Mark Davoren, Author at North West End UK

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – Rainhill Village Hall

9Jul

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – Rainhill Village Hall

Set up just over a year ago, The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe, directed by Samantha Moores with support from Choreographer Amy Balfour, is Individuality Youth’s first full production following last Christmas’ ensemble event at the same venue. Siblings Lucy (Bracken Keyte), Susan (Lexie Haslam), Peter (Grace Spencer-Storey), and Edmund (Laia Morgan) are staying at the Professor’s house when Lucy steps into wardrobe and out again into the magical world of Narnia, a land of Beavers (Ella Davies and Ellen Rose Challinor) and Leopards (Louisa Nelson and Reeve Keyte) amongst other animals and where she meets Mr Tumnus (Elijah Dunne). All is not well though as The White Witch (Helena Hanlon) assisted by Maugrim (Alyssa McCormick) and Dwarf (Holly Spencer-Storey), terrorises all. It soon...

Epstein Premiere For New Staged Production Of Masquerade

28Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

NEWS

Epstein Premiere For New Staged Production Of Masquerade

A brand new production of Masquerade – a play telling a powerful and emotional tale set in an iconic Liverpool gay club in the 1980s – is coming to the city’s Epstein Theatre this Autumn. Masquerade is a poignant tale of love and loss among Liverpool’s LGBT+ community. Following a successful run at the Royal Court Studio in 2019, the acclaimed play written by Laura Lees is back in a new electrifying and reimagined staging, with Liverpool’s queer history at its heart. The creative team has been announced, the full cast will be revealed shortly. Masquerade will run at the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool from Tuesday 22nd November to Saturday 26th November 2022 for just eight performances. Tickets are priced from £20 and are on sale now. Masquerade is produced by Bill Elms (So...

27Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

1984 –Thingwall Community Centre

George Orwell’s dystopian novel, originally published in 1949, is a cautionary tale, drawing on the then recent insights into Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany, examining the role of truth and facts within politics and the way in which they are manipulated. This dramatisation is constructed almost entirely from dialogue taken from the original novel. Winston Smith (Zoran Blackie) is in prison, found guilty of Thoughtcrimes against Big Brother. As part of his reconstruction, led by O’Brien (John Maguire), he must re-enact key moments from his past life, with the help of other thought criminals playing key characters including re-enacted versions of himself (John Reynolds) and O’Brien (Kate Mulvihill) as well as Parsons (Michael Silverman) and Charrington (Vicki Griffiths), so that everyo...

24Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

All Shook Up – Rainhill Village Hall

Inspired by Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the story is new and the hits are Elvis as Director and Choreographer Lucy Bradshaw takes us back to the summer of 1955 Midwest America in this heart-warming and feel-good musical, where we find Natalie (Sarah Johnson), a young mechanic, dreaming of love and adventure, without realising best friend Dennis (Ben Evans-Clarke) has a secret crush on her. But things take off when Chad (David Stevens), a hip-swivelling, guitar-playing roustabout, brings more than the jukebox to life in Sylvia’s (Julie Gould) Honky Tonk, putting a spring in the step of Natalie’s father, Jim (Bryan Dargie) and more than a sonnet in Miss Sandra (Dawn Wright). Can it get any better when Sylvia’s daughter Lorraine (Bláthíne Maguire) is told she’s beautiful by Dean (Toby Abb...

Manchester Collective announces 2022/23 season

22Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

NEWS

Manchester Collective announces 2022/23 season

In their sixth year, Manchester Collective continue to cement their reputation as trailblazers at the forefront of new classical music programming, with a 22/23 season that presents cutting-edge performances that break down barriers and demystify the art form. The season showcases a return to the Collective’s roots, with a programme reflecting their innovative approach to the classical repertoire and commitment to shining a spotlight on radical artistic voices from the past and present. Six groundbreaking projects will tour to 11 cities across the UK, taking audiences on a thrilling sonic journey – from the genre-busting sound of Oliver Leith to an in-depth exploration of Thomas Adès’ Arcadiana, and from a new work for electronics and string quartet by Moor Mother to George Crumb’s mind...

The Show Must Go On For Something About George After Cast Injury

17Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

NEWS

The Show Must Go On For Something About George After Cast Injury

In true show style and gusto, the show must go on for brand new show Something About George in Liverpool this weekend after its lead cast member sustained a serious injury. Something About George – The George Harrison Story comes to Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre (names after Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein) for two nights this weekend to coincide with Father’s Day, playing the city centre venue this Saturday and Sunday (18th and 19th June). However, lead cast member Daniel Taylor – who plays guitar throughout the show – has this week broken his shoulder when he fell while jogging. But in true showbiz style and after much deliberation, the show must go on with producers of the show bringing in musician Jonny Darnell on acoustic guitar to perform alongside a determined Daniel, t...

Opera North: Parsifal – Bridgewater Hall

13Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Parsifal – Bridgewater Hall

Opera North’s production of Wagner’s final work for the stage arrives in a blaze of glory from director Sam Brown’s theatrical staging in Leeds but what is served up at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester is much more muted in its dramatisation, and although the work was originally written with the orchestra below the stage to add acoustic and psychological drama, here it was very much centre and fore. Running at just over four hours stage time, Parsifal tells the story of the Knights of the Holy Grail, much of it narrated by a veteran knight, Gurnemanz (Brindley Sherratt). The castle of Monsalvat has been established by Titurel (Stephen Richardson) as a sanctuary for the Holy Grail and the Spear that pierced Christ’s side, before retiring in favour of his son, Amfortas (Robert Hayward), who...

30May

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

NEWS

Big Brother Is Watching You

Liverpool community theatre company, Thingwall Players, returns following a sold-out panto with an adaption of the science fiction classic Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell, directed by Gateacre based director and playwright David Griffiths. The play will be staged at Thingwall Community Centre in Wavertree, 23rd to 25th June at 7:30pm. Tickets are £10 (£7 Concessions) and available from www.trybooking.co.uk/bpcr Winston Smith is in prison, found guilty of Thoughtcrimes against Big Brother. As part of his reconstruction, he must re-enact key moments from his past life, with the help of other thought criminals, so that everyone can learn from his mistakes. Including his biggest mistake of all: falling in love with Julia. George Orwell's classic dystopia Nineteen Eighty Four...

Bow & Arrow: The Ghost of Sherwood – Epstein Theatre

30May

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Bow & Arrow: The Ghost of Sherwood – Epstein Theatre

There’s a saying in elite army regiments: big boys’ games, big boys’ rules, and tonight City Theatre stepped up to the big stage but sadly, despite passion and well-meaning, it didn’t come off. Set in the days of Robin Hood (Shaun Herr) and Maid Marian (Alex Rochford), we were almost halfway in before the plot was revealed with ghost hunters Bow (Rebekah Jayne Moreland) and Arrow (Johnny Sedgwick-Davies) having not paid their taxes to caretaker Sheriff Maxwell (Graham Lyne) who is supported by some oddball characters in Gob (Louis Cashin-Harris), Miss Thorn (Anna Chan), and Ursula (Dee Patricia). So far so bad but lining up for the goodies are King Lincoln (Leo Hewitson) and his niece Princess Elle (Lydia Pearl), yet still questions remain unanswered: will Friar Tuck (Sean Campbell) be ...

26May

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

As You Like It – Liverpool Playhouse

In their 30th anniversary production, Northern Broadsides, under the direction of Laurie Sansom, bring a bold approach to Shakespeare’s most musical and much-loved comedy. Unfortunately, we are met more with a misguided fantasy than a great production. In a stylish but stifling court, where the Duke (Tom Shaw) is all powerful and brute strength is championed over basic human decency, the high-spirited Rosalind (Em Williams) and devoted cousin Celia (Isobel Coward) are no longer welcome. When they escape into the forest in disguise, accompanied by Touchstone (Joe Morrow), they bump into the recent object of Rosalind’s affection, Orlando (Shaban Dar), who has fallen foul of Oliver (Aron Julius) but is supported by Adam (Claire Hackett), leading to an elaborate game of fluid identity wh...