David S Clarke, Author at North West End UK

SIX (Teen Edition) – George Lawton Hall, Mossley

2Oct

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

SIX (Teen Edition) – George Lawton Hall, Mossley

This production would normally have taken place at the spiritual home of NK Theatre Arts at the Romiley Forum, but due to circumstances beyond anybody’s control, this venue became unavailable at very short notice, so it was moved to the George Lawton Hall in Mossley, which was the only place that could accommodate this production at relatively short notice. Within the space of two weeks the stage and production including the technical side was moved over 10 miles to the new venue, so it can only be imagined the difficulties that entailed – and this was before the show even started! Rehearsals were taking place at different venues, and it is amazing that the production went ahead at all! But go ahead it did, thank goodness. Speaking to the director, Paul Wilson, he informed me that they ...

My Fair Lady – The Forum Theatre, Romiley

22Jun

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

My Fair Lady – The Forum Theatre, Romiley

This production is based on the book and music by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, which were adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion. The original musical production of 1956 took place on Broadway before transferring to the West End and starred Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews in both productions. I have to confess a soft spot for this show as it was my first introduction to musical theatre as I can remember sitting on my auntie’s knee as a pre-school toddler with her singing “I could have danced all night” to me and from then on I was hooked! The storyline is based around a cockney flower-seller, Eliza Doolittle, who is taken under the wing of Professor Henry Higgins, a phonetician, who undertakes a wager with his linguistic colleague, Colonel Pickering, that within six mo...

26Apr

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Guys & Dolls – Forum Theatre, Romiley

This production is based on the stories and characters from the 1950 books written by Damon Runyon. These stories centred on the underground crime scene of the 1920s and 1930s and was written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows around the already established music and lyrics of Frank Loesser. The original Broadway production premiered in 1950 and has enjoyed numerous revivals over the years. The show is set in Times Square in New York City but moves along to Havana in Cuba and eventually into the underground sewers of New York, but by the end everybody ends up where they belong. The show was complimented with a live band conducted by the excellent Ed Nurse as Musical Director with, for me, a particularly impressive female reed section, although all the musicians played their parts to perfection...

School of Rock – The Forum Theatre, Romiley

23Mar

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

School of Rock – The Forum Theatre, Romiley

Based on the film written by Mike White. Directed by Dominic Stannage. For those few who don’t already know the story of School of Rock, the show follows Dewey Finn, a struggling musician who longs to be a rock star. After being kicked out of his own band, Dewey is penniless and jobless. To meet his rent obligations, he disguises himself as a substitute teacher and lands a job at a prestigious private school. Totally out of his depth, Dewey ignores the usual curriculum and focuses on developing the musically talented children. He forms a rock band with the 10-year-olds in the hope of winning the upcoming Battle of the Bands competition – all the while attempting to hide his true identity. There was a considerable buzz in the foyer in anticipation of the start of the show, a very nice...

Bouncers and Shakers – The Forum Theatre

11Mar

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Bouncers and Shakers – The Forum Theatre

Written by John Godber. Directed by Jennie Davies and Pete Curran. The first version of “Bouncers” was written in 1977 by John Godber and premiered at the Edinburgh Festival that same year. Originally a two-hander, this play was expanded into its current version by Godber and Jane Thornton in 1980, when it became the piece which we now know and love. The pair of what I would describe as “mini playlets” were well performed by all the cast. Act 2 saw the male bouncers take to the stage whilst the first half was devoted to the cocktail waitresses, the “Shakers” who spend their time on stage observing and commenting on the people who patronise the bar in which they work and share insights into their own lives as they express their personal thoughts and feelings delivered by monologues from ...

Lea Salonga talks about touring and the best fish and chips

9Jun

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Lea Salonga talks about touring and the best fish and chips

International musical theatre legend Lea Salonga visits the UK later this month to perform a number of concerts. Ahead of the first date in Leicester our reviewer David Clarke spoke to Lea about the tour and finds out if she is most proud of her Olivier or Tony Award. Can I start by saying on behalf of Northwest End UK and your multitude of fans over here, a very warm welcome to the UK – or should that be welcome back to the UK, because this is not your first visit here, is it? Yes, I have been before and that was not that long ago, it was just three years ago. So, your first tour in the UK was 2019, was that the one that had to be rearranged because you suffered an injury? Actually, no, it didn’t have to be rearranged because by the time I actually arrived in the UK – I had br...

27Apr

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Sister Act – Forum Theatre

This production is based on the 1992 motion picture originally starring Whoopi Goldberg. The music was written by the prolific Alan Menken with lyrics by Glenn Slater. The original setting of the film was San Francisco in 1990s and for this production it has changed to Philadelphia in the 1970s, which enabled the musical score to develop particularly in the gospel and disco eras. The show was blest with a live band of very technically competent musicians which certainly enhanced the overall experience. A nice touch before the show started was having the nuns hand out the programmes. The storyline is based around gangster’s moll, Deloris Van Cartier (played admirably by Karina Thomlinson) who attempts to audition for a spot in her boyfriend’s nightclub. She fails at this and decides to b...

An Evening without Kate Bush – Waterside Arts

28Mar

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

An Evening without Kate Bush – Waterside Arts

Well, I expected this show to be a straightforward tribute to Kate Bush – how wrong I was, it was so much more. I would probably describe it as more like a comedy show with Kate Bush songs thrown in. It did help if (like the majority of the audience) you were an ardent fan of Kate Bush herself, although this was by no means an essential pre-requisite for enjoying the show. The lights dimmed and a darkly clad Sarah-Louise Young appeared on the stage to the sounds of Hounds of Love and this initiated a section of audience participation where a couple of willing volunteers were enticed onto the stage to sing backing vocals to the song Cloud bursting, which had all the audience waving their arms in time to the music. This was only the start of an evening which emphasised her amazing rapport...

Murder Ballad – Forum Theatre, Stockport

25Mar

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Murder Ballad – Forum Theatre, Stockport

The Northern Premier of this new musical originally performed in New York in 2012 and moved to the West End in 2016. Directed by Paul Wilson and assisted by Lucy Worthington. Murder Ballard is the story of a love triangle set in New York in the 1980s and is told in the format of a one act rock musical lasting about 80 minutes. Like all love triangles, this one goes wrong in a most spectacular manner. As my mother used to say, “It’ll all end in tears!” and it certainly does. Sara (played in a very sensual way by Heather Schofield, taking on the role played by Kerry Ellis in the West End version of the show) falls for two different men. Firstly, there is bad boy Tom (Matt Corrigan), the owner of the Kings Club bar, with whom Sara experiences the excitement she craves, until he gets bor...

13Oct

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

REVIEWS

King Lear – Scenesaver Online

Jo Emery's modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s play starts off with Lear as a CEO of a property development empire who is in the process of stepping down from his leading role and is dividing the business up between his three daughters. Before he does this though, he sets them a challenge to see how they can express their love for him. The two elder daughters give extremely flattering answers in praise of their father, but the youngest daughter, who actually loves him the most, remains silent as she cannot put into words the depth of feeling she has for her father. This greatly angers the king, and he banishes the youngest daughter and divides the business between the two eldest daughters. As the narrative develops, we are introduced to more characters whose individual stories are woven ...