Jackie Foottit, Author at North West End UK

29Sep

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Passagers – Hull New Theatre

This is going to be the shortest review I’ve ever written. Here goes: O.M.G! Well, as this is a UK premiere, my reviewer conscience won’t let me stop at just three letters, so I’ll carry on. On a rainy Tuesday night in Hull, a packed house marvelled at the antics of eight super-talented performers, male and female, who go by the name of The 7 Fingers. A short glitch at curtain up meant we were sitting looking at a dark stage for a couple of minutes, but things were soon rectified and from then on it was breathtaking action all the way. The theme of train journeys ran throughout - departures, arrivals and everything else associated with rail travel. Here, I must mention the amazing background scenes and atmospheric lighting and music that accompanied every movement on stage. ...

School of Rock the Musical – Hull New Theatre

13Sep

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

School of Rock the Musical – Hull New Theatre

There are a dozen good reasons to go and see School of Rock the Musical - the 12 super-talented children, stars every one. Actually, make that a baker’s dozen - the 13th good reason is an adult, who was the most childish of them all. Hull’s New Theatre welcomed audiences back for the first time since Covid hit, and it was Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End smash hit making its first UK and Ireland tour of the venue that had theatregoers rushing back in their droves. Based on the 2003 movie of the same name, the story centres around Dewey Finn (an energetic Jake Sharp, the man-child I mentioned above), who, desperate for rent money, takes his best friend’s identity to gain a teaching post at a prestigious prep school. Dewey - known at school as Ned Schneebly - causes havoc from the ...

2Sep

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

North West

The Relatives! – GM Fringe Online

Growing up as part of a large family myself, I was intrigued to hear whether writer Siân Parry-Williams’ experiences of her own kith and kin came close to my own familial memories. So, as 6pm neared on Wednesday evening, I logged on to my laptop and opened my online ticket in readiness to listen to The Relatives!, part of the 10th Greater Manchester Fringe. Parry-Williams informed us she is “sure” the antics of her characters will remind us of our own relatives. Well, to be honest, nothing during the 30-minute audio event came close to anything heard or seen in my own, Yorkshire, family. But then, Parry Williams’ characters relate to folk in her Welsh background. However, comedy can cross all borders … The Relatives! kicks off with a conversation, on Skype, between mother an...

22Jul

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Romeo & Juliet – Hull Truck Theatre

Sunglasses? Tick. Suncream? Tick. Raincoat? Tick. Cushion? Tick. Blanket? Tick. Was I packing for a staycation weekend? No, just for a trip to the theatre. Let me explain … Hull Truck Theatre’s production of Romeo & Juliet is being staged at the city’s open-air theatre, Stage@TheDock. Hull, on the east coast, can get every type of weather in one day, so the above were just some of the items we theatregoers were advised to carry with us for the performance on Wednesday afternoon. As the temperature hit the high 20s, this fascinating outdoor theatre began to fill up with people of all ages. We were all here for the most famous love story of all, William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. A jolly accordion player (Nicholas Goode) musically opened proceedings and he was quick...

3Jul

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Hull & High Water – Hull Truck Theatre

Listening to the pre-show chatter of the Hull Truck Theatre audience, awaiting the start of the world premiere of Hull & High Water, made me realise just how much I have missed the live theatre atmosphere. I watched this, the third of the theatre’s socially distanced Homecomings Season monologues, online but, no doubt, I’ll be back in that cosy theatre before too long. As in the first two monologues (The Greatest Play In The History Of The World and Everything I Own), the stage setting was a tad too dark for my liking. Dim lighting and dark furniture added to the gloom. Luckily, Emmerdale actor John Middleton lit up the stage the minute he set foot on it. I warmed to him immediately. Although his character, Frank Piddock, is getting on in years, suffering from dementia and ...

20Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Everything I Own – Hull Truck Theatre

Shall I tell you the first thing that came to mind when I laid eyes on actor Gabriel Paul, on the Hull Truck Theatre stage this week? Mmm … very attractive man, muscly in all the right places, glint in his eye - obviously good fun to be around (but the vest has to go). Oh, and he is black - this last piece of info, as an afterthought. However, as this second in a trilogy of monologues at the theatre - a world premiere, no less - wore on, I realised my reaction was far from the norm experienced by Errol (Paul), in his lifetime. The central character never appears - but his presence is felt throughout. He is Errol’s dad, who has died of Covid, leaving Errol, one of his seven children, to sort out his belongings. The action takes place in Errol’s dad’s sitting room - a cosy aff...

The Greatest Play In The History Of The World … – Hull Truck Theatre

8Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Greatest Play In The History Of The World … – Hull Truck Theatre

Hallelujah! Theatres are open again and I had a front row seat at Hull Truck Theatre. Best of all, because of social distancing, I was the only occupant on that row. However, the “front row” in question was my sofa; yes, I was watching online. Julie Hesmondhalgh, she of Coronation Street fame, was the only human on the stage - a stage she shared with numerous pairs of shoes held in cardboard boxes on two large metal frames. This very plain setting, though at times a bit too unlit for my liking, was welcome as it didn’t detract from Hesmondhalgh’s amazing performance, in this first of a trilogy of monologues at the theatre in the near future. Dressed casually, Hesmondhalgh (who happens to be writer Ian Kershaw’s wife) recounts, in a loud, clear and, for want of a better word, me...

The Hired Man – Hull Truck Theatre Online

16Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Hired Man – Hull Truck Theatre Online

Rereading my June 2019 review of The Hired Man, my heart sank when I saw that I’d written: “For reasons I can’t explain, I found my mind wandering in the first half.” That was in the confines of the Hull Truck Theatre, so what chance did I have of stopping my mind from wandering at home, with the kettle and fridge within easy reach (my two favourite things during the coronavirus lockdown)? Well, as 7.30pm strikes, I hit the play button on YouTube. I’m going in …. As the first scene of The Hired Man comes up on my screen, the first thing I become aware of are the subtitles. Usually a pet hate of mine - I find them distracting - I found them very helpful in this case. They clarified much of what was happening and helped me remember more clearly the events as they happ...