North West Archives - Page 87 of 174

13Sep

By Emma LambeNo Comments

North West

The Bodyguard – Liverpool Empire

Based on the iconic Warner Bros. 1992 film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner this musical follows the same plot with a few more Whitney classics along the way. Former secret service agent Frank Farmer, is hired to protect global superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker and falling for each other along the way. If you’re a fan of Whitney songs you’re bound to enjoy this. If there’s one way to get an audience’s attention it’s a loud gun shot to start the show with a literal bang! Once the audience have recovered from that excitement they are dazzled by the blinding lights by Mark Henderson where we see our superstar Rachel performing her opening number song. Full of energy and upbeat music, Australian Idol star, Emily Williams who plays our leading lady wows us with her vo...

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – The Lowry

13Sep

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – The Lowry

Since 2017, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie has opened up minds and hearts with an extended West End run, feature film adaptation and now a second UK tour. Inspired by the documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, this feel-good musical tells the story of a secondary school leaver who decides to live out his fantasy of being a performer by attending prom in a dress. The legend of Jamie New (Ivano Turco) is spangled with playful physical comedy, sassy put-downs and hysterical punchlines, all courtesy of Tom MacRae’s snappy book and lyrics. Music by Dan Gillespie Sells provides a seriously catchy soundtrack of pop bops and moving solos for Jamie’s relevant- and turbulent- journey to self-expression. ‘And You Don’t Even Know It’ is a tone-setting party anthem of an opening number that sees o...

The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Regent Theatre, Stoke on Trent

13Sep

By Angela KellyNo Comments

North West

The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Regent Theatre, Stoke on Trent

The award-winning fantasy novel, ‘The Ocean at the end of the Lane’ written by Neil Gaiman has now been adapted by Joel Horwood for stage and is performed at The Regent Theatre in Stoke on Trent this week. With its sold-out debut at the National Theatre and having received several Olivier Award nominations, it was intriguing to see the translation from book to stage. Directed by Katie Rudd the story centres around a man who is transported back to the time of his 12th birthday. Gaiman himself wrote it as a short story for his wife to share aspects of his childhood with her and stated that he was keen for it to contain ‘emotion’ as this is what she loved. It certainly delivers on what Gaiman intended, as from the opening scene it was clear that the story was taking us in a magical and myt...

Cirque: The Greatest Show – Floral Pavilion

12Sep

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Cirque: The Greatest Show – Floral Pavilion

Music, magic, mime and a variety of daring acts. Cirque blasts you through them all in this melange of talent. Definitely one the kids will enjoy, there are playground giggles and mystifying moments. It is a fun, feelgood escape. Offering a night like no other, Cirque draws you in to a chaotic world where musical theatre meets circus spectacle. Where else can you experience hits from showstopping musicals, see thrilling feats of daring and become engrossed in the life of a lonely but lively mime artist (Christian Lee)? The show opens with Lee entering a competition for a glorious technicolour TV - where winning it becomes a truly transformative experience. Getting to grips with his new technicolour television, we accompany Lee on a journey through a variety of talents. From hand b...

Loose Women Live – Opera House Manchester

10Sep

By Amanda HodgsonNo Comments

North West

Loose Women Live – Opera House Manchester

The strobes lights were in full force, the show tunes loud with everyone dancing, and four Loose Women kept us entertained for a Friday night of ‘Loose Women Live’. Swapping the TV screen for the stage, we were invited to join their panel and be part of an unfiltered show. Loose Women being the iconic day time show that it is, exploring issues ranging from the serious and sad, to the funny and downright risqué, has been on our screens for almost 25 years. In this time we have grown to love certain Loose Women and welcome them in to our hearts from our screens, listening to their problems and anecdotes, relating and laughing along the way. And this familiarity offers a sense of comfort – the audience are wanting a good time, unified by a love for these ladies and their chatter, and the Loos...

A Portrait of William Roscoe – The Athenaeum

10Sep

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

A Portrait of William Roscoe – The Athenaeum

The latest production from ArtsGroupie CIC, penned and performed by John Maguire, celebrates William Roscoe, a renowned writer and one of England’s first abolitionists. Using an array of theatrical techniques including puppetry, physicality and traditional storytelling, Roscoe is literally taken out of his portrait and brought to life in the very building he helped to found over two hundred years ago. Born in 1755, as the son of an innkeeper Roscoe was of humble stock but with the benefit of education, he was to become a man of learning, able to explore his interests and advocate for a number of causes close to his heart including establishing the original Liverpool Botanic Garden in 1802. A social activist throughout his life, Roscoe became an MP in Liverpool where, in spite of much lo...

8Sep

By Carole BaldockNo Comments

North West

Cuckoo – Everyman Theatre

Familiarity breeds contempt and seeing the whole of this household glued to their phones is exasperating to say the least. They appear to be trapped in the mobile world, excuse the dichotomy, with every aspect covered: news flashes; online buying and selling; videos, posts, messages. It feels as if there's more ping than dialogue sometimes. Set in a slightly shabby, old-fashioned house in Birkenhead; a bit parochial but like everywhere else, places are closing down, there's a gig economy and all sorts going on in schools, the increasing vice of violence, and the influence of the would be virtuous. We learn all this through the Greek Chorus of Doreen's two daughters, didactic Sarah in particular. The division between the cosy interior and the scary outside world (and let's face it, has i...

7Sep

By Jan MellorNo Comments

North West

Macbeth – Shakespeare North Playhouse

What more apt way to celebrate a theatre company’s 30th birthday, than to deliver a production of Shakespeare’s most popular plays Macbeth internationally, and to start this amazing tour at the iconic Shakespeare North Playhouse in the heart of the Northern town of Prescot. This is exactly what the ETT theatre company did. We are all familiar with the 17th century tale of deceit, corruption and guilt. How Macbeth, an ambitious yet submissive man, with his narcissistic and controlling wife, murder King Duncan, as he sleeps. Who, then adding to this horrendous crime, also murder Duncan’s friend Banquo, to further clear their way to power. We know that these crimes haunt them throughout the play, torturing their tormented minds and souls but ETT have taken this tale into a new exhil...

7Sep

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Three – The King’s Arms, Salford

Currently on a national autumn tour, this intimate two hander, performed by Christie Peto and Hannah Harquart, explores one woman’s life experiences both inside and outside of her mind. We observe how she deals with her ordinary, even mundane life, whilst gripped by anxiety, low self-esteem and a manic depressive health problem. Not a barrel of laughs you may imagine, but actually, these charming comediennes, with both excellent timing and expression hold their audience from start to finish. One thing that is made very clear, having depression and anxiety is very exhausting. Every action, reaction, decision is overthought, challenged, rejected, investigated to microscopic detail and the battle between being positive and optimistic vs the doubtful and self loathing is constant. Harqua...

By The Waters of Liverpool – M&S Bank Arena

7Sep

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

By The Waters of Liverpool – M&S Bank Arena

Tonight, I was lucky enough to be reviewing Helen Forrester’s ‘By the waters of Liverpool’ written by Rob Fennah and directed by Gareth Tudor Price. The play was meant to be at Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre but sadly due to its closure it was moved to the M&S Arena auditorium. Which actually seemed more fitting considering the title of the play. This play is a follow on from the previous ‘Two Pence across the Mersey’ which I had previously reviewed. This play set in 1939 on the brink of World War Two. As the play opened, we hear Neville Chamberlain making that dreaded amount from the cabinet room of 10 Downing Street. The story back tracks a couple of years prior when Helen (Emma Mulligan) is aged 18. We see that during this time in Helen’s life, her father (Tom Roberts) has become ba...