North West Archives - Page 97 of 179

22Jul

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

The Crisp Review: LIVE – King’s Arms

Having tickled audiences’ palates at last year’s Fringe, Adam Evans takes to the stage once more with a presentation packed to the rafters with all things crisp-related. If the title doesn’t give his game away, Adam unapologetically spells it out: he reviews every variety of the potato snack imaginable with the aim of encouraging suppliers to send him free bags. A high-and low-light reel of his videos offers a hilarious insight into the review process. Adam gives honest verdicts on crisps’ names, texture, flavour, and value, regaling everyone in the room with observant critiques. In person, his nonchalance and cynicism allow him to deliver one satirical quip after another, but put-downs (almost entirely aimed at himself) tagged onto the end of them regularly get the biggest laughs...

ADHD The Musical: Can I Have Your Attention Please – Shakespeare North Playhouse

22Jul

By Daniel CoxNo Comments

North West

ADHD The Musical: Can I Have Your Attention Please – Shakespeare North Playhouse

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD is a condition that includes symptoms such as being restless and having trouble concentrating. If you fancy concentrating (or not and simply getting lost in this production) for 70-minutes then why not check out ‘ADHD The Musical: Can I Have Your Attention Please’ as this new piece of passionate theatre embarks on its 2023 tour. Written and performed by Dora Colquhoun, ADHD The Musical tells the story of Dora’s exploration and challenges she faced as she gets her diagnosis as a neurodivergent adult. Touching on work, family, relationships and revelations that come in the form of a Lush Bath Bomb it follows the format of Dora answering the questions that would show signs of an Adult with ADHD. It is a piece of theatre that takes a moment t...

Arisha’s OK Cabaret: An Operatic Extravaganza – Sonata Piano & Cabaret Lounge

20Jul

By Alison BainesNo Comments

North West

Arisha’s OK Cabaret: An Operatic Extravaganza – Sonata Piano & Cabaret Lounge

Tucked away in the alley ways of Manchester, not too far from Deansgate, is new(ish) piano bar, Sonata. It’s the perfect setting for a cabaret performance filled with jazz, musicals and pop. Arisha’s OK Cabaret: An Operatic Extravaganza, presented by ToBee Productions, is an autobiographical musical revue exploring Arisha’s lived experiences during their time studying Musical Theatre in Oklahoma City, when it was turned upside down by the worldwide disruptor known as Covid-19. Stuck halfway around the world from their home in Manchester, Arisha tells their tale of their, should-be-so-exciting, journey training in the renowned university where Broadway icon Kristin Chenoweth once graced the halls. However, it quickly became apparent that this tale wasn’t all jazz hands and high notes,...

Bright Lights City – Salford Arts Theatre

20Jul

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Bright Lights City – Salford Arts Theatre

When two people meet in a seaside café at the end of a pier on a grueling wet afternoon it can go one of two ways; either sulkily sit out the storm in a sad soggy state or stop for a moment and absorb what is actually going on around you and even gain a new perspective on life, love and latte. Laura Gender’s play introduces us to Woman (Marchia Brogan)– middle-aged, successful, demanding, rude, disappointed, angry, entitled and caught out in a storm. In the empty café in which she takes refuge she meets Waitress (Blue Blackburn) – sixteen years old, unambitious, open, funny, patient, tolerant, smart and ready to shut up shop for the day. In the unfolding drama we see two women, seemingly from very different places, whose worlds collide and clash but who find a way to connection, reso...

SEVEN and a half YEARS – Salford Arts Theatre

15Jul

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

SEVEN and a half YEARS – Salford Arts Theatre

Mark Glentworth experienced incredible success as a composer, and then his life changed. But not in the way that you would expect. This autobiographical one-act musical tells the story of what came next: it is a journey that takes Glentworth from the heights of his success to the depths of his despair and isolation, ending with his first steps towards a new start. The production makes the most of the simple set and lighting designs, and Glentworth moves around the space well. It is his authenticity that is most striking; it cannot be easy for him to perform this material over and over and relive the best and worst moments of his life. Glentworth is clearly an outstanding musician, and the music in the show – which switches seamlessly from prerecorded tracks to live piano and back...

What the Dog Said to the Harvest – Unity Theatre

14Jul

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

What the Dog Said to the Harvest – Unity Theatre

What the Dog Said to the Harvest is an immersive multi-disciplinary exploration of climate change, presented as part of the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival. Combining song, dance, film and spoken word, the show is a fresh interpretation of the often-explored theme of climate change. On entering the theatre, various footage relating to climate change is being played. There are numerous logs on the stage and on some of the seating and a collection of instruments waiting on the stage. Immersive from the start, the performers begin sitting as part of the audience and when the show begins, call out to each other coming together on the stage in a place of safety and comfort. The performers do a good job of utilising all of the space in the theatre. The logs scattered about the venue confused ...

Things I’d Like To Get Off My Chest – Hope Mill Theatre

14Jul

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Things I’d Like To Get Off My Chest – Hope Mill Theatre

Turns out there are quite a few things that Eva Lily would like to get off her chest and having big boobs is just one of them. This highly entertaining one woman show currently playing at Hope Mill Theatre takes a very honest and open look at the long-term failings of female healthcare and the constant narrative, and subsequent judgement, that the mere existence of women’s bodies creates in our society. But firstly, the boobs. They are big. Really big. At a size 38K, (‘average’ UK woman is a 36DD) they are prohibitively big and the impact of them upon Eva’s life cannot be underestimated. The piece opens with a 13-year-old Eva in the dressing room at Rigby and Pellier, brassiere makers to the late Queen and the scene of the ritual humiliation of her first bra fitting. I don’t belie...

Les & Ali’s Big Balearic Adventure – The Kings Arms

14Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Les & Ali’s Big Balearic Adventure – The Kings Arms

How many of us haven’t had occasional fantasies of walking away from stressful jobs and responsibilities and escaping to a life of paradise? Tonight (part of the Manchester Fringe Festival) we meet newlywed couple Les and Ali – getting ready to jet off on their Ibiza honeymoon following a lavish wedding that Ali isn’t sure they should have gone through with. Not because she doesn’t adore Les, but because of the £30,000 bill she doesn’t know how they’ll pay off. As they settle into their island life, they contemplate making a permanent change of scene. Ali, the pragmatist falls in love with an apparent stray dog she names Jonathan whilst fretting about their responsibilities back home. Les, the impulsive dreamer, imagines the home they could create in a crumbling villa he spots for sa...

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Musical – Palace Theatre, Manchester

13Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Musical – Palace Theatre, Manchester

For the next three weeks, the venerable old Palace Theatre will play host to the UK tour of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Musical'. Whilst it will undoubtedly prove a box office success with families seeking distraction at the beginning of the long summer holidays, unfortunately its saccharine sweetness without any of the counteracting sourness left me feeling slightly queasy by the conclusion. I am not alone in adoring the work of Roald Dahl; his books have sold over 300 million copies worldwide and his work is widely accepted to be amongst the canon of children's literature, everything from 'James and the Giant Peach' to 'The BFG’ has been voraciously read by succeeding generations of schoolchildren over the last six decades. Part of his appeal is that he is deliciously dark;...

Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet – Lowry, Salford

13Jul

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet – Lowry, Salford

“These violent delights have violent ends.” - Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 6. The delights of this ballet are not just violent, but they are plentiful and multifarious. How much did I love this show? Let me count the ways. On display tonight was artistry of the highest order. It was superb, sublime and even, perhaps, a tad spiritual. Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy is the ultimate play about love and death. His star-crossed lovers pay a fatal price for their desire. Sir Matthew Bourne, the director and choreographer, has created an adaptation of this drama that is at turns both intriguing and compelling. He takes it in a different direction but keeps the basic narrative intact. He uses Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet score but pares it down so it isn’t so bombastic and overwh...