North West Archives - Page 69 of 179

Boss New Plays – Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool

22Apr

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Boss New Plays – Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool

How well will a playwright’s words, ideas, and concepts land as they’re writing is brought to its feet. Boss New Plays finds out, by bringing to life the work of four of Liverpool’s local playwriting talents, as the Lantern Writers present the final part of their 2-night showcase. Eat, Sleep, Repeat written by Brian Mutton introduces us to retired married couple Ted (Derek Cross) and his wife Jessy (Linzy Boden), reminiscing on times gone by and the loss of familiarity as they watch on as another new neighbour moves in. Ted’s sudden waves of emotion signal something isn’t right, which becomes clear upon a visit from their new giggly neighbour, the widower Grace (Emma Hind). Directed by John Michael Rooke, the play deals with the process of grief, love, and the struggle to move on,...

Rubbish Improvised Shakespeare: The Incomplete Works of Shakespeare – Unity Theatre

22Apr

By Miranda GreenNo Comments

North West

Rubbish Improvised Shakespeare: The Incomplete Works of Shakespeare – Unity Theatre

If it were done, when ‘tis done, then t’were well it were done wittily. Alack, ‘twas not. For prating merely “thee” and “thou” dost not the bard emulate. I could probably do this whole review in cod Shakespeare, but it’d soon become tedious, would’st not? Which pretty much describes last night’s performance of the allegedly improvised Rubbish Shakespeare: The Incomplete Works at the Unity Theatre. The audience were given the illusion of directing the action here but in fact were instructed to pick a year within Shakespeare’s lifetime (1550.) We had wider remit over location (Venice) and plot-hurdle (woodworm in the gondolas.) A chap near the front was awarded a circlet and crowned King James (anachronistically but lapses in history I can forgive) before being swiftly decoronated i...

20Apr

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

North West

Sing The Musicals – Floral Pavilion

If you are one of those people who wishes they could sing along to a musical, then you need to make sure you add this show to your list. Massaoke’s Sing The Musicals is an evening of fun, laughter and above all else – musicals! With a cast of five singer-musicians, you’d think each one would be under more scrutiny from the audience, but for the majority, they were just happy to be led in the sing along. Luckily, however, the three lead vocalists are good at what they do and have the vocal ranges to fit the songs selected. Nicholette Chew especially, has vocals to die for and with a range from ‘Oom-Pah-Pah’ to ‘Defying Gravity’ and Disney in between, you are left wondering if there is anything she can’t do. And she plays the keys too! She is definitely a talent to watch out for. Josh Tay...

Lantern Writers: Boss New Plays – Royal Court Studio, Liverpool

20Apr

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Lantern Writers: Boss New Plays – Royal Court Studio, Liverpool

The Lantern Writers originally formed in 2011 is one of Liverpool’s foremost creative playwriting groups. The group was established to showcase the writing talents of local creatives and to give the important opportunity for their individual works to come alive on the stage. Boss New Plays is an annual festival of short plays written by members of the Lantern Writers and its always exciting to welcome new works to the stage. Tonight’s performance (part one of two) featured four plays. Love Target is written by Mark Davoren and directed by Alex Carr. This black comedy centres around a blind date that clashes with a planned euthanasia “date” – in fact, all a case of mistaken identities. It’s an interesting and unusual farce which allows the actors to exercise their considerable c...

Hardy and Webb: Mystery at the Museum – Unity Theatre

20Apr

By Miranda GreenNo Comments

North West

Hardy and Webb: Mystery at the Museum – Unity Theatre

There were a couple of mysteries surrounding this production for children. Part of the Liverpool Improvisation Festival, hosted at the excellent Unity Theatre, the first poser was: where was Becky Webb? The second: where were the children? No matter, the audience of adults thoroughly enjoyed this detective romp played with enthusiastic elasticity by Jen Hardy and Mike Burton, in place of Becky Webb. Improv for a beginner audience, the interaction was light but nonetheless introductory to the genre. An audience stooge was asked to play the role of the Chief who informed the detective duo that they were due a day off, whether they wanted it or not, and that they were to visit a museum. Mavis (possibly her real name) came up with the concept of a postal museum; my mate Jane came up with...

20Apr

By Eleanor HallNo Comments

North West

Your Flaws: The Musical – Unity Theatre

This fifty-minute whirlwind came as part of the Liverpool Improvisation Festival, which might look to become an annual event for the Unity theatre, following its launch last year. Alongside Patrick Clopon on the piano, Lee Apsey and Emma Wessleus explained their ‘flaws’, distastes and aversions, and invited us to share our own. As we admitted to being afraid of a range of kitchen devices (i.e. potato peelers, sieves, blenders) and taking umbrage with food combinations (i.e. mint and chocolate), the piano began to twinkle… Engaging with the audience’s culinary offers, the trio embarked on a journey through a haunted restaurant with all characters gifted with strange fears and desires which echoed our flaws back to us. We watch the tortured head chef fight for his Michelin star, a chef lo...

19Apr

By Helen JonesNo Comments

North West

Rambert: Death Trap – The Lowry

Following on from the success of their adaptation of Peaky Blinders, Rambert are back at the Lowry with their current tour Death Trap. Consisting of two separate pieces Cerberus and Goat, Death Trap is more contemporary theatre than contemporary dance but is no less engaging and is intensely powerful. Cerberus is an adaptation of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. It opens with Aishwarya telling the audience that what we are about to see is her life, from birth to death. She emerges stage right, with a rope around her middle and moves across till she exits stage left. As she exits her Orpheus emerges holding onto the other end of the rope. He is unwilling to believe she is dead and with the assistance of his translator fr...

Is This Thing On? – Contact Theatre, Manchester

19Apr

By Bo WarnerNo Comments

North West

Is This Thing On? – Contact Theatre, Manchester

Is This Thing On? Was written by Megan Keaveny and Ellie Campbell and follows flat mates Mary and Liz, a musician and a poet, as they battle over integrity, ownership, the spotlight and who’s turn it is to buy the f*king toilet roll. It is MissMatch’s debut into the theatre scene. The pair has clear chemistry, great energy and pace throughout. Their friendship feels believable, and some funny moments pepper their description of sexual exploits as they are introduced. There are ambitious choices made with the use of loop pedals and music, movement and spoken word. However, this is a story that lacks purpose and focus. Too much, and yet too little is tackled, and while the story tries to tackle serious and weighty themes along with personal conflict, the result is unfortunately muddied...

18Apr

By Angela KellyNo Comments

North West

Kinky Boots – Crewe Lyceum

Crewe Amateur Musicals Society (CAMS) are gracing the stage of the Crewe Lyceum this week with their 100th Anniversary show and a performance of ‘Kinky Boots’ and it must be acknowledged that this is certainly a brave undertaking. Having first debuted on Broadway in 2013, with an original score by Cindy Lauper, Kinky Boots has won an impressive six Tony Awards. This interpretation, directed by Sean Johnson- Hargreaves is certainly ambitious and was performed to a very excited packed theatre. Written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth, Kinky Boots is based on a true story and tells the tale of Charlie Price who is presented with the challenge of following his late Father’s footsteps when he is forced to save the family business. He meets the colourful drag queen, Lola, who he eventually works ...

The Drifters Girl – Birmingham Hippodrome

17Apr

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

North West

The Drifters Girl – Birmingham Hippodrome

Faye Treadwell, born in Arkansas in 1926, owned and managed the Drifters following the death of her husband George Treadwell in 1967 and since then navigated their careers and oversaw many legal battles over the use of the name. She made history as one of the first African American managers in show business and created a reputation as a hard-headed businesswoman. Plus, she gave the world the Drifters! For those of us brought up in the seventies the great American songbook was filling up nicely with much loved numbers by tunesmiths who’d long since packed away their music stands and headed for swimming pool filled retirement, but not Miss Treadwell and not the Drifters. They were still touring well into the eighties and beyond with Tina Treadwell taking over her mother’s musical mantle a...