Paul Wilcox, Author at North West End UK

The Book Thief – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

23Sep

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

The Book Thief – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

As a reviewer, it is rare to see a new play or musical that you instantly know will be a smash hit. It is rarer still when that show has heart, humour and a positive message from a troubled part of history for our uncertain present. It is unknown when wrapped up as a musical bathed in warmth and optimism with stunning production values. However, tonight, I was fortunate enough to witness such an event with the opening of 'The Book Thief' at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton, undoubtedly the highlight of my theatrical year. Based on the eponymous novel by Markus Zusak, a worldwide phenomenon upon publication in 2005, we are introduced to Liesel Meminger (Niamh Palmer alternating with Bea Glancy), a nine-year-old girl in 1930's Germany. She is put into foster care by her mother following her ...

22Sep

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Big Fish – Memorial Court, Northwich

The job of reviewing theatre takes you to some interesting places, last night I was in the cavernous Lowry in Salford Quays with a 1,700 audience, this evening finds me in the more prosaic surroundings of a leisure centre in deepest Cheshire for the opening night of 'Big Fish'. However, amongst the teenage judo classes and aqua aerobics, Mid Cheshire Musical Theatre Company (MCMTC) have mounted an ambitious and ultimately successful production of this little performed gem. Edward Bloom (Joe Clarke) loves to tell tall tales to his son Will (Scott Heath); fantastical adventures where he met giants, kissed mermaids and was the hero who always got the girl. With his impending marriage to Josephine (Jennifer Haney) and the health of his father failing rapidly, Will starts to search for the t...

Girl from the North Country – The Lowry, Salford

21Sep

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Girl from the North Country – The Lowry, Salford

The term 'jukebox' musical conjures up images of women of a certain age cavorting to Abba tracks in the Greek sunshine or the high pitched falsetto of Franki Valli in 1960's America. However, despite emanating from this rather dispiriting genre, 'Girl from the North Country' is a very different beast from 'Mamma Mia' and 'Jersey Boys', proving that this type of musical can have literary and artistic merit as well as providing first class entertainment. The first surprise is that it is based around the music and lyrics of Mr Robert Zimmerman, a.k.a Bob Dylan, the poster boy of the 1960's counter culture being the last person you would expect to see lending his name to such an ostensibly commercial enterprise. Curiosity is piqued even more when Conor McPherson is added to the mix as write...

The Glass Menagerie – Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester

8Sep

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

The Glass Menagerie – Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester

Thomas 'Tennessee' Williams is widely regarded as one of the great American playwrights, the quality and extent of his output in the middle of the last century ensuring that his work still continues to form a staple diet for professional and amateur theatre all over the world. The Royal Exchange have chosen his first (and most autobiographical) play to kickstart its Autumn/Winter season, and after recent upheavals and some very odd programming decisions by this Mancunian institution, it is a welcome and sparkling return to form. 'The Glass Menagerie' is famously a 'memory play' told from the flawed perspective of the narrator Tom (Joshua James), unpacking his tense relationship with Mother Amanda Wingfield (Geraldine Somerville) and sister Laura (Rhiannon Clements) as they struggle to m...

16Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

A Wilde Life – Workshop Theatre, Leeds

Tonight, I was fortunate enough to see the opening preview of Chevron Theatre production of 'A Wilde Life' in Leeds, prior to dates in Cambridge and culminating at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. A musical based on the rise and fall of literary giant Oscar Wilde, upon initial viewing I am in little doubt that if the audience seek out this gem of a production in the plethora of offerings in Edinburgh, then this Leeds based company will have a hit on their hands. Running at just under an hour, the show opens in a seedy 'fin de siècle' Parisian café, populated with debauched alcoholics and prostitutes that form the ensemble during the scene setting opening (Oscar in Paris). Following his ostentatious entrance, Wilde (Jake Glantz) then proceeds to illustrate his rise and fall by transf...

14Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Jitney – Oldham Coliseum

Until recently I was only vaguely aware of August Wilson and his 'Pittsburgh Century Cycle' of plays, chronicling the experience of African-Americans in the USA over a hundred year period. Whether this was my fault, or the fact that his work has not been staged as often as his better known contemporaries is moot, but it allowed me to come to this Old Vic/Leeds Playhouse/Headlong production of 'Jitney', with a fresh perspective on the stunning opening night for this short tour. Set in 1977 against the backdrop of declining industrial Pittsburgh, 'Jitney' portrays an unlicensed taxi cab company and its drivers, struggling to make a living on the periphery of society. This is a play of subtlety and nuance which rewards the attention of the audience and subverts their expectations of the ch...

8Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Much Ado About Nothing – Victoria Baths

For one night only, the stunning Victoria Baths in Manchester is converted into the Messina Holiday Camp, as the Time & Again Theatre Company bring their touring production of 'Much Ado About Nothing' indoors into this stunning Edwardian water palace. Substituting the location of Shakespeare's most performed comedy from 16th Century Sicily to a 1950's British seaside resort may seem incongruous, but it allows the deck chair and parasol props to be placed in an idealised fantasy world, utilising the sumptuous fabric of the building to create a convincing whole. In addition to the relocation, the company made the decision to cast some of the leading roles as female to represent the existence of same sex relationships in every period of history, even buttoned up post-war Britain. This ...

Calendar Girls – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

21Jun

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Calendar Girls – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

The traditional view of that redoubtable British institution, The Women’s Institute (or WI to its friends), is one of middle-class ladies of a certain age baking and knitting in a cosy village environment, far from the struggles of the real world. Subverting this stereotype, a branch from Yorkshire decided to produce an ‘Alternative WI Calendar’ to raise money for a new sofa in the wait room of a local hospital, following the cancer diagnosis of a friend. The twist was that all the ladies appeared in various states of undress whilst posing in a variety of mundane activities. The idea was a runaway success, eventually raising over £3,000,000 for Leukaemia Research and subsequently spawning a successful play, film and this stage musical in 2015. Penned by Tim Firth (Kinky Boots, Neville’s...

19May

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

The Cher Show – Opera House, Manchester

After six decades of a career encompassing pop and film stardom, political activism and television success, it was a no-brainer that the life of Cherilyn Sarkasian, aka Cher, would eventually make the transition to a stage musical. Now, the 2018 Broadway show (with a significant overhaul courtesy of Leicester Curve Theatre) lands at Opera House in Manchester to a rapturous reception on press night. The audience here is knowledgeable and primed (unlike at Sunderland Empire, where people left the theatre when they realised it wasn't Cher performing!) and they were not to be disappointed in the depth of detail with which the show represents her early life. Cher has long been a spokesperson for LGBTQ+ rights and her story of early marginalisation, mistreatment and oppression is a story that...

Singin’ in the Rain – Manchester Opera House

11May

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Singin’ in the Rain – Manchester Opera House

We all know that Manchester has a reputation for enjoying a drop of rain and we've also been known to dance on tables and belt out a few songs on an evening out. So, it came as no surprise to see the venerable old Opera House packed to the rafters on a Tuesday night, with an audience eagerly anticipating this touring version of the 'golden age' classic musical. They were not to be disappointed with the high quality production values, a great ensemble, superb leads and a beautifully orchestrated score that left me walking up Quay Street hanging off lamp posts singing 'do de do do,do de do de do do do, I'm singin' in the rain, just.......'. The plot, charting the demise of silent pictures and the rise of the 'Golden Age' of 1920's Hollywood 'talkies', is well known, less so is the fact th...