North West Archives - Page 12 of 113

7Feb

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Funny Money – Daneside Theatre

The Congleton Players' production of Funny Money by Ray Cooney, under the direction of David McCaddon and Wendy McKie, was an absolute delight from start to finish. Staged in the Daneside Theatre in Congleton, the production has a fantastic cast led by Angela McIntyre-Harrison as Jean Perkins and William Vickers as Henry Perkins, every moment was filled with laughter and charm. Jake McCaddon's portrayal of Bill brought a refreshing energy to the stage, while Andrew Salmon's Davenport added a touch of intrigue to the storyline. Claire Morris as Slater, Crystal Holford as Betty Johnson, Chris Brady as Vic Johnson, and Paul Berridge as the passerby rounded out the ensemble with precision and comedic timing. Photo: Judie Tingle Photography The quality of the production was evident in...

Let The Right One In – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

6Feb

By Helen JonesNo Comments

North West

Let The Right One In – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

Let The Right One In is an adaptation of a book by Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist of the same title. It has also been adapted twice into film, one in the Swedish Language and one American produced. It has also been adapted for the stage twice, once in Swedish and then English. This is the Jack Thorne English adaptation rather than a translation of the Swedish version. Unfortunately, the fact it is an adaptation of a complex storyline is all obvious within the first five minutes. The show suffers badly from far too many micro scenes. In a two-hour play there are probably less than ten scenes that even make it to five minutes long, many are sub one minute. Between each scene the stage has to go dark allowing for props to be brought on and off the...

Something About George – Floral Pavilion

5Feb

By Bev ClarkNo Comments

North West

Something About George – Floral Pavilion

Taylor delivers in his own passionate style… he sings with warmth and commitment. Anything with a flavour of The Beatles will go down well on Merseyside and tonight’s full house was very appreciative of this new musical tour from Something About Productions (Bill Elms, Jon Fellowes and Gary Edward Jones). Starting their story of the ‘quiet’ Beatle from the split of the Fab Four, this five-piece band perform twenty of George’s catalogue, some more well known than others and also include a couple from the Traveling Wilburys. After the hits the audience erupted with claps and cheers, some of the lesser-known tracks fell away to polite applause. The rendition of Something was memorable, and surely is, as we are told, considered one of the greatest love songs. Leadi...

5Feb

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Sus – Hope Street Theatre

Barrie Keeffe’s play Sus exploring the deep-set systemic racism within the Metropolitan Police and society at large premiered over forty years ago yet with the resignation of Commissioner Cressida Dick less than two years ago following her failure to deal with misogyny and racism in the force, this powerful play still resonates. Whilst set on the eve of Thatcher’s landslide election victory in 1979, there are obvious and relevant parallels to Brexit’s ‘taking our country back’ that are reinforced by current-day statistics that tell us that black people are still nine times more likely to be stopped and searched than their white contemporaries. Unemployed father of three, Delroy (Rikki Dallas), has been brought in for interrogation by two police officers, Wilby (David J Williamson) ...

Our Day Out – Castle Hill School, Stockport

1Feb

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Our Day Out – Castle Hill School, Stockport

As NK Theatre Arts do not currently have access to their home venue at the Romiley Forum, this production was staged at the hall at Castle Hill School. This meant that instead of their usual capacity of close on 300 seats, there was an audience of only about 50 people, but those that did attend were treated to an excellent interpretation of Willy Russell’s comedy about a group of Liverpool’s underprivileged children on a day out from their normal classes exploring the countryside of North Wales. The director described this production as an “Informal Show”, which is perhaps doing it a bit of an injustice as everything about it was done in an extremely professional manner. The date of the production has changed a number of times which necessitated a number of changes in the cast, but the...

Giovanni, Let Me Entertain You – Floral Pavilion

1Feb

By Emma LambeNo Comments

North West

Giovanni, Let Me Entertain You – Floral Pavilion

Strictly Theatre Co. presents a fun filled evening with quite possibly Strictly's favourite professional dancer, well certainly mine, Giovanni Pernice! This show proves how he is an all-round entertainer, he is not only a highly talented dancer, but showman and surprisingly a singer too. He charms us with his cheekiness and multiple times showing love for being centre stage by asking the spotlight to be moved etc. This is all done in a charming way and is very likeable in the process. He is joined by a cast of professional dancers and West End performers and a 2-man band. Most noticeably his fellow Strictly Dancer Lauren Oakley, who wowed us just as much. The live music was the icing on the cake, as their vocals brought the roof down. Giovanni draws us in with his cheeky swag, earni...

29Jan

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

Enough – King’s Arms, Salford

When Enough was first performed at the Greater Manchester Fringe last summer it was depressingly prescient. A play about misogyny, corruption and racism in the police less than six months after a review into the culture and standards of behaviour at the Met was published. As part of a Best of Fringe season, Enough is one of a handful of last year’s highlights being revived at the King’s Arms in Salford. The play won a Best Drama award in the summer, and it is not hard to see why. The subject matter may be, marginally, less topical but is no less important. In fact, the ‘enough is enough’ message is, arguably, even more powerful now. The attention of the headlines circus may have moved on but the issues this play raises have not been resolved. As is often the case, it is down to p...

Stranger Sings – Theatre Royal, St Helens

24Jan

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Stranger Sings – Theatre Royal, St Helens

A playful teasing of the popular TV show which knows its audience well. Backed by a full set of original 80s bubble-gum pop synth beats make for a fun night for fans and mouth breathers alike. The popular science fiction horror series, Stranger Things, based around the unusual supernatural happenings in a small Indiana town, sparked a resurgence in bad haircuts and introduced a younger generation to the iconic Kate Bush. Its growing fandom, a reflection of its richness and texture that makes up the brilliance of the Netflix series. The nerdy quirkiness of its characters who inhabit the small town of Hawkins and their interpersonal relationships, provide the best source of parodic material. With Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Hogue, Stranger Sings presents origi...

24Jan

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Murder in the Dark – The Lowry

Thrillers on stage are notoriously difficult to pull off effectively and I am afraid this one didn’t quite hit the mark. Unfortunately, I was not on the edge of my seat and the supposed thrills, twists and turns at the end flailed rather than flabbergasted. Which is a shame because the groundwork was solidly laid for a classic murder mystery thriller. A group of characters are left in an isolated farm, and we become increasingly concerned there maybe something nasty in the woodshed. Danny (Tom Chambers) and Sarah (Laura White) are welcomed into the farmhouse by the eccentric owner Mrs Bateman (Susie Blake). It is New Year’s Eve, he has just buried his mother, they are miles from anywhere and Danny is desperate for a drink. He has crashed his car into a wall, and they will have to st...

24Jan

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

The Time Machine – The Lowry

There’s usually a golden rule that you don’t talk about yourself in writing a review. But when you end up being part of the show, it makes that somewhat tricky to follow. But this being a play about time travel, let’s rewind. HG Wells’ sci-fi classic has been subject to many adaptations, but this has possibly been one of the most irreverent. Borrowing heavily from the stylings of Mischief Theatre (the giants behind the ‘…Goes Wrong’ suite of shows), we have the familiar play-within-a-play setup as our three actors (George Kemp, Amy Revelle, and Michael Dylan) look to present their take on The Time Machine, having recently discovered that George is actually the great-great grandson of Wells’, with things failing to run as smoothly as they’d hope. The show makes the most of the tri...