Nathan Dunn, Author at North West End UK

Blood Wedding – The Drama Studio, Sheffield

26Jun

By Nathan DunnNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Blood Wedding – The Drama Studio, Sheffield

The Company brought their production of Federico Garcia Lorca’s Spanish tragedy ‘Blood Wedding’ to Sheffield this week, and with it plenty of endeavour. How does this horrorful, mysterious tale of lovers torn astray weigh up today? It ought to be said that many (if not all) of the performers on stage demonstrated strong performative capability. They were confident, expressive, at times dynamic and at times deeply committed. Equally Mia Stephenson and Bella Rodgers’ costumes are great, and John Ansari’s fight co-ordination is strong. However, unfortunately I feel this production faced some challenges that proved difficult to overcome. Ed Bancroft and Heather Ellis’ direction has its moments. Specifically, it has a big moment in the second act – in which the sinister, abstract underwor...

Teeth ‘N’ Smiles – Duke of York’s Theatre

9Jun

By Nathan DunnNo Comments

London

Teeth ‘N’ Smiles – Duke of York’s Theatre

Teeth ‘N’ Smiles has enjoyed a lengthy run during this 2026 revival at the Duke of York theatre, celebrating 50 years since prolific writer David Hare’s rock and roll musical took to the stage starring Helen Mirren as the work’s darkly charismatic protagonist Maggie Frisby. Similarly, this production brings some star-studded value to the cast with pop artist Rebecca Lucy Taylor (formerly of Slow Club fame), now professional performing as ‘Self Esteem’. How does Hare’s work stand now? This production is pleasantly refined - its large cast are handled with great balance inside a great space, which playfully leans into the immersive qualities of the venue as the late 1960’s rockers burst in and out of the stalls doors that flank the audience with an amusingly entropic quality. Chloe Lamfor...

3May

By Nathan DunnNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Footloose – Sheffield Drama Studio

SUPAS Drama have taken on the musical adaptation of the 1980’s classic ‘Footloose’, a tale of young romance, extremely restrictive Christian-conservatism in small town America and dancing. The young company gave a great effort, resulting in an entertaining night of theatre that had only a slight few blemishes that could perhaps be fairly considered as opening night teething issues. Rory Violet’s direction was particularly strong. She helped foster strong relationship dynamics between the actors on stage, and their understanding of emotional narratives was there to see. Transitionally it was also impressive at times with a slick fluidity, although on occasion there were periods of dead space on stage when there weren’t any actors or music to help usher in a new scene. Charley Moffat...

14Apr

By Nathan DunnNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Operation Mincemeat – Sheffield Lyceum

Operation Mincemeat smashed records for being the best reviewed West End show in history collecting a baffling amount of 5-star reviews - and I’m here to tell you each one is earned. Avalon & SpitLip have birthed a raucous, compelling musical comedy for the ages. The story is intriguing. We are thrust into World War Two, and MI5 are scheming a plan to try and thwart the threat of German aggression across mainland Europe. SpitLip, composed of David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts, authored the script, music and lyrics. They recount the relatively unknown story of ‘Operation Mincemeat’, a real-life plot to trick the Nazi’s into anticipating an allied counter-offensive into Sardinia. The desired effect would be for the Third Reich to move their troops into the isl...

Good News! It’s Been Destroyed – The Beaten Track, Sheffield

19Mar

By Nathan DunnNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Good News! It’s Been Destroyed – The Beaten Track, Sheffield

Bróccán Tyzack-Carlin’s latest live stand-up project has taken its first steps in the capital and Manchester before finding its way to Sheffield, where I was fortunate to catch it. ‘Good News! It’s Been Destroyed’ is a full-length stand-up comedy show that orbits around the hopelessness of current affairs, allowing ourselves to be angry and use the energy of that anger to laugh. It takes on serious topics but is never too serious to be misinterpreted as a reductive polemic. That said, it is full of comical diatribes and carefully crafted anecdotes that will leave your face worn from laughter. Tyzack-Carlin makes our lives easier. He goes by ‘Brogan’, as opposed to the Irish pronunciation and spelling of his name (which he likes to remind us has never caused him any difficulty in his...

The Picture of Dorian Gray – Drama Studio, Sheffield

5Mar

By Nathan DunnNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Picture of Dorian Gray – Drama Studio, Sheffield

The Company brought Oscar Wilde’s philosophical gothic great ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ to Sheffield’s Drama Studio this week, and audiences lucky to attend are in for an impressive, arresting night of theatre. This particular adaptation was born from the brain of George Shore, who co-directs this piece with Mark Todd. Shore’s script is refined and full of wry humour. In many cases the world-building is contingent upon the script, and here Shore exercises expressive vernacular with all the appropriate didactic bombast of Wilde’s upper-class late Victorian realm. I really enjoyed Shore’s reliance on subtext in dissecting the narrative, leaving an air of mystique surrounding the picture and the terms of Dorian’s negotiation with it. It’s a pointed, concise text that Shore has crafte...

Perfect Show For Rachel – The Crucible Playhouse

20Feb

By Nathan DunnNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Perfect Show For Rachel – The Crucible Playhouse

Zoo Co (co-produced with Improbable) brought ‘Perfect Show for Rachel’ to The Crucible Theatre Playhouse this week, and what a delight it is to have this production on Sheffield stages this February. The show is a beautiful evening of unrestrained creative exploration and recreation. As we enter the full cast are on stage, very relaxed and smiley as they allow the audience to filter into their pastel coloured living room stage space. An electronic drum-kit, piano and guitar stand upon a small raised area. Rachel O’Mahoney is the director, the all seeing eye, the creative arbiter and final say of this show. She sits behind a large desk adorned with dozens (some 40+) buttons. Her art adorns the walls, and her face is live streamed to a couple TVs attached to a colourful set evoking recrea...

Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell – Sheffield Lyceum

24Sep

By Nathan DunnNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell – Sheffield Lyceum

Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell arrived in Sheffield with all the pomp of a bold dance show and all the sincerity of a gripping drama. This piece of theatre is aptly both - a dramatic, human tale of intimate connections won, lost, enjoyed and destroyed. This New Adventures production is an acerbic piece of liquid, visual storytelling. The narrative is compelling, pulling inspiration from author Patrick Hamilton’s (of ‘Rope’ and ‘Gaslight’ fame) 1929 novel ‘The Midnight Bell’. A patient meditation on love, lust and relationships set on the backdrop of the titular Midnight Bell late night drinking spot rooted somewhere betwixt the alleyways of early 20th century London. The work covers all corners of human desire in romantic and sexual relationships. We share the intimate moments...