REVIEWS Archives - North West End UK

28Mar

By Katy GilroyNo Comments

North West

Macbeth – Floral Pavilion

The Scottish Play blew into the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton in a fresh new way thanks to Revision on Tour, allowing GCSE students to immerse themselves into one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies. Dickens Theatre Company say “Revision on Tour does exactly what it says on the tin - offering ALL students the chance to experience the texts they have been studying in class in a beautiful theatre, performed by professional actors. During those crucial revision months, we tour the UK with our unique adaptations - staying true to the original texts but performed in an accessible & engaging way, bringing high-quality theatrical experiences to young people, students, teachers, parents and all lovers of English literature.” If you were attending as a regular theatre goer, you m...

28Mar

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Asbo Bozo – Riverside Studios

18 minutes to start her day in silence, our lead and Anti-social Behaviour Officer (Georgina Duncan) needs to start her day off peacefully before dealing with the gruelling week ahead. Even more excitingly- it’s her birthday! With high expectations of the day, she prepares herself to play it cool when presented with cake and cards at work! She whirls around positive thinking, her phone quietly buzzes with yet another work meeting, a voicemail, an email. Her 18 minutes are cut 5 minutes short, so we journey with her on her walk to work through Wigan high street. Observant and suspicious of the locals, she’s seen far too much to just take life at surface level, but rather than confronting these demons, she remains forever bubbling on top of a kill switch. One small spark could set off an exp...

28Mar

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Of Mice and Men – Octagon Theatre

At one point over 90% of teenagers taking GCSE English Literature in UK schools studied ‘Of Mice and Men’ and many of the greying press night audience I spoke to had affection for the novel from their distant school days. However, Steinbeck’s moral fable of friendship and companionship has fallen out of favour in academia in recent years due to the overtly racist language, casual misogyny and portrayal of disability, so it was an interesting exercise to see how this stage production would translate to a more critical 21st-century environment. Increasingly in post-Covid regional theatre, we are seeing a movement towards co-productions as a way of mitigating risk and sharing costs, this production combines the resources of Octagon Bolton, Hull Truck, Theatre by the Lake and Derby Theatre ...

28Mar

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Magic Flute – Hull New Theatre

As I made my way to the VIP entrance (a welcome reviewers’ perk) at the Hull New Theatre on Thursday evening, I had to navigate my way through throngs of queuing theatregoers. Opera lovers abound in the former City of Culture, and they were certainly out in force when Opera North’s production of The Magic Flute came to town. Mozart composed the music for this fairytale-type opera that premiered on September 30, 1791- just two months before his death. Originally penned by Emanuel Schikaneder, Opera North’s version was written by British theatre director, composer and lyricist, Jeremy Sams. Directed by James Brining and performed in the English language, the opening scene showed a young girl in her bedroom while, next door, drunken grown-ups, in evening wear, partied. The youngst...

28Mar

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

Tambo & Bones – Liverpool Playhouse

Seeing other reviews of this production, not to mention the various accolades it has received, my hopes were high as I took my seat in the auditorium. The vibe had a chilled excitement to it, aided by the pre-amble music, but as the clock-ticked on, the audience soon became restless at the late start. However, when the performance did get underway, those feelings were quickly dashed thanks to the gutsy, bold and connected acting onstage. Clifford Samuel and Daniel Ward delivered a Tambo and Bones that were in-sync, funny, unapologetic and warm to watch. The minstrel show for the first half of Act One was a high-class opening, the inclusion of the puppet a particular personal highlight. But the enthusiasm seemed to dip as the show progressed. Into the second half of Act 1, yet another...

28Mar

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

Summoning Sondheim – The Glitch Theatre

The Queen of Cups presents Summoning Sondheim as part of the relaunch of Vaults before heading to 54 Below in New York in the autumn. Co written by Grace O’Keefe {best newcomer at Musical Comedy Awards 24) she has created a two woman show that centres around Stephen Sondheim the American composer and lyricist. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential people in the 21st C of musical theatre. The staging is intimate and minimal seating, the set is focussed on the candle lit alter placed in the centre of the room, the purpose being to attract the spirit of Sondheim. A séance, a place of worship to the great composer in the hope that he comes back to offer guidance and wise words to ‘Grace’ an inspiring writer who someday wants to become herself a renowned female scriptwr...

28Mar

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

Ghost Stories – Festival Theatre

I went to see Ghost Stories at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh on the 26th of March, and I have to admit—I didn’t actually enjoy it. Not because it was a bad show, but because it genuinely scared me. I suppose that means it did its job well! I’m not usually one for horror, and while I went in hoping for something atmospheric and thought-provoking, I left shaken and, embarrassingly, had nightmares afterwards. If you’re a fan of horror theatre, you shouldn’t expect anything particularly groundbreaking in terms of storytelling, but you can definitely count on plenty of jump scares. Photo: Hugo Glendinning The play, written by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, follows Professor Goodman, a parapsychologist, as he investigates three different supernatural encounters. Without giving away any s...

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical – Sunderland Empire

28Mar

By Adam CraddockNo Comments

North East

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical – Sunderland Empire

Power. Strength. Passion. Three words that could easily be used to describe the life and music of the legendary Tina Turner, and also three words that could just as easily be used to describe the Uk & Ireland tour of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. Starring the incredible Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi and David King-Yombo as Tina and Ike Turner respectively, Tina: The Musical takes us through the heartbreaking and personal journey of the late great Tina Turner, from her humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee to her selling out over 180,000 tickets in a stadium in Brazil and every raw and emotional twist and turn between. Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi excels as Tina, with one of the most impress voices I have heard in a good while, and the acting and movement chops to back it up. Her command of he...

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Leeds Grand

28Mar

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Leeds Grand

As a critic if you keep going long enough then yet another touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will come along. It would be easy to be snooty about Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s debut collaboration, but this family friendly musical is still a lot of fun - if a little dated - and critically has some great tunes. Unlike some of Lloyd Webber’s later bombastic scores this is more pop rock, that was of its time like other seventies hits Godspell or Hair, with the added spice of Rice’s always witty words. It's a short for a musical reworking of Joseph’s story in the Bible where he is sold into slavery by his 11 jealous brothers, before hooking up with the Egyptian Pharaoh to work out what the ruler's dreams meant thus saving his nation from disaster. ...

Ensemble Teams – Scottish Storytelling Centre

28Mar

By Marcelina KruczyńskaNo Comments

Scotland

Ensemble Teams – Scottish Storytelling Centre

Throughout you could feel both Ensemble Teams slowly guide you into the unpredictable and often unhinged nature of improvisation. Coached by Deborah Tarica and Alison Thea-Skot the two teams after one day of preparation took to the stage. Both teams were comprised of eight people. Interestingly despite all eight people standing on stage throughout the performance, once the scene started, they faded into the background and only became noticeable again once they entered centre stage or wherever the main action took place. Tarica’s and Thea-Skot's influence was clear since there were similar methods employed by both groups. For example, both employed the same method to enter or finish a scene. Multiple times actors communicated through a tap on the shoulder or someone yelling “scene” which en...