Anne Pritchard, Author at North West End UK

The Salon: The Sequel! – St Helens Theatre Royal

6Oct

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

The Salon: The Sequel! – St Helens Theatre Royal

This adult comedy show, written by Drew Quayle, follows the antics and everyday life of salon manager, Carol, played by radio and stage star Leanne Campbell. It’s predecessor show, The Salon originally played at St Helens Theatre Royal in 2009, playing again in 2011 and 2017, before transferring to Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre in 2018. This stand-alone sequel has been updated to reflect current local Liverpool culture and is awash with Scouse over-the-top caricatures and Scouse humour which had the hyped-up audience showing their appreciation with boisterous whoops and piercing squeals of laughter amid noisy excitement. Carol (Leanne Campbell) is orchestrator of the story, managing the salon staff and trying to keep her family life in control. Her staff of two, be...

17May

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Frankie Goes to Bollywood – HOME Mcr

Rifco Theatre Company delivers two and a half hours of delightful entertaining theatre with this enjoyable show; with comedic stereotypical depictions of characters from the Bollywood film industry, beautiful Indian costumes, energetic dance routines, an original musical score and abundant high-speed costume changes this production is a ‘must-see’. The story centres on Frankie (Laila Zaidi), a British Indian girl working in the Milton Keynes branch of a multi-chain cinema, serving popcorn with her cousin, Goldy (Katie Stasi). Frankie’s mother (Helen K Wint) passes away leaving her daughter with memories of her career and her longing to break into Bollywood. Frankie decides to try and fulfil her mother’s ambitions and auditions for a part in a Bollywood film, although never having ...

25Jul

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Titanic The Musical – Liverpool Empire

Titanic The Musical is based on the original Broadway production which won five Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book, as such, there's no Jack and Rose in this story as in the film of the same name. This stage production is based on real-life stories which include romance and heartbreak and are told mainly through song. Based on the book, by Peter Stone with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston the tale is portrayed with precision and composure; Thom Southerland’s direction ensures that the production is played to maximum effect whilst the Production team and the band are to be commended. The distressing tale of the Titanic tragedy is known world-wide and is not one which springs readily to mind to be portrayed in a musical production but despite being such a dist...

David Walliams’ Demon Dentist – Liverpool Empire

28Apr

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

David Walliams’ Demon Dentist – Liverpool Empire

David Walliams is now a well-known author and his children’s books have become infamous for their comedy and down-to-earth themes; he is probably classed as one of the most contemporary influential writers of children’s books at the present time, his characters are both endearing and outrageous whilst he also touches on the plights of unhappy and unloved children and their escapades. Demon Dentist is a stage adaptation of his latest book following on from Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy. This production is directed and adapted by Neal Foster of the Birmingham Stage Company. This story centres on Alfie (Sam Varley), a boy who has cared for his disabled dad since his mum passed away. After an unpleasant experience at the dentist six years prior to where this story ...

14Feb

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Rita Sue and Bob Too! – Epstein Theatre

This comedy-drama production is based on the British film, ‘Rita, Sue and Bob Too’ which burst onto screens in 1987, adapted by Andrea Dunbar based on two of her stage plays, ‘Rita, Sue and Bob Too’ (1982) and ‘The Arbour’ (1980); the play was first performed with the strapline, ‘Thatcher’s Britain with her knickers down’. Set in Bradford, it tells the story of two teenage schoolgirls, Rita and Sue, who embark on a sexual threesome with a married man; the girls, both from working-class backgrounds, live on a deprived council estate and are finishing their final year at school. To earn money, they babysit for married couple Bob and his wife, Michelle who live in a modern house on an executive development on the wealthy side of town. Without his wife knowing, Bob enjoys sex wi...

<strong>SHREK The Musical – Liverpool Empire</strong>

4Dec

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

SHREK The Musical – Liverpool Empire

This family-focused musical with music by Jeanine Tesori is based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation film, Shrek, with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire; it brings all the familiar characters from the film to life. It is a very funny, unusual fairy-tale in which curses are reversed, donkeys and dragons find love, princesses in all shapes and sizes are beautiful and monsters get the girls. The moral of the story is that it's important to accept people who are different and the title character, who is a green ogre, definitely fits the bill. Shrek is a swamp-dwelling ogre who, in a make-believe land, embarks on a quest to reclaim his land. He encounters a smart-aleck donkey with the gift of the gab, who becomes a good friend, battles a scarey fire-breathing dragon and...

Strictly Ballroom the Musical – Liverpool Empire

18Oct

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Strictly Ballroom the Musical – Liverpool Empire

Anyone attending this show and expecting BBC TV’s Strictly Come Dancing will be disappointed; Strictly Ballroom the Musical is a musical theatre adaptation of the 1992 cult, classic, film Strictly Ballroom. The glitzy glamour and ballroom dancing is there but that’s where the similarity ends. The show was preceded by a voice-over by Director/Co-Choreographer, Craig Revel Horwood announcing in an Australian accent, jokingly, that any photographs taken during the performance are not allowed and should be instantly uploaded to as many social platforms as possible immediately after the performance. The Strictly Ballroom film directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann is a comedic satire on the cut-throat world of amateur ballroom dancing; it is regarded as an edgy, in-your-face mockumentary...

The Proclaimers – Liverpool Philharmonic

11Oct

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

The Proclaimers – Liverpool Philharmonic

Identical twin brothers, Craig and Charlie Reid are strikingly individual in the flesh. Born in Leith in 1962, they list their influences as being early rock ‘n’ roll and country artists. After playing in punk bands they formed The Proclaimers in 1983; their first big break came in 1986 when they were invited to tour with The Housemartins. In January 1987 they appeared on Channel 4’s The Tube, singing in regional accents about Scotland, its emigration and its politics, they became a phenomenon almost overnight and the rest is history. They walked onto the stage without fuss or ceremony, both dressed similarly in black tops and jeans with the audience giving them a welcome cheer and launch into their first song, ‘Dentures Out’. Immediately that unmistakable, instantly recogni...

Dave Gorman: Powerpoint to the People – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

1Oct

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Dave Gorman: Powerpoint to the People – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Dave Gorman entered the stage greeted with a round of tumultuous applause from the audience; it was a full house of mainly 35-year-olds upwards eagerly awaiting Gorman’s characteristic brand of comedy and enlightening statistical information. He was dressed in his usual attire of checked shirt denim jeans and trainers, his trademark laptop, stage right. Gorman is known for his popular acclaimed TV series, ‘Modern Life Is Goodish’ where he has proved himself to be an exemplar, brutally revealing life’s incongruities in comedic fashion. In a show lasting just over two hours he delivers an enormous amount of interesting information in his characteristic manner; he is both fast-talking and slick, often laughing uncontrollably at his own jokes. From the offset he proceeds to ask everyone ...

The Osmonds: A New Musical – Liverpool Empire

7Sep

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

The Osmonds: A New Musical – Liverpool Empire

Love them or loathe them, The Osmonds were a tour de force in the musical showground in the 1960’s and 1970’s and the brothers attracted massive adulation from female fans, particularly Donny; together the group lived an incredible life producing chart-topping albums, selling out huge arena concerts and creating record-breaking TV shows. This production is based on Jay Osmond’s personal experiences charting the story of an extraordinary family and their rise to superstardom. Alex Lodge as Jay acts as Narrator; he managed a heavy script containing facts and figures about the Osmond family detailing their highs and lows; he did it extremely well with exuberance and panache. The Osmond brothers and sister, Marie were born in Utah, USA to parents George and Olive; brothers Alan, Wayne...