Ezzy LaBelle, Author at North West End UK

12Jan

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Aladdin – Floral Pavilion

January is the wrong time to be watching panto. 'Oh no it's not!' exclaim the wonderfully wild cast that make up the NODA award-winning Chrysanths pantomime Aladdin. Peppered with puns, side-splitting slapstick and calamitous chaos, join the impoverished ne'er-do-well as he falls in love, finds fortune and ends up on Mars. Wait, Mars? This interpretation of one of the best-known tales associated with The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (The Arabian Nights) is truly unique. It features local law enforcers Hilo (Jed Flowerday) and Lilo (Graham Leigh), an evil empress (Leanne Burgess) and a very helpful Spirit of the Ring (Maria Larkin) whose place in the panto is akin to a fairy god mother. As the curtains close, there's also more than one happy ending. But that's not all you ne...

8Nov

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

The Mousetrap – Floral Pavilion

What do you get when you combine masterful storytelling and captivating characters? Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, that's what! The world's longest running play - currently 70yrs old - is still going strong, thrilling theatres and keeping audiences on their toes. It's a classic. Lights dim and the curtains pull back on a stupendously wide set. Time rolls back to reveal the living room of a guesthouse in 1950s England, the ideal setting for a good old-fashioned whodunnit to take place. Christie's unparalleled ability to craft a suspenseful and engaging narrative quickly makes its impact felt. There is a chilling atmosphere of intrigue and mystery from the very first scene. As the tension builds and secrets unravel, the audience is on the edge of their seats, eagerly anticipating the...

Cirque: The Greatest Show – Floral Pavilion

12Sep

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Cirque: The Greatest Show – Floral Pavilion

Music, magic, mime and a variety of daring acts. Cirque blasts you through them all in this melange of talent. Definitely one the kids will enjoy, there are playground giggles and mystifying moments. It is a fun, feelgood escape. Offering a night like no other, Cirque draws you in to a chaotic world where musical theatre meets circus spectacle. Where else can you experience hits from showstopping musicals, see thrilling feats of daring and become engrossed in the life of a lonely but lively mime artist (Christian Lee)? The show opens with Lee entering a competition for a glorious technicolour TV - where winning it becomes a truly transformative experience. Getting to grips with his new technicolour television, we accompany Lee on a journey through a variety of talents. From hand b...

The Great Gatsby – Grosvenor Open Air Theatre

2Aug

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

The Great Gatsby – Grosvenor Open Air Theatre

Frivolity fans the air as a live band dances an eager audience back to the roaring 1920s for an evening of F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. It's hard not to immediately be swept up in the decadence as the cast mingle with the audience until suddenly you aren't sure if you're within the production or simply observing it - what part do you play in the party that never stops? Cleverly framed, there is audience participation from the start. All rise as a coroner begins to question the events leading up to the death of a man, a man surrounded by mystery and rumour. Witness testimonies contradict. A cacophony of characters cause calamity. Just as it feels like a judgement has been made, in bursts protagonist Nick Carraway (Thomas Cotran). Clearly upset, he takes command of the sm...

23Jun

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Stars – Everyman Theatre

Where do all the orgasms go? And how can you be sure you've ever had one? These are the philosophical questions that play on Mrs' mind as she reflects on what she's had in life and what she wants from it before the sun sets. STARS is described as an Afrofuturist space odyssey and incorporates a range of audio-visual media into the performance. A moving mix of celebratory Black queer empowerment, it is an experience that arouses consciousness and demands attention. Written by Mojisola Adebayo and with Debra Michaels as Mrs, STARS is largely a one-woman-show. The lights dim and a late hours DJ (Bradley Charles) sets the mood with some laid-back vibes. We see Mrs respond to the radio conversationally and occasional breaks of the fourth wall - you're never sure if Mrs is talking to th...

Bach St Matthew’s Passion – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

8Apr

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Bach St Matthew’s Passion – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Revered as one of the greatest choral works ever composed, Bach's St Matthew's Passion is a timeless classic. This performance is to Mendelssohn's arrangement and is sung in German. An emotional, complex and challenging work - a challenge which the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir rise to. The stage is packed and the anticipation is palpable. With a quick nod to the audience, conductor Andrew Manze is keen to get going and promptly launches the room into the evening. Dark, throbbing chords echo like a pulse as the opening chorus of The Passion begins. As well as the full Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir, the Youth Choir are present for the opening chorus with chorale. The sound is alarmingly mournful. Carrying an edge of dystopia with it, the layers of the choir ring a...

5Apr

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Lucrezia Borgia – Storyhouse, Chester

Oozing intrigue, darkly dramatic and set against a backdrop of 14th century Italy, English Touring Opera bring all they have to the party in this production. Composed by Gaetano Donizetti - whose opera works are often overlooked in the canon - this 1833 offering focuses on historical figure, Lucrezia Borgia. Surrounded by myth and misadventure, the opera provides an interpretation of her life. Is this femme fatale wrongly recorded in the history books? Or is she as scheming and murderous as the archives make out? Directed by Eloise Lally and conducted by Gerry Cornelius, this Lucrezia Borgia quickly absorbs the audience. The curtain rises to show what initially looks like a simple set, with a full moon in the distance and a decorative gondola in the foreground. However, you soon r...

Beethoven’s Eroica – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

2Apr

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Beethoven’s Eroica – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

The historical and the heroic meet for an evening of bold musical flavours and a mixture of melodies as the Philharmonic Orchestra take you on a journey of strife, struggle, freedom and fervour. Blending the new and the familiar, conductor Joshua Weilerstein leads the auditorium through renditions of 'Ethiopia's Shadow in America' (Florence Price), Violin Concerto (Samuel Barber) and Symphony no.3 'Eroica (Ludwig Van Beethoven). The enthusiasm for the music is clear as he steps out. Passionately describing the background to Florence Price's 1932 symphony, he tells us that she was one of the first female black composers to have their work published and played to an audience. Much of her work was lost for a long time, being rediscovered in 2009, and has therefore not been heard. ...

The Memory of Water – Birkenhead Little Theatre

15Mar

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

The Memory of Water – Birkenhead Little Theatre

Can you remember things that didn't happen? What about remembering other people's memories as if they were your own? The Memory of Water, written by British playwright Shelagh Stephenson, is directed by Brian Dickson and performed by the Carlton Players of Birkenhead's Little Theatre. The play explores the complex relationships between three sisters who come together for their mother's funeral and must confront their pasts, their feelings and the memories they share. Does everyone experience the past the same way? The relationship between the three leading sisters is fractious. Each is striving to make sense of their own identity and grief and each deal with stress and emotion in different ways - the youngest, Catherine (Zoe Howe) has a taste for taking the edge off reality with d...

Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

3Mar

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

Stunningly absorbing, this performance of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.3 conducted by Domingo Hindoyan is unmissable. Considered as an archetype showpiece, the concerto is renowned for being a challenge and demands technical prowess - pianist Sergio Tiempo rises to this and more, demonstrating what a maestro he is. Composed in the summer of 1909, the concerto is composed for a solo piano and an orchestra. It is split into three sections and this performance takes all three of those on with barely sixty seconds between each. This is a performance of endurance as well as technical mastery. Sergio Tiempo was not originally billed to perform tonight, making his playing all the more impressive. Throughout most of his playing, he subtly smiles and loses himself in the intensity of pl...