North West Archives - Page 65 of 129

The Comedy of Errors (more or less) – Shakespeare North Playhouse

8Mar

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

The Comedy of Errors (more or less) – Shakespeare North Playhouse

A Shakespearean comedy set around two rival states and two sets of mismatched twins is brought back to life with its central theme of mistaken identity compounded by deliberate theatrical chaos and a cacophony of musical numbers from the 1980’s in this co-production from Shakespeare North and Stephen Joseph Theatre. An actor, Antipholus (David Kirkbride) arrives in a Yorkshire coastal town with his sidekick Dromio (Oliver Mawdsley) to perform his one man show, but there’s no audience as everyone has booked for a talent show across town starring the twin brother he’s never met, and whose sidekick is also named Dromio. The twin brother owes money but has promised his wife, Adriana (Alyce Liburd) a gold chain. With the Prescot brother falling for Adriana’s unmarried sister, Luciana (Ida...

Too Much World At Once – HOME, Manchester

7Mar

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

Too Much World At Once – HOME, Manchester

In many ways, Noble is a totally normal 15-year-old boy: his Dad works away, he fights with his Mum about pretty much everything and his close relationship with his sister is in pieces as she has moved across the world to study the future of various bird species. Totally normal – until one day he feels the world pressing in, too much to handle… and he becomes a bird. Able to fly, to be free, to reach his sister, to escape from the family and the home that are crumbling around him. This great new play from Billie Collins is produced by stalwart supporters of new writing, the Box of Tricks theatre company. It cleverly uses the breakdown of the family environment as a metaphor for the breakdown of our ecosystem, making a strong point: “we did see this coming,” but without bashing you round...

6Mar

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

Drowning – 53Two

After a successful tour in 2020, Dare To Know Theatre’s one-man, one-act show Drowning is back on the road. The debut play by writer and performer Jake Talbot garnered positive reviews on its first outing and this time around the show is taking in larger venues - like 53Two in Manchester. It’s even paying a visit to the nation’s capital. Any fears the team may have bitten off more than they can chew are soon assuaged. This is an accomplished piece of work, performed comfortably by an actor who knows the emotional and humorous beats of his tightly written script inside out. A black stage, empty aside from a square white box, is plunged into darkness. The haunting melodies of The Lathums’ Struggle fades away and a spotlight illuminates Josh. The 16-year-old is lying peacefully, sile...

Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

3Mar

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

Stunningly absorbing, this performance of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.3 conducted by Domingo Hindoyan is unmissable. Considered as an archetype showpiece, the concerto is renowned for being a challenge and demands technical prowess - pianist Sergio Tiempo rises to this and more, demonstrating what a maestro he is. Composed in the summer of 1909, the concerto is composed for a solo piano and an orchestra. It is split into three sections and this performance takes all three of those on with barely sixty seconds between each. This is a performance of endurance as well as technical mastery. Sergio Tiempo was not originally billed to perform tonight, making his playing all the more impressive. Throughout most of his playing, he subtly smiles and loses himself in the intensity of pl...

The Beekeeper of Aleppo – Liverpool Playhouse

2Mar

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

North West

The Beekeeper of Aleppo – Liverpool Playhouse

Of all the jobs in the world, one of the ones you’d probably least associate with Syria, is beekeeping. Based on the book by Christy Lefteri, who was a volunteer at a women and children’s refugee camp in Athens, the play tackles the topic of the Syrian war and a refugee and his wife, who leave Syria and are trying to seek asylum in the UK. With adaptations from a book and especially one that deals with such a serious issue as this one, it can be hard to get it right. Getting the message across in just the right way can be difficult, but this production from Nottingham Playhouse, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and UK Productions Ltd hits the spot. Getting the mix of serious and funny across was done extremely well and despite the subject matter, you left the theatre having had a thorou...

2Mar

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Better Days – The Carlton Club

You don’t have to go far in Manchester to find a now grey haired 50 something who will become positively wistful should you mention words like Hacienda, doves and rave. They will enthusiastically monologue about the greatest years of their lives and the camaraderie they experienced amongst their peers. I have been guilty of this myself on occasion. Ben Tagoe’s poetic story tells of 19-year-old Danny’s journey from the violent football terraces of the late 1980’s to the euphoric dancefloors of the early 90’s. The piece makes a seamless transference from the pleasure felt from the ‘threat of beautiful violence’ within the subculture of football hooliganism to the absolute joy experienced within the subculture of an emerging ecstasy fuelled rave scene. Leaving his terraced home, clad in...

Around the World in 80 Days – Blackpool Grand

2Mar

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Around the World in 80 Days – Blackpool Grand

Shakespeare once famously compared the world to a theatre stage in As You Like It – tonight, theatre company Tilted Wig have turned things on their heads to make the stage a world. This energetic take on Jules Verne beloved tale of Phileas Fogg, the London gentleman who wagers his fortune and reputation on a bet that he can circumnavigate the globe in 80days or less, has been adapted and directed by Juliet Forster. Forster has added a new depth to the journey by weaving it around the real-life memoirs of Nelly Bly, a pioneering American journalist who took on Fogg’s fictional journey and bested his time by a week. And she cleverly takes time to address the more uncomfortable moments of oppressive patriarchy and colonialism within Verne’s novel, without glossing over or censoring them...

2Mar

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

Mother Goose – Liverpool Empire

A special show. For obvious celebrity reasons, this panto was a sell-out, and it met all expectations. This show really does allow you to leave all your troubles at the door because it is laugh-a-minute, and the vivaciousness of the cast and crew fills the room. There was a bright energy from all performers which was felt and proved by a standing ovation. Some wacky highlights to give you a flavour, were a conservative cake-loving pig, a gin-loving Queen Consort, water guns and a golden egg-laying goose, to name a few. Aside from the dramatic royalty that stars in the show (tough they do so with professional aplomb), I want to take time to mention other standout elements. Oscar Conlon-Morrey, playing Jack Goose, brought abounding energy with him when he came onstage. One...

The Rocky Horror Show – Storyhouse, Chester

1Mar

By Grace AnnabelNo Comments

North West

The Rocky Horror Show – Storyhouse, Chester

This evening I had the immense privilege to attend this ‘guaranteed party’ in all its glory, live at The Chester Storyhouse Theatre. Upon entering the theatre, I was greeted with the Rocky Horror tradition of audience dressing up in flamboyantly fabulous costumes (inspired by the show itself). This was complimented greatly by the intimate setting of the Storyhouse theatre, giving the audience a feeling of being fully involved in this production from the outset. In this cult classic, innocent sweethearts Brad and Janet, stranded with their broken down vehicle during a storm, discover the dilapidated and eerie mansion owned by Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite scientist. As they lose all innocence, Brad and Janet meet a mansion full of wild characters. Fast-forward through elaborate danc...

28Feb

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

The Bodyguard – Regent Theatre

Grammy award-winning singer and actress Rachel Marron has a stalker, and he’s getting bolder and cleverer by the minute. Enter bodyguard Frank Farmer, a rather emotion-less figure with a guilt complex, who is charged with the protection of Rachel, her son Fletcher and her sister Nicki. Echoing the successful 1992 film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, this musical diverges slightly from the well-known plot, but all the key moments that a fan of the film would be looking for are incorporated into this stage musical, which premiered in London in 2012. The strength of the film lay in its soundtrack, and that is definitely what makes this musical so enjoyable. Filled to the brim with iconic songs made famous by Houston: including “One moment in time”, “Saving all my love for yo...