North West Archives - Page 79 of 128

5Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Bat out of Hell – Liverpool Empire

What do you get if you cross Peter Pan, Romeo and Juliet and Gossip Girl? Sadly, it would be a mess, which is what happened when Bat out of Hell opened at the Liverpool Empire last night. The show is set in the Dystopian city of Obsidian (although this is never mentioned to the audience) and the story of Strat, who is one of ‘The Lost’ and Raven, the daughter of the city’s leader – Falco. They have seen each other briefly, but have fallen madly in love with each other, much to Falco’s disapproval. The other issue is that Strat has been frozen and will remain 18 forever, no matter how old Raven becomes. It is not just Strat that Falco disapproves of it is all of The Lost and he tries as hard as he can to remove them from the streets and subways of the city. Act one was extremely difficul...

5Oct

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Othello – Liverpool Playhouse

Formed in 1994 Frantic Assembly is the UK’s foremost physical theatre company. Their inimitable and often compelling style of theatre has undoubtedly elevated their reputation both at home and on the international theatre scene. They are an exciting and innovative theatre company producing work that resonates and stays long in the memory of their audience and now they turn their attention to one of Shakespeare’s darkest tales of jealousy, passion, and revenge. Of course, being Frantic Assembly, they manage to conjure up a new translation of Shakespeare’s painfully beautiful play and transport the action to a modern-day poolroom in a pub. It shouldn’t really work on paper but through audacious and complex movement alongside strong performances from the cast and imaginative direction f...

Blue Stockings – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

4Oct

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Blue Stockings – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

Every year, during the first week of October, thousands of fresh-faced young people flock to our major cities marking the start of the university year. That this annual migration forms a rite of passage for both men AND women, is largely due to the efforts of 'Blue Stockings', pioneers in the rights for women's education and equality of opportunity during the nineteenth century. In this 2013 play, writer Jessica Swale focuses on the 1896 fight by women at Girton College, Cambridge to gain the right to graduate alongside their male peers in the face of hostile opposition from faculty, fellow students and society at large. We see the prejudice and misogyny that women in education faced through the eyes of four new 'Girton Girls', Tess (Pippa Lane), Celia (Bronte James), Carolyn (Madeleine...

Half Measures – Shakespeare North Playhouse

3Oct

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Half Measures – Shakespeare North Playhouse

War. Corruption and power plays. Women fighting for autonomy. All very Shakespearean themes but all still very much identifiable in today’s society. Tonight, we are asked if “life itself is always worth more than the way it is lived”. One Hour Theatre has re-visited its 2016 debut play, Half Measures, written by Tim Prentki and directed by Victor Merriman. The piece melds together selected scenes from Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, with the modern tale of Nadia, an Eastern Ukrainian illegal immigrant, who seeks a better life away from her war-torn country. When Nadia catches the eye of a married hotshot footballer Angelo, she must decide how far she is willing to go to get the happiness and security she craves. By then focusing on the Measure for Measure storyline of Isabella,...

Steptoe and Son – Birkenhead Little Theatre

3Oct

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Steptoe and Son – Birkenhead Little Theatre

Perfectly timed, well-staged and loaded with laughs, the Carlton Players production of Steptoe and Son is not to be missed. Performing three episodes of the legendary TV series, the company revived the art of performance. The audiences have previously suggested which shows should be included and these are the ones that are brought to life on stage. There is a feel of the audience being part of the production as you view. Steptoe and Son, directed by Steve Youster, includes Desperate Hours; Seance in a Wet Rag and Bone Yard; and Live Now P.A.Y.E later. Before attending I wasn't a Steptoe and Son fan - I didn't think the jokes landed very well and am too young to enjoy the nostalgia factor that a show like this can bring. However, seeing the episodes brought to life on stage in this...

Dave Gorman: Powerpoint to the People – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

1Oct

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Dave Gorman: Powerpoint to the People – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Dave Gorman entered the stage greeted with a round of tumultuous applause from the audience; it was a full house of mainly 35-year-olds upwards eagerly awaiting Gorman’s characteristic brand of comedy and enlightening statistical information. He was dressed in his usual attire of checked shirt denim jeans and trainers, his trademark laptop, stage right. Gorman is known for his popular acclaimed TV series, ‘Modern Life Is Goodish’ where he has proved himself to be an exemplar, brutally revealing life’s incongruities in comedic fashion. In a show lasting just over two hours he delivers an enormous amount of interesting information in his characteristic manner; he is both fast-talking and slick, often laughing uncontrollably at his own jokes. From the offset he proceeds to ask everyone ...

The Scousetrap – Liverpool’s Royal Court

29Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

The Scousetrap – Liverpool’s Royal Court

It’s press night for the Royal Court once again as they pack the auditorium and welcome to the stage their latest slice of comedy “Scousetrap”. This play was written by Kevin Fearon during the pandemic and has been adapted by the director Cal McCrystal (and most likely the cast!) to add their own stamp and humour. The show is set in Liverpool (of course) in 1940 when the war is in full flow. The people of Liverpool fear that the Germans are turning their attention to their beloved port and docklands. The only saving grace is that Adolf Hitler used to live in the city, but is this enough to stop the bombing? The storyline follows the city’s greatest private detective, Miss Inga Marble (Eithne Browne) in her quest to discover any German spies and indeed she has her work cut out for her...

Twopence To Cross The Mersey – Theatre Royal, St Helens

28Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Twopence To Cross The Mersey – Theatre Royal, St Helens

A novel by Helen Forrester that sold over a million books had been adapted for stage and is now on tour. This particular adaptation was created by Rob Fennah, produced by Bill Elms and directed by Gareth Tudor Price. The synopsis of the story is that it is set in 1931, Helen’s family we’re made bankrupt and decided to start a new life in Liverpool, this was because Liverpool was where Helen’s father John Forrester (Mark Moraghan) made his fortune originally. In the 1930s there was the Great Depression so many people were out of work and those who had work were unlikely to give it up. Helen (Jenny Murphy) was in her teens and wanted to go to school but as her parents needed to find work she had to look after the baby whilst her brothers went to school. What was nice in this show was that ev...

Saturday Night Fever – Palace Theatre Manchester

28Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Saturday Night Fever – Palace Theatre Manchester

Producer and Director Bill Kenwright has taken the iconic 1977 film Saturday Night Fever that originally starred John Travolta and made a successful hit jukebox musical that has toured since 1999. 23 years later and the musical is still a crowd pleaser, the Manchester audience was a prime example of the pleasure this show brings with its feel-good factor pushed to its limit and pure disco tunes of the 70’s by a well-deserved standing ovation at the end. The songs mostly consist of songs that were featured in the film's soundtrack, which in turn were mostly written and performed by the Bee Gees. Throughout the performance AJ Jenks, Drew Ferry, and Oliver Thomson, were dressed as the Bee Gees and stood on a platform above the stage whilst belting out the iconic tunes we all love from this...

28Sep

By Amanda HodgsonNo Comments

North West

Road – Oldham Coliseum

A trip to the Oldham Coliseum usually provides a gem of a show, and ‘Road’ did not disappoint. The play explores an array of characters, some loud, some rough, some lonely, some misunderstood, and some tormented, who live on a Lancashire street in 1987. An evening of real-life moments told through monologue and dialogue; we hear about Northern people with Northern problems. Although set in 1987 this play explores issues which clearly resonates with some northern towns today, more than 30 years later. The set captured the essence of Lancashire life, transforming between exterior windows, living rooms, bedrooms, and kitchens. The use of running water, and everyday sound effects such as barking dogs and fireworks, enhanced the real-life atmosphere, providing a sense of familiarity. The ...