Paul Downham, Author at North West End UK

Hair The Musical set to play London and Southampton this Summer

17Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Hair The Musical set to play London and Southampton this Summer

Following a sell-out run as part of The Turbine on the Jetty season, Hair The Musical (In Concert), directed by Arlene Phillips, will now play two performances at the London Palladium on Sunday 13th June, and two performances at Southampton Mayflower Theatre on 27th June 2021. The performances were originally planned for earlier this year, but were delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Hair The Musical (In Concert) has book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, music by Galt MacDermot, musical direction by Paul Schofield, design by David Shields, lighting and video design by Andrew Exeter and sound design by Dan Samson. Hair The Musical will once again be directed by Arlene Phillips. The cast are Luke Bayer (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie), Nicole Raquel Dennis (Dear Evan Hanse...

First look at the revamped Octagon Theatre in Bolton

17Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

First look at the revamped Octagon Theatre in Bolton

The creative team at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre have released the first photos of their new building revamped after a £12 million redevelopment programme. Over the last two years the town centre theatre has been completely modernised with updated performance spaces, brand-new participation facilities, improved front-of-house experience and expanded backstage facilities. Like all other theatres the space has been dark for the last year, and they will confirm a reopening date in the coming weeks following the recent announcement of the Government’s roadmap of when theatres can reopen their doors. “The reimagined Octagon benefits from more internal space, is more environmentally friendly, has vastly improved accessibility and enhanced customer and backstage facilities for everyone’...

17Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Dream – Royal Shakespeare Company

What do you do if you're rehearsing a live performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream when suddenly a deadly global pandemic derails your plans? This is the highly unusual and unwelcome scenario that the Royal Shakespeare Company was faced with last year, as well as the wider question of what a virus that thrives on human interaction means for the future of live performance. It's this consideration that led to last night's production, which was unique, engaging and really rather beautiful. Dream is inspired by, rather than an adaptation of, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and is an immersive online experience that uses the technology we see in online gaming to create a virtual world that can be inhabited by both actors and audience. After waiting in the interactive lobby which acts as a kind o...

16Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Robert Lindsay to star in a brand new online comedy of The Three Musketeers

The classic tale of The Three Musketeers is brought to you by the inconceivable, unimaginable and fantastical FoolHardy Theatre… a company with questionable theatrical training, no experience and no taste. What could possibly go wrong? Audio and animation are brought together in this swashbuckling adventure. Expect sword fights, deception and a right royal romance as we take you back to the regal splendour of 17th century France in this exciting, madcap comedy. Click the image above to book. *Contains affiliate link The Three Musketeers is a new online farce written by Sydney Stevenson and starring Robert Lindsay. A percentage of profits will also be donated to the Royal Theatrical Fund. Tickets are on-sale from 10am on the 16th March and can be purchased by clicking the ima...

Strictly’s Aljaž & Janette perform a new digital dance spectacular

16Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Strictly’s Aljaž & Janette perform a new digital dance spectacular

Strictly’s Aljaž & Janette perform a new digital dance spectacular, Remembering the Oscars Streaming worldwide: Saturday 27th March – Saturday 17th April 2021. Strictly Come Dancing duo Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara will star in a new digital adaptation of their never-before-seen dance spectacular, Remembering the Oscars. Celebrating the greatest award-winning songs, films, and dance routines from the Golden Age of Hollywood to Disney family favourites, the pair are rolling out the red carpet for a breath-taking premiere production, filmed especially for streaming. The show will be available to stream online for a strictly limited season from Saturday 27th March to Saturday 17th April. Aljaž & Janette will be joined by an incredible ensemble of some of the UK’s best dan...

Back to the Future the Musical begins performances 20th August at the Adelphi Theatre

16Mar

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NEWS

Back to the Future the Musical begins performances 20th August at the Adelphi Theatre

Producer Colin Ingram (Ghost – The Musical) and Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, the creators of the Back To The Future film trilogy, have announced that BACK TO THE FUTURE The Musical’s performances at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End will now begin on 20th August 2021. The musical’s out-of-town opening at Manchester Opera House in March 2020 received an incredible reaction from critics and the public alike, but was cut short when theatres were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic exactly a year ago. Roger Bart and Olly Dobson will play the roles of ‘Dr Emmett Brown’ and ‘Marty McFly’ respectively. Hugh Coles performs as ‘George McFly’, Rosanna Hyland as ‘Lorraine Baines’, Cedric Neal as ‘Goldie Wilson’, Aidan Cutler as ‘Biff Tannen’, Courtney-Mae Briggs as ‘Jennifer P...

The Picture of Dorian Gray – The Barn Theatre

16Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

The Picture of Dorian Gray – The Barn Theatre

Oscar Wilde’s intoxicating Faustian tale of beauty, love and mortality is given a fresh and modern day treatment in Henry Filloux-Bennett’s adroit script. There have been many versions of Wilde’s dark morality tale and this particular digital adaptation using both video and film techniques alongside conventional theatre firmly places it in the world of social media and the power of the influencer where self- image and self- promotion rule the day. Wilde’s basic question is how far would a person go to achieve success and maintain personal youth, beauty and fame? As Wilde quoted “behind every exquisite thing that existed there was something tragic” and in every sense of the word the play mirrors his exact assumption. We are in dark unforgiving territory and Bennett’s clever script ...

16Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Band Plays On – Sheffield Theatres

Theatre may have been forced into an identity crisis with the core of its function being ripped away, but Chris Bush’s gig theatre homage to the city she heralds from is extraordinarily certain of itself in a way that’s neither brash nor obtuse, but fiercely considered in the best way – a way that makes its self-awareness invisible. Yes, the pandemic is touched upon, but it’s just that – a faint brush across a canvas we are all painstakingly navigating to this day, a reality we are so keen to escape. There are no broad strokes incessantly reminding here, and it allows for a sensitive, intuitive, ferocious piece of theatre that is both pertinent and liberating. The format, whilst perhaps drawn out in its committed structure, is solid. Often the simplest ideas prove the best and most e...

Dave Stewart & Joss Stone write new musical The Time Traveller’s Wife

15Mar

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NEWS

Dave Stewart & Joss Stone write new musical The Time Traveller’s Wife

The Time Traveller’s Wife, the best-selling novel by Audrey Niffenegger and the New Line Cinema film screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin, will become a new musical and premiere in the UK in late 2021/early 2022. With a book by Lauren Gunderson, original music and lyrics by Joss Stone and Dave Stewart and additional lyrics by Kait Kerrigan, the production will be directed by Bill Buckhurst, with musical supervision & arrangement by Nick Finlow and illusions by Chris Fisher. Casting is by Stuart Burt CDG. It will be produced by Colin Ingram for InTheatre Productions, by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures. Henry and Clare’s love story is like no other and yet like all others; they meet, flirt, fight, love, marry... but all out of order. Henry is o...

Smash Hit RENT Returns to Hope Mill Theatre this Summer

15Mar

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NEWS

Smash Hit RENT Returns to Hope Mill Theatre this Summer

Hope Mill Theatre announces that its hit production of the classic rock musical RENT will play to audiences this summer. After only being able to perform 5 live shows last autumn prior to lockdown, the production will run for a strictly limited season from 6th August to 19th September 2021. Tickets will go on sale from 10am on Friday 19th of March 2021. RENT, directed by Luke Sheppard, with casting to be announced soon. William Whelton, Executive Director of Hope Mill Theatre, said: “It was so heart-breaking to have to close our production of Rent after only 5 shows, due to entering another lockdown. We were so thrilled that we managed to capture the show and share it with audiences online. The reaction to the show both critically and with audiences alike was truly overwhelming. H...