Adam Williams, Author at North West End UK

What Does It Take to Slay a Dragon – 53two

13Jun

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

What Does It Take to Slay a Dragon – 53two

The first rule of dramatic writing is to “show not tell”. Drama works best when the audience is engaged in the story, its characters and the conflict that lies within it. They are drawn in and become involved, developing a genuine care for the characters. That feeling may be love, or it may be hate, but they are interested because they are watching something dramatic unfold. It is disruptive, then, for people watching if the actors simply break the fourth wall and just tell them what is happening. Structurally, this play was a mess. The writer, Rebekah Harrison, warned the audience that they were in for something different, and whilst it may be seen as a brave move to tell the story in the way she did, it simply did not work. It stopped you from caring about the characters and made itse...

17Mar

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

The Flying Dutchman – The Lowry

I’m afraid this production of The Flying Dutchman, an opera about a man cursed to wander the oceans forever, was itself all-at-sea, lacking direction, and one feared, at times, would sink under the weight of its sadly misguided reimagined central conceit. It was kept afloat by the excellence of the cast, but the production itself did not seem to know where it was going because the basic idea behind it did not work. In their own words, they “have re-imagined The Flying Dutchman to take place on the ‘ship of state’: the Home Office. Daland is the ‘Home Secretary’ and the Dutchman and his crew become displaced people seeking refuge.” This analogy just did not work and whilst it was a noble effort to make The Dutchman a man seeking asylum it did not fit with the opera and became confusin...

26Feb

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

The Merchant of Venice 1936 – The Lowry

The timing of this production could not be better, setting as it does one of Shakespeare’s most problematic plays amid the rise and fall of Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists in mid-thirties England. With certain tech giants performing “Roman salutes” and the frightening rise of fascist political parties taking place across Europe, we seem to be returning to the dark days of the 1930s. This adaptation of Shakespeare’s play powerfully brings to life the vicious remorselessness of bigotry and how it can be fought and defeated. Projected onto the back wall were the sensationalist antisemitic headlines of the day, newsreel clips of fascist marches and Mosley’s call for “Britain First.” The frightening echoes of what is happening now were stark but the play also reminded us that th...

25Feb

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Madama Butterfly – Opera House

Every betrayal begins with trust and curiously this production of Madama Butterfly became more powerful simply because of where the orchestra came from. As they say on the telly when the football scores come on look away now if you don’t want to know the essential twist in the plot of this opera. Many will be aware of how this story unfolds but if you don’t want to know, stop reading now. I usually avoid giving the plot away in my reviews but the intersection of life and art that this production unwittingly brought means I have to mention it to do it justice. At the centre of the play is a betrayal by an American and the music for this production was played by the Orchestra of the Ukrainian Opera and Ballet Theatre, Kyiv. I hate to bring politics into a work of art but the betray...

5Feb

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

The Shark is Broken – Lowry

Everyone knows that the film Jaws was a box-office smash. It was based on a best-selling novel by Peter Benchley and one critic said of the book, “None of the humans are particularly likable or interesting” and they felt the shark was the most compelling character. Spielberg agreed with them, which is why he changed the characters in the movie after deciding that the book's characters were unlikeable. This play concentrates on the three stars of the film, Roy Schneider (Dan Fredenburgh), Richard Dreyfuss (Ashley Margolis) and Robert Shaw (Ian Shaw) who are forced to wait around on the boat while the film’s techies try to fix Bruce, the broken animatronic shark. At first, it appears that these actors, like the characters in the book, are not “particularly likeable or interesting.” ...

18Dec

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Cinderella – Opera House

From the moment the curtain rose on the Opera House stage there was magic in the room and everyone was transported into a world of laughter and light. It had fun, frolics, wit and so much warmth that they probably could have turned the heating off in the theatre. This was a panto with a distinctly northern edge. It was laid-back and friendly, with enough jokes to keep the kids amused but also plenty of gags for the adults that would easily sail over younger heads. Topical jokes were thrown in and there were a few ad-libs when things on stage didn’t go as planned. This show was early on in the run, but you could feel that the cast was having a great time. Everyone knows the story of Cinderella and there was little jeopardy or drama on stage. This panto was not particularly concerned w...

12Dec

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

The Human Voice – King’s Arms, Salford

The insistence of a telephone ringing can be annoying, “Answer me! Answer me!”, it cries. Yet when it stops and there is silence, that is worse. A phone call is the perfect metaphor for a play about disconnection. Callers can be cut off and find themselves shouting into the void, searching for someone to talk to. We all want to find someone with whom we can connect. Jean Cocteau saw the theatrical benefit of the phone call with his play La Voix Humaine in 1930. At that time the telephone was the only way for two people to communicate at a distance. The main problem with adapting the play and setting it in the present day is that there are now so many ways for two people to “talk” to each other that the last way they would do it is to speak over a landline. However, I am willin...

31Oct

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Frank 4 Sophie 4 Eva – 53two

Of all the politics in the world, sexual politics is perhaps the most difficult to navigate especially when the initial thrill has gone. It is bad enough when sex has become a chore, a lie back and think of England job, where you have to fantasise about Scottish heroes from the 17th century to get you through it. Yet for Frank (Simon Naylor) and Sophie (Alexandra Maxwell) sex isn’t even that. They have completely stopped doing it and are visiting a sex therapist to see if they can sort out their love life. Are sex and love the same thing they ask? Can you have one without the other? Frank is full of one-liners and bravado. He is definitely up for it and can’t understand why Sophie does not want to have sex with him anymore. Why does she fancy Jamie from Outlander and prefer to read ...

28Sep

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Two of Us – HOME Mcr

It seems somehow apposite that this play about the last meeting of Paul McCartney and John Lennon should be staged just as a certain well-known group from Manchester is about to reunite. Not just because of the massive debt that Oasis owed the Beatles but because Lennon and McCartney were in some ways like a pair of warring brothers only with more wit and talent. Throughout the seventies, until John Lennon was murdered, they would both be constantly asked if The Beatles were going to reunite. There is a story that even after Lennon’s death the remaining three were offered a fortune to get back together but they all turned it down as they said without John it wouldn’t be The Beatles. On an April night in 1976, Paul makes a surprise visit to John’s apartment in New York. Lenn...

26Aug

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Coming Home – King’s Arms, Salford

The link between a football fan and their team can often be like the relationship between a man and a woman. First, there is deep passion which means the supporter can love and hate his club simultaneously. Secondly, there is a lot of shouting involved, some kissing, a bit of singing and every now and then feelings of pure ecstasy. Regretfully, some people's passion for their football team surpasses their love for their significant other. If that team is the England football team you can introduce layers of hope, desire, frustration, and as we all know, ultimately disappointment. When similar emotions are applied to the romance between Jack (Christopher Wollaton) and Suzie (Lucy Farrar), you have a hilarious drama that is just as dramatic and emotional as any penalty shootout. Ja...