Monday, December 23

NEWS

Burlesque the Musical announces Scottish Premiere in Glasgow & return to Manchester following sell-out season
NEWS

Burlesque the Musical announces Scottish Premiere in Glasgow & return to Manchester following sell-out season

Following an unprecedented sold-out season at Manchester Opera House in June, producers of the World Premiere of Burlesque the Musical - the first ever stage adaptation of Steven Antin’s crowd-pleasing musical sensation, Burlesque which starred Christina Aguilera, Cher, Kristen Bell and Stanley Tucci - today announced that the production will make its Scottish Premiere in Glasgow in September, and return to the Manchester Opera House in October, prior to a West End transfer. With performances in Manchester from Thursday 13th June until Saturday 29th June 2024 already sold out, producers have confirmed a return season in the city from Thursday 3rd October - Saturday 2nd November 2024.  Tickets go on sale on Friday 26th January.  Tickets go on sale on Friday 26th January, at 10a...
After All These Years Starring Jeffrey Holland – Comes to the Tabard Theatre in Chiswick
NEWS

After All These Years Starring Jeffrey Holland – Comes to the Tabard Theatre in Chiswick

After All These Years, written by Giles Cole and co-produced with actor and director, Graham Pountney, is a bittersweet comedy about the passing of time, memory, love and last chances, and won the Outstanding Theatre Award in the 2023 Brighton Fringe. Close Quarter Productions together with Take Note Theatre Ltd and Theatre Reviva! in association with Julia Holofcener of Holofcener Ltd are delighted to bring this brand-new production to the Tabard Theatre in Chiswick, London, from the 7th to 24th February. This amusing and poignant production is brought to life by a brilliant cast: Real-life married couple Jeffrey Holland and Judy Buxton play married couple Alfred and Joanie, with Carol Ball and Graham Pountney playing Marianne and Charlie. Relationships can be a delicate balance ...
TV and stage star Daniel Taylor fronts the biopic tribute show Something About George
NEWS

TV and stage star Daniel Taylor fronts the biopic tribute show Something About George

An acclaimed show highlighting the incredible talent of the late Beatle George Harrison embarks on a UK and Ireland next month, it follows a successful run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and sell out shows in 2023. Something About George – The George Harrison Story, pays tribute to the man dubbed the “quiet Beatle” it will visit 31 venues across England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, its biggest tour to date. It will open with two shows at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton on Sat 3 February and ends at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway, Ireland on Fri 29 March. West End performer and musician Daniel Taylor, fresh from his recent TV and media appearance with partner Shirley Ballas (head judge from Strictly Come Dancing), front’s the band of five and tells the fascinating ...
Casting announced for imitating the dog’s Frankenstein
NEWS

Casting announced for imitating the dog’s Frankenstein

imitating the dog’s two-handed version of Frankenstein will feature RSC actor Georgia-Mae Myers and Nedum Okonyia. This time Co-Artistic Directors Pete Brooks, Andrew Quick and Simon Wainwright offer their trademark multimedia exploration of Mary Shelley’s timeless classic novel as a psychological thriller asks the eternal question – what is it to be human?     In this version a couple confront their own fears about impending parenthood as they recreate a version of Frankenstein that erupts into life as everyday objects are transformed into glaciers, a ship at sea, a dissecting room, and a house on fire.        Set and Costume Designer Hayley Grindle has created a transformative space j housing the digital tricks and video-mapping t...
New show BI-TOPIA explores LGBTQ+ issues and male identity
NEWS

New show BI-TOPIA explores LGBTQ+ issues and male identity

Sam Danson’s new semi-autographical one man show BI-TOPIA takes a candid look at under-represented links between battling with poor mental health and the highs and lows of the bi-sexual experience. When performer Danson was growing up his perceptions of manhood and the ideal male identity were influenced by the generations of men in his family who served in the military, and the war movies he was obsessed with. He wanted to be Ben Affleck in Pearl Harbour, Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan and sometimes even Rambo when he was angry. Then as a young adult still grappling with his male identity he suffered a brutal homophobic attack which left him reeling with shock and shame. That left him asking himself the burning question – how can you call yourself an honourable man when you have b...
Northern Ballet take Tortoise & The Hare on tour
NEWS

Northern Ballet take Tortoise & The Hare on tour

Northern Ballet are taking their children’s ballet Tortoise & The Hare on the road kicking off at The Linbury theatre in London’s Royal Opera House from 27th – 29th January before embarking on an extensive UK tour. Tortoise & the Hare is a child friendly re-imagining of Aesop’s much-loved fable of a Tortoise who tired of being teased for his slowness challenges a speedy Hare to a race with unexpected results. Choreographed by former Northern Ballet dancers Dreda Blow and Sebastian Loe, Tortoise & the Hare premiered in 2015 and was the second children’s ballet by the pair. The production includes an original score composed by Bruno Merz, colourful set designs by Ali Allen and live music performed by members of the Northern Ballet Sinfonia.   It’s a short ballet running ...
EGTG celebrates 70 years of amateur theatre in Edinburgh
NEWS

EGTG celebrates 70 years of amateur theatre in Edinburgh

Local amateur theatre company, Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group (EGTG), will celebrate 70 years of producing theatre in 2024, with a bumper season of theatrical productions, drama workshops, and more. EGTG was first started in 1954 by alumni of the Edinburgh University Dramatic Society, and has gone on to become one of Edinburgh’s most respected amateur theatre companies, presenting a versatile catalogue of challenging contemporary work through to crowd-pleasing classics. In 2024 the group will celebrate its 70th anniversary with the staging of six plays and an exciting calendar of events to run throughout the year. EGTG kicks off its season at the SCDA One Act Festival with Martin Foreman’s Taiwan, directed by Claire Morand. It’s a question of survival. Welcome to Scotland in the ne...
Snow White the Panto – Rainhill Musical Theatre Company at Rainhill Village Hall
NEWS

Snow White the Panto – Rainhill Musical Theatre Company at Rainhill Village Hall

Has the panto season finished? Oh no it hasn’t! And Rainhill Musical Theatre Company are about to prove that very point as they whisk us off to the village of Applebury where the kind and beautiful young Snow White has become the target of her wicked stepmother, the evil Queen Venefica III. But with the help of a charming prince and a host of quirky characters, Snow White is about to embark on a journey of self-discovery to find the true meaning of friendship and love. With their usual slapstick comedy and toe-tapping musical numbers, Rainhill Musical Theatre Company’s panto extravaganza promises to bring laughter and cheer and a whole lot of audience participation on this side-splitting journey full of surprises, gags, and the magic of panto where the stage is set, the jokes are fly...
The Little Big Things Cast Album Released Today
NEWS

The Little Big Things Cast Album Released Today

Following The Little Big Things performance of The World Is Waiting on The Royal Variety Performance, the critically acclaimed new British musical, based on the Sunday Times best-selling memoir by Henry Fraser, announce that the show’s official West End cast album will be released today, Friday 5th January 2024. The 19-song collection, which has music by Nick Butcher and lyrics by Nick Butcher and Tom Ling, will be available digitally worldwide and on CD from @sohoplace. Michael Harrison and Nica Burns production of The Little Big Things, based on the best-selling memoir by Henry Fraser, with music by Nick Butcher, lyrics by Nick Butcher and Tom Ling and book by Joe White, runs @sohoplace until 2 March 2024. An extraordinary true story about an ordinary family. When one moment ...
Best Amateur Production of 2023
NEWS

Best Amateur Production of 2023

We have been thrilled to be invited to review a huge number of amateur productions in 2023, but which was the most popular with our readers. Below are the top 5 shows, we are looking forward to visiting even more amateur shows in 2024. You can request reviews for your society by emailing info@northwestend.co.uk with at least 4 weeks notice. NUMBER 5 – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Altrincham Garrick Playhouse. “one of the strongest opening nights of a show I have seen in a long time” https://northwestend.com/chitty-chitty-bang-bang-altrincham-garrick-playhouse/ NUMBER 4 - Betty Blue Eyes at Gladstone Theatre. “a great family show – charming, funny, uplifting and memorable” https://northwestend.com/betty-blue-eyes-gladstone-theatre/ NUMBER 3 – The Wedding Singer – Grange Th...