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DISS • NORFOLK

Author: David Vass

An extraordinary performance by Henri Merriam
19th Jun 2025
by David Vass
Henri Merriam's extraordinary performance in her own play must be one of best we've seen at the Corn Hall in a very long time. Her acting throughout was intense, sometimes uncomfortably so, but never less… read more
Posted in Theatre
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An Outstanding performance from Growing Theatre
16th Jun 2025
by David Vass
Asked why we go to the theatre and most would say it’s to be entertained, but sometimes it's more complex than that. Ten years ago I saw the play Factor 9 which highlighted the scandal… read more
Posted in Uncategorised

The Corn Hall welcomes a sweet creature of bombast
13th Jun 2025
by David Vass
Giles Shenton was surely born to play Falstaff even if, as he begrudgingly admitted, the RSC wasn't interested. Just one of countless asides that may or may not be ad-libbed in Simon Downing's tribute to… read more
Posted in Theatre

Chris Sainton-Clark celebrates Pub Life in Song
6th Jun 2025
by David Vass
The Corn Hall in Diss is about as far from North Norfolk as you can get without leaving the county, but I dare we've all had days out there. However, Chris Sainton-Clark didn't come all… read more
Posted in Music
Tags: ,

Why the Dickens?
24th May 2025
by David Vass
I’m surely not the only person who hadn't heard of Willian Macready before Mark Stratford's performance, let alone appreciate his contribution to theatre as we know it. Stratford's masterly one man show took his audience… read more
Posted in Theatre
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keeping abreast of ignorance with Open Space
16th May 2025
by David Vass
Given Arthur Miller's impressive body of work and the reputation it earned him, it’s easy to forget that All My Sons was effectively the last roll of the dice after a string of undistinguished attempts… read more
Posted in Theatre
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have we eaten on the insane root?
11th May 2025
by David Vass
It's been a little over a year since the You’re Bard company last visited the Corn Hall. On that occasion, A Midsummer Night’s Dream was given a mauling and I ended up on stage pretending to… read more
Posted in Comedy, Theatre
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The play's the thing
10th May 2025
by David Vass
Written and performed by Mark Carey, Dead on Cue is a ghost story set in the dressing room of a London theatre where Sir Claude Mason is performing in Hamlet, the twist being we see… read more
Posted in Theatre
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Ain't I a Woman?
2nd May 2025
by David Vass
The springboard for AIAW.org productions’ portmanteau presentation is Sojourner Truth's ground breaking speech, delivered in the seventeenth century having walked away, to use her words, from a life of slavery. Her rhetorical question, Ain't I… read more
Posted in Theatre
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A love letter to Norwich
27th Apr 2025
by David Vass
Although John Osborne's CV no doubt describes him as a poet - the evening opened with a couple of fine examples - it is as a storyteller that he has truly distinguished himself. His autobiographical… read more
Posted in Comedy, Word
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