REVIEWS Archives - North West End UK

The Drifters Girl – Birmingham Hippodrome

17Apr

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

North West

The Drifters Girl – Birmingham Hippodrome

Faye Treadwell, born in Arkansas in 1926, owned and managed the Drifters following the death of her husband George Treadwell in 1967 and since then navigated their careers and oversaw many legal battles over the use of the name. She made history as one of the first African American managers in show business and created a reputation as a hard-headed businesswoman. Plus, she gave the world the Drifters! For those of us brought up in the seventies the great American songbook was filling up nicely with much loved numbers by tunesmiths who’d long since packed away their music stands and headed for swimming pool filled retirement, but not Miss Treadwell and not the Drifters. They were still touring well into the eighties and beyond with Tina Treadwell taking over her mother’s musical mantle ...

Les Misérables: School Edition – Hyde Festival Theatre

17Apr

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Les Misérables: School Edition – Hyde Festival Theatre

It’s not very often, if ever, that I am left speechless by a performance, but this was one such occasion. I found myself so enthralled by what was happening on the stage that I forgot that I was actually meant to be reviewing the show, in fact I got to the end of Act 1 and discovered that I hadn’t written anything on my notes, so I will have to write this review purely from memory. I’ve had to edit my review and have left out the synopsis which I had originally included. For those few of you who don’t know the story of Les Miserables, all I can suggest is that Google is a wonderful thing! Anyway, back to the show. The first solo of the performance was taken by Harry O’Connor as the Bishop of Digne who set the standard for the rest of the performers to follow, a good opening and grea...

17Apr

By Grace AnnabelNo Comments

North West

I Should Be So Lucky – Liverpool Empire

This evening, I had the immense privilege of watching Debbie Isitt and Jason Gilkison’s brand new musical creation, ‘I should be so lucky’ at the marvellous Liverpool Empire Theatre, which cleverly comprises of Stock Aitken Watermans greatest hits intertwined into a hilariously feel-good tale. The show takes us on an action-packed whirlwind, when two engaged lovers (Ella and Nathan) experience the greatest pre-wedding jitters of all, causing Ella to be jilted at the altar, but as the show’s tagline says ‘The wedding is off but the Honeymoon is on’! The show opens to reveal a set of great stature, with many cut out heart layers all one behind the other boasting gorgeous seaside themed details and outlined with vibrant lighting on each panel, demonstrating the show’s incredibly high p...

15Apr

By Zara OdetundeNo Comments

London

The Comeuppance – Almeida Theatre

The Comeuppance is the first offering of the Almeida’s 2024 season as a thought-provoking piece of theatre that will leave the audience reflecting on their own lives. The Comeuppance takes place at the pre drinks of a circle of high school friends who reunite before they attend their 20th high school reunion. Many haven’t seen each other for years and each person is at a different point in their lives, as they reconnect and share old memories and inside jokes, another presence is hovering on the outskirts. Death. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins writes a play in which the characters are exploring their perspective of mortality and maturity. They have all grown up since they have last seen each other and have started to reflect on their choices and the consequences of them, all the what ifs an...

15Apr

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

Dreamcoat Stars – Floral Pavilion

After their inaugural tour in 2023, the Dreamcoat Stars are back again with their UK tour for 2024 and tonight I am at The Floral Pavilion, New Brighton and an extremely full looking audience who are here to have a fun night with great songs, fantastic vocals, and some fabulous dance moves. Tonight’s line up are Sam Cassidy, Keith Jack, Rob McVeigh, and Graham Tudor. Each member of this group has strong links to the musical Joseph and the amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, hence the name The Dreamcoat Stars, and it’s through their love of the show and theatre that have brought these stars together to deliver a fantastic night of entertainment. The stage is set up with a levelled scaffolding stage in the centre of the main stage to create levels for the stars to sing from and six large ...

James V: Katherine – The Studio, Edinburgh

15Apr

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

James V: Katherine – The Studio, Edinburgh

How do you make a play about the Scottish reformation, set in 1527-28; playful, thought-provoking and above all very funny. Writer Rona Munro provides a master class in character writing, and humour in a fascinating historical setting in this superbly watchable addition to her James Plays. Many will already be aware of Munro’s epic historical series comprising of seven works in total, six staged to date, which span two centuries of the house of Stuart between 1406 and 1603. This is part 5 of the series, but unlike all the others which have been grand in scale and staging, Katherine is a much more intimate four-hander chamber piece, which seeks to delve into the very minutiae of life, love and death. The play is set in a time when the Catholic Church’s grip on Scotland is loosening, ...

The First Chapter – The Wesley Centre, Maltby

14Apr

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The First Chapter – The Wesley Centre, Maltby

Firstly, may I thank you for your invite to join you on this evening of; what can truly be called; an evening of celebration. Celebration of all things musical, celebration of diversity, celebration of community and celebration of the power of the Arts to entertain and enlighten. Sherlock Productions was originally founded by the late Paddy Sherlock as Humdrum Amdram, but after his tragic passing the company was renamed Sherlock Productions in his honour. The now co-founders Shelley Edwards and Jade Wilkinson state ‘the company aims to be a safe space for all people, irrespective of their needs, abilities, age and gender. The company has become a place for people who want to perform but for whatever reason don’t feel they fit in with other companies’. The First Chapter was an ...

13Apr

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

90 Days – Traverse Theatre

There are few things that raise an actor’s energy and commitment (and fear!) more than playing a character who is sitting barely a few feet away from them. Tonight, in Traverse 1, all five actors on stage faced this particular challenge and all rose as a powerful team, bonded by music, to face their namesakes in the audience and to tell the unlikely story of what happened in dressing room and rugby pitch exactly thirty years ago. In an emotion-packed evening there are tears, laughter, singing and a real buzz of camaraderie. On stage Dani Heron, Caitlin Forbes, Yang Harris and Ava MacKinnon play some of the key players of the 1994 Scotland rugby team, Sue (Subo) Brodie, Sandra (gnomie) Colamartino, Kim (headgirl) Littlejohn and Annie (Fannie) Freitas, with John Kielty as their (do...

13Apr

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Giselle Remix – Pleasance Theatre

Giselle Remix leaves you feeling inspired. Dare I say hopeful and courageous? You don't have to be gay or queer or pining for unrequited love. You come for the debauchery of cabaret but stay for the heart wrenching poetry of Raison d'être of life. Giselle Remix arrives at the Pleasance Theatre after a sold-out premiere at the Royal Opera House. Giselle, considered a masterwork of the classical ballet canon created in 1841, has been brought to many a stage in the past 183 years. This brainchild of the Pleasance Associate Artist Jack Sears and Royal Ballet Soloist Hannah Grennell has created a rapturous thunderclap in its universality of emotions and expression that is timeless. Before anyone comes on stage, the lights and orchestra fill it up. The music of an era gone by fil...

13Apr

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Player Kings – Noel Coward Theatre

If it were not for the promotion of this show, the title would hide the fact that the play came from Shakespeare’s quill. Incorporating both Henry IV Part One and Two, this adaptation faces the challenge of giving the audience a decent slice of the two plays, without losing the essence that makes each play special. It is a brave actor that takes on such a dialogue heavy role as Falstaff, with almost four hours of performance, but Sir Ian McKellen is a brave knight, and despite his eighty-four years, and his acknowledgement that this is a role that he has previously avoided, he is victorious in his joust with words. Adapted and directed by Robert Icke, there is a fresh breeze blowing through this history play. Gone is the chainmail, replaced with khaki fatigues and red beret...