Culture
REVIEW: The Verdict at the Mayflower Theatre
All rise in court, as for tonight your honour, the Mayflower theatre was transformed into Boston 1980. This play is a stage adaptation of a book and film both with the same name, all about an alcoholic Boston lawyer who is taking his last shot towards redemption in a medical negligence case against a very powerful attorney. Sounds like a great idea for a film and book right. Lots of detail and jumping from place to place with different story lines coming together to help the pace of the film progress. But would the same idea with long speeches packed full of detail work on stage? The answer? I think it does yes, and I think they’ve done it very well.
One thing that is always a worry about adaptations from screen, or book to stage, is the question, will people actually understand what is going on? Especially if they have no prior information about the storyline? And again I think the answer to that question is yes. Barry Reed’s book and David Mamet’s screenplay aren’t exactly the fastest paced stories to follow (especially not in the beginning), and one thing a play ideally needs to be is fast paced to keep that audience engagement. Margaret May Hobbs, who adapted the story for the stage, has done an incredible job at doing just this! Something that I was really impressed by was the overall energy from the cast, especially when the subjects they are talking about aren’t exactly the most exciting. The cast have clearly worked very hard with the director, Michael Lunney (who is also part of the cast), to each understand their characters fully and bounce off of each other to keep that tempo up.
It goes without saying the the role of the boozy Boston lawyer Frank Galvin, played by the well renowned Jason Merrells, was just perfection. Merrells’ performance hit all the right beats. He made us empathise with him, empathise for him and empathise for ‘his client’ all within the space of the same dialogue. From curtain up, we were with him the whole time taking in each and every word to fully help us understand not only the story, but his character. Fantastic! Nigel Barber who played the role of J. Edgar Concannon, the defence attorney to Galvin’s plaintiff, gave another performance to be noted. His character was almost the ‘bad-guy’ of the play, which when acting is a very fine line between over-acting and becoming the pantomime villain, or under acting and completely throwing the power dynamic of the on stage battle. Barber walked that fine line perfectly and produced another fantastic note-worthy performance. Congratulations! I’d also like to give a special shoutout to Vincent Pirillo playing the role of Moe Katz, Galvin’s law partner; he added a different dimension to the cast almost being the voice of reason that the audience could resonate through. As previously mentioned, everybody clearly knew their roles like the back of their hands and their on stage connections were fantastic (especially the Galvin and Donna Saint Laurent (Reanne Farley) love interest). Brilliant work all round from each and every member of the cast!
The sound and lighting of the play were very simple and that’s all it had to be. Nothing fancy needed to be done, the set just needed to be lit and then every now and then a sound effect needed to be played. That’s literally it. As for the set, again it was very simple but I think that’s all it really needed to be. We saw multiple different places that we became familiar with, in Act 1 it was Galvin’s office and Meehan’s Bar which were fixed and didn’t move throughout the entirety of the act (just lit up when in use). In Act 2 it was just a fixed court room which was set up with three clear walls and the audience being the 4th (more on this a little bit later). There were drop down pieces of set throughout both acts which acted as another place and they too were fine I just wish that instead of being fixed in place and sitting in darkness when not in use, set pieces could roll on and off. I think it would have been that little bit clearer to help keep the attention of the audience for longer. That being said, the pièce de résistance is the courtroom (being a courtroom drama) and my hat goes off to all of the set and scenic art designers. They really brought Boston to Southampton.
For the pacing of the play, Act 1 did seem a little bit slow and actually felt a lot longer than it was. Act 1 was all about setting the scene and story for what was to come. So you can understand why it felt that little bit longer. Having said this, they did manage to cram a lot of information in without making us feel lost from what was going on. Job well done I’d say. I remember turning around in the interval and saying, “That actually felt like I was watching a movie, not a theatre production”. Something I think I have never said in the theatre before! Both Acts began when the houselights were still up and some silent acting was going on on-stage. It was almost as if the audience were a fly and the wall of these normal people’s lives and it could’ve been very effective. Unfortunately I just don’t think many of the audience quite got it. Everybody was just sort of looking around at each other asking “Has it started?”. Act 2 was the big crescendo of what Act 1 was leading to. The trial. My oh my was it good. The acting, mixed with the brilliant writing left the audience audibly gasping. You couldn’t get much more up tempo than this. Without revealing any spoilers, there were so many twists and turns that were so unexpected, throwing the classic ‘court-drama dramatic-irony’ out of the window. The thing I liked most about Act 2 was the indirect 4th wall break. Throughout the whole Act, the audience played the role of the jury. Yes the actors were talking directly out to us as If we were the jury, but it never became cheesy as they were never expecting an answer – much like a real jury in court. We were all of a sudden a part of this story we had become so invested in. Superb!
The stage adaptation of ‘The Verdict’ does incredibly well at getting a complex story across, making the audience feel invested and even feel apart of the story that they’d just experienced. You end up going through a full range of emotions and the whole cast and company have done a fantastic job in creating this captivating story live. ‘The Verdict’ has had a very successful run on tour and you can definitely see why! A massive congratulations to everybody involved – court is adjourned.
If something looks perfect from the outside does it mean it actually is?
That’s the concept that director Jay Roach brings to life in the new movie The Roses released in August 2025.
The Roses is a reimagining of the 1989 film The War of the Roses which was originally based on Warren Adler’s 1981 novel.
Although unlike the novel the characters instead are shown to struggle with their different careers either rising or falling.
It has been adapted, in my opinion, to make it resonate with women a lot more as in both the novel and first film the women were stay at home mothers who felt unsatisfied.
This appears to be one of the main reasons for the divorces with Barbara (Kathleen Turner) eventually turning to a catering business.
However, within the new modernised version Ivy’s (Olivia Colman) successful career is a point of contempt for Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch).
While it starts off with a more realistic depiction of parents struggling with the loss of a career and a start of a new one, it slowly divulges itself away from the typical divorcee movie.
I watched this movie at the Everyman (luxury I know!) and the grip it had on me as an audience member was outstanding.
With the selection of actors involved in this movie it’s no surprise that there is a mix of comedy and drama making it a satirical black comedy.
While it was delightful to watch, I feel that some audience members might criticise the realism of the movie.
Yet I go to the cinema to be transported from real life so the mix of realism and shock factor was highly entertaining.
A contrasting mix of comedy and darkness
The performances from the actors was exactly what the movie needed.
The chemistry, or lack thereof, between Colman and Cumberbatch was so believable that you would think that they were married in real life.
Their delivery of both the comedy and the rage was again so believable that it sucked me as the audience into what was the “dirty laundry” of their personal lives.
With a supporting cast including Andy Samberg, Allison Janney and others their characters mostly brought the comedy relief needed in to break the movie up.
They also gave us a contrast to the main relationship being shown which helped us recognise how some of the actions were exaggerated for our benefit.
However, some critics online have noted that while it is undeniably a satirical dark comedy, the dark comedy seemed to be held back some times, therefore not always giving it the edge it needed.
I think that for a 15 certificate movie it had just the right amount to stretch over its wide audience.
Another criticism that The Roses received was that the contrast between the comedy and cruelty was sometimes so abrupt that it didn’t hit as hard as it could have.
At some points the comedy seemed out of place which almost gave the film a sort of jarring feel as they changed between the emotions.
The ending is ambiguous which can have mixed reactions from the audience.
Some may like to have the movie tied up neatly at the end whereas others like that they can believe what they want to believe.
I am the latter in the case of this movie as I enjoyed the fact that I could believe either the more macabre ending or not.
To me the ending, without giving any spoilers, had me on the edge of my seat with a real 360 turn.
Again it had the perfect amount of shock factor and comedy which highlighted the overall tone throughout.
I felt that it drew the entire film together nicely especially with the ending performance from Coleman and Cumberbatch.
Winchester original artist Sam Bishop has been releasing music for almost a decade but after not releasing a new song for the last two years, Just a Little is set to be release this Friday, February 7th.
Sam first got into music when he was in secondary school, after watching Imagine Dragons in the O2 he fell in love with their support act.
As an only child he has always been a creative person, writing stories and songs in his free time.
The first thought has never been how can I perform live but how can I write?
Sam also enjoyed:”I enjoy feeling nervous but eventually acting felt like second nature, so I decided to give music a go.”
After getting into music in school Sam released his first song in 2016.
“It has been trial and error since with each year getting better and better performing and writing more.”
I asked him whether he has always written his own songs, and he explained: “The first thought has never been how can I perform live but how can I write?
“That’s the angle I attack music with.”
For Sam music has always been a way to express how he feels.
But what’s the best part of the writing process?
Well, for Sam it’s the feeling of a song coming together as a whole, he compared the writing process to a tap, that it slowly drips until it starts to flow.
“You get a melody and a good lyric. It feels amazing when it all comes together it’s so special, it’s definitely a process it takes time and trial and error.”
Sam’s new single Just a Little, is no different, going through this same process, and has now come together ready for its release this Friday.
It all started in last summer, when Sam was on a flight from Miami to LA, he wasn’t interested in watching the typical films you find on airplanes, and felt creative, this is where the chorus for Just a Little was born.
Being away from family for a prolonged amount of time through working away and travelling gave Sam the feeling of wanting to be connected and keep in touch with people’s lives whilst being away.
Just a Little is about questioning whether you’re enough.
It’s a song full of vulnerability and expressing that and truly allowing yourself to feel those feelings.
After Sam’s travels he got home and revisited the song, from there it started to take off and really build.
He sent the song to his friend Toby who he describes as an unbelievable guitarist, and an excellent musician.
Toby then worked on the song as a production, whilst Sam worked on the lyrics.
Just a Little was kind of a one off, as a process it was very natural.
By mid-November the song was finished and now is the time for its release.
This song has a different sound to Sam’s previous songs, and he’s excited for people to hear this new style of music from him.
“It’s a very personal song washed under happy and jolly music.
“It’s very current and popular; something you’d expect to hear on the radio.”
Sam hopes that that the release allows people to connect with not just the lyrics but how the song feels.
Following the release Sam has big plans for the next year.
This is the start of a new sound for him, and he hopes more songs like this will follow with maybe one or two before the end of the year.
There are also a number of gigs to be announced for the next three months that he is looking forward to performing.
At the end of our interview Sam said: “Songs will happen, it’s what I love to do it’s so expressive as an art form and it’s something I will always want to do.
“Just a Little was kind of a one off, as a process it was very natural.
After not releasing a song for two years, once the lyrics were finished and he got the song back from Toby he knew this was the one that this would be the re-release of his music as an original artist.
Just a Little is out at midnight February 7th.
For announcements of new music and dates of performances you can follow Sam on Instagram @sambishopmusician.
The wait is over for Winchester’s burger lovers, as a new Five Guys restaurant has opened in the heart of the city centre.
The American burger chain, world famous for its customisable smash burgers and seemingly bottomless fries opened on Monday, December 2nd.
It was a soft launch without any ceremony for the restaurant, but the new staff and management immediately had a growing queue of customers on their hands.
Five Guys has taken one of three units from the former Debenhams department store. The other two are Nando’s which opened last month and Pizza Express.
Founded in Virginia in 1986, Five Guys launched in the UK in 2013 and has become a popular choice for burger lovers, including celebrities such as Tommy Fury, Mollie King, Ed Sheeran, and Maya Jama.
There are now 1,800 restaurants worldwide including 171 in the UK.
The new Winchester branch is expected to be a popular addition to the city’s food scene.
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