Tracey Bell, Author at North West End UK

Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood – Normanton Junior Academy

12Jan

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood – Normanton Junior Academy

A warm welcome greeted me as I went to see the opening night of Encore Theatre Company’s (ETC) 2024 pantomime Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood and this warm welcome was not just aimed at me – if only all front of house staff were as attentive and jolly as Encore’s lot all pantomimes would have a head start with the audience participation! What a warming feeling on a cold January night! Established in 1944, Encore is a well-known company in the local area and boasts The Lord St Oswald (6th Baron St Oswald) of Nostell Priory as its Honorary Patron. What made this production special to me was the inclusivity on the stage as well as off. It really was a diverse community performance and just how panto should be – a collective experience for the cast and the audience – as one doesn’t exi...

Robin Hood and his Merry Men – Sheffield City Hall

28Dec

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Robin Hood and his Merry Men – Sheffield City Hall

Merry Mayhem hits the bullseye! The City Hall, Sheffield hosted the opening night of Manor Operatic Society’s Robin Hood and His Merry Men last night to a lively and packed family audience. Reputed to be the largest amateur pantomime in the country, Manor yet again did not disappoint. With a strong cast of over fifty, they filled the City Hall stage to the brim with laughter and pantomime traditions in their ‘bucket’ load! Unlike other pantomimes I have reviewed this year, this one really is immersive and not one expected ‘pantomime must have’ is missing. From the birthday shout outs, the messing baking scene, the children invited on stage, the ‘it’s behind you’ in the scary woods mayhem to the audience participation – retorts filled the auditorium and MOS gave the audience what they wa...

A Town Called Christmas – Sheffield Theatres Playhouse

18Dec

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

A Town Called Christmas – Sheffield Theatres Playhouse

‘Wrongsemble’ bring an intimate theatre experience for young children to the Playhouse at Sheffield Theatres. A Town called Christmas tells the story of the decline of Christmas Spirit. Clementine (Eve Tucker) is left a Christmas Ornament from her much loved Aunt and memories abound of a wonderful place called Christmas. Armed with her suitcase, some Christmas Cracker jokes and the precious ornament, Clementine boards a train in Sheffield to find the town she has heard so much about. On arrival the only inhabitants are a ‘glitchy’ Robot guide aptly named Glitch (Florence Poskitt) and a miserable Caretaker (Terence Rae). The town is run down, broken and no longer used. Together the three find that warm, fond memories and Christmas spirit will bring the town back to its form sparkly, heart-w...

16Dec

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

White Christmas – Sheffield Crucible

‘Alistair David’s choreography is simply the ‘glitter glue’. Originally a 1954 film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen and Rosemary Clooney, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas as become a staple of our festive celebrations. The title song was originally written for the musical Holiday Inn and is a multimillion copy seller with Bing Crosby’s version making up half of the sales. Sheffield Theatres bring this classic to the stage at their Crucible Theatre (in-the-round) and it has a stellar cast who are both in tune with its sentimentality and its splendidly relentless song and dance spectacle. The story includes a retired General who is now an Innkeeper in Vermont and two of his former platoon members Bob and Phil, who are now successful entertainers. Their paths cross again as ...

14Dec

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Beauty and the Beast – Sheffield Lyceum

What a wonderful sight, a packed auditorium full of all age groups, laughing, engaging and experiencing collectively – a tradition that spans the generations – Pantomime! Well, as Sheffield Theatres have opened their panto season, it is well and truly Christmas in Yorkshire! This year’s excellent new production being Beauty and the Beast, written by Paul Hendry who can heroically claim his 17th year of directing writing and producing Sheffield’s panto. The script contains all the expected pantomime traditions from the audience participation, the ‘it’s behind you’ scene in the dark woods and the manic ‘messy’ comedy mayhem and some very funny moments which are very geographically and topically observant. ‘Woodseats’ is now firmly on the panto map and never has it looked so effortlessly gran...

19Jul

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Titanic the Musical – Sheffield Lyceum

Sheffield Lyceum hosted Titanic the Musical this week and it proved to be a rousingly decadent piece of ensemble theatre. The star of the show, as should be, is the ship itself with its hull of steel that claimed to be unsinkable. The production covers its fateful maiden journey in April 1912 and its promise to make history as the fastest liner to cover the transatlantic voyage. History was indeed made on the tragic voyage, but not as intended, over 1500 souls were lost at sea as an iceberg tore a gash in its hull below the water level. This production with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and the book by Peter Stone is directed by Thom Southerland. The set by David Woodhead depicts the interior of the ship with its walls of steel towering over the cast and is a constant reminder ...

14Jul

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Miss Saigon – Crucible Theatre

Billed as Sheffield Theatre’s new production of Boublil and Schonberg’s Miss Saigon, this production marks my 40th visit to see this show. My first being back at Drury Lane in late 1989, and I have also been lucky enough to direct the show back in 2018, therefore, I would consider myself to be a bit of a connoisseur. Yes, I am aware of the political issues that surround it, I am aware that creating a new production was met with anger from some, but I am also aware that highlighting issues allows the audience to formulate their own responses … our history is relevant to our future. I have given myself a length of time to digest what I saw last night before reviewing this production. It is new, it is different, it is edgier, starker, less self-indulgent in its direction and more invested ...

12Jul

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Dirty Dancing – Sheffield Lyceum

Before even entering the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield, the buzz and anticipation of the crowd were palpable... With its cult following, Dirty Dancing was in town! As a fan of the 1987 film and, of course, the hip movements of Mr. Swayze himself, the majority of the female audience, like myself, were awaiting a nostalgic trip back to the feelings the film evoked when we first saw it... with more than just a little excitement! With this type of fan base, the show was always going to be a success, but with my critic hat on, the production does have its flaws. However, one of its strengths is that it doesn't take itself too seriously! So if you haven't seen the film, it basically spans a three-week period in 1963, when the Houseman's (Dr. Jake and Marjorie) and their two daughters Lisa and 1...

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story – Sheffield Lyceum

5Jul

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story – Sheffield Lyceum

A celebration of the love and power of music. With its premier in the West End in August 1989, Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story has been in production worldwide ever since, with over 10,000 performances thus giving it claim to the most successful Jukebox musical ever. The Sheffield attendees were on their feet by the end of the show and the musicianship of the cast was received with raptures by the 1400 strong Yorkshire audience. The issues Holly faced, due in part, to the American music culture of the mid 1950’s, during the 18 months his career was built are glossed over in this production as we see his meteoric rise to global stardom. All is very positive and ‘happy’ and we are presented with a young man who just wanted his rock ‘n’ roll music heard, Holly ‘never wanted’ to be the coun...

13Jun

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Greatest Days – Sheffield Lyceum

A pure Band of 24k gold! Originally under the title of The Band, the musical changed its name to The Official Take That Musical Greatest Days and relaunched a new tour. But why? It would seem people were expecting to see a show about the band itself and the musical is certainly not that. With a book written by Tim Firth and the music and lyrics by Take That, it tells the tell of a group of five young fans in the 90’s who live their lives to the soundtrack of their favourite band. Their lives can be seen to mirror that of the bands as together they live, laugh and suffer loss, eventually going their own ways. 25 Years later, like their idols, they too reunite and go on their own reunion tour of re discovery. Greatest Days is a story of friendship, dreams, growth and survival with a famil...