Mark Davoren, Author at North West End UK

8Feb

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Ellen Kent: Carmen – Floral Pavilion

Carmen is a four-act opera by French composer Georges Bizet, first performed in Paris on 3rd March 1875 with audiences initially objecting to the wild and immoral behaviour on view. Sadly, Bizet's sudden death in June meant he did not get to see its resounding success in Vienna later that year and its subsequent international acclaim. It is now one of the most popular and frequently performed operas. Set in Seville, Spain around 1820, Carmen tells the story of the downfall of Don José (Sorin Lupu) a naïve corporal who falls head over heels in love with Carmen (Katerina Timbaliuk), a seductive, free-spirited gypsy girl. The infatuated Don José abandons his childhood sweetheart, Micaela (Alyona Kistenyova), and neglects his military duties much to the annoyance of his senior officer Zunig...

Leopoldstadt – Wyndham’s Theatre (NT Live Transmission)

28Jan

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

London, REVIEWS

Leopoldstadt – Wyndham’s Theatre (NT Live Transmission)

The NT Live transmission, in conjunction with Sonia Friedman Productions, from Wyndham’s Theatre of Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt, was somewhat timely coming as it did on International Holocaust Memorial Day, and more so when its depiction of the travails of a Jewish family resonates so strongly with the unveiling of portraits of the last survivors of the Holocaust. Centred around the extended Merz family in Vienna, we travel through four generations from the turn of the twentieth century to the creation of an independent Austrian republic in 1955, where amidst the all too familiar humdrum domestic scenes we explore what it means to learn and love; to live and die; to discover what identity really means within a family, society, race, and religion, and the extent to which any of us can ev...

It’ll Soon Be Christmas – Rainhill Village Hall

20Dec

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

It’ll Soon Be Christmas – Rainhill Village Hall

Individuality Youth were set up by long-term musical theatre professional Samantha Moores last July as a community venture for children in and around Prescot, Rainhill and Whiston. Despite the background challenges presented by the pandemic they have gone from strength to strength running weekly classes, broken into two groups, for children aged 6 to 18, with this their first production. With the spirit of Christmas very much to the fore – and don’t we need something to celebrate right now – Moores directs and produces with support from choreographer Amy Balfour and technical assistance from experienced hands Tony Dagnall (stage manager), Les Dagnall (lighting) and Karen Woods (sound). The children have been broken into three groups allowing them to perform in ensemble pieces, duets,...

6Dec

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Destiny the Panto –The Black-E

The year is 2034 and we start this panto with Time (Leanne Cooney) bringing us up to speed on the quantum X 5000 experiment which saw a group of elite scientists led by Dr Destiny Sinclair (Holly Murphy) and Fate Lewis (Victoria Leopold) looking to develop this top-secret time travel project further. But things don’t always go according to plan and Destiny soon finds herself in the past suffering from partial amnesia and facing a mirror image that is not her own. With only Fate, in the form of a hologram, and an App (Jess Connor) to guide her, Destiny finds herself leaping through time righting wrongs before landing up in 1706 where she is paired up with Jack (Shaun Herr) of beanstalk fame and his entourage of a family: Dame Velma (Peter Sebastian); Dougal (Johnny Sedgwick-Davies); and ...

Donizetti’s Don Pasquale – Liverpool Empire

4Dec

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Donizetti’s Don Pasquale – Liverpool Empire

To finish their touring run for 2021, Glyndebourne have saved the best for last with Donizetti’s great comedy serving as a masterclass in pretty much everything with Mariame Clément’s eye-catching production brought back to life under revival director Paul Higgins. Elderly bachelor Don Pasquale (Ricardo Seguel) is fussed over by his servant (Anna-Marie Sullivan) as he awaits his friend, Dr Malatesta (Konstantin Suchkov), who has arranged a marriage for him to the beautiful and innocent Sofronia, who just happens to be Malatesta’s sister, and even has the Notary (Tom Mole) lined up to seal the deal. Yet, Don Pasquale reminds his nephew, Ernesto (Konu Kim), this is not how it’s meant to be, giving him one last chance to wed a wealthy young lady on pain of disinheritance if he declines....

Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress –Liverpool Empire

2Dec

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress –Liverpool Empire

The art historian in me jumped at the chance to see William Hogarth’s most-celebrated caricature brought to life in Stravinsky’s opera with a libretto by none other than celebrated poets WH Auden and Chester Kallman, and a classic cross-hatched set design from David Hockney providing a very fitting tribute to the original satire. Under the direction of John Cox, we open to our hero Tom Rakewell (Frederick Jones) with his very literal Anne Trulove (Soraya Mafi) in the garden of her father (Stephen Richardson). The devil makes work for idle hands and it’s the appearance of Nick Shadow (Sam Carl) who delivers a Faustian-like pact, but one very much of the devil’s making, that sees our rake’s progress well and truly begin as we move from the brothel education of Mother Goose (Fiona Kimm) to...

Beckett in Birkenhead – Christ Church, Oxton Village

28Oct

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Beckett in Birkenhead – Christ Church, Oxton Village

I adore Samuel Beckett, so I jumped at the chance to see two of his short plays being performed. There’s a perception that his writing – like the man – is complex but in reality, it is a theatrical experience that credits its audience with being intelligent and allows them to interpret accordingly. Tonight’s pieces also highlighted the continuing relevance of his work in capturing the consistency of human emotion and behaviour over time, or as he may well have put it: plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Directed by Daniel Taylor and produced by Pauline Fleming, we open with Play as we observe three heads poking out from funeral urns – Man (Phil Perez), W1 (Fleming), and W2 (Paula Simms) – in some kind of purgatory as they recall the events of an affair that connects them although ...

First Act presents Spring Awakening at The Hope Street Theatre

17Oct

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

NEWS

First Act presents Spring Awakening at The Hope Street Theatre

Warrington based First Act, will be bringing Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s award-winning musical Spring Awakening to The Hope Street Theatre from the 28th - 30th October in a fresh and vibrant new production. Based on the 1891 German by Frank Wedekind, Spring Awakening tells the story of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of adolescent sexuality. Set in mid-19th-century Germany, the musical, with its alternative and folk-infused rock score, explores oppression, freedom, teenage angst, and the dangers of hiding the truth. First Act launched in 2017 with a simple vision: create acting classes for young performers which developed skill, technique, and talent; an acting school where theatre education is the primary goal. Since its incorporation First Act have been deliver...

20Sep

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Stayin’ Alive – Unity Theatre

Up Next is a new event series showcasing exciting new work from Merseyside performers and following the success of her previous show Heaven or Pussy, Victoria Oxley stepped up with her new musical-themed comedy Stayin’ Alive. Written by and starring Oxley, and with directorial input from Gemma Bodinetz who introduced the piece tonight, it follows the story of Maggie (Oxley) as she confronts her mental health problems and the loss of her grandmother, with support from Emma Bispham reading in other roles including Maggie’s mother, her sister Ann-Marie, and therapist Rob. Drawing on Oxley’s real-life relationship with her grandmother and her own work as a mentor for young people with mental health difficulties, this was a powerful piece of work that in its opening lines managed to blow ...

20Sep

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

A Heavenly Way to Die – Unity Theatre

Up Next is a new event series showcasing exciting new work from Merseyside performers and this piece was a rehearsed read through of Tom Kinney’s love story about being in a relationship while suffering from Harm OCD. Centred predominantly around bedroom scenes, we see the developing relationship between Violet (Angelina Cliff) and Glen (Liam Powell-Berry). All seems well but that natural initial nervousness doesn’t leave Violet, in fact she continues to feel anxious around Glen all the time. But it’s not him. It’s because she has intrusive and obsessive thoughts that she will hurt him while she sleeps. It is an interesting concept and the piece under the direction of Emma Turner was well read by Cliff and Powell-Berry with stage directions read in by Aimee Cross. With the focus on t...