Paul Wilcox, Author at North West End UK

30Nov

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

The Merchant of Venice 1936 – HOME Mcr

Last weekend saw over 100,000 people attend a rally against antisemitism in central London that took place against reports of a steep rise in hate crime - mostly aimed at the UK Jewish population - and the backdrop of renewed hostilities in Gaza. When trying to understand antisemitism from a literary and historical perspective, it seemed aposite for Director Brigid Larmour and Tracy - Ann Oberman to reset Shakespeare's problematic text amidst the rise of fascism in the East End of London in the mid 1930's. The result allows us to view the actions of the protagonists through an entirely new lens, throwing light on their motives and attitudes and giving the play a fresh and exciting perspective for a modern audience. Oberman had long expressed a desire to portray Shylock as an East End Je...

National Theatre Live: Skylight – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

27Nov

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

REVIEWS

National Theatre Live: Skylight – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

A cold and wet Sunday evening in November finds me forsaking the warmth of hearth and home in favour of a trip to Altrincham Garrick Playhouse to watch an encore screening of the 1996 Olivier award winning 'Skylight' by David Hare, brought to us by National Theatre Live. Hare is a playwright who is chiefly known for his deftly crafted satires examining British society in the post World War II era and 'Skylight' was first performed in 1996 during a particularly productive period, when new works were seemingly an annual event for the NT in their concrete castle on the South Bank. This revival was filmed at the Wyndham's Theatre in 2014 and features Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan as Tom Sergeant and Kyra Hollis, ex-lovers with memories of a shared passion who have subsequently pursued very ...

22Nov

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Hamilton – Palace Theatre, Manchester

The Palace Theatre: 'The Grand Old Lady of Oxford Street', was dressed in her finest bib and tucker last night with a host of Northern glitterati present for the opening night of the much anticipated inaugural UK Tour of Hamilton. Anyone who has already booked their seats for a performance over the next sixteen weeks of its residency here is in for an absolute treat, this production brings the beauty and complexity of the West End and Broadway productions, whilst the cast to add their own unique interpretation of the characters combining to demonstrate musical theatre in its finest modern form. For those who are unaware of the cultural phenomenon that is 'Hamilton', it tells the story of Alexander Hamilton (Shaq Taylor) and his rise from Caribbean poverty to become one of the founding f...

To Wong Foo The Musical – Hope Mill Theatre

27Oct

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

To Wong Foo The Musical – Hope Mill Theatre

Back in 1994 a struggling playwright called Douglas Carter Beane went to Hollywood and sold the rights to a screenplay he had written, a year later a movie called 'To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar' was born. This 'road movie in drag' was a modest hit on release, helped by the star power of Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes donning sequins and high heels for the silver screen. Now nearly thirty years later Carter Beane has teamed up with Lewis Flinn, added music and lyrics and brought the world premiere of 'To Wong Foo The Musical' to the home of the innovative new musical, Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester. When Vida Boheme (Peter Caulfield) and Noxeema Jackson (Gregory Haney) jointly win 'New York Drag Queen of the Year', with an all expenses paid trip to Hollywood as the ...

26Oct

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Romeo & Juliet – Royal Exchange Theatre

In over 40 years of watching and reviewing theatre, I've seen a lot of Shakespeare, some very good, some indifferent and some very bad. The best productions manage to make even the most well known phrases in the canon sound both newly minted and instantly understandable, whilst giving the story a fresh context and relevance to the particular audience it seeks to entertain. The new production of Romeo & Juliet at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester does both of these and much more, ranking amongst the best I have seen in recent years at this lovely venue. Director Nicholai la Barrie firmly embeds his tale of the 'star crossed lovers' in the inner city streets of Manchester, his Verona does not feature the palazzo's and palaces of 16th century Italy instead it is the rain soaked ...

25Oct

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North West

Quiz – The Lowry

'Quiz' begins with a statement; 'the English love a pub quiz as it combines their two favourite pastimes, drinking and being right'. As someone who has always loved both of the aforementioned (and even appeared on 15-1 many moons ago), I was always going to be well disposed to a show detailing the rise and fall of 'The Coughing Major' and his attempt to cheat his way to the top prize on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' back in 2001. However, when the writing talents of James Graham are combined with the directorial flair of Daniel Evans, theatrical alchemy is at work and we have a story that makes the leap from the news to the stage in an original, successful and hugely enjoyable manner. Graham is the most prodigious writer working in television and theatre today, ever since his breakout...

18Oct

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Sweeney Todd – Waterside Arts

I always jump at any chance to see a show written by Stephen Sondheim, and as we approach the second anniversary of his death next month opportunities on both the professional and amateur stage approach thick and fast. Tonight, Sale & Altrincham Musical Theatre present 'Sweeney Todd' written by Sondheim and his long time collaborator Hugh Wheeler, a production that despite some excellent individual performances never fulfils its potential as the 'sensational horror show' that Sondheim conceived. Written at the zenith of his productivity in 1979, 'Sweeney Todd' is the tale of a tortured barber (played this evening by Richard Ross), escaping from transportation to Australia for a crime he did not commit, returning to Victorian London to exact his revenge on evil Judge Turpin (Jon Gard...

Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

7Oct

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

For many years a book that sat close to my bedside was a Jeeves Omnibus by the masterful Pelham Grenville ‘Plum’ Wodehouse. I’ve always treasured the world of Bertie Wooster and his unflappable valet; a quintessentially English place, chock full of indomitable Aunts and hopeless nephews always getting into scrapes, tales that are always happily resolved in time for tea and crumpets. In 2013, brothers David and Robert Goodale took one of Wodehouse’s early stories ‘The Code of the Woosters’ (1938) and adapted it into this Olivier winning comedy for a West End audience, a show which the team at Wiltshire Creative have now co-produced with the Octagon in Bolton to excellent effect. Anyone with a passing knowledge of the ‘Wodehousian’ milieu, will know that a large part of the beauty is d...

TONY! (The Tony Blair Rock Opera) – The Lowry

3Oct

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North West

TONY! (The Tony Blair Rock Opera) – The Lowry

With the Tory party conference infesting the centre of Manchester this week, Salford is sticking a metaphorical two fingers up at Rishi & Co by hosting TONY! (The Tony Blair Rock Opera) in the lovely Quays Theatre at The Lowry. I gladly crossed the River Irwell to witness a musical that had a satirical bite hidden within the high camp farce. With Music & Lyrics by Steve Brown and a book by comedian Harry Hill, we were never going to be presented with a totally serious analysis of political events in the eighties, nineties and noughties, their zany and sometimes surreal take on events allowed younger members of the audience a potted history delivered in an entertaining fashion, without patronising those of us of an older vintage who lived through these episodes. Hill initially...

Bombshells – The Lauriston Studio, Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

27Sep

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Bombshells – The Lauriston Studio, Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

The Lauriston Studio has been a welcome addition to the Manchester theatrical scene over the last few years, giving the opportunity for the estimable team at Altrincham Garrick Playhouse the opportunity to stage productions with more esoteric appeal than can be staged in the main house. So, hot on the heels of their well-received LGBTQ+ season earlier in the year, comes ' A Season of Female Stories', works written by women, starring women and about women, but hopefully not just appealing to that demographic. The first offering this Autumn is 'Bombshells', a 2004 work by Joanna Murray-Smith comprising six monologues varying from a teenage mother struggling to cope to a 64-year-old widow slowly reacquainting herself with her burgeoning sexuality. As directed by Carole Carr, these stories ...