Peter Kinnock, Author at North West End UK

15Jun

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

I, Daniel Blake – Birmingham Rep

There’s a palpable, visceral fury coursing through the core of “I, Daniel Blake” which makes for compelling drama and infuriating truth. For those of us who first came across the story in its cinematic incarnation it’s good to see it has lost none of its bite, bile and bitterness. And, though the theatre version loses some of the reportage and cinéma vérité authenticity in its imagery, it more than makes up for it in heart and soul driven home by some startling and sincere performances. It’s the story of a good, honest man. Not a hero, not special. Just straight and centred ensnared in the obscene and labyrinthine benefits system inflicted on this country by Tory administrations. The tweets and voice grabs of living, breathing politicians expounding the virtues of their cruel system whi...

Sadlers Wells Breakin’ Convention 2023 – Birmingham Hippodrome

15Jun

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Sadlers Wells Breakin’ Convention 2023 – Birmingham Hippodrome

A smorgasbord of hip-hoppery whooped and hooted and hollered and exploded on the stage of the Birmingham Hippodrome last night as “Breakin’ Convention 2023” delivered a gobsmacking, head spinning array of some of the finest hip-hop dancers from “around the corner and around the world” and the audience lapped it up. This was a whole new world to me. Our host, Jonzi D (MC, spoken word artist, dancer and director) entreated us to “give it up” and “big it up” and “make some noise” which we were only too eager to do. The cast included Gloucestershire’s victorious street dance company, CoadyCrew, Company Apidea and Gfunk Collective. Apart from the first the programme tells us nothing of these people or where they are from, but wherever it is they must be very proud. But my guess is they are y...

Tony: The Tony Blair Rock Opera – Birmingham Rep

8Jun

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Tony: The Tony Blair Rock Opera – Birmingham Rep

It’s not that long ago “Spitting Image” spat their saucy and sinister satire across the stage of the Birmingham Rep and seeing “Tony! The Tony Blair Rock Opera” has a slight whiff of deja vu - all over again. Where once well-crafted and designed puppets grotesquely caricatured well-known faces now we have real humans in a plethora of wigs (I believe that’s the correct collective noun for wigs) and a gamut of ‘tashes (same note) enacting a biog of the most polarising premier we’ve had for many a day. But unlike “Spitting Image”, which spoofed the news right up the opening night and revised the show thereafter, “Tony” seems to dwell on yesterday’s headlines and, despite occasional nudges towards the contemporary impact of his decisions, all seems a few years too late. Nonetheless it’s a v...

24May

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Peaky Blinders – Birmingham Hippodrome

Ballet Rambert play a Peaky Blinder Full Disclosure: I’ve never seen the TV show “Peaky Blinders” Fuller Disclosure: After this stunning, definitive version I don’t want to. With all the visceral violence of its leading characters, this ballet stomps into town, kicks open the door and makes itself at home before you can even say, “Come in.” It throws us against the wall, blows smoke in our face and threatens to rob us blind - and we love. As any Brummie worth their pork scratchings will tell you, Stephen Knight’s TV show was wrought in the Midlands and forged in the land which once produced half the world’s consumption of iron products. The ballet starts with anvils and chains and literal sparks flying as our anti-heroes emerge battered, bruised and bewildered from the fetid tr...

18May

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Unexpected Twist – Wolverhampton Grand

“Oliver Twist” has, over the intervening years since Charles Dickens first published it in 1837, been through many twists, turns, adaptations and revamps not least of which was Lionel Bart’s 1963 version picking the pockets of millions of cinema and theatre goers from that day to this. There have been TV series, animations and doubtless slews of associated merchandise for which poor Charlie never saw a penny. Yet another manifestation emerged from the soupy fog of Victorian London at the Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton last night as Roy Williams’ adaptation of Michael Rosen’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” was presented to us in the form of “Unexpected Twist.” This version attempts to draw parallels between an urban modern school locale and the novel. We have our school ch...

26Apr

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Home, I’m Darling – Alexandra Theatre

Laura Wade has held her own as both a playwright and screenwriter with numerous successes to her name. “The Riot Club” was adapted from her play “Posh” offered early career chances to Freddie Fox and Tom Hollander and she soon has an adapted of agilely Cooper novel coming our from Disney. “Home, I’m Darling” opened at the National Theatre in 2019 followed by a season at the Duke of York’s and has proved itself a hit which left me wondering what I was missing. A small but keen audience arrived last night at the Alexandra and clearly enjoyed their evening. Tamara Harvey directs with attention to detail but creates scenes of such speed I was left a little bewildered. The tempo of each scene and pitch of so many of the voices is relentlessly similar and makes for a hard watch. Jessica Ranso...

Titanic the Musical – Birmingham Hippodrome

19Apr

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Titanic the Musical – Birmingham Hippodrome

Thom Southerland’s impeccably directed production dropped its anchor into harbour at the Birmingham Hippodrome tonight and took us on a fascinating voyage though, let’s admit it, well charted and much sailed waters. This story has been told many times before not least of which in the famous 1997 film from James Cameron. This incarnation tells the well-worn story not through the eyes of two lovers or, indeed, any single character, but from the point of view of multi-protagonists. Therein lies the flaw in its structure. Through Jack and Rose in the movie we empathise with them as they epitomise the struggle, the anguish and the loss of all the victims of the disaster. Here we have innumerable characters we meet only for moments before we are introduced to others, and it proves difficult to i...

The Spongebob Musical – Birmingham Hippodrome

15Apr

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

The Spongebob Musical – Birmingham Hippodrome

I’m not too familiar with Mr Squarepant’s portfolio of work but it seems his previous incarnation was as a wildly successful children’s animated cartoon television series and that, it seems, was what a lot of today’s audience were expecting. Springing from the mind of marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg, Spongebob premiered on Nickelodeon way back in 1999 and, unlike a real person, hasn’t aged since. I’m not going to Google this, but I think we can safely assume he has also appeared as varying dolls, toys, games and nameless and endless merchandising tie-ins. Originally named SpongeBoy, and we can only imagine the days of sweat and toil put in at various board and focus meetings to revise that name, he has proved himself a nice little earner over the years. So, what are we to make of the l...

6Apr

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

East Midlands

Annie – Alexandra Theatre

No One Cares For You a Smidge When You’re In An Orphanage Well, that’s the first production of “Annie” I’ve seen that ended with the theme tune to “Blankety Blank” - and for very good and poignant reasons. Read to the end to find out why… Like the Allied Carpets sale which never ended “Annie” is out on tour as if it were ever not on tour. Endless generations of kids have been weened on the show and the demand never seems to wane. It’s a staunch Broadway warhorse which has been inflicting its schmaltz on unsuspecting and, indeed, suspecting audiences since 1977 when it was wrenched kicking and screaming from a newspaper comic strip and thrust upon the Broadway to wild, unstinting and, it seems, endless acclaim. We gave them “Oliver!” they reupholstered him, changed his sex and gave hi...

23Feb

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Mother Goose – Wolverhampton Grand

Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sir Ian is a game old dame bounding on stage in frock after frock of increasing absurdity with all the energy of a pro half his age in a pot pourri of panto panache. This is glorious, engaging, gormless, beguiling and simply joyous. Sir Ian, Sir Ian, Sir Ian nails the part, the panto and the people with all the precision of a seasoned pantomimer but this, it seems, is one of his first goes (He has Twankied for us before now, apparently). It is a masterclass in drollery, wit, timing, slapstick sprinkled with two poignant moments of deft and touching drama. For a moment he tells of his days as a child in Bolton visiting a theatre for the time and being entranced by, of course, pantomime and as he tells us the tale the frock and wig just seem to vanish and a gentle, nostalgi...