value to the set. The real pull of the show is Frozen, not only because of the tale’s wintery setting that lends itself to the ice show format but also for the won- derful performances of the


skaters filling the roles of the already iconic Elsa and Ana. The real gasps of amaze- ment from the audience came when both Sven the reindeer and Olaf the Snowman skat- ed into view. A must for Disney fans of


all ages, Disney on Ice presents Magical Ice Festival contin- ues at the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff until Saturday . Tick- ets are available from the Box Office on 02920 224488. Andy Howells


Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, on May 8, at 7.30pm, and runs until May 16, at 7.30pm. Tickets are £15, concessions: £2 off, under- 25s: half price. To book, call 029 2064 6900.


Chums to improvise in Cardiff


IMPRO CHUMS: Paul and friends


FOLLOWING the publication of his autobiography, Only When I Laugh, and over a dec- ade of sell-out seasons at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Paul Merton is taking to the road again with his world-re- nowned Impro Chums. Paul and his chums are won-


ders of nature. They take au- dience suggestions and create cascades of fantastic tumbling laughter. Every showis an adventure. Paul Merton is a founder member of The Comedy Store Players, he still appears at the Comedy Store most Sundays. Catch the show at St David’s


Hall, Cardiff, on May 4. Call 029 2087 8444 or visit stdavidshall- cardiff.co.uk for details.


POWERFUL:


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