North West Archives - Page 5 of 184

2Apr

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Private Lives – Royal Exchange

The Royal Exchange’s recent renaissance under its newly installed artistic director, Selena Cartmell, continues apace with a sparkling revival of Noël Coward’s Private Lives. This is a production that deftly balances the play’s barbed wit with the art deco glamour of its setting, while allowing something darker to seep through the cracks: a distinctly Pinteresque unease beneath the polished surface. Coward is often caricatured as the world-weary, dressing-gown-clad wit, all epigrams and elegance. But there has always been more to him than that. Ever since seeing the Citizens Theatre’s 1988 production of his early play The Vortex—with Maria Aitken and a startlingly young Rupert Everett—it has been clear to me that Coward’s work carries a sharper, more serious undercurrent. His outsider’s...

The Shawshank Redemption – Liverpool Playhouse

2Apr

By Emma LambeNo Comments

North West

The Shawshank Redemption – Liverpool Playhouse

The Shawshank Redemption is a based on Stephen Kings 1982 novella, set in a maximum-security penitentiary. It spans over 20 years and follows the inmates stories, primarily focusing on our main character Andy. Joe McFadden plays him in such a genuine, real manner, you can’t help but sympathise and root for him. His chemistry with the mesmerising Ben Onwuke as Ellis ‘Red’ is gripping to watch. Red being the audience’s narrator and having the most dialogue, including several long monologues, still managed to capture the attention of the audience and keep them hooked. There were a few times he made the audience laugh out loud, including a scene where Andy informs Red how much money is waiting for him on the other side, which was a nice break from the heavy going moments. Coronation star Bi...

Madama Butterfly – Opera House Manchester

30Mar

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Madama Butterfly – Opera House Manchester

At the Opera House Manchester, audiences were treated to a poignant one-night-only performance of Madama Butterfly, presented as part of Ellen Kent’s farewell tour. With music by Giacomo Puccini, and based on a play by David Belasco, the opera first performed in Milan in February 1904, remains one of the most enduring and emotionally devastating works in the operatic canon. Structured in three acts, Madama Butterfly tells the tragic story of Cio-Cio San, a young Japanese girl who marries the American naval officer B.F. Pinkerton. In this production, Pinkerton was portrayed by Oleksii Srebnytskyi, while the role of Cio-Cio San (Madame Butterfly) was taken by Elena Dee. Their union, arranged under Japanese law for 999 years but subject to monthly dissolution, reflects a cultural and ...

27Mar

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Erin & Ern – The Lowry

It’s charming and filled with laugh-out-loud moments; Eric & Ern at The Lowry is a nostalgic celebration of one of Britain’s most beloved comedy double acts! Written by Ian Ashpitel and Jonty Stephens, Eric & Ern takes audiences back to the golden era of light entertainment, performing a selection of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise best bits that made them became the nation’s favourite duo. This show is a must for any Morecambe & Wise fans with a show filled with warmth and affection for the pair, capturing not only the iconic humour but also the deep friendship at its core. The duo on stage have the personalities down to a tee; they are superb; Ian Ashpitel as Eric and Jonty Stephens as Ern demonstrate impeccable comic timing and undeniable chemistry. They don’t sim...

27Mar

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Come from Away – The Forum Theatre

I have to say right at the start of this review that this was a brand new tale for me, I was only vaguely aware of the storyline, so unlike a lot of previous productions I have seen I was coming into this with little or no knowledge of what to expect from cast, crew and writers. Perhaps this was an advantage as I had no pre-conceived ideas as to what to expect. The story of “Come from Away” is set in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001 when airplanes were used to wreak death and destruction on the World Trade Centre buildings in New York. This resulted in all planes in American airspace being immediately grounded and obliged to land at the nearest airports available to them. This production tells the story of the 38 planes and about 7000 passengers wh...

25Mar

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

La Traviata – Opera House

On a very rainy night in Manchester, there was at least some comfort to be had in Manchester’s Opera House as they staged Ellen Kent’s production of Verdi’s famous tale of doomed love as part of her farewell tour. I may as well start my review with the outstanding Viktoria Melnyk, who dazzled as the ill-fated heroine of this opera, Violetta. She sings with such power, control and emotion. Her voice is not just sublime and beautiful, it is mesmerising. It is worth seeing this show just to witness such a transcendent talent. Her charisma and presence alone made this show worth watching. Hovhannes Andreasyan, as Alfredo, was also impressive. He gave an imposing performance, full of feeling and desire. Alfredo makes Violetta see that her material life is nothing without love. The mes...

25Mar

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Pomona – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

For the fourth instalment in its “Season of Manchester Drama”, Altrincham Garrick Studio opts for the unexpected. Alongside the more familiar Hobson’s Choice and A Taste of Honey, it is Alistair McDowell’s Pomona — a dense, disorientating work from 2014 — that proves the boldest programming choice. In Mark Goggins’ assured and imaginatively realised production, it becomes something close to unmissable. The programme’s content warning is exhaustive — violence, abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking, suicide — and suggests an evening of grim endurance. Yet what unfolds is something more intellectually disquieting than viscerally shocking: a slippery, elusive blend of dystopian satire, urban noir and cosmic horror that owes as much to Black Mirror as it does to H. P. Lovecraft. The shock...

The Complete Works of Jane Austen Abridged – Thingwall Players

21Mar

By Stephanie WiswallNo Comments

North West

The Complete Works of Jane Austen Abridged – Thingwall Players

Who needs to know Jane Austen's works to perform them? Certainly not Trevor (Kyle Jensen) when he unexpectedly throws himself into a performance of her complete works with two Austenites, or Janeites (depending on how big a fan you, yourself are). Determined to deliver their show Jessica (Bethany Cragg) and Charlotte (Meredith Clayton) enlist Trevor after the unforeseen resignation of the final piece of their original trio. Cragg was soft and spritely as Jessica, wrapped up in the love and triumphs of Austen's story. Clayton contrasted this character well with her more serious and grouchier take on Charlotte. My absolute favourite was Trevor as Jensen took on a variety of voices and roles fluid in both genders and had the audience in stitches. Extremely good physicality throughout hi...

21Mar

By Brian MaddenNo Comments

North West

Waiting for Godot – Liverpool Playhouse

Dominic Hill’s revival of Waiting for Godot, seen here at Everyman Theatre, reminds you why this play still divides audiences' decades after its premiere. Samuel Beckett’s writing can feel elusive and, at times, deliberately opaque - but in the right hands, it becomes something quietly powerful. The production opens on a stark, desolate set designed by Jean Chan. A fractured landscape stretches across the stage, dominated by the familiar solitary tree, here emerging from the wreckage of an abandoned car. It’s a world that feels worn down and forgotten, reinforcing the sense that time has stalled completely. At the centre are Vladimir and Estragon, played by George Costigan and Matthew Kelly. Their performances carry the production. There’s an ease between them that never feels theatr...

21Mar

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Under Milk Wood – Theatr Clwyd

For a Welsh theatre marking its 50th anniversary, Under Milk Wood is both an obvious and a risky choice. Dylan Thomas’s “play for voices” is so bound up with its own mythology—its lyrical density, its association with Richard Burton—that any staging must negotiate the tension between fidelity and reinvention. Kate Wasserberg’s production does so with intelligence and flair, even if it occasionally brushes up against the limits of the text itself. Written for radio and first broadcast in 1954, Thomas’s portrait of a day in the fictional Welsh village of Llareggub (read it backwards) remains a defiantly literary work: episodic, associative and rich to the point of saturation. Its comparison to Thornton Wilder’s Our Town is not misplaced, but where Wilder offers clarity and restraint, Thom...