Paul Wilcox, Author at North West End UK

Looking For Me Friend: The Music of Victoria Wood – Waterside Arts

10Mar

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Looking For Me Friend: The Music of Victoria Wood – Waterside Arts

As Storm Larisa battered the north of England, the near three hundred hardy souls who braved blizzard conditions to eventually reach the Waterside Arts in Sale were amply rewarded with this hugely entertaining and affectionate tribute to the genius that was Victoria Wood. Paul Martin aka 'Paulus' is our window into the world that Victoria created, using elements of her stand up comedy, sketches, sitcoms and above all songs, to weave an eighty minute show of affable geniality and insight that warmed everyone on a bitter evening. The simple staging without props betrays the Edinburgh Fringe origins of this show but it has developed from its humble beginnings with a confident breadth to the narrative of the production. Accompanied by pianist Michael Roulston, who's tart interjections and h...

National Theatre Live at Altrincham Garrick Playhouse – Othello

26Feb

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

National Theatre Live at Altrincham Garrick Playhouse – Othello

The creative team at Altrincham Garrick Playhouse have recently teamed up with National Theatre Live to bring some of the best British theatre to suburban south Manchester, our reviewer Paul Wilcox went along to check out the offering: The opportunity to watch the best of London theatre without the expense and general inconvenience of a trip to the South Bank is never one I am going to refuse, and Altrincham Garrick Playhouse have certainly pulled out all the stops to recreate the theatrical experience as closely as possible, judging by last night’s presentation of 'Othello'. Broadcast in the main 400 seat auditorium, the huge screen allows every detail of the performance to be observed up close and personal with the added advantage that every seat in the house is the best one. Small to...

23Feb

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Beginning – Royal Exchange Theatre

A romantic comedy concerned with meeting and falling in love in a modern city, may conjure up images of Renee Zellweger and Meg Ryan romping through a fairytale version of New York or London in your mind's eye. However, any expectations of 'Bridget Jones' or 'When Harry Met Sally' should be firmly set aside before watching 'Beginning'; this production is something far more interesting and substantial to kick off 2023 at the Royal Exchange Theatre. The premise is deceptively simple; Laura (Erin Shanagher) and Danny (Gerard Kearns) are the last couple left standing amidst the detritus of her housewarming party, initial mutual attraction is made plain from the outset but the opportunity is missed, with the jeopardy of the next two hours 'will they or won't they get it on' played out in rea...

8Feb

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Spring and Port Wine – Octagon Theatre

When the Octagon Theatre announced it was producing 'Spring and Port Wine' as its first show of 2023 I jumped at the opportunity to make the short trip to Bolton to review. In the two years since its £12 million refurbishment, and under the Artistic Director Lotte Wakeham, the Octagon has quietly been adding to an already strong reputation as one of the most interesting and innovative theatres in the north of England. With 'Spring and Port Wine' they have brought a quintessentially Boltonian story back to its roots, delighting this partisan opening night crowd into a raucous standing ovation at the conclusion. Writer Bill Naughton is often wrongly categorised as part of a group of playwrights who came to prominence in Britain in the early 1960's', the 'angry young men', responsible for ...

Husbands and Sons – Manchester School of Theatre

3Feb

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Husbands and Sons – Manchester School of Theatre

DH Lawrence called success 'the bitch goddess', during his lifetime he suffered constant vilification with his work dismissed as little more than pornography, dying before he could see his vindication as one of the most important writers of the 20th century. His depiction of the details of working-class life in Nottinghamshire in the years before and after the first World War finds its apogee in 'Sons and Lovers' and 'Women in Love', but it is a 2015 condensing of three of his short plays, adapted by Ben Power, that Manchester School of Theatre present this evening. Despite some excellent central performances and innovative direction, the piece never wholly manages to satisfy as a single entity. We begin with 'A Collier's Friday Night' exploring the simple lives and loves of the Lambert...

2Feb

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Head Over Heels – Hope Mill Theatre

Musical theatre productions that challenge conceived norms and push back the boundaries are nothing new for Hope Mill Theatre, their latest offering gives a European premiere to this 2015 'queer jukebox musical' and is thoroughly vindicated with a hugely entertaining spectacle that poses pertinent questions around love and acceptance in the modern world. There is no denying that the genesis of 'Head Over Heels' is an oddity. Not many people would have thought of making a Broadway musical based on 'The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia', a prose romance written by Sir Philip Sidney in 1593; still fewer would have then decided to add in songs from late 1980's indie-punk popsters, The Go Go's. Then again, not everyone is the iconoclastic figure of Jeff Whitty, the writer of Avenue Q, who once...

<strong>Ellen Kent’s La Boheme – Opera House, Manchester</strong>

28Jan

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Ellen Kent’s La Boheme – Opera House, Manchester

Producer Ellen Kent has created a niche in the theatrical world over the last three decades, importing the best of traditional ballet and opera from Eastern Europe to be staged here in the UK. Given the ongoing war in Ukraine and subsequent political upheaval, it is a testament to her tenacity that she has managed to bring 'The Ukrainian Opera & Ballet Theatre' from war torn Kyiv, on a Spring tour to the UK, beginning at Manchester's Opera House. The small company of approximately a dozen, supplemented by local young artists and supported by a full orchestra, will be showcasing classic works by Puccini and Verdi over the next four months; Madama Butterfly, Aida and La Boheme. Ah, 'La Boheme'! At this point I have to confess my history with Puccini's impossibly romantic story of doom...

<strong>The Importance of Being Earnest – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse</strong>

17Jan

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

The Importance of Being Earnest – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

The third week in January traditionally brings 'Blue Monday', reportedly the most depressing day of the entire year. So, in an attempt to pull the audience away from the warmth of hearth and home in the depths of Winter, Altrincham Garrick Playhouse have updated Oscar Wilde's enduring masterpiece of misunderstanding and deception for a modern audience. First staged on Valentine's Day 1895, the plot of 'Earnest' revolves around the wooing of Gwendolen Fairfax (Antonia Whitehead) and Cecily Cardew (Lauren Robinson) by John Worthing (Jamie Sloan) and Algie Moncrieff (Chris Shoop Worrall), abetted by the usual farcical misunderstandings and enough outrageous plot twists to make Charles Dickens blush. What lifts the play above mere buffoonery is the quality of the writing, the genius 'bon mo...

<strong>Standing at the Sky’s Edge – Crucible Theatre</strong>

29Dec

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Standing at the Sky’s Edge – Crucible Theatre

Some books you only ever want to read once, some films do not stand up to the scrutiny of a second watch, and some plays you will try to forget before you even leave the theatre foyer. I reviewed 'Standing at the Sky's Edge' in its original incarnation at the Crucible Theatre back in March 2019, when I had no hesitation in naming it amongst my top five shows of that year. I'm delighted to say that this revival matches the original production in every way, my love affair with this superb production was rekindled and London audiences are in for an invigorating blast from the north when it transfers to the National Theatre early in 2023. Retaining eight of the original cast of nineteen, including the core of the lead performers, allows these actors to revisit and more fully explore their c...

<strong>The Ocean at the End of the Lane – The Lowry</strong>

21Dec

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

The Ocean at the End of the Lane – The Lowry

When a reviewer is compiling their list of 'Best Shows of the Year', it is advisable to wait until the end of December until they make their final decision. Tonight, having attended the packed press night for 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' at the opening of its extensive UK tour, I have had to rip up my list for 2022 and start again. As with many of the classic stories aimed at a younger audience, we begin our tale with loss and grief. A man (Trevor Fox) returns to his family home to bury his Father, an event that acts as the stepping off point, evoking his childhood memories of a series of strange and wonderful adventures for his boyhood self (Keir Ogilvy) and best friend Lettie Hempstock (Millie Hikasa). A more detailed summary of the plot is superfluous, suffice to say that au...