Jackie Foottit, Author at North West End UK

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Hull Truck Theatre

22Apr

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Hull Truck Theatre

I set off for Hull Truck Theatre, on Friday evening, knowing my worst nightmare - audience participation - is probably about to come true. Showstopper! The Improvised Musical invites audience members to create a musical comedy by shouting out their suggestions - suggestions the cast will endeavour to act out. My seat on the front row meant there was no hiding place. So, I determined not to make eye contact with anyone on the stage; keep my head down, be invisible and leave the suggestion-making to anybody - just not me. Billed as a “must-see”, this improvised comedy came to Hull Truck for one night only, as part of a nationwide tour (visit www.showstopperthemusical.com for future venues). Well, dear reader, my “keeping schtum” resolution lasted approximately 30 seconds - that’s...

19Apr

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Our House – Hull New Theatre

Hull New Theatre was very well-attended on Tuesday night, in anticipation of Hessle Theatre Company’s production of Our House. I know from past experience this amateur company can produce some very professional work; and I gladly gave top marks to their versions of Shrek the Musical and Made In Dagenham. Would Our House elicit the same response from my reviewer’s pen? This award-winning West End musical featuring hit songs from the band Madness, begins with Kath Casey (Katherine Fitzgerald) informing her boyfriend (Neal Edlin) that she is pregnant. Fast forward 16 years and their boy, Joe (Connor Wilson) is at a crossroads in his young life. On the one hand he wants to make something of his life and not end up like his good-for-nothing (in his eyes) Dad; but on the other, he is...

Dada Masilo’s The Sacrifice – Hull New Theatre

8Apr

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Dada Masilo’s The Sacrifice – Hull New Theatre

Hull New Theatre was far from full on Friday evening, when the UK premiere of Dada Masilo’s The Sacrifice took to its stage. The fact it was Good Friday and potential theatregoers might have had other plans may have accounted for the empty seats. But the lengthy applause from an appreciative audience for all on stage, at the show’s end, showed that those who did take up the seats were heartily glad they made the effort. First to appear on the stage - whose backdrop of bare tree branches hardly changed throughout - were three very talented musicians playing keyboards, violin and a most unusual array of instruments that made sounds I simply cannot describe. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. Award-winning choreographer, Masilo, hails from South Africa, so she is more than q...

31Mar

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Opera North: Tosca – Hull New Theatre

It was drama from curtain up, on Thursday evening at the Hull New Theatre, when Opera North’s Tosca came to town, thrilling us with the sight of escaped political prisoner, Cesare Angelotti (a very brave Callum Thorpe), dropping from on high via a rope, on to the stage and, with split-second timing, the rope falling unattached to the floor. Phew! Aided and abetted by wonderfully atmospheric music played by the talented members of the Orchestra of Opera North, the drama never let up throughout a longish evening of opera. Angelotti’s entrance, through a beautifully decorated cupola in a family chapel, finds him in the company of his friend, artist, Mario Cavaradossi (Mykhailo Malafii), who gives him food and the key to his villa, advising him to hide in a secret chamber down a well in ...

8Mar

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Mumsy – Hull Truck Theatre

The end of Hull Truck Theatre’s 50th anniversary year is being celebrated with a comedy drama, set in the city and written by homegrown talent, Lydia Marchant. Mumsy tells the story of an unplanned pregnancy which causes friction between mum-to-be Sophie (Jessica Jolleys), her mum Rachel (Nicola Stephenson) and Rachel’s mum Linda (Sue Kelvin). The well-written script of this world-premiere production was delivered so realistically and naturally by all three on stage on Tuesday night that, at times, you could hear a pin drop in the fullish theatre. Even before “curtain up” I couldn’t take my eyes off the impressive stage setting of a huge tower block, its many windows, open and shut, plus individual window lights flashing on and off - just like a real tower block would be. It’s ...

Strictly Ballroom the Musical – Hull New Theatre

7Mar

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Strictly Ballroom the Musical – Hull New Theatre

Kevin Clifton aka "Kevin from Grimsby" got a huge cheer from theatregoers in an almost capacity Hull New Theatre, on Monday night, as he stepped on to the stage when Strictly Ballroom the Musical came to town. Never having seen even one episode of Strictly Come Dancing, the TV show in which Kevin performed and excelled, I had no idea what to expect. But I was more than pleasantly surprised. For starters, the stage setting was so cleverly designed, changing before our brains (well, mine) registered the difference. All around were what seemed like upright, sprung willow floorboards, arching over at the top with lights, in a palm-tree fashion. Sections opened and closed throughout the night, creating totally different vistas. The screen backdrop also changed from indoor scenes to out...

1Feb

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Peaky Blinders – Hull New Theatre

Period crime drama, Peaky Blinders, wowed TV audiences from 2013 to 2022. And now a Rambert Dance production of the same name, is wowing theatre audiences nationwide. On Tuesday evening, Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby came to Hull New Theatre, and from "curtain up" it was action all the way. The Peaky refers to a popular style of flat cap, and the Blinders is common slang for someone well-dressed and dapper. I spotted quite a few theatregoers sporting a Peaky and very dapper they all looked, too. The unbelievably atmospheric opening stage setting took us straight to the trenches of Flanders, during the First World War, with dramatic scenes from which emerged five young men - alive, but dead inside from the horrors they had witnessed and taken part in. Fast-forw...

<strong>The Varna International Ballet & Orchestra: Coppélia – Hull New Theatre</strong>

18Jan

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Varna International Ballet & Orchestra: Coppélia – Hull New Theatre

Thank you Hull New Theatre for starting your 2023 theatre programme with one of my favourite genres - ballet. Celebrating its 75th anniversary, the Varna International Ballet Company brought Coppélia to the stage, to delight and cheer us on a cold, icy night. Performing in the UK for the first time, Coppélia heralds the start of a week of ballet by this Bulgarian company, who will also perform Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Giselle. The theatre was far from full - maybe ballet fans had opted to buy tickets for the more well-known productions there later in the week. At curtain-up, the stage backdrop looked very muted colour-wise, but it soon became obvious the hues were purposefully chosen so as not to clash with the gloriously colourful costumes worn by all and sundry on stage....

<strong>Jack And The Beanstalk – Hull New Theatre</strong>

13Dec

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Jack And The Beanstalk – Hull New Theatre

I hate audience participation of any kind but found myself “booing” at the top of my lungs within two minutes of Hull New Theatre’s pantomime, Jack And The Beanstalk, starting. The object of my, and the rest of the fullish theatre’s vocal disapproval on Sunday evening, was Mrs Blunderbore (well done to local girl Chelsea Hall on a memorable panto debut), wife of the fearsome giant who lives at the top of the beanstalk. This age-old fairytale tells the story of simple farmers Jack Trot (Gareth Gates), his brother Silly Simon (Neil Hurst), their mum Dame Trot (Jack Land Noble), and Jack’s love interest Princess Jill (Allana Taylor). Under severe financial pressure and threats from the evil giant and Mrs Blunderbore, the Trots sadly decide to sell their cow Daisy - hopefully to a kin...

<strong>The Nutcracker – Hull New Theatre</strong>

1Dec

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Nutcracker – Hull New Theatre

My favourite ballet, The Nutcracker, came to the Hull New Theatre stage on Wednesday evening, bathing us all in a welcome festive glow. And, to my untrained eye, the Northern Ballet company performed this wintry tale to perfection. Even before a ballet pump had performed one relevé (I Googled) on the stage, we in the packed theatre got into the Christmas spirit just my looking at the wonderful stage setting - huge, many-paned windows, warmly lit from within and laden with snow. Set on Christmas Eve, the Edwards family are excitedly preparing for Christmas. Clara (Rachael Gillespie), her sister Louise (Saeka Shirai) and brother Frederick (Filippo Di Vilio) are all enjoying themselves with typical sibling shenanigans, which includes Frederick’s teasing of Clara. Uncle Drosselmeye...