THE COLOR PURPLE (CURVE, LEICESTER)*****

  

By Cal

Link: https://www.curveonline.co.uk/whats-on/shows/the-color-purple-at-home

Available until: Livestreams at various times every day except Monday with the final show on Sunday 7^th March at 5pm.

I’ve found there are two kinds of violent books. The ones where the main objective seems to be to write about something shocking and terrible. And the ones where the main objective is to tell a story.

When I read Alice Walker’s remarkable novel The Color Purple, it was clear it belonged in the second category. Some of the violence in the book is shocking and difficult to read about, but it’s there because it has to be. It’s part of the story Celie is telling. It’s there because Celie’s story needs to be told.

SUNSET BOULEVARD (Curve Theatre, Leicester)****

 

By Emma

Link: https://www.curveonline.co.uk/whats-on/shows/sunset-boulevard-in-concert-at-home

Available until: Livestreams at various times on 31^st December and 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th January. The final livestream is on 4pm on Tuesday 5^th.

I haven’t seen Sunset Boulevard before and I was always under the impression it was a cold and nasty play about people who were out for themselves and didn’t care about anyone else.

It probably could be performed in that way but that wasn’t the case in this performance. I actually found it a very moving performance and different forms of love seem to be really important. There’s also a lot of tragedy in this play. If there is any coldness and nastiness in this musical, it comes from the world of theatre (not that it’s always like that) rather than the characters who all seem like victims of the theatre in different ways.