Dan Grimes, Author at North West End UK

21Jul

By Dan GrimesNo Comments

North West

paywall – The King’s Arms

This was my first trip to The King’s Arms, and this 54-seat black-box venue, nestled in the historic heart of Salford, felt like the perfect setting for this one-woman show, performed as part of the Greater Manchester Fringe. Written and performed by Neysa Killeen, a self-styled Irish storyteller, the play begins in medias res with Lizzie, a 27-year-old woman, making the difficult decision to leave her Dublin flat and return home to the unwelcoming arms of her father. Defeated in her quest to become a hard-hitting investigative journalist by a combination of the stitched-up patriarchy and the cost-of-living crisis, Lizzie’s story charts her personal journey from a small child dubbed ‘cold’ by her aunt on the day of her mother’s funeral to a wrung-out postgraduate struggling to pay h...

My Fair Lady – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

23Jun

By Dan GrimesNo Comments

North West

My Fair Lady – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

Surprisingly, the story of My Fair Lady, that most quintessentially British of musicals, has its origins in ancient Greece. The character of Henry Higgins is a reinterpretation of Pygmalion, the gifted sculptor from the myth recorded in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In that story, Pygmalion is disillusioned by what he sees as the flaws of women and decides to remain unmarried, choosing instead to carve an ivory statue of a woman so exquisitely beautiful that he falls in love with his own creation. George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 revision of the myth is a sharply satirical retelling in an updated social context. His Pygmalion is transplanted from the island of Cyprus to Edwardian London, and he reframes the story to explore class structures, gender roles, and questions of social mobility within a rig...

23Apr

By Dan GrimesNo Comments

North West

Spamalot – Hyde Festival Theatre

I had the privilege of watching the original West End run of Spamalot over 20 years ago, starring Tim Curry and Hannah Waddingham. This was after I’d become obsessed with the original Broadway cast recording, which for many years was a loyal travelling companion. I have many happy memories of coasting down the A55, singing “I Am Not Dead Yet” at full belt. So, it’s safe to say I was very excited to come to Hyde Festival Theatre with my son, Sam, to watch this production by Hyde Musical Society. For those who haven’t seen the show—or the film from which it is “lovingly ripped off”—I’m not quite sure how best to describe it, other than as a loose retelling of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table’s search for the Holy Grail, filtered through the comedic lens of Monty Python and r...

8Apr

By Dan GrimesNo Comments

North West

2:22 A Ghost Story – Liverpool Empire

“Do you believe in ghosts?” A question guaranteed to liven up any flagging dinner party. Social convention, in polite society, dictates that one should never discuss politics or religion—but this seemingly innocuous conversation starter can prove just as revealing and polarising. Views on the occult can offer insights into social status, educational attainment, upbringing, belief systems, and even morality. 2:22 A Ghost Story is the tale of a dinner party with a difference. New parents Jenny (Shvorne Marks) and Sam (James Bye) invite their longtime friend Lauren (Natalie Casey) and her latest squeeze, Ben (Grant Kilburn), to spend an evening in their new home. However, it soon becomes clear that Jenny’s motives run deeper than simply showcasing her asparagus risotto in their new open-pl...

42nd Street – The Grand Theatre, Blackpool

2Apr

By Dan GrimesNo Comments

North West

42nd Street – The Grand Theatre, Blackpool

I have to start this review with a confession. I have a very serious addiction. I am, unfortunately, addicted to tap dancing—as a consumer rather than a participant, I hasten to add. My social media algorithms know this about me and, as part of our complex web of co-dependency, the apps ply me with endless reels of routines. It is through this rather sordid route that I became familiar with this musical and, until tonight, I had never actually seen the whole show—due in no small part to the fact that it is performed scandalously infrequently. If you’re a fan of pub quiz trivia, it might interest you to know that the show isn’t as old as you might expect. It was adapted in 1980 from the 1933 Warner Bros. film of the same name and went on to win Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Chore...

The Wizard of Oz – Northwich Memorial Court

20Feb

By Dan GrimesNo Comments

North West

The Wizard of Oz – Northwich Memorial Court

In recent years, and thanks largely to the popularity of its spin-off cousin Wicked, it feels like the whole world has contracted Oz-mania. So, I was very much looking forward to this trip to Northwich to revisit the original tale. I also have fond memories of playing the cowardly lion in my final year at high school approximately one hundred thousand years ago. I can’t believe there is a person in the Western Hemisphere who needs the story setting out for them but briefly The Wizard of Oz tells how young Dorothy Gale (Sidney Causer) and her little dog Toto (Jess Hazel) is swept from her farm in Kansas to a magical faraway place – the land of Oz. Guided by Good Witch Glinda (Amy Rattenbury) and tormented by the Wicked Witch of the West (Laura Slater-Hatton) Dorothy follows the Yel...

The Great British Bake Off Musical – The Grange Theatre, Hartford

7Nov

By Dan GrimesNo Comments

North West

The Great British Bake Off Musical – The Grange Theatre, Hartford

The timing could not have been more perfect for this opening night performance by the immensely talented company of Salt & Pepper Productions. Less than 24 hours after the denouement of series 16 of the iconic baking contest, we were treated to this tasty morsel — a delightful love letter to the TV institution that is Bake Off. The show follows an entire series in the tent, charting the trials, tribulations, treachery, and triumphs of eight hopeful bakers. The characters are all instantly recognisable from series past, celebrating the rich tapestry of British idiosyncrasies: Izzy, an overachiever with cut-throat ambition (Laura Johnson); Dezza, a vegan hipster (Matt Austin); Russell, a delightfully flamboyant and outrageously camp old luvvie (Stuart Dutton); Babs, a brassy granny en...

16Oct

By Dan GrimesNo Comments

North West

1984 – Harlequin Theatre, Northwich

I have never visited the Harlequin Theatre in Northwich before and, my goodness, what a little gem it is! Unprepossessing from the outside, this 96-seater black box theatre is tucked away amidst cul-de-sacs and industrial units on the outskirts of Northwich town centre. It’s an intimate venue, which the Harlequin Players are clearly very adept at using to its full potential (it has been their home for forty-one years now). It proved to be the perfect space for their latest production, an in-house adaptation of George Orwell’s seminal dystopian novel, 1984. The narrative of the play centres on Winston Smith, an Ingsoc Party worker in the Ministry of Truth, and his conflict, both internal and external, with the regime, of which he is part. Set in a horrific near-future where totalitar...

Bleak Expectations – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

30Sep

By Dan GrimesNo Comments

North West

Bleak Expectations – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

My son, Sam, and I were thrilled to have been invited to the Altrincham Garrick Playhouse to spend an evening watching this hugely entertaining and funny play. Full disclosure, I was a big fan of the original Radio 4 series that inspired this stage adaptation, so my hopes were set high. There is something quintessentially British about the combination of the surrealist, gag-filled scripts from writer Mark Evans and their gentle parodying of all things Victorian that just invokes a knitted tea cosy and a plate of hot, buttered crumpets. How to describe the plot of Bleak Expectations? Basically, take every Dickensian Sunday night telly adaptation you’ve ever seen, pop them all in a blender, add a liberal splash of absolute nonsense and, hey presto! Roughly speaking the story follows the h...

School of Rock – Northwich Memorial Court

14Aug

By Dan GrimesNo Comments

North West

School of Rock – Northwich Memorial Court

It was a pleasure to be invited, along with my 13-year-old son, Sam, to Northwich on this warm August evening to see Together For Theatre's School of Rock. This was my first time watching this Andrew Lloyd Webber adaptation although, like many people, I'm a big fan of the original 2003 film that inspired it. For those not familiar, the musical tells the story of Dewey Finn, a down-on-his-luck rock musician who has been thrown out of his band and is overdue on his rent. An intercepted call meant for his flatmate, Ned Schneebly, gives him the opportunity to earn a quick buck by posing as a substitute teacher at the prestigious Horace Green School. High expectations set by Principal Rosalie Mullins fall on deaf ears and "Mr Schneebly" has every intention of putting the privileged kid...