Adam Williams, Author at North West End UK

Act Your Age New Writing Festival – Hope Mill Theatre

24Aug

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Act Your Age New Writing Festival – Hope Mill Theatre

In a youth obsessed culture such as ours it was nice to see some plays written for actors over forty. This new writing festival, we were told, had been in the planning for 18 months and now, thankfully, it was here. It was the first of three evenings of new short plays that will be taking place at the Hope Mill Theatre over the next few weeks. The first play was Paper Crown by Laura Harper. It was partly about how we imagine the lives of others to be better than our own. This two-hander was an intriguing take on the familiar trope of the errant husband and the vengeful wife. Hell hath no fury… At first, we think we are watching a play about class. A working-class couple are in their pyjamas getting ready for bed. His are stained by ketchup, hers are cheap and tasteless. She ido...

12Aug

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Anna X – The Lowry

It could be said that all plays are about identity at some level. Acting itself is about artifice, cultivating a character, creating a believable personality, a person that can convince. In our ordinary lives we wear a mask to hide our true selves and present a version of ourselves we feel people will accept, or even, perhaps, like. Of course, everything is judged, in these days of social media, by the like. People evaluated by how many likes, shares and comments they gained for an image posted or an opinion given. Social media identities are as much of a pretence as a real life mask. They are idealised, a Sunday-best version of the real person. Often, the social media personality just wants to create envy, to show off, to be the person they wish they could be. Influencers, YouTubers...

Black Is The Color Of My Voice – Stream.Theatre

11Jul

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

REVIEWS

Black Is The Color Of My Voice – Stream.Theatre

The tragic murder of George Floyd last year in Minneapolis brought race back to the centre of the stage of American politics. It gave rise to the Black Lives Matter campaign, a movement echoing the civil rights protests of the 1960s led by Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Nina Simone, the inspiration for this wonderful one woman play, was part of that civil rights movement writing Mississippi Goddam in response to the murder of Medgar Evers in 1963 and the bombing of a church that killed four young black girls. She spoke at rallies and marches demanding change. Frustrated by Dr King’s non-violent approach she felt the movement should violently retaliate instead. This skilfully handled monologue is no polemic though, concentrating mainly on the relationship between the singer and her father....

Opera North: A Night at the Opera – The Lowry

17Jun

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Opera North: A Night at the Opera – The Lowry

The last performance Opera North gave before lockdown in March 2020 was at The Lowry so it seems somehow appropriate that they should come out of their enforced hibernation to perform an evening of popular opera classics at the same venue. Also, this was the first time I have seen anything live since then and I have to say it was absolutely wonderful to see performers in the flesh, to feel their emotions and admire their talent. Online performances have got us through this terrible time but there is nothing like the real thing. The cavernous auditorium of the Lyric theatre was, because of Covid restrictions, mostly empty. Even though the audience was small it was extremely appreciative of a wonderful night’s entertainment. Paul Daniel, the conductor, was a charming and witty tour ...

Waiting for Lefty by Clifford Odets – Two Line Productions

20May

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

REVIEWS

Waiting for Lefty by Clifford Odets – Two Line Productions

Written in 1935, during the depression, this play was inspired by a real life strike of cab drivers in New York in 1934. On its first performance one critic said it caused, “joyous fervour” amongst the audience. The drivers in the play are overworked and underpaid by their bosses. Their wives and kids are suffering and they are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. They are stuck in a metaphorical traffic jam unable to move forward with their lives. The characters are trapped and looking for a way out. One of the characters says, “The cards is stacked for all of us.” The game they feel is fixed against them and unless they try and change the rules of the game they will be stuck there forever. A ruthless capitalist emphasises the conflict by saying, “If big business went sentime...

26Apr

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

REVIEWS

The Winter’s Tale – RSC Online

According to the Washington Post President Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims during his four years in office. At the time of writing this review the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of acting dishonestly in a number of different scandals. Shakespeare knew that those in charge are not always honest and truthful. In this play he examines the consequences when an all-powerful man fails to act with honour. The shadow of Henry VIII and his treatment of Elizabeth I’s mother Anne Boleyn hangs over the drama. The play is all about honesty, integrity, honour and trust. It is at base a moral fable where purity is rewarded and sin is punished. King Leontes, a jealous tyrant believes his pregnant wife Hermione is having an affair with his boyhood friend, the king...