North West Archives - Page 2 of 187

Aarian Mehrabani: How’s your Head? – The Lowry

1Aug

By Angela KellyNo Comments

North West

Aarian Mehrabani: How’s your Head? – The Lowry

The comedian Aarian Mehrabani premieres ‘How’s Your Head?’ at the Lowry Theatre this week. Directed by Dec Munro and commissioned by The Lowry, with support from the Arts Council England, this performance was the perfect preparation for Mehrabani’s upcoming Edinburgh Fringe Performance later this year. Having had previous success with his company ‘FlawBored’, he won awards for his debut show, ‘It’s a motherf***ing pleasure’ that completed with a three week run on Broadway. Describing himself as a ‘triple threat’: Brown, Bisexual and Blind, Mehrabani is certainly one interesting guy. He relays funny tales including his experiences of having an STI, his thoughts on the children’s story ‘Elemer the Elephant’ and in dramatic contrast to much of his tales, he bravely discusses having sur...

Wilder! – The International Anthony Burgess Foundation

30Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Wilder! – The International Anthony Burgess Foundation

In ‘Wilder!’ writers Thomas Billiouw and Dany Van Brabant have cultivated an entertainingly twisted world, where manicured lawns conceal murderous intent and the local gardening club is the beating heart of suburban paranoia and gossip. Imagine Hot Fuzz’sNeighbourhood Watch transplanted into the pristine neighbourhoods of a British Desperate Housewives and you’re somewhere close to the show’s gleefully madcap and macabre tone. At the centre is Gloria, played with wonderful commitment by Dany Van Brabant, who channels the clipped elegance and commanding poise of a homicidal Katharine Hepburn. Every smile feels calculated, every perfectly delivered line hints at barely contained violence, making Gloria both magnetic and deeply unsettling. Opposite her, Thomas Billiouw provides a...

Stevie Parker: Big Bloke with Big Jokes – The Eagle Inn

28Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Stevie Parker: Big Bloke with Big Jokes – The Eagle Inn

You’ve always got to admire someone willing to stand alone on stage for 90 minutes armed with nothing but a microphone and the hope that strangers will laugh. Stevie Parker is undeniably likeable company, and his enthusiasm for comedy never wavers, but unfortunately, he struggles to deliver. Built around the conceit that Parker will attempt to tell 1,001 jokes in a single show – a “non-contractually binding” world record attempt – the set rattles along at a reasonable pace. Yet quantity rarely translates into quality. Many of the jokes are groan-inducing dad jokes and puns, sometimes feeling a bit archaic in their occasional crudeness, while observational routines often wander off into tangents that are never quite brought back together. There are flashes of promise, but the deli...

28Jul

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

The Rocky Horror Show – Palace Theatre

The Rocky Horror Show has arrived at Manchester Palace Theatre with all the sass, sparkle, and outrageous fun that audiences could possibly wish for. Richard O’Brien’s iconic cult musical continues to delight generations of theatre-goers, and this latest tour proves exactly why it remains one of the most beloved musicals of all time! From the moment the curtain rises, the production immediately feels energetic, complete with humour, and an infectious sense of mischief. The simplistic set design perfectly captures the eccentric world of Frank’n’Furter, while the lighting and slick direction create a thrilling experience that keeps the audience engaged from beginning to end. Every technical element works seamlessly together, transporting the audience into the wonderfully bizarre universe ...

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold – The Lowry

24Jul

By Helen JonesNo Comments

North West

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold – The Lowry

John Le Carre’s original novel The Spy Who Came In From The Cold was first published in 1963 and was his third novel, the plot very much triggered by the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961. Alec Leamas works for The Circus, a British intelligence organisation who are running spies between the West and the communist East. The Cold War issues are very dominant in the story. Leamas is trying to get his last agent out of East Berlin but as he makes his escape across No Man’s Land he is shot by the German counterintelligence officer Mundt. Back in the UK Leamas is keen to retire from service but the head of The Circus, a man known merely as Control has one last job for him which will silence Mundt forever. In order to do so, Leamus must appear to be out of The Circus...

23Jul

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Pub? – Salford Arts Theatre

A laugh-out-loud insight into how notto run a pub, serving up outrageous characters, brilliantly observed humour and plenty of workplace chaos. The Great Bear Productions create an entertaining night on shift at The Legless Lamb pub, where the frazzled staff are recalling the night’s events under the threat of another HR seminar! And for good reason! We’re treated to the kind of banter you'd expect in a local boozer; politically incorrect jokes, ridiculous "would you rather?" conversations, and the kind of nonsense that helps bored staff survive a long shift. The dynamics between the staff brings plenty of laughs, with a strong cast of recent University of Salford acting graduates who all possess natural funny bones. If Jason from HR ever set foot in the Legless Lamb, he'd h...

21Jul

By Dan GrimesNo Comments

North West

paywall – The King’s Arms

This was my first trip to The King’s Arms, and this 54-seat black-box venue, nestled in the historic heart of Salford, felt like the perfect setting for this one-woman show, performed as part of the Greater Manchester Fringe. Written and performed by Neysa Killeen, a self-styled Irish storyteller, the play begins in medias res with Lizzie, a 27-year-old woman, making the difficult decision to leave her Dublin flat and return home to the unwelcoming arms of her father. Defeated in her quest to become a hard-hitting investigative journalist by a combination of the stitched-up patriarchy and the cost-of-living crisis, Lizzie’s story charts her personal journey from a small child dubbed ‘cold’ by her aunt on the day of her mother’s funeral to a wrung-out postgraduate struggling to pay h...

20Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

The Boys We Were – The King’s Arms

Nostalgia has become a lucrative commodity. From Take That to Steps, the reunion tour has evolved into a reliable cultural ritual, inviting audiences to relive happier times while asking whether former stars can ever truly recapture the magic. Tom Peters’ The Boys We Were explores that familiar territory, using the reunion of fictional boyband The Boiz to examine friendship, regret and the uneasy transition from fleeting fame to ordinary life. Former manager Max (John Joyce-O’Keeffe) attempts to reunite his fractured protégés for a television special and tour, only to discover that old resentments have never really disappeared. Successful solo artist Jay (Rob Peters) remains estranged from Lee (Tom Peters), whose bitterness over the band’s collapse continues to simmer, while Ry (Bil...

And Then There Were None – Hope Street Theatre

18Jul

By Ben PearsonNo Comments

North West

And Then There Were None – Hope Street Theatre

Ten Little Soldier Boys are whittled down to none in The Woolton Drama Group’s production of Agatha Christie’s thriller, And Then There Were None. Ten strangers are invited to the mysterious and isolated Soldier Island. Each is accused of a crime, and each has no guarantee of surviving the stay. As ever with Christie, it’s a tense and exciting premise. And this production begins promisingly with an ominous reading of the poem which frames the play: ‘Ten Little Soldier Boys’. John Ovington’s delivery dripped with suspense; setting the ground for the twists and turns to come. Sadly, however, this proved to be one of the performance’s high points. As, while the production was entertaining and the script of course strong, there was a noticeable lack of urgency throughout. A thriller ...

16Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Anastasia – Z-Arts, Manchester

Like My Fair Lady wrapped in the fairy-tale romance of Cinderella, with occasional glimpses of the epic sweep and moral gravitas of Les Misérables, Anastasia is an ambitious musical that asks a great deal of its performers. Fortunately for Manchester Musical Youth, this exceptionally talented company proves more than equal to the challenge. There is something fitting about Anastasia becoming Manchester Musical Youth’s 40th production. For well over a decade, MMY has established itself as arguably Manchester’s leading youth musical theatre company, renowned for producing powerful vocal ensembles while continually raising its artistic ambitions. Under the assured leadership of Kimberly and Dave Holden, this milestone production demonstrates a company continuing to evolve, marrying its tra...