Samantha Collett, Author at North West End UK

10Nov

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

London

Treason the Musical – Alexandra Palace

From a young age people in the UK know the 5th of November is Fireworks Night. ‘Remember, remember the 5th of November…’ we all know the rhyme for Guy Fawkes night. We may be hazy on the details, but we know it’s something to do with some guy plotting to blow up parliament. Which is essentially what ‘Treason: The Musical’ is the story of: it is the gun powder plot of 1605; the failed assassination attempt to blow up King James I during the opening of parliament. The story could’ve been heavy – it deals with religion, ideological conflict, tolerance, revolutionary thought and protest, but it’s not. It’s an uplifting musical celebration of protest and revolution. It’s about not standing by while the authorities overreach their power, it’s about speaking up and taking action to make wha...

23Aug

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

South East

My Fair Lady – Frinton Summer Theatre

The big tent on the Greensward is a big thing for Frinton Summer Theatre. Marking the finale run of the theatrical season, Clive Brill (Producer & Artistic Director) usually selects a big show where the creative juices can really run wild in the central stage, and the live band can rip out the scores with abandon. ‘My Fair Lady’ is the 2023 big top production, a musical theatre piece by Lerner and Loewe. The story follows Eliza Doolittle (Jennifer Louise Jones) a flower girl in Covent Garden as she learns how to become a lady under the guidance of Henry Higgins (Alan Cox). It’s an interesting way into the class question for one’s accent can affect one’s position in life and this exploration through Higgins’ education of Eliza and her slum dialect can be seen as she transforms not on...

Don’t Dress for Dinner – Frinton Summer Theatre

16Aug

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

South East

Don’t Dress for Dinner – Frinton Summer Theatre

In these dark times we desperately need to laugh and laugh you will at ‘Don’t Dress for Dinner’. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much or so hard or felt my laughter was getting in the way of the actor’s next line – which I was eager not to miss on account of the hilarity at stake. The storyline, in brief, goes as follows: a wife is going to visit her mother and her husband is going to take advantage of his wife’s absence by inviting his mistress over for the weekend. His friend who’d been his best man at the wedding then calls and the husband invites him to join, thinking he would make a perfect alibi. As it turns out when the wife discovers the husband’s friend is coming to stay, she cancels her visit to her mother because – as it turns out – she’s having an affair with him...

9Aug

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

South East

Bette & Joan – Frinton Summer Theatre

It’s likely even if you’ve never seen any of their movies, you’ve heard of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Such is the reputation of these Hollywood stars, that all these decades on from their most famous movies, their names are synonymous with the legendary times of that golden era. It was also a time when egos were big, pay cheques were big, and the arguments of epic proportions. Anton Burge has honed in on the feud between the pair, showcasing their lives, personalities and short-comings laid bare for the audience to see. Thrust together to make a movie when both are at the tail-end of their ailing careers makes for a novel platform to explore the starlet’s battle. The production is set in Joan and Bette’s dressing rooms, which face each other, mirror-style. It is an unusually ...

26Jul

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

South East

Folk – Frinton Summer Theatre

At first glance, ‘Folk’ is a charming, uplifting play with plenty of folk music that will have you smiling and maybe even tapping a toe, but beneath the sweet Somerset lilt, is a dark story. Set in 1903 in the Somerset Levels we meet two sisters, Louie Hooper (Hannah Traylen) and Lucy White (Gemma Sutton) who have just buried their mother. Life is hard. The machines are coming and they cannot sew gloves fast enough to keep their heads above water. The work songs passed down from their mother keep them working, the melodies express their love for the local environment and appreciation of nature. Enter Cecil Sharp (William Oxborrow), a wannabe English composer from London. He wants to collect local folk songs to preserve them for history – and for the national good. He convinces Louie ...

Barefoot in the Park – Frinton Summer Theatre

19Jul

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

South East

Barefoot in the Park – Frinton Summer Theatre

When you’re in a long-term relationship it’s sometimes hard to remember why you’re with the other person. Luckily for Corrie and Paul Bratter they’re newly-weds – 6 days married and full to the brim with love for each other and life. Corrie (Olivia Bernstone) is an optimistic happy wife. Carefree and always wanting to look on the bright side of life, she’s the perfect antidote to her more uptight and anxious new husband Paul (Jamie Treacher). Over the course of four days, we watch as the twosome learn to live together and navigate the mundanities of life from their top floor apartment. Corrie’s mother, Ethel Banks (Olivia Carruthers), and their upstairs neighbour, Victor Velasco (Nathan Osgood), provide enough skits to make this period comedy work. ‘Barefoot in the Park’ is about wan...

The King’s Speech – Frinton Summer Theatre

12Jul

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

South East

The King’s Speech – Frinton Summer Theatre

Most people will know ‘The King’s Speech’ as the Oscar winning film with Colin Firth, but the writer David Seidler, originally came up with the idea as a play. As a boy, Seidler himself suffered from a stammer, and the fact King George VI also suffered a speech impediment was a source of huge creative interest. The story is mainly set in the 1930s as King George V comes to the end of his reign and his eldest son abdicates to marry the American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. Bertie (Duncan Wilkins) is thrust into the position of being crowned King George VI. The challenge being, Bertie, was rather hoping for a quieter royal life, and his debilitating stammer leaves him open to the charge of not being suitable to rule as a King. Set against the backdrop of mounting political tensions in Europe...

False Accounts: Exposing the Post Office Cover Up – Upstairs at the Gatehouse

22Jun

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

NEWS

False Accounts: Exposing the Post Office Cover Up – Upstairs at the Gatehouse

Last year I listened to a podcast that made my blood boil. It centred on innocent Sub Post Masters being accused of theft by The Post Office due to errors in the new computing system. Some had been sent to jail, some had committed suicide, and all of them had faced unbelievable stress. I couldn’t believe such a travesty of justice could have happened - and was still ongoing, in the UK. False Accounts, a satirical play, by Lance Steen Anthony Nielsen takes a closer look at the events leading up and the aftermath of this scandal. It is not an easy watch, but then it is not meant to be. What happened to these people – and the lack of adequate resolution for their suffering is an outrage. Nielsen does an excellent job in explaining a very complicated situation in a digestible format. We ...

Fastlove: A tribute to George Michael – Adelphi Theatre

21Jun

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

London

Fastlove: A tribute to George Michael – Adelphi Theatre

With all the current talk about George Michael (it would’ve been his 60th birthday on June 25th and July 9th is the 40th anniversary of Wham’s debut album) I decided to hotfoot it to the West End for some music therapy. I’ll admit now, I’m not a massive George Michael or Wham fan, but I am fed up with the constant gloom and doom so I was in the mood for a pick-me-up. Fastlove ticks this on every box. And what did surprise me was how many of the songs I knew all of the words to! From the outset Michael Joseph (the tribute act to George Michael) sets the audience expectations. He proclaims: ‘There will only ever be one George Michael, we are just here to honour the music.’ It’s an honour they do well. The hits come thick and fast and every song you’d want to hear is played. Michael ...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – The Charterhouse

5Jun

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

London

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – The Charterhouse

Having watched hundreds of productions, it’s hard to surprise me. But stepping into Charterhouse gardens, a small patch of green in the shadow of the Barbican towers, I found myself confused by the set up. In the corner, under some ancient trees, was a primitive looking stage reminiscent of a village fete. In front of said stage were a collection of people joyously picnicking on camping chairs and mats. The atmosphere was peaceful, happy, relaxed and easy. It was hard to believe you were in central London amidst this little gathering chowing down on wine and home-made sandwiches. It was also hard to believe the production I was about to see was to be performed by The Handlebards - cycling actors who tour across the world presenting Shakespeare. It was at that point I knew I was in fo...