Katie Leicester, Author at North West End UK

The Sound of Music – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

25Oct

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

The Sound of Music – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

The Altrincham Garrick Playhouse opened the doors for their first musical of season 2022-2023 with the classic musical Sound of Music with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Artistic Director Joseph Meighan and Musical Director Neil Bennett are no strangers to working together, this fabulous duo have produced and created some magnificent productions in their time both at the Garrick Playhouse and at Pendleton College performing arts. I have been fortunate enough to watch numerous of Meighan’s productions over the years and have often quoted that he has the Midas touch because everything he touches turns into a success, and his 2022 The Sound of Music is no exception. This old classic that marks its 80th anniversar...

12Oct

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Sister Act – Pendle Hippodrome

North West End UK reviews both professional and amateur shows, but when reviewing Basics Junior Theatre School production’s, it is hard to distinguish which one it is as the talent and delivery is that of a professional performance year after year. Sally Murtaugh and her late husband Dennis founded Basics 35 years ago and the theatre group has delivered an annual performance since 1987 to present day, this is the first time Basics have produced Sister Act. Andy Cooke has been the principle at Basics for ten years and I have had the honour of reviewing several of his shows, one of the most striking themes throughout the years of watching the performances is the sense of pride and belonging to a family which ripples from the students to each and every member of the production team. And...

23Jul

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Alice – The Empty Space

Alice is a new play written by Tara Anegada inspired by Lewis Caroll’s ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ directed by Zoe Smith which was performed in Salford’s Empty Space Theatre as a part of Greater Manchester’s Fringe season of 2022. The script highlights the pressures females face to sexualise themselves to produce their personal art through how they physically look and act in order to conform in how society dictates to so many of our today’s youth. Anegada Theatre company is based in the East Midlands who state that they strive to make art that is diverse and will spark conversation, through adaptations that reframe traditional literature. This production is a fabulous showcase of their ethos and drive as it certainly does spark a conversation and is exquisitely written by Aneg...

It’s Not Rocket Science – The Empty Space

23Jul

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

It’s Not Rocket Science – The Empty Space

Letter for Letter Theatre presented ‘It’s Not Rocket Science’ at The Empty Space Theatre in Salford during our Greater Manchester Fringe season. The cast of three Alice Connolly (Eve), Stef White (Dad and other male roles) and Helen Knudsen (Mum and multi female roles) tell the story through eight chapters of Eve Jackson the author of book titled ‘It’s Not Rocket Science’ which depicts a women’s journey into a male dominated career. The journey starts with Eve’s desire and motivation to be involved with Space and rocket ships from early childhood believing she belonged in the stars, different from other girls in her school she clearly excels in physics and goes on to attend University to study aerospace. In a male populated world of aerospace, she soon encounters prejudice against he...

20Jul

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

South Pacific – Opera House, Manchester

Chichester Festival Theatre has become known for taking on some of the most challenging classics and transforming them into a triumph. Director Daniel Evans’s lively reappraisal of South Pacific is no exception. On one of Manchester’s hottest days on record the audience was transported to the South Pacific where US troops were occupying a Polynesian island in the WW2 conflict with Japan. The opening scene sees nurse Nellie Forbush (Gina Beck) on a coffee date with Emile de Becque (Julian Overden), a middle-aged plantation owner that she recently met at the officer’s club. De Becque is an ultra-suave Frenchman with a murderous past but despite this we see young nurse Forbush failing madly in love with him. The US troops are kicking their heels while restlessly waiting for the...

The Barricade Boys – Opera House, Manchester

16May

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

The Barricade Boys – Opera House, Manchester

Believe it or not it’s the Barricade Boys 7th Anniversary tour of ‘Bring him Home’, originally the brainchild of Scott Garnham and Simon Schofield who wanted to create an audience experience that was much more than just songs from the shows. Having first performed at the Charing Cross Theatre in 2015, the group have successfully progressed providing entertainment on cruise ships, various well known UK television shows, Broadway and numerous other venues. The 2022 cast consists of the original founders Scott Graham and Simon Schofield joined by Craig Mather and Kieran Brown; all male vocals have a huge accolade of west end successes. Liam Steel choreographed the tour bring it nicely in line with the Les Miserable theme as it was Liam who was the choreographer for the Les Misérables movie...

Dreamboats and Petticoats – Palace Theatre

15Mar

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Dreamboats and Petticoats – Palace Theatre

Bill Kenwright’s and Laura Mansfield’s presentation of Dreamboats and Petticoats opened for its one week run of the 2022 tour at the magnificent Manchester Palace Theatre. This juke box musical is written around a compilation of hit songs from the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the storyline is thin but still noteworthy where we see a group of youngsters trying to make a success of their musical careers. Laura (Elizabeth Carter) the most successful of the group and her beau Bobby (David Ribi) who has taken a backstep from the limelight due to stage fright. The couple take summer jobs Laura alone in Torquay and Bobby in Butlin’s Bognor Region with the rest of the gang. Another significant coupling in the script is Norman (Alastair Hill) a cool and flirtatious lead singer and the mother of...

3Mar

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Footloose – Manchester Opera House

Hooray theatre land is beginning to get back to some normality after being hit hard by the pandemic, for the first time there was no need for Covid passes or compulsory wearing of masks. For that alone there was a heightened sense of excitement, and it was clear theatre goers are feeling more confident to mix as the Opera House in Manchester was packed to the rafters with barely one seat empty. Footloose the musical is the brainchild of Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobby with Music from Tom Snow it’s based on the 1984 film which starred Kevin Bacon as city boy Ren McCormack (played by Joshua Hawkins), who arrives with his mother Ethel (Geri Allen) in Beaumont from Chicago in a rebellious mood after learning of the town’s dancing ban. The ban came following an incident five years prior a...

19Jan

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Looking Good Dead – The Lowry

The absolute stunning Lowry Theatre hosted Peter James’ stage adaptation of ‘Looking Good Dead’ starring Adam Woodyatt and Gaynor Faye as Mr and Mrs Bryce a family caught up in this crime and thriller script. Peter James is a best-selling author best known for his crime fiction novels and the creator of the much loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, he has achieved global book sales of over 21 million copies which have been translated into almost 40 languages. Peter James was born in 1948 in Brighton, so it seems fitting that his script location is that of his hometown. I must be honest I have not read any of the books in the Roy Grace series or watched his two feature-length film adaptations ‘Grace’ on television which seemingly attracted over seven million viewers, so my review...

18Jan

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

The Rocky Horror Show – Palace Theatre

Since the original show was spawned in 1973 the ‘Rocky Horror Show’ has gained generations of theatregoers who have been seduced by its mix of horror-comedy and science-fiction script, backed with some iconic songs such as ‘The Time Warp’ whilst dressed up in glittering corsets and eye-catching lingerie has become an institution that encourages glamour, silliness and having a damn good time. It is hard to believe that this show is nearly half a century old as it has absolutely no signs of ageing as it continues to entice the old and the youth of today through its doors with its bright, bold and extremely risqué script that bursts into life from the beginning through to the finale. I remember my first viewing as a teenager in the 1980’s with my mum and grandmother and I was mortified ...