Max Eden, Author at North West End UK

Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical – The Lowry

28Sep

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical – The Lowry

It’s moving, touching and filled with stirring harmonious songs; Fisherman Friends - The Musical is not your usual ‘film to stage’ production! Directed by James Grieve; the Fisherman Friends Musical follows the same plot as the popular 2019 movie - a true story about a group of Cornish fishermen who are discovered by Danny (played by Jason Langley) a former A & R man for Island records which leads to the group recording a demo and eventually onto performing on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. This musical tugs at your heartstrings far greater than the movie and there are moments when emotions run high and moments when it becomes quite reflective and somber. It runs at quite a fast pace and although it’s 140 minutes in length; it keeps your attention throughout and the appearance...

6Sep

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

We Will Rock You – Palace Theatre

‘We Will Rock You’ is one of those musicals where you know exactly what you’re going to get; a musical with a set list jam-packed with singalong mega hits and bags of energy and fun, it’s a real crowd pleaser! Launched back in 2002; it has become the eleventh longest running musical of the West End and credited as one of the original ‘jukebox’ musicals, it’s popularity and longevity can be acknowledged in part by the back catalogue of Rock Legends; Queen - which make up its score; featuring a whooping 25 songs from Freddie Mercury and the band. The script although quite far-fetched and silly at times is perfectly tailored to our British humour, and writer Ben Elton has revamped and refreshed the script over the years to keep the production relevant, including a rather amusing Covid t...

The Osmonds: A New Musical – Palace Theatre

10Aug

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

The Osmonds: A New Musical – Palace Theatre

The Osmonds were without doubt one of the biggest musical phenomenon of the 1970s; the family which become famous around the world. ‘The Osmonds: A New Musical’ tells the story of how it all started and gives us an insight into what happened during their rise to fame and what it was like to be that famous family including hardships like the impending bankruptcy ; with an albeit slightly rose-tinted viewpoint at times written by Jay Osmond - it’s a heart-warming whizz through their careers and their relationships, with a soundtrack of Osmond hits which are sure to delight fans. Directed by Shaun Kerrison; this production moves quite smoothly although can feel a bit long in places as what feels like full songs are performed back to back and some sections overrun somewhat; but it does d...

The Play That Goes Wrong – Manchester Opera House

31May

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

The Play That Goes Wrong – Manchester Opera House

When going to the theatre, I always love to see a ‘comedy farce’ more than anything else; I enjoy a good drama as much as the next person, but I find that farce comedy just works so well in a theatre environment and there’s one company that stands out above all the rest for being masters of the farce; this is of course the Mischief Theatre Company. Set up back in 2008 by a group of talented theatre students; This company has had great success on stage and on screen and perhaps their best known production and most successful is; The Play That Goes Wrong which is without doubt the best of farce and currently back at Manchester Opera House for one week only! The production first debuted in 2012 at The Old Red Lion Theatre in London and now just over a decade later; the original cast hav...

16Feb

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Private Lives – The Lowry

When you put Patricia Hodge and Nigel Havers on a stage together, you already know it’s going to be a great show. Noel Coward’s Private Lives by the newly formed Nigel Havers Theatre Company does just that, and it’s everything you hoped it would be and more! Set in the 1930s, the play tells the story of Elyot (played by Havers) and Amanda (played by Hodge) who were once married and find themselves in adjoining rooms at a French hotel with their new partners, with the unexpected happening and the couple reconnecting. Havers takes on the role taken by Noël Coward himself in the original production in 1930 with a Suaveness we’ve come to expect, the character being delightfully charming but also quite stubborn and obstinate. Olivier Award winning actress Hodge is effortlessly glamorou...

1Feb

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

The Play What I Wrote – The Lowry

Morecombe & Wise are without doubt a British institution, with their Christmas specials drawing in over 20 million viewers in their day; delivering shows packed with laughter and jokes a plenty. To write a stage production on them must be a daunting task, but one which writers; Hamish McColl, Sean Foley and Eddie Braben have excelled at in this new play; The Play What I Wrote. With a cast of just three (well actually four but we’ll get to that), this isn’t a biographical piece about the famous duo, far from it. This is original, but yet still just as dynamic and very very funny! The story follows two performers; Dennis played by Dennis Herdman & Thom played by Thom Tuck. Dennis wants to do a play about the famous duo for the potential money, whilst Thom aspires to write serio...

7Dec

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Winter Wonderland – Event City

As we count down to Christmas and the Big day; it’s the season for festive fun and feeling merry - and a recent trip to Silcock’s Winter Wonderland did all this and more, delivering the ultimate family festive outing! The UK’s largest indoor Christmas Theme Park has returned to Event City near the Trafford Centre and its bigger and better than ever! It’s jam packed with funfair rides, circus shows, Panto shows, ice Princess performances and has over 50 rides and attractions on site all included in the ticket price. Walking in; you are immediately transported to a Winter Wonderland with Christmas Trees and artificial snow falling from the roof; giving you the feeling that you’re starting in your very own Christmas movie! The Kids (and ‘Kids at Heart’) really loved the family rid...

Matthew Bourne’s The Nutcracker – The Lowry

25Nov

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Matthew Bourne’s The Nutcracker – The Lowry

It’s endearing, magical and delicious - all in equal measure! Matthew Bourne’s The Nutcracker returns to the stage after almost 10 years delivering a show-stopping performance which engages all the senses and is a must see this festive season! It’s fascinating to witness such a reinvigorated and new adaptation of this traditional ballet; the score remains traditional but the costumes, the sets and the stage presence makes it something totally renewed and fresh and anything but traditional! I particularly loved the mise-en-scene of this reboot; starting with the stripped back - dark and cold orphanage for its opening scene and doing away with the grandeur of the traditional ‘throw everything we’ve got at it’ type of opening; it draws you in to the story and makes the transition to ...

19Oct

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Tell Me on a Sunday – The Lowry

Coming across an Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical which I’d never seen before was reason enough to see the new touring production of Tell Me On A Sunday at The Lowry Theatre...and seeing Jodie Prenger in the title role will be my reason to go back and see it again! This one-act production features just one cast member (Prenger) and the concept was originally conceived for television being the very first collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black, away from Tim Rice, with this in mind it has a very different feel to other Lloyd Webber shows, but has more emotion! It follows the young English girl; Emma and her romantic misadventures in New York in the heady days of the 1980’s with her search for love which sees her cross to Manhattan and California in search of love. The diffi...

24Sep

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

The Ballad of Maria Marten – The Lowry

Theatre is at its best when it can retell a story in a new dynamic, a new setting or with a new spin. All of the above are true of Beth Flintoff’s adaptation; The Ballad of Maria Marten which tells the true story of a harrowing true crime which took place in 1827. The Red Barn Murder which occurred in Suffolk saw Maria Marten shot and then buried for over a year before her body was discovered, but this play doesn’t focus on just her death but more a celebration of her life and it’s incredibly captivating as a result. Directed by Hal Chambers, this play doesn’t feel like a murder mystery nor does it feel like a dark crime drama, it’s inviting and makes a statement that Maria Marten’s murder is not her defining life moment; she had a life - she loved, she laughed, and it’s a clever rew...