North West Archives - Page 15 of 128

9May

By Bev ClarkNo Comments

North West

Nell Gwynn – Neston Civic Hall

A strong cast and brilliant costumes make this a funny, colourful and very watchable show. The historical character of Nell Gwynn is famous for being an orange-seller, an actress and of course mistress of Charles II and in Jessica Swale’s comedy-drama we certainly see her as a witty, outspoken and independent woman. Swale brings together a mix of bawdy, carry-on comedy, some good storytelling and the injection of songs, to make an entertaining piece of theatre, which beyond the titillation and double-entendre, is actually saying something about theatre generally and women’s place in the theatre and society. Neston players, probably more used to presenting drama than comedy, have taken on the play under the leadership of new director Shannon McMullan. As a vibrant group th...

9May

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

JB Shorts 24 – 53two, Manchester

A bare stage in a formerly disused railway viaduct would seem an unprepossessing setting, but when hosted by Simon Naylor and the superb team at 53two, JB Shorts has firmly established itself as a ‘must see’ on the Manchester Theatre scene over the previous twenty-three seasons of its existence. Tonight is no exception, the six plays- each lasting just fifteen minutes - address both the political and personal in modern society and make for an eclectic and enthralling theatrical evening. Isobel Openshaw Saves the Day Writer Joyce Branagh takes the lead as the eponymous Isobel, an Aldi shop assistant who decides to stand for election to parliament against the Conservative forces of darkness embodied by Rory Cheese Bogg (Callum Sim). Elements of Victoria Woodesque writing pepper the scr...

8May

By Katy GilroyNo Comments

North West

Kinky Boots – Storyhouse, Chester

Ready for a two-week stint, Kinky Boots has arrived at Storyhouse in Chester – and boy has it done so in style. Directed by Amber Sinclair-Case, the magnificent cast have taken a show full of heart and made it into a magical display of theatre that will leave you in tears of both gut-wrenching sadness and pure, unadulterated joy. The story, for those unfamiliar, follows Charlie Price (Danny Becker): heir to his father’s failing shoe factory in Northampton, a role he doesn’t want but a reality he has been thrust into. In a bid to save the factory and its team of hardworking, loyal staff – people Charlie has known since childhood – he teams up with larger-than-life drag queen Lola (Duane-Lamonte O’Garro) to make shoes for an ‘underserved niche market’. This show, however, is more than ...

8May

By Jan MellorNo Comments

North West

The Kite Runner – The Lowry

I was not aware of the sport that is part of everyday life for young Afghan people – the joy and obsession of kite flying across the city of Kabul. This hobby is our equivalent to conker fights in the playground but enjoyed with far more passion and pleasure. This hobby can be enjoyed by the rich and poor alike and has been a tradition in Afghanistan for hundreds of years. Kite flying originated in China 3,000 years ago and although a sport of young boys is a hobby that continues throughout adulthood with equal determination, competitiveness and joy. The play “The Kite Runner” is the story of two young boys- Amir (played superbly by Stuart Vincent) a Pashtun who in the 1970’s lived in a large house with his strict father (played wonderfully by Dean Rehman) and their servant ...

8May

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

RENT – North West Theatre Arts Company

Sick! Festival presents RENT as a part of their shows and events for 2024, they’re noted to face up the complexities of mental health and physical health. They state that they present an outstanding international arts programme, whilst exploring themes through many art forms and commission powerful, innovative and engaging work by artists across Manchester. Sick! Festival has grown and evolved since 2013 and is guided by communities and lived experiences of others whilst tackling sensitive and emotive issues. Directed by Prab Singh and Choreographed by Katie Gough, Assistant Choreographer Tempany Windsor, Musical Director Beth Singh and Associate Musical Director Ross Johnson have produced the latest Sick! Festival’s rendition of ‘Rent’. Set in the East Village of New York City, ‘Ren...

Bonnie & Clyde – Palace Theatre, Manchester

8May

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Bonnie & Clyde – Palace Theatre, Manchester

In just 2 weeks Disney’s Aladdin flies into the Palace Theatre, one of the most anticipated shows of the year. But stop right there! This week Bonnie and Clyde drives onto the Place stage to raise a little hell in what so far, for me is the theatrical highlight of the year. I am lucky enough to be able to see some of the best theatre this country has to offer visiting Manchester and this show leave me after two and a half hours struggling to find fault with it in any way whatsoever. The staging, lighting, sound, orchestra and cast are faultless from the first gunshot to the last. In a story that is never going to have a happy ending Katie Tonkinson (Bonnie) and Alex James-Hatton (Clyde) display a fiery emotional chemistry from the first moment they meet to the final fade of the li...

7May

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

Northanger Abbey – Theatre by the Lake

From the novel by Jane Austen comes a play by Zoe Cooper that brings 21st century humour and gender politics to the original early 19th century text, writes Karen Morley-Chesworth. With interaction with the audience, breaking down the fourth wall as well as a number of taboos that would have made Miss Austen blush, this production opens with lively style. Rebecca Banatvala as Cath, the heroin of this and her own story commands the piece with gusto. Banatvala is the powerhouse of this production, which is anything but your expected adaptation of an Austen novel. AK Golding and Sam Newton play a number of different roles that create Cath’s world – her parents, the neighbours who take her to Bath for the season and the first love of her life, Hen and her new found female friend Iz. ...

2May

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Sweat – Royal Exchange Theatre

Set in 2000 and 2008, both ends of the Bush Presidency, Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Sweat depicts life in Reading, Pennsylvania - a working class industrial town in the heart of America’s Northeast and Midwest Rust Belt. In this pre-Trump era we meet the locals who spend their down time and hard earned wages in a local bar and we follow their lives as they, the labour force, the working class community, are disenfranchised so significantly that the resulting anger led to reliable ‘blue’ states turning politically red and the Trump era began. When entering the unique theatre in Manchester’s Royal Exchange my initial thoughts always head towards design. What have they done with the space? I am always excited to go into one of the most thrilling theatre spaces in the U...

An Officer and a Gentleman – Manchester c

2May

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

An Officer and a Gentleman – Manchester c

Based on the original screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart, An Officer and a Gentleman the musical is here at the Manchester Opera House as part of its UK tour. Directed by Leicester Curve Artistic director Nikolai Foster, we are treated to a well-rounded piece of theatre which has been well thought out to keep it fresh and smooth with an air of familiarity about it. The story follows Zack Mayo and his fellow Navy recruits at their training camp in Pensacola, Florida, and their journey through a 12-week programme to try and become Navy Jet pilots. Through rigorous training, we see recruits struggle and fail, leaving the training programme, eventually bringing the other recruits closer together, pushing each other along to reach their final goal. But not everything runs smoothly, and we see...

1May

By Miranda GreenNo Comments

North West

Life of Pi – Liverpool Empire

To the reader, few adaptations of a beloved novel are as magical as the images we create in our own head, the scenes conjured in our mind’s eye. Life of Pi at the Liverpool Empire aims high and, boy, does it succeed. The seventeen-year-old Pi, leaving Pondicherry for a new life in Canada with his family and a veritable ark of zoo animals, is the sole survivor of the ensuing shipwreck. Adrift at sea for 277 days in the company of an adult Bengal tiger, improbably named Richard Parker and whom he must master or be eaten by, he must also overcome the hurdles of a ravaging hyena, hunger, lack of shelter and fresh water, the strictures of his own vegetarianism and, surreally, an island of cannibalistic plants. In the past 20 years productions such as War Horse and His Dark Materials...