Paul Downham, Author at North West End UK

Imelda Staunton and Maxine Peake perform Talking Heads in Leeds and Sheffield

23Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Imelda Staunton and Maxine Peake perform Talking Heads in Leeds and Sheffield

In a massive coup for Leeds Playhouse and Sheffield Theatres two of the nation’s best actors Imelda Staunton and Maxine Peake will be performing two of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads monologues in his native Yorkshire. The transfers of Staunton in A Lady of Letters and Peake in Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet from the Bridge Theatre are a show of solidarity with the two Yorkshire venues by the performers and the creative teams of these two pieces. For these performances, as at the Bridge, Alan Bennett has generously waived his royalty. During April and May while the Bridge Theatre was closed the London Theatre Company worked with the BBC to produce two of the iconic monologues, which were then broadcast on BBC One in June. Leeds Playhouse has already announced Connecting Voices, a colla...

Critically acclaimed Noir goes online this Winter

22Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Critically acclaimed Noir goes online this Winter

Multi award winning Vertigo Theatre Productions have been at the forefront of the fringe theatre scene in Manchester since 2007, now in these troubled times, the company are thinking outside the box and are premiering a BRAND NEW production of their hit play NOIR online this December. Rather than just showing a copy of the original try out production from 2017, Vertigo and the cast and crew will film this brand new production this November at The Empty Space Theatre without an audience, meaning you can see the premiere before the show ever goes in front of a live audience. This December you can be at the world premiere from the comfort of your own home. NOIR transports you back to a time of black and white movies of the 30s, 40s and 50s. It's New York City, a single spotlight illuminate...

22Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

A Marvellous Party – Stream Theatre

The Noel Coward foundation managed to present a transatlantic celebration of Noel Coward, filled to the brim with star-studded names from both UK and American theatre! It provided us with an evening of monologues, as well as musical numbers all interspersed with footage from the Noel Coward archives. Many great names came together to create this piece and it was refreshing to see the different takes plus having some spoken word pieces alongside songs. It was also a joy to watch Robert Lindsey and Giles Terera’s segments, as these were filmed inside theatres and provided hope that we will be back inside them soon! The evening provided a rare opportunity to see numerous faces together, perhaps for the first and only time. Personal highlights were Bebe Neuwirth and Patricia Routledge, ...

Derby Theatre is back with a show all about community

21Sep

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Interviews

Derby Theatre is back with a show all about community

Like many spaces Derby Theatre is dipping its toe back into live shows with a socially distanced performance bringing together voices in the local community and professional performers. Their Artistic Director and CEO Sarah Brigham says they could have just thrown on a murder mystery one hander for their return, but instead they have gone for something deeper to reopen their stage with a community devised event billed as Derby Rises on Sunday 27th September. “When we were thinking about reopening the theatre we were all expecting this big grand opening, standing ovations, massive shows and it’s become clear that’s not going to happen,” observes Sarah in the midst of pulling the show together and deep cleaning the venue. “We felt the most important thing was that the first thing on...

21Sep

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North West

Swan Song – Liverpool Theatre Festival

Award-winning writer Jonathan Harvey’s clever monologue was first performed at the Edinburgh Festival and Hampstead Theatre in 1997. Reimagined by Harvey for the Liverpool Theatre Festival, and under the direction of BAFTA award-winning director Noreen Kershaw, it stars Andrew Lancel as English teacher Dave Titswell in a world that is changing both inside and outside of his treasured classroom. Delivered over five segued acts, we humorously contemplate Dave’s lessons in life, garnered from his twenty five years in the teaching profession, as he is faced with the conundrum of whether he has now reached the end of the line or if a school trip to the Lakes will change things for the better. With liberal doses of good humour throughout, what we discover on the way as we navigate his overzealou...

Tonight at the London Coliseum: Sharon D Clarke

20Sep

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London

Tonight at the London Coliseum: Sharon D Clarke

When you think of West End stalwarts, it’s safe to say that Sharon D Clarke would appear on a lot of people’s lists. Having starred in musicals such as We Will Rock You, Ghost, Hairspray, Caroline or Change and Once on this Island, it’s safe to say that at some point or another at lot of us have enjoyed at least one of her powerhouse performances. More recently she performed a stunning rendition of ‘At Last’ for the BBC’s VE Day celebration. Clarke really thought out the set list of songs for this concert, some to help us reflect on the times we’re currently enduring and other to cheer us up and make us forget – but each one had her take on it. It was a perfect balance, especially with the tales she would regale us with. From being mistaken as Whoopi Goldberg, to holidays and anec...

19Sep

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NWE UK Live

Home Schooling 3 – Return of the Term

She's back! Our very own Yazmin takes on the new school term in a way only she can! Written by Mark Davoren Performed by Yazmin Walker Produced and Directed by Paul Downham Visit our North West End UK Live section for more monologues written, performed and produced entirely in house. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkCWatCrBQA

Halifax’s Square Chapel reopens for business

19Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Halifax’s Square Chapel reopens for business

In a rare bit of good news for the nation’s cultural life Halifax’s Square Chapel Arts Centre is back in business after going into administration in March 2020. Non-profit organisation Arts At The Mill CIC, with the support of Arts Council England and Calderdale Council, are the new owners of the recently refurbished town centre venue next to the historic Piece Hall. Arts At The Mill is the umbrella organisation for Wigan’s The Old Courts, Wigan Pier and The Royal Court Theatre who are deeply rooted in creating, producing and programming work with the community. The new team will be headed up by four experienced directors – Managing Director Dave Jenkins, Artistic Director Jonny Davenport, Director of Operations Michelle Mayor and Rebecca Davenport as Sales and Marketing Dir...

19Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

The Boss of it All – Soho Theatre

New Perspectives’ The Boss of it All, adapted from the Lars Von Trier film of the same name by director, Jack McNamara, has been especially tailored to show office life in lockdown, with all the fun of working from home and life on furlough. Mr Ravn (Ross Armstrong) is negotiating the future of the IT company he works for with Finnur (Le Gateau Chocolat), a successful Icelandic businessperson. Unfortunately, the company’s boss, Svenya, is an absent American who only communicates with him via email. So he hires struggling actor, Kristina (Josie Lawrence) to perform as the boss during negotiations. Unfortunately, his plan to have this as a one-off performance goes wrong, and Kristina soon finds herself embroiled in office politics and facing the consequences of all the unpopular decisions...

Judy and Liza – Liverpool Theatre Festival

19Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Judy and Liza – Liverpool Theatre Festival

The glamour and glitz of Vaudeville brought joy in a derelict church in Liverpool on an Autumn evening. Judy and Liza is a musical homage and biopic of these giants of the big screen and stage Judy Garland, played by Helen Sheals (Mrs Wigan from Downton Abbey) and Liza Minnelli played by Emma Dears (West End singer/actress who also created the show). The show explores through songs, memories and anecdotes, the talents and turbulence of this mother and daughter relationship as they leaf through the family photo album. There is such a richness of songs between the two that the difficulty was which numbers to leave out. It starts with Garland’s childhood. She was born the youngest of three daughters to Frank and Ethel Gumm, who had their own movie theatre and were keen to introduce t...