Lou Steggals, Author at North West End UK

25Aug

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

The Rocky Horror Show – Opera House

If ever a show epitomised how happy people are to be back in theatres, it’s this one. You can’t move for corsets, sequins and high heels. And that’s just the men. For those unfamiliar with the nature of the show, perhaps having no more than a vague recollection of the 1975 film, it’s like being taken on a joyride on a high-powered motorbike and has an atmosphere more akin to a rock gig than a theatre show. The cheering and enthusiastic audience participation is in full throttle from the moment the strains of ‘Science Fiction Double Feature’ start and the curtain twitches open. It’s a fantastic atmosphere for our cast to bounce off, which they do with gusto. Philip Franks, in a role a billion miles away from his stuffy Darling Bud of May character, is outstanding as the Narrator, g...

18Aug

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

The Play That Goes Wrong – The Lowry

It’s the grandaddy that launched a juggernaut of disaster theatre. An above the pub fringe show that became a West End and Broadway sensation, The Play That Goes Wrong is now into its seventh year with a slew of award wins and nominations in its wake. From the moment a hapless stagehand appears pre-show pleading with the audience to be on the lookout for the show’s missing canine performer, before being joined by the ‘director’ Chris Bean (a fabulous Tom Bulpett), apologising to those in the audience who thought they’d booked tickets for ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’, the show lives well and truly up to its name. We join the members of the infamous Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society to witness their presentation of the 1920s-eque whodunnit, Murder at Haversham Manor. As the player...

The Windsors Endgame – Prince of Wales Theatre

11Aug

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

London

The Windsors Endgame – Prince of Wales Theatre

To try and summarise just how outlandish The Windsors is as a stage show, imagine if the writers of Spitting Image found a file labelled ‘Daily Mail Royal Fan-fic’ and gave it to the editors of Viz magazine, after getting them spectacularly drunk and sitting through a marathon of ‘Carry On’ movies. Based on the satirical Channel 4 show, by Bert Tyler-Moore and the late George Jeffrie, and featuring many of the show’s original cast, The Windsors imagines a world where the Queen, weary of public life after the death of her beloved Phillip, has abdicated in favour of the world’s longest-serving intern, Prince Charles. Charles - played by Harry Enfield with the perfect sense of tired pompousness that one would expect from someone waiting 70 years for a work promotion – promptly goes powe...

28Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Magic Goes Wrong – The Lowry

Forget your David Blaines and Copperfields. As the late Tommy Cooper knew in his variety shows of old, there’s big laughs to be had in watching a stage magician flounder and fluster when a much-practiced trick goes spectacularly wrong. It’s a ripe opportunity for the kings and queens of all things Wrong, Mischief Theatre, the team behind the massive smash hit of The Play that Goes Wrong. Almost like the adult movie industry, just name any play or subject and there’s a strong likelihood there’ll be a ‘Goes Wrong’ version of it from this prolific gang. And so, to tonight’s fare, co-written with anarchic magic duo Penn and Teller. In terms of a synopsis, it’s right there in the title. There’s magic, and it goes wrong. Very, very wrong. Under the guise of a fundraiser for ‘Disasters i...

20Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Chatroom – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

What would you imagine to be on the agenda for teenagers chatting online? Rating current romantic crushes? How mean mum and dad are for not letting them out past 10? Whether the fat German kid would be more likely to win Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory over Charlie Bucket might not feature on your list, but it is the first vignette of conversation we’re presented with as we join our six teen stars of Enda Walsh’s one-act play Chatroom. Described as a chilling, blackly comic tale, Chatroom looks at themes of online manipulation, cyberbullying and teenage depression, as relatively innocent conversations dissecting children’s literature and pop music are punctured by the arrival of Jim, a young man struggling with suicidal thoughts. This show marks the first production by the Garric...

Something about Simon – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

8Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Something about Simon – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

“Hello darkness, my old friend” Never was a refrain such a perfect welcome to a show, as audiences slowly start to return to theatres. As the house lights go down, an unassuming figure strolls out, picks up his guitar and brings the full attention of the audience centre-stage, as he plucks out the iconic strains of ‘Sound of Silence’. In this one-man show, singer-songwriter Gary Edward Jones takes the audience on a journey through the catalogue and life story of Paul Simon, known to the majority as one half of folk megastars, Simon and Garfunkel, as well as in his own right as a solo artist. In just shy of 90 minutes, we are treated to some of the biggest songs of a generation, allowing the audience to rediscover much loved classics, as well as some hidden gems from the star troub...

2Jun

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Dangerous Liaisons – The Lowry

“Well…at least we know the music” In one of the first performances to be hosted by the Lowry since the latest easing of restrictions, Northern Ballet have bounded onto stage with a revival of Dangerous Liaisons, their stunningly choreographed interpretation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ novel, set seamlessly to the familiar strings of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, played live by Northern Ballet Sinfonia. With little spoken word to guide us on our way, the overheard audience comment above reflects the biggest challenge in this adaptation – keeping up with this complex tale of two 18th century French aristocrats who goad each other into a web of seductions, leaving a trail of broken hearts in their wake. When the Viscomte de Valmont develops genuine feelings for one of his conquests, the...