North West Archives - Page 134 of 178

23Jul

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Alice – The Empty Space

Alice is a new play written by Tara Anegada inspired by Lewis Caroll’s ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ directed by Zoe Smith which was performed in Salford’s Empty Space Theatre as a part of Greater Manchester’s Fringe season of 2022. The script highlights the pressures females face to sexualise themselves to produce their personal art through how they physically look and act in order to conform in how society dictates to so many of our today’s youth. Anegada Theatre company is based in the East Midlands who state that they strive to make art that is diverse and will spark conversation, through adaptations that reframe traditional literature. This production is a fabulous showcase of their ethos and drive as it certainly does spark a conversation and is exquisitely written by Aneg...

It’s Not Rocket Science – The Empty Space

23Jul

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

It’s Not Rocket Science – The Empty Space

Letter for Letter Theatre presented ‘It’s Not Rocket Science’ at The Empty Space Theatre in Salford during our Greater Manchester Fringe season. The cast of three Alice Connolly (Eve), Stef White (Dad and other male roles) and Helen Knudsen (Mum and multi female roles) tell the story through eight chapters of Eve Jackson the author of book titled ‘It’s Not Rocket Science’ which depicts a women’s journey into a male dominated career. The journey starts with Eve’s desire and motivation to be involved with Space and rocket ships from early childhood believing she belonged in the stars, different from other girls in her school she clearly excels in physics and goes on to attend University to study aerospace. In a male populated world of aerospace, she soon encounters prejudice against he...

22Jul

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

The Book of Mormon – Liverpool Empire

The Book of Mormon has been meting out metaphors since it first broke on the stage in 2011 and this latest adaptation continues that rich vein with recent local topical references slipped in for good measure. Two young men, Kevin Price (Robert Colvin) and Arnold Cunningham (Jacob Yarlett) have finished their training to be missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and inspired by the memory of Joseph Smith (Johnathan Tweedie) and with the title Elder inserted in front of their names, the pair are thrust together and sent off on their two-year mission to find, recruit and baptise new members into the Mormon religion. However, it’s not to be the magic of Orlando but Africa when they pitch up in Uganda to help struggling Elder McKinley (Jordan Lee Davies) and team. W...

James Barr: Straight Jokes – Frog and Bucket Comedy Club

21Jul

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

James Barr: Straight Jokes – Frog and Bucket Comedy Club

In response to being told he’s “too gay” in the workplace, podcaster James Barr delivers an hour of flippant stand-up. There are few laughs to be enjoyed here regardless of your sexuality. Some of the jokes do land, but setbacks relating to delivery, stage presence and timing result in a lot of misses. The audience were supportive as Barr repeatedly forgot his place, resorting to notes on the floor to keep him on track, but this gig needs straightening out if it wants to thrive in the comedy circuit. It’s apparent that much of the material is borrowed: on the teaching of gay relationships in schools, Barr’s quip about him learning Geography but not becoming Sri-Lankan is an obvious recycling of journalist Benjamin Butterworth’s World War Two tweet that resurfaces every Pride month. &...

20Jul

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

South Pacific – Opera House, Manchester

Chichester Festival Theatre has become known for taking on some of the most challenging classics and transforming them into a triumph. Director Daniel Evans’s lively reappraisal of South Pacific is no exception. On one of Manchester’s hottest days on record the audience was transported to the South Pacific where US troops were occupying a Polynesian island in the WW2 conflict with Japan. The opening scene sees nurse Nellie Forbush (Gina Beck) on a coffee date with Emile de Becque (Julian Overden), a middle-aged plantation owner that she recently met at the officer’s club. De Becque is an ultra-suave Frenchman with a murderous past but despite this we see young nurse Forbush failing madly in love with him. The US troops are kicking their heels while restlessly waiting for the...

20Jul

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

Lizard Boy – Hope Mill Theatre

Folk rock meets reptiles in this superhero-inspired, coming-of-age musical about finding love from the most unexpected sources. Our highly-strung hero Trevor (Justin Huertas) shut himself away from the world after an encounter with a dragon left him with green, scaly skin. Twenty-years later, a first date is set to take him out of his shell and on a life-changing adventure. Musical talent in this production is off the scale: in catchy, off-West End quality songs, the original US cast of 3 adroitly jumps from guitars to xylophones to kazoos like it’s second nature. The trio boast superb vocals, particularly Kirsten ‘Kiki’ Delohr Helland whose voice elevates every number to mythical heights. William A. Williams also contributes skilful beatbox riffs to them. As Trevor, writer Justin...

We Need To Talk, a Jazz Cabaret – International Anthony Burgess Foundation

20Jul

By Alison BainesNo Comments

North West

We Need To Talk, a Jazz Cabaret – International Anthony Burgess Foundation

In the scorching Manchester heat (not very often we can write that), there’s no better escape than an air-conditioned room listening to some jazz… As part of Manchester’s Fringe Festival, We Need to Talk is a Mancunian’s story of a breakup told through the beauty of jazz. Blue Balloon Theatre is a female-led, not-for-profit theatre company. Led by actor, singer and poet Rebecca Phythian, alongside actor, singer and the evenings cabaret storyteller Jas Nisic, the company aim to develop and showcase their own, original work. Jazz is unfortunately heard less and less in this modern time of hip-hop, dance and pop music. First generated in the communities of New Orleans in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Jazz music has shot many stars to fame including Ella Fitzgerald, Eva Cassidy...

18Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Make Up – The Kings Arms, Salford

What do you do if your life in drag has become just that – a drag? Written and directed by Andy Moseley and performed by Moj Taylor, Make Up is a snapshot of the somewhat world-weary mind of drag performer Lady Christina, behind who hides the much more mundane Chris. As Chris catches sight of his father in his reflection in the mirror as he’s taking off his make up for what may be the last time, we listen in on his musings on the impact of his dad’s rejection of him for being gay, and how his alter ego allows him to both escape the tedium of reality, whilst secretly reconnecting with his mother. This one-hour show is an engaging exploration of identity with some lovely snippets that emerge from Chris/Christina’s monologue. It certainly feels timely as he declares ‘tolerance is goi...

Curfew/Love in the Time of Apartheid – Unity Theatre

18Jul

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Curfew/Love in the Time of Apartheid – Unity Theatre

Curfew is a dance performance by the El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe and Hawiyya Dance Company under the artistic direction of Sharaf DarZaid, which looks at the role of media and technology in today’s world and its effect on all of us as members of society. It was performed with Love in the Time of Apartheid, a solo choreographed and performed by Sharaf DarZaid which looks at what happens when love is divided by duty and internal conflict. Heavy use of haze disorientates the audience before the dancers even enter the stage. Clever use of lighting means the performers of Curfew apparently appear out of nowhere stretching languidly out of feline poses, a perfect symbol of slowly awakening but being immediately ready for the tension and conflict which quickly follows. The performanc...

Romeo and Juliet – Chester Grosvenor Park Outdoor Theatre

16Jul

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

Romeo and Juliet – Chester Grosvenor Park Outdoor Theatre

It’s not often that you feel transported to Italy in a park in Chester, but this year’s repertory theatre company has done just that with its new production of Romeo and Juliet. This is arguably Shakespeare’s most famous play: the story of two young lovers from different families, who meet by chance and are torn apart by family history and circumstance. The play asks us to consider whether love can overcome division, or whether forbidden love in a divided society is simply doomed. This new adaptation of Romeo and Juliet is set – the programme tells us – in the 1950s, albeit with the original text, and I was very interested to see how that would be incorporated into the production. However, I suspect because of the minimal set and the nature of the outdoor space, there was little other t...