FEATURES Archives - Page 3 of 12

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel comes to Leeds Playhouse

10Feb

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel comes to Leeds Playhouse

It’s not often you see mature actors leading a play, and what makes The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel different is that the younger cast members are in supporting roles as a group of British retirees find themselves trying to make new lives in India. The two smash movies featured the cream of British acting Oscar winners having great fun as they help a mother and son save their rundown hotel and finding themselves along the way. The stage production is based on the book that inspired the movies, and also features some acting royalty in Paul Nicholas, Rula Lenska and Hayley Mills as the tour which has played to packed houses makes its way to Leeds Playhouse. Rekha John-Cheriyan is one of the younger cast members playing the feisty Mrs Kapoor who will do anything to save the hotel, and sh...

Garry Lyons talks about the unlikely inspiration for his new play, Blow Down, that comes to Leeds Playhouse

31Jan

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Garry Lyons talks about the unlikely inspiration for his new play, Blow Down, that comes to Leeds Playhouse

Giant concrete cooling towers just outside Leeds might seem an unlikely source for a play, but local playwright Garry Lyons decided he needed to tell the stories of those who lived and worked in their massive shadows. When the Ferrybridge Power Station towers were blown up after they were decommissioned thousands made the trip to see them come down. Lyons is an award-winning writer who has used extensive interviews with workers and locals to create a show about change, but also full of laughs examining what these concrete landmarks that could be seen for miles meant for his community. In what ways were the towers architecturally significant? The eight cooling towers were huge, nearly 400 feet high, with two 650ft chimney stacks alongside. When you came across them at night, ...

<strong>imitating the dog take on the Bard with a high-tech version of Macbeth</strong>

24Jan

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

imitating the dog take on the Bard with a high-tech version of Macbeth

imitating the dog built their reputation reinventing some of our biggest cultural moments, so it seemed inevitable that they would eventually turn their attention to Shakespeare. And not just any Shakespeare as they are taking on Macbeth, and this tragic tale of the terrible cost of the lust for power seems perfect for their unique blend of theatrical daring and high-tech trickery. Our Yorkshire Editor Paul Clarke caught with their Co-Artistic Director Andrew Quick during rehearsals to find out more about how they are reimagining a classic work. Any self-respecting theatre fan will have seen Macbeth at least once so why should they come along to your version? Hopefully they’ll have never seen anything like it before. Our version only has five actors in it, so we ha...

<strong>Rebecca Ferrin comes back home as Les Mis comes to Leeds Grand</strong>

23Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Interviews

Rebecca Ferrin comes back home as Les Mis comes to Leeds Grand

Les Misérables is a musical juggernaut smashing record after record for more three decades and now the UK tour of this epic tale of betrayal, obsession, revolution, and redemption is heading to Leeds Grand Theatre. Rebecca Ferrin first trod the boards at the Grands as a child and how she’s coming back to her hometown theatre in an epic tale of the battle between Jean Valjean and his nemesis Javert that has played to over 130 million people worldwide. Ferrin who trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts battled her way through one of the toughest auditions for any show and tells our Features Editor Paul Clarke why winning a place onstage is a dream come true. Is this the full West End version that's coming to Leeds? Yes, it's almost identical in every single aspect. We've had...

You are invited to a dinner like no other at Sale Waterside with Junior Stage 80

29Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Interviews

You are invited to a dinner like no other at Sale Waterside with Junior Stage 80

A family like no other are moving into Sale Waterside next month to host a dinner like no other which changes lives forever, and you are all invited. Junior Stage 80 (JS80) are back after a Covid enforced absence following their critically acclaimed, sold-out production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat way back in 2019. JS80 is a Jewish society with a mixed membership of all ages from those at primary school year 5 onwards with no upper age limit. Our very own editor Paul Downham is once again directing The Addams Family following his 2019 directorial debut with the same show at The Met in Bury which gained multiple NODA and ACT Nominations and awards. We sat down with Paul to discuss all things Addams ahead of next month’s opening night. What has made you return to di...

Rapper Testament is back in the record shop at Leeds

11Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Rapper Testament is back in the record shop at Leeds

World record-breaking beatboxer Testament is again joining forces with Opera North as they collaborate on his genre busting piece Orpheus in the Record Shop at Leeds Playhouse. The show was first seen during a short socially distanced run at the height of the pandemic that was filmed for BBC Four’s Lights Up series. Testament will be front of stage working with members of the Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North, including soloist Helen Evora. Why is it important that audiences get a chance to see this show again in the Playhouse’s biggest theatre space? Performing this show live is bananas! A classical ensemble live on stage, with beatboxing, spoken word and comedy – it’s a unique thing to be part of. I’ve been telling all my friends and family to come along because it...

Top Panto Star Steve Royle is a Grand Millennial with 1,000 performances!

4Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Interviews

Top Panto Star Steve Royle is a Grand Millennial with 1,000 performances!

Much-loved panto star and stand-up sensation Steve Royle will celebrate an incredible 1,000 pantomime performances in this year’s seasonal spectacular Sleeping Beauty at Blackpool Grand Theatre Ever popular panto star Steve Royle will take his 1,000th bow on the beautiful Blackpool Grand Theatre stage this year as he once again delights thousands of families in the magical pantomime Sleeping Beauty this Christmas. Oh yes he will! Everyone’s favourite finalist from ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent will star as Silly Billy in this year’s fabulous, festive tale and it will be the thousandth time he has filled every member of his lucky panto audience with sheer joy and delight. In his millennial year, Steve Royle will be swapping lines with Dancing on Ice champion and Emmerdale star Hayley ...

Chris Jack talks about why Noughts and Crosses matters as it goes back on tour

16Sep

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Chris Jack talks about why Noughts and Crosses matters as it goes back on tour

Books for young adults tackling some tough issues are big business now and Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses is a work that has touched millions of teenagers. In Blackman’s dystopian world Sephy is a Cross, and Callum is a Nought, in a world with strict racial and social divides. As violence breaks out Sephy who is the daughter of the Home Secretary, and Callum draw closer, but this is a romance that will lead them into terrible danger. The genius of Blackman’s vision is that racial power dynamics are flipped on their head asking us to think about how hatred destroys lives in a different way. Pilot Theatre commissioned Sabrina Mahfouz to adapt it for the stage before taking it on tour just before the pandemic closed theatres, where it was seen by over 30,000 people on tour with ...

Kofi Dennis takes a trip down the Road at Oldham Coliseum

16Sep

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Kofi Dennis takes a trip down the Road at Oldham Coliseum

Not many debut works are voted as one the best 50 British plays of all time, but anyone who has seen Lancashire playwright Jim Cartwright’s searing indictment of deprivation on one northern street in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain knows exactly why. It’s still a powerful play that has been revived countless times. and now Oldham Coliseum are staging it starring Coronation Street legend Paula Lane, who was Kylie Platt in the Street, and ironically plays the equally feisty Lane in Road. She is joined by Coliseum regular Richard J Fletcher playing the well-oiled Scullery, who takes the audience on a riotous and ramshackle trip down the eponymous road. It’s a road that could be anywhere in the north where there’s no jobs and little hope, which sadly sounds very familiar in foodbank Britain ...

5Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Interviews

Big Fish swims into Northwich

Big Fish the musical is heading to Northwich Memorial Court later this month from Mid Cheshire Musical Theatre Company and our editor, Paul Downham has been speaking to director Louise Colohan to find out what we can expect from this lessor known musical. Mid Cheshire Musical Theatre Company have once again opted to produce a lesser known musical after the success of Sunshine on Leith 12 months ago and American Idiot earlier this year, which both gained huge critical acclaim. This year they bring us Big Fish, tell us about the storyline? Big Fish tells us the story of Edward Bloom, a seemingly ordinary man who, through the tales he tells his son, appears to have led a life full of magic, wonder, love and adventure. As an ailing Edward seeks to reconcile with his now grown-up son, we ...