Paul Downham, Author at North West End UK

8Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Love in the Lockdown – The Telling

Filmed and directed entirely on Zoom and by Performers on their mobile devices, Rachel Stirling and Alec Newman feature in this new topical online play with music. Presented by The Telling, written by Clare Norburn and directed by Nicholas Renton, ‘Love in the Lockdown’ follows Medieval Musician, Emilia (Stirling) and playwright, Giovanni (Newman) in the early stage of an intense lockdown relationship during the very start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Emilia and Giovanni met at a mutual friend’s dinner party just before lockdown started. They are forced to continue dating over Zoom and as their relationship develops, and as the couple get closer romantically, they start to work on a writing project together. Their project is a musical/theatrical piece based on ‘The Decameron’ by Boccacc...

8Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

West End Musical Drive-In – Show 3

This was number 3 in the series of West End Musical Drive-in shows which was recorded around September 2020 and brings live music from West End theatre stars to an outdoor setting whilst theatres are closed. These are now being streamed to view from the safety of people’s own homes. As with any outside broadcast, this was at the mercy of the weather which was not kind for much of this show and it was awkward for the performers having a microphone in one hand and an umbrella in the other. I know myself from first-hand experience how difficult it is to put on a show outdoors like this and the technical team involved deserve a huge amount of credit for their efforts in putting everything together. Thanks to them the quality of the sound was excellent. The show was opened, introduced and co...

Fables at the Kitchen Table – Stute Theatre/Tameside Libraries

8Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Fables at the Kitchen Table – Stute Theatre/Tameside Libraries

One of the most exciting innovations in our local libraries is they have become community hubs, including storytelling for young readers, and Fables at the Kitchen Table is Tameside Council’s attempt to keep those sessions going during lockdown. They’ve recruited experienced actor-musician Sophia Hatfield from Stute Theatre to rework three of Aesop’s famous fables delivered via an online link https://www.stutetheatre.co.uk/fables to local schools and children aged 3 to 8. So she becomes Soph who has travelled the world collecting stories to bring back to Greater Manchester, and she kicks off with the story of the Tortoise and the Hare, which remains the most famous of the Greek’s storyteller’s tales. Soph is an engaging performer who employs a bike helmet and a hat with floppy...

Channing Tatum’s Magic Mike Live to Reopen 21st May

2Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Channing Tatum’s Magic Mike Live to Reopen 21st May

Magic Mike Live will be returning to its London home of The Theatre at the Hippodrome Casino on Friday 21st May 2021. Patrons will experience a revamped production featuring new songs and new dance sequences in a Covid-secure environment with a socially distanced audience. “The team behind Magic Mike Live has been enthusiastically planning the show’s return to the London stage,” said Executive Producer Vincent Marini. “We have been working to develop a show that prioritises the safety of our employees and guests but also manages to be as fun, electric and unexpected as ever. While it has been a creative challenge to make changes to the show we all love so much, we believe that the finished product, which has already been successfully launched in Sydney, will bring a great deal of ...

Recognition by 45North & Ellie Keel Productions

2Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Recognition by 45North & Ellie Keel Productions

“I want to be nothing in the world be except what I am. A musician.” This passing sentiment, felt by Afro-English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor whilst on his deathbed in 1912 and remembered by Song, a Black composer working in present-day London almost a century later, is the quintessential throughline of the new audio drama ‘Recognition’ by 45North and Ellie Keel Productions under the Written On The Waves series that features 8 audio dramas created in partnership with Atticist, HOTTER Project, and The North Wall. Co-created by Amanda Wilkin and Rachael Nanyonjo with writing by the former and original Music from Cassie Kinoshi, this hour-long audio experience introduces us to the artistic journeys of two Black musicians – Samuel (voiced by Obioma Ugoala) and Song (voiced by Shiloh...

New management agency lighting up the industry

1Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

New management agency lighting up the industry

Matchstick Group – the UK’s newest talent management agency – launches today with a roster of 26 clients spanning all forms of entertainment, making it the UK’s fastest growing talent agency in 2021 and the UK’s leading agency for digital and social media influencers with a reach of over 10million followers cross YouTube, TikTok and Instagram Matchstick Group is reimagining the way that talent management typically operates. In addition to a deep commitment to improving diversity, accessibility and representation in the entertainment industry, Matchstick Group boldly breaks with tradition by prioritising the mental wellbeing of its staff and clients above all else, as well as offering client and staff incentives to refer new business. A new agency for talent and by talent, Matchstick...

Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels – Finborough Theatre

1Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels – Finborough Theatre

Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels, written by Athena Stevens and directed by Lily McLeish, looks at relationships between women and how these are affected by their relationships with men, romantic or otherwise. A series of asides, presented as 28 separate episodes, it tells the story of 1 (Evelyn Lockley) whose boyfriend is best friends with A (Athena Stevens) and what happens after 1 sends him a topless photo which he casually shows to A. Due to the way the sound has been edited, it is beneficial to watch the piece with headphones. A subtitled version is also available. The piece opens with 1 looking at herself in the mirror and commenting on her appearance, including the faint wrinkles she has noticed have started to appear. A fan of presenting her ideal reality on Instagram, s...

1Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Sherlock Holmes – An Online Adventure

Written by Oliver Lansley and Anthony Spargo. Directed by Oliver Lansley and James Seager A classic Sherlock Holmes murder mystery creatively delivered through Zoom. Many of us have been using Zoom for our work and leisure since the lockdown and now Les Enfants Terribles in collaboration with LIVR have cleverly used the format to deliver an interactive murder mystery event, ideal for small groups. In the Case of the Hung Parliament, online sleuths have to collaborate with each other to solve the case of the murder of three senior cabinet members, the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary and the Lord Chancellor. Unfortunately, it isn’t the present cabinet but a Victorian administration from the days of Sherlock Holmes who has left the jovial Dr Watson (Ralph Bogard) to guide us th...

The Theatre Channel- Episode 5: The Classics of Broadway

1Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

The Theatre Channel- Episode 5: The Classics of Broadway

Anyone visiting London for some musical theatre magic will have likely stumbled across The Theatre Café, the West End’s best-loved stagey coffee shop. In association with Adam Blanshay Productions, it’s now offering an access-all-areas peek behind the curtains as part of The Theatre Channel, a new web series brimming with all-singing, all-dancing performances filmed on location. Freddie Fox introduces Week Five- The Classics of Broadway- with excerpts from ‘Willkommen’ and ‘Money’ from Cabaret. He dominates the auditorium with an eerie presence: fitting choreography from Bill Deamer, also directing the episode, sees Fox crawling over the seats and making it rain from the Dress Circle. While his wide eyes and sinister grin replicate the original Emcee, his tattered outfit screamed ‘caugh...

27Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

West End Musical Drive-In – Show 2

The West End Musical Drive-In series took place over the late summer 2020, from the team that brought us West End Musical Brunch, to bring some live music from the West End theatre stars to the fans in times where the theatres were closed, and social distancing was a must. They took place in a large open space in outer London where a large stage was set up and the ‘seating area’ was marked out, some spaces where people who do not drive can bring a chair and see the show or you could drive in and watch from your car in your allocated space. Luckily for the people who were unable to see the Drive-In series or who want to relive the experience, it was recorded and can now be bought to stream in your own home. The second in the series involve numerous current and past cast members from the ...