Gill Lewis, Author at North West End UK

Stranger Sings – Theatre Royal, St Helens

24Jan

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Stranger Sings – Theatre Royal, St Helens

A playful teasing of the popular TV show which knows its audience well. Backed by a full set of original 80s bubble-gum pop synth beats make for a fun night for fans and mouth breathers alike. The popular science fiction horror series, Stranger Things, based around the unusual supernatural happenings in a small Indiana town, sparked a resurgence in bad haircuts and introduced a younger generation to the iconic Kate Bush. Its growing fandom, a reflection of its richness and texture that makes up the brilliance of the Netflix series. The nerdy quirkiness of its characters who inhabit the small town of Hawkins and their interpersonal relationships, provide the best source of parodic material. With Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Hogue, Stranger Sings presents origin...

8Dec

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Aladdin – Theatre Royal, St Helens

Brilliantly Bonkers! This bumper packed panto doesn’t do things by halves with plenty of sparkles and pizzazz, in a value for money production for all the family. The Theatre Royal knows a thing or two about putting on a decent pantomime with a large part of its annual schedule dedicated to its craft. This current offering from writer Liam Mellor serves up the traditional tale of Aladdin (portrayed by the likeable Alex Aram) topped with plenty of topical laughs with injections of silly slapstick and some leftfield gags which keeps the audience on their toes. Director Chantelle Nolan, and Assistant Director Kay Nicolson, have created a festive multimedia feast bringing together various artistic elements into a solid staple of traditional panto chaos to see us through the season. &...

23Nov

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Cinderella – Everyman Theatre

More pop panto than rock ‘n ‘roll with hits performed live by its talented cast. Does well to send out all the right messages but at the sacrifice of its charm through its inflated sense of self-awareness. Our tale begins with the sassy Cilla Black of Fairyland, Dame Fairy Godmother (Ben Welch), aka the DFG, who emerges holding a red heart shaped balloon reminiscent of Banksy’s ‘Girl with the Balloon’, the significance of which, new hope and love, is a taste of things to come with this journey of self-love and acceptance. Along with successor and apprentice, ‘our Graham’, (comfortably played by natural panto veteran Adam Keast), our matchmaker DFG heads over to the Ooglay’s where they find Ellanora (Grace Venus), whose life resembles that of Cinderella - who ...

La Bamba: A Musical – Grand Theatre, Blackpool

22Nov

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

La Bamba: A Musical – Grand Theatre, Blackpool

Danceathon with an infusion of Latin America and traditional rock n roll, is entertaining enough to excuse its style over substance in this bilingual jukebox musical. La Bamba introduces us to Sofia (Ines Fernandez), a young Latino woman with an upbringing immersed in Latin American heritage enriched with colourful cultural traditions. Sofia narrates us through her younger years as she pursues her dreams of becoming the next big Latino music star which is abruptly hindered by industry execs who insist that she changes her name, and water down her cultural identity to make her more acceptable to American audiences. The musical is inspired by Richard Steven Valenzuela, better known as Ritchie Valens, whose quick rise to 50s fame with the Mexican folk inspired ‘La Bamba’, made hi...

14Nov

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Boxed In – The King’s Arms, Salford

Tall Tales Theatre Group moves in with a light-hearted comedy which has potential but remains unpacked and unpolished. The King’s Arms is the perfect venue to stage a comedy based above a pub, where we meet the inexperienced rouge Landlord (George Walker) who, he tells us, spent his inheritance on this tired, mice infested flat. Unable to afford to decorate, he now rents it out, and unbeknown to his unsuspecting tenants, he still secretly lives there. Couple Neve (Sherrelle McCalla) and Stoney (Finn McDonald) move in, and are soon visited by their numerous friends, catching up on daytime television favourite, ‘Homes Under the Hammer’ (with some debate around Dion Dublin’s presenting skills) and planning on stealing some booze from their local Tesco. Written by George Unitt, th...

The Book of Horror: Volume 1, A Haunting on Hope Street – Hope Street Theatre

21Oct

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

The Book of Horror: Volume 1, A Haunting on Hope Street – Hope Street Theatre

A scare fest which gets your pulse racing and heart pumping. 4AM Productions present this diverse scary selection of tales of the most terrible, with a rich blend of horror classics and new writing. We’re trick or treated into watching an assortment of stand-alone ghost stories, which feature some terrific twists and turns. All performed by a strong ensemble of 12, with most doubling up as actors, writers and directors. Our compare for the evening, The Curator (portrayed with gusto by Phil Halfpenny), our gothic garbed host, presents a selection of less than savoury tales to get us in the mood for the spooky season. The Curator and his ever-dependent servant, the creepy Minion (well played by Luke Bennet) deliver some laugh out loud moments and funny audience interactions which reall...

The Rainbow Monologues, LIVE! – Arts Bar Studio 3, Liverpool

14Oct

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

The Rainbow Monologues, LIVE! – Arts Bar Studio 3, Liverpool

A colourful collection of eight monologues which delve into the lives of people from all walks of life with a LGBTQ+ perspective. Liverpool’s longest running LGBTQ+ fringe company, Grin Theatre, return for one night only with their award-winning LGBTQ+ monologues as part of the Liverpool Fringe Festival. The Arts Bar Studio is the perfect setting for these new offerings from writer Wes Williams. Produced by Francis Brack, we’re treated to a nice range of performances, and under Nathan Dunn’s direction, the variance in pace between the styles of presentation and themes within the monologues, or rather snapshots, avoids the potential monotony that can sometimes be found from a series of monologues. The actors are sat positioned across the back of the stage, focused througho...

12Oct

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

The Incident Room – Royal Court Studio

A dynamic and engaging fresh insight behind the scenes at the Millgarth incident room during Britain’s largest and most expensive manhunt. A catalogue of failures, did nothing but promote the macabre mystic of its elusive killer, the Yorkshire Ripper. Sadly, its lasting legacy is the many women it let down. Old Fruit Jar Productions return with The Incident Room following its sell out run at The Black – E. Written by Olivia Hirst and David Byrne, it depicts the gripping search for the notorious serial killer, Peter Sutcliffe, commonly known as the Yorkshire Ripper. The play is set between 1975 and 1980, when Sutcliffe murdered 13 women and is known to have attacked another 8. The multiple failures and missed opportunities to catch Sutcliffe by West Yorkshire Police is well documented. ...

Irvine Welsh’s Porno – Liverpool Olympia

8Oct

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Irvine Welsh’s Porno – Liverpool Olympia

“Originals are always better than sequels”, unfortunately proven in this case, submerged within the shadows of the dizzying heights of its predecessor, Porno proves a bit of an anti-climax, despite its titillating title. Trainspotting, the 1993 debut novel written by Irvine Welsh, will provoke a range of reactions, especially for those of us who remember its cinematic debut back in 1996. Danny Boyle’s film successfully replicated the sensational, gutsy rawness of its live show. It showcased the intricacies of Welsh’s writing, in its innovative cinematography, iconic opening sequence (which could never be replicated today due to health & safety), and recognisable soundtrack. Trainspotting has firmly positioned itself as culturally significant, even described as a masterpiece. Its ‘Ch...

2Oct

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Storm in a Teacup – Royal Court Studio

Laugh out loud comedy and quick one liners together with a generous dash of music from ‘back in the day’; brings life to Esther Wilson’s replication of a working-class scouse family. Brought together by a funeral, they start to reminisce, unpicking some old familiar wounds and dropping some major bombshells with slithers of drama seeped throughout. The small talk and awkward silences typical of a wake don’t last long as we’re introduced to the different personalities of the O’Brien family, all of whom we can relate to. From fondly poking fun to pure annoyance and rage, leaving room for some hurtful home truths, Wilson’s writing provides a nice balance of emotions and pace as we watch the family work through their grief. Produced by Free Monkey Mind, a relaxed informal, co...