Thursday, July 23

North West

My Fair Lady – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse     
23Jun By Dan GrimesNo Comments
North West

My Fair Lady – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse     

Surprisingly, the story of My Fair Lady, that most quintessentially British of musicals, has its origins in ancient Greece. The character of Henry Higgins is a reinterpretation of Pygmalion, the gifted sculptor from the myth recorded in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In that story, Pygmalion is disillusioned by what he sees as the flaws of women and decides to remain unmarried, choosing instead to carve an ivory statue of a woman so exquisitely beautiful that he falls in love with his own creation. George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 revision of the myth is a sharply satirical retelling in an updated social context. His Pygmalion is transplanted from the island of Cyprus to Edwardian London, and he reframes the story to explore class structures, gender roles, and questions of social mobility within a rig...
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The Bodyguard – Liverpool Empire
16Jun By Brian MaddenNo Comments
North West

The Bodyguard – Liverpool Empire

The UK tour of The Bodyguard brings the high-stakes, romantic thriller to life on stage, expertly balancing the glitz of a pop concert with the tension of a dark TV drama. Telling the story of superstar Rachel Marron and Frank Farmer - the former Secret Service agent hired to protect her from an obsessive stalker - the show manages to be both a spectacular showcase of Whitney Houston’s greatest hits and a genuinely gripping theatrical experience. The show doesn't gently ease you into your seat; it commands your attention from the absolute second the house lights fade. Opening with an explosive rendition of "Queen of the Night," the production immediately immerses the audience into the high-octane world of a global mega-celebrity. What follows is a clever juxtaposition of high-energy...
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Desperate Scousewives: Lily’s Story — St Helens Theatre Royal
13Jun By Kevin EcclestonNo Comments
North West

Desperate Scousewives: Lily’s Story — St Helens Theatre Royal

Some productions arrive with a clear sense of identity, and Desperate Scousewives: Lily’s Story wastes no time establishing exactly what kind of night audiences are in for. From the moment the opening music fills the auditorium, the show embraces its Merseyside roots with confidence and affection. Loud, proud and packed with personality, it delivers an evening of laughter, warmth and recognisable Scouse spirit that immediately wins over its audience. At the centre of it all is Lily, played by the ever-charismatic Crissy Rock. A born performer with impeccable comic timing, Rock commands the stage from her first entrance. Lily is brash, outspoken and fiercely funny, but Rock ensures there is genuine heart beneath the sharp one-liners. Against a background of coercive behavior and physical...
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We Had a World – Hampstead Theatre
11Jun By Stewart Who?No Comments
North West

We Had a World – Hampstead Theatre

Joshua Harmon’s We Had a World arrives Downstairs at Hampstead Theatre following a critically acclaimed debut in New York last year. The young playwright is a Juilliard graduate who scandalised Manhattan with his first play Bad Jews.  He also co-wrote a musical with Sarah Silverman and his last play, Prayer for the French Republic was nominated for Tony. While Harmon is the award-winning toast of New York, he’s less familiar to London crowds. It’s a minor coup for Hampstead Theatre to present this show in a studio space normally reserved for emerging new writers. It’s a small space for a playwright who’s a big deal. We had a World is a semi-autobiographical analysis of family conflict and how it filters through different generations. The play opens with Joshua (Ryan Copel) addressi...
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The Ballad of Johnny and June – The Lowry
10Jun By Helen JonesNo Comments
North West

The Ballad of Johnny and June – The Lowry

Johnny Cash and June Carter were independently successful within the country music scene in the fifties and sixties.  Having met in the fifties when both were married to other people, the connection was forged and they toured together before their affair started and they eventually married each other at the end of the sixties.  Their son John Carter Cash was born in 1970. The Ballad of Johnny and June takes a mostly biographical look back at the early years of their relationship from the perspective of their son.  From their first meeting backstage at a concert they were both performing at, through Johnny becoming sucessful to them getting together and then marriage and the birth of John.  From that point onwards the show then jumps years at a time to strategic event...
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Punk Rock – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse
10Jun Avatar photoBy Paul WilcoxNo Comments
North West

Punk Rock – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

The highly successful Altrincham Garrick Studio season of productions centred around a Manchester theme concludes this week with a timely revival of Simon Stephens’ 2009 classroom drama Punk Rock. Under the direction of Meg Brassington, it demonstrates that the teenage concerns of more than a decade ago are, if anything, even more pertinent and relevant today. We meet our seven protagonists at a sixth-form college in Stockport. The action takes place during the autumn term of 2009 as they negotiate the pressures of forthcoming mock A-level examinations. However, any similarity to The History Boys and the cosy world of Alan Bennett nostalgia is quickly dispelled by the very different tone Stephens employs in his portrayal of tortured adolescence and teenage angst. In the hands of a le...
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Follies – Liverpool Playhouse
9Jun By Jenn McKeanNo Comments
North West

Follies – Liverpool Playhouse

An amateur dramatics company putting on a Stephen Sondheim show should be enough to send shivers down your spine – but Birkenhead Operatic Society Trust (BOST) really gave it their all – and it paid off! Follies opened on Broadway in 1971 and was written by Sondheim, James Goldman and Hal Prince, inspired by the former Ziegfeld Follies. It centres around Sally Durant Plummer and her husband Buddy and her best friend from their time in the Follies, Phyllis Rogers Stone and her husband Ben. We are introduced to their present selves in 1971 and their 30-year younger selves, at the star of the 1940s. It is set at the Weissman Theatre on Broadway, on the eve of its demolition. We mainly follow Sally, Phyllis, Buddy and Ben and their younger selves, but we also get to meet some of the other p...
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The Wizard of Oz – The East Cheshire Musical Theatre Company
4Jun By David S ClarkeNo Comments
North West

The Wizard of Oz – The East Cheshire Musical Theatre Company

This is a very well-known story from the 1939 film starring Judy Garland taking the part of Dorothy in the tale of a young girl from Kansas who is magically transported to the land of Oz and her adventures along the way and the various characters she meets. Based on the original book by Frank Baum, it has become a popular show for theatre productions for many years, and it is nice to see East Cheshire Theatre Company join the long list of groups who have put on this production. The storyline centres around young Dorothy who lives with her aunt and uncle on a farm in Kansas along with her dog Toto. During a severe tornado, Dorothy and Toto find themselves whisked up in the air, finally landing in what turns out to be the magical land of Oz, where they are greeted by Glinda, a good which,...
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The Good Life – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse
2Jun By Max EdenNo Comments
North West

The Good Life – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

The Altrincham Garrick Playhouse continues its impressive season with a feel good production of The Good Life this week, bringing Jeremy Sams’ wonderfully adapted stage version of the beloved television classic to life with warmth, charm and plenty of laughter. Set in suburban Surbiton, The Good Life follows Tom and Barbara Good as they abandon the rat race in favour of a self-sufficient lifestyle, much to the bewilderment of their next-door neighbours, Margo and Jerry Leadbetter. What follows is a hilarious clash of lifestyles, personalities and ambitions, packed with the gentle British humour that made the original series such a success. Directed by Garrick regular; Daniel Ellis, this production captures the heart and spirit of the much-loved sitcom. Jeremy Sams’ adaptation retains...
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We Will Rock You – Northwich Memorial Court
21May By Katie LeicesterNo Comments
North West

We Will Rock You – Northwich Memorial Court

We Will Rock You performed by TMTC at the Northwich Memorial Hall was an electrifying triumph from start to finish. From the moment the auditorium doors opened on opening night, there was an undeniable buzz of excitement throughout the packed venue, with audiences eagerly awaiting a night of Queen’s legendary rock anthems brought spectacularly to life. What followed was a breathtaking production that delivered visually, vocally, and emotionally on every level. Written by Ben Elton and featuring the iconic music of Queen, We Will Rock You tells the story of a dystopian future where individuality and live music have been banned by the all-powerful Globalsoft corporation. Musical instruments are forbidden, originality is crushed, and society is controlled by conformity. At t...
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