North West Archives - Page 99 of 178

Untitled F*ck M*ss S**gon Play – Royal Exchange Theatre

1Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Untitled Fck Mss S**gon Play – Royal Exchange Theatre

The biennial Manchester International Festival (MIF) opens across our wonderful city this weekend and under its umbrella purports to 'cut across disciplines and blur the boundaries between art and popular culture'. As their offering, in conjunction with the Young Vic and Headlong productions, the Royal Exchange have chosen to give the world premier to Kimber Lee's 'Untitled F*ck M*ss S**gon Play', a coruscating satirical drama about racial stereotyping and casual prejudice towards people from the Asian diaspora. It manages to find both sharp humour and pathos in such a serious subject but may struggle to engage with an audience beyond the esoteric confines of the MIF devotees. Lee takes 1906 as her jumping off point, the year that 'Madama Butterfly’ by Puccini received its US premiere, ...

30Jun

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Sixteen Swans – Liverpool Philharmonic

Sixteen Swans was a collection of dramatic and enchanting music, which created a wonderful evening of high emotion played by very talented musicians. Conducted by Roderick Cox, this combination of Strauss, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius is a powerful combination which mesmerised and enthralled the captive audience. The dramatic opening of Strauss’ Don Juan with powerful percussion allowed the flutes, played by Cormac Henry and Helen Wilson, to really shine through with an air of mystery. The tinkling of a triangle provides an air of sweetness before the strings sweep away as gentle melodies contrast well with more intense themes. Accomplished pianist, Inon Barnatan plays on Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1. Another piece with a dramatic opening, staccato piano is complimented by pizzi...

Richard III – Shakespeare North Playhouse

30Jun

By Jan MellorNo Comments

North West

Richard III – Shakespeare North Playhouse

I was intrigued – as an avid Shakespeare fan, frequent visitor to the amazing Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescott and having an avid fascination of the venomous Richard III (as most people have), I was really looking forward to seeing Richard III a one person show in the intimate Brite theatre. To cover the unscrupulous story of Richard III - a King renowned for his deformed body as much as his villainous ways, (his notoriety recently escalated due to his remains being found in a Leicester car park), was, I would imagine be no mean feat. But the magnificent Emily Carding, who has performed this show internationally across the UK, Iceland, Prague (winning every single award at the Fringe), Edinburgh (winning the ‘Bobby award at the Fringe), Rome, Verona, Slovakia, Romania, Pakistan, St...

30Jun

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Twelfth Night – Walkden Gardens, Sale

Despite the title signalling the traditional end of the festive season, this Shakespearean romantic comedy is perfect fayre for a high summer evening spent in an outdoor setting. Tonight, the gem that is Walkden Gardens, hidden away in suburban Sale, provides the verdant backdrop to Shakespeare's tale of cross dressing and mistaken identity, the Duke's Theatre Company delighting the audience with a funny and farcical production but missing the opportunity to be truly interesting in exploring underlying themes. The Duke's Theatre Company is the grand title for the small company of six actors and crew currently playing a fifty date tour of England and Wales, covering everywhere from the Lake District to Land's End throughout the Summer. There has been a proliferation of such companies ove...

30Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Sealskin – Liverpool Everyman

‘In a village far away, by the wild landscape of the sea, every full moon the Selkies appear. As they peel away their seal skin, they dance freely in the moonlight, as humans. One such night a fisherman discovers their secret and, stealing away a Selkie’s skin, our story begins.’ Devised by the Tmesis Theatre and directed by Elinor Randle, with the assistance of Stage Manager Joey Colasante, Sealskin is described as a powerful story of betrayal, power, otherness, and loss. It is all these things yet more as, rich in meaning and metaphor, it explores what it means to be, to long, to belong. The cast – Stephanie Greer, Faye McCutcheon, Samuel Pérez Durán, Mariana Pires, and Jaquell Walker – excel with each taking a principal role as well as supporting in an ensemble as we embark on a m...

27Jun

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Triominos! – Liverpool Philharmonic

Triominos! was a collection of piano, clarinet and bassoon trio music, spanning offerings from nineteenth century Ukraine to twentieth century Argentina. The first half featured a trio by Carl Frühling and a world premiere from Liverpool based composer, David Forshaw, and the second half was made up of a selection of Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words and Piazzolla’s Rivirado arranged by pianist, Ron Abramski. The concert opened with Frühling’s Trio for Clarinet, Bassoon and Piano Op.40. Frühling’s work is not well known or regular performed today and it was nice to see this Romantic piece of music performed which was chosen in particular for Frühling’s links with Ukraine. The first movement is haunting and enchanting, with the woodwind frolicking playfully over the piano. Slower section...

27Jun

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Strictly Ballroom – The Lowry

Baz-Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom first ever UK tour hit Manchester’s beautiful Lowry Theatre, full of glitz and glamour this visually stunning adaptation of the 1992 film by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce revolves around a rebellious Australian dancer Scott Hastings (Kevin Clifton). Directed and Co-Choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood with Co-Choreographer Jason Gilkison the coupling has created a masterpiece of dance, glamour, passion, and excitement. Unfortunately, on press night after the opening number the creative team ran into technical difficulties resulting in the show being halted for approximately 10-15 minutes, which must have been very frustrating for them, and the audience did get a little fidgety by the lengthy delay. After the initial hiccup the show went on, telling the...

25Jun

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Punch – Hope Street Theatre

Punch, written and produced by Steve Bird, and directed by Elaine Louise Stewart and Bird, is a drama uncovering what happens when two families collide in a shock tragedy that will change their lives forever. Aiming to raise awareness of death and catastrophic injury from single punch injuries, the play uncovers a single example of how one punch can rock the foundations of family life. The set shows two family homes, one with crisp white tablecloths, and a graduation photograph and one with an overloaded clothes horse and a tacky fringed lamp. This serves to illustrate that the two families are from different social classes: one with “a house on the hill” and the other on an ill-reputed estate. These differences are highlighted in the beginning of the play where Charles (Ted Grant) bemo...

23Jun

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Stars – Everyman Theatre

Where do all the orgasms go? And how can you be sure you've ever had one? These are the philosophical questions that play on Mrs' mind as she reflects on what she's had in life and what she wants from it before the sun sets. STARS is described as an Afrofuturist space odyssey and incorporates a range of audio-visual media into the performance. A moving mix of celebratory Black queer empowerment, it is an experience that arouses consciousness and demands attention. Written by Mojisola Adebayo and with Debra Michaels as Mrs, STARS is largely a one-woman-show. The lights dim and a late hours DJ (Bradley Charles) sets the mood with some laid-back vibes. We see Mrs respond to the radio conversationally and occasional breaks of the fourth wall - you're never sure if Mrs is talking to th...

The Addams Family – Rainhill Village Hall

22Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

The Addams Family – Rainhill Village Hall

Director and choreographer Bryan Dargie takes us into the upside-down world of the Addams Family, where to be sad is to be happy, to feel pain is to feel joy, and death and suffering are the stuff of their dreams. Patriarch Gomez (Luke Montague) and his wife Morticia (Julie Robinson) are visiting the graveyard for an annual gathering of family members including the dead: Evangeline (Claire Heaton), Scarlet (Michelle Williams), Owenna (Claire Jones), Missy (Meg Charlton), Veronica (Annie Topping), Lizzy (Fiona O’Gorman) and Octivia (Anita Shaw). But Uncle Fester (Ben Greenall) stops them returning to their graves to enlist their help, as while torturing brother Pugsley (Tyler Lloyd), Wednesday (Sarah Johnson) has admitted to inviting her new ‘normal’ boyfriend Lucas (Cameron Gilbert) ...