Interviews Archives - North West End UK

Jane McDonald: “With All My Love Tour is the one i’m most proud of”….And it’s not even started yet.

11Jun

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Interviews

Jane McDonald: “With All My Love Tour is the one i’m most proud of”….And it’s not even started yet.

The title “National Treasure” is one readily bandied about these days, but warm-hearted and witty Yorkshire lass Jane McDonald has to be one of the truest examples out there. Jane’s story is a great example of a girl done good; first captured 25 years ago on BBC docusoap The Cruise, Jane became an overnight sensation – and has spent the years since forging a hugely successful career as a singer and TV personality. Her solo shows have captivated audiences up and down the country, and now she’s back preparing to hit the road once more with an all-new tour With All My Love this autumn. The new tour, Jane’s biggest to date, starts with two nights at Blackpool’s iconic Opera House, stops off at The London Palladium and will close with what promises to be an extra special tour finale a...

Relive the playlist of your life as Craig Revel Horwood brings NOW That’s What I Call a Musical to Liverpool

8Jun

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Interviews

Relive the playlist of your life as Craig Revel Horwood brings NOW That’s What I Call a Musical to Liverpool

Get ready to relive the playlist of your life at the brand new NOW That’s What I Call A Musical. Celebrating 40 years of the iconic and chart-topping compilations brand NOW That’s What I Call Music, which has sold an estimated 200 million copies worldwide, this fun-filled production is bursting with hits from Whitney Houston, Wham! Blondie, Tears For Fears, Spandau Ballet and many more. Written by award-winning comedian Pippa Evans, and directed and choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing legend Craig Revel Horwood, the heart-warming and funny story takes audiences on an uplifting journey down memory lane Here, director and choreographer Craig Revel Horwood reveals all about the show... What sort of night are audiences in for when they come to see NOW That's What I Call A Musi...

Designer Hayley Grindle is determined to make The Bard accessible

10Mar

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Designer Hayley Grindle is determined to make The Bard accessible

Hayley Grindle is one of our brightest and busiest designers but her two current projects couldn’t be more different. She’s been working with tech wizards imitating the dog on their bold reimagining of the Frankenstein legend and is back at Leeds Playhouse conjuring up the madness of Macbeth directed by her long-time collaborator Amy Leach. Hayley and Amy have already created acclaimed reworkings of Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet. This time the duo reunite for a second go at one of Shakespeare’s darkest political dramas. Our Features Editor Paul Clarke caught up with Hayley to talk about the challenges of designing for two very different companies, and how design can draw audiences into even the densest texts. So, what was your inspiration for Frankenstein given it’s a story th...

imitating the dog’s Andrew Quick talks about their new version of Frankenstein

31Jan

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

imitating the dog’s Andrew Quick talks about their new version of Frankenstein

imitating the dog is a company who have developed an international reputation for high-tech reinventions of classic movies and texts, so it’s not surprising they’ve taking on Mary Shelley’s Gothic classic Frankenstein. This time Co-Artistic Directors Pete Brooks, Andrew Quick and Simon Wainwright are bringing their trademark multimedia experience to rethink this timeless novel as a psychological thriller that asks the eternal question – what is it to be human? In this version a couple are forced to confront their own fears about impending parenthood in a version of the Frankenstein myth that erupts into life as everyday objects are transformed into glaciers, a ship at sea, a dissecting room and a house on fire. imitating the dog’s two-han...

Pilot Theatre’s Esther Richardson talks about their new stage production of A Song for Ella Grey

22Jan

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Interviews

Pilot Theatre’s Esther Richardson talks about their new stage production of A Song for Ella Grey

Pilot Theatre have become of the UK’s leading companies making challenging work for younger audiences, and after their success with classic teen yarn Noughts & Crosses their latest production is an adaptation of David Almond’s A Song For Ella Grey This adaptation by Zoe Copper is a contemporary retelling of the Orpheus myth focusing on Claire and her best friend Ella Grey, who are just ordinary kids with everyday hopes and fears. They and their friends fall in and out of love, but one day a musician called Orpheus appears on the beach. He entrances them all, and particularly Ella, but where has Orpheus come from and what path will Ella take as she comes of age? The cast will feature actress, writer and to her 729.1k followers Tik Tok performer Grace Long as Ella Grey, Beth Crame...

Bradford Opera Festival stage The Barber of Seville…but with a distinctive local twist

14Nov

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Interviews

Bradford Opera Festival stage The Barber of Seville…but with a distinctive local twist

The opening event of the newly created Bradford Opera Festival is the world premiere of a Yorkshire dialect version of The Barber of Seville. To make this happen the festival team have been working with legendary Yorkshire poet Ian McMillan and conductor Ben Crick, who has long had a dream to stage a version of Rossini’s classic tale of class, lust and betrayal performed in the local vernacular. Alex Chisholm who has been a stalwart of the Bradford artistic scene for many years is directing, and she told our Features Editor Paul Clarke why this festival will help democratise a misunderstood art form for local audiences. Of all the great operas, why did you choose The Barber of Seville? This really came from Ben, and he has had this dream for the last 20 years, so it's not just...

Noel Sullivan talks about new musical In Dreams that has its world première at Leeds Playhouse

23Jun

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Interviews

Noel Sullivan talks about new musical In Dreams that has its world première at Leeds Playhouse

Noel Sullivan shot to fame as part of Hear’say who won the first reality TV music show, Popstars, but after the band imploded he carved out a very successful musical theatre career in West End shows like Rock of Ages and We Will Rock You. Now he's part of an ensemble cast who are working on a brand new musical, In Dreams,that uses the back catalogue of legendary rocker Roy Orbison to help tell the story of a rocker at a personal crossroads, and has its world première at Leeds Playhouse. The book has been written by David West Read who wrote hit musical & Juliet and Schitt’s Creek, and is directed by Luke Sheppard who also worked on & Juliet which won nine Tony nominations. Our Features Editor Paul Clarke caught up with Noel during rehearsals to talk about the...

Richard O’Brien reflects on 50 years of The Rocky Horror Show

13Jun

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Interviews

Richard O’Brien reflects on 50 years of The Rocky Horror Show

Who would have thought a small-scale musical production about an innocent couple who meet a charming but corrupting space alien in his gothic mansion would become one of the longest running shows of all time. It's been an astonishing 50 years since the show opened upstairs in the Royal Court Theatre, and all these years later raucous audiences are still coming along dressed up like mad scientist Frank-n-Furter, do the Time Warp and always determined to make the long-suffering Narrator's life hell. The show was also a cult movie starring the deliciously louche Tim Curry as Frank and the whole thing was the brainchild of New Zealander Richard O'Brien who played Riff Riff on the big screen. What was your original inspiration behind the Rocky Horror Show? Someone asked me to enter...

Wish Sunita a happy birthday at Leeds Playhouse

31May

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Interviews

Wish Sunita a happy birthday at Leeds Playhouse

Harvey Virdi is best known as Dr Misbah Maalik on long-running TV soap Hollyoaks, but she is also a writer who scored a hit play back in 2014 with Happy Birthday Sunita. The revival of the play is about the power of British Asian women on stage is on its way to Leeds Playhouse and Harvey tells us about the fun you can have with a dysfunctional family. What’s Happy Birthday Sunita all about? It’s Friday evening and the family are gathering to celebrate Sunita’s special birthday. But after years of denial and strained relationships, emotions are running high and the family is finally forced to face the truth. Can they be brave and let go of the past and embrace a new future? What are the new team of actors bringing to this tour? A new cast always forces you to see your play i...

War Horse star Matthew Trevannion takes on two major roles at Pitlochry Festival Theatre

31May

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Interviews

War Horse star Matthew Trevannion takes on two major roles at Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Matthew Trevannion was one of the stars of the National Theatre’s War Horse and now he takes on two iconic roles as part of a season long acting ensemble at Pitlochry Festival Theatre. It’s rare that theatres take a gamble on hiring an ensemble for a whole season, and it’s the brainchild of the Perthshire theatre’s artistic director Elizabeth Newman. It means Matthew will be leading in two very different roles as the brutal Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, and then repressed commuter Alec in Brief Encounter. Our Features Editor Paul Clarke caught up with Matthew to find how he is making sense of what seem to be opposing characters, and if being part of an ensemble is informing his work. Stanley in A Streetcar Called Desire offers one of the iconic roles for any...