REVIEWS Archives - Page 401 of 402

15Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

One Good Tree – Up ‘Ere Productions

By the power of Zoom, we are transported to America’s deep South. Written by Robert Barnett, whose other plays include The Hiroshima Daughter, Olympic Notions and Supply, Luke’s Dad, Reckoning Angel and Colors. He also writes radio drama, one act plays, libretti for opera and musical theatre, indeed he is multi-disciplined and seem to be able to turn his hand to any type of writing. One Good Tree has been produced by a Salford based production company called Up ’Ere Productions, who aim to encourage local talent by performing locally and developing new work. They have adapted their strategy to include Zoom performances which enable them to put on live theatrical productions in their ‘Weekly Watch’. This play tells the story of David Onley (Nathan Lea), who is 15 years old and has kil...

14Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

These Hills Are Ours – Clougha Pike

Daniel Bye and Boff Whalley were just about to set off a national of their new show, These Hills Are Ours, exploring through stories and song the relationship between art and the great outdoors, but then the virus struck. So in lieu of those live shows they’ve been releasing a short series of videos where they take a small choir on a hike to the top of a hill singing a specially composed song on their journey to the peak. This time they’ve taken a trip from the nippy shores of Morecambe Bay through town and up some rugged paths to the top of Clougha Pike. This is a more political video as the choir tramp past Do Not Trespass signs as they sing: ‘It’s mine, but I don’t own it/and it makes me sort of sad/to know this land is parcelled and exchanged.’ Once again, the singers are a...

Jason Manford’s Muddle Class – Stockport Plaza

13Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Jason Manford’s Muddle Class – Stockport Plaza

Jason Manford tweeted a video reminding the public that his stand-up special which he took all over the world was on BBC One tonight. He shared that we were in for a “great laugh” and luckily he didn’t disappoint with an hour of refreshing comedy that was warmly welcomed by audiences everywhere who continue to “stay at home”, several months into lockdown. Having seen this man perform live in “Curtains” at Liverpool Empire Theatre back in January and also watching him impressively become ‘Hedgehog’ on ITV’s The Masked Singer, it came as no surprise that his latest tour ‘Muddle Class’ has also been a huge success . This particular show was recorded back in February at Stockport Plaza and Jason opens the show by asking everyone to leave all of their troubles outside, enjoy the magic of the...

La Fille mal gardée – The Royal Ballet at Royal Opera House

13Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

La Fille mal gardée – The Royal Ballet at Royal Opera House

Based on a 1789 French ballet originally created by Jean Dauberval, Frederick Ashton’s final full-length ballet for The Royal Ballet premiered in 1960, with this joyous and colourful affair a fiftieth revival from 2010. Inspired by his love for the Suffolk countryside, the piece is set on a farm and tells the story of the burgeoning love between Lise (Marianela Nuñez), the daughter of Widow Simon (William Tuckett), and Colas (Carlos Acosta), a local farmer. But Widow Simone has far more ambitious plans for her only daughter and is determined that she marry Alain (Jonathan Howell), the half-witted son of a wealthy landowner (Christopher Saunders). The only question is, will love win the day? The ballet displays some of Ashton’s most virtuoso choreography in a ballet laced with exuberance...

13Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

The WIZ Live! – The Shows Must Go On!

The Shows Must Go On! is a YouTube channel dedicated to streaming various musicals for people to watch from the comfort of their own homes. The shows are available for a 48-hour period and tonight it was The WIZ Live! that took centre stage. This particular production was filmed in New York at Grumman Studios and was originally shown live on television in 2015. The show was produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and was a perfect way to keep you entertained on a Friday night in lockdown. Before the show began, Black Lives Matter was shown on screen and this was something I was glad to see, especially given that the majority of this extremely talented cast are of black ethnicity. The thing that hit me quite early on was the style of the music. The sorts of songs I am used to hearing f...

The Madness of George III – National Theatre

12Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

The Madness of George III – National Theatre

Alan Bennett’s The Madness of George III, directed by Adam Penford, tells the story of one of the first periods of George III’s illness which plagued the later years of his life and eventually led to the Regency of his son George IV. Wryly amusing and horrifying for its exposition of tortuous Georgian treatments of mental illness, this is a wonderful play which juxtaposes the appearances of royalty and the regular lives hidden beneath. The play has a very grand opening which emphasises the importance of show for the Royal Family from the start. An assassination attempt is made on George III’s (Mark Gatiss) life and the Court points out how lucky the failed murderer is as England has asylums for her to go to whereas in France she would be executed, the veiled point being that for man...

The Mountaintop – Royal Exchange Theatre

11Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

The Mountaintop – Royal Exchange Theatre

As we continue with closed theatre doors, the Royal Exchange Theatre has stepped forward with a reading of an Olivier Award winning play that was written by Katori Hall. Directed in 2016 at the Young Vic, by the current Co-Artistic Director of the Royal Exchange Theatre, Roy Alexander Weise; this play has been reprised with its original cast, to perform a reading to communicate the plays important message, to assist in igniting community spirit. In partnership with Desara Productions and introduced by Katori Hall; the two artists perform the play from their homes. For those who have been watching plays at home for the last few weeks, it is a familiar sight to see actors framed by the computer screen. In this case there is a background of a motel room to give the mind some e...

Adventures with the Painted People – Pitlochry Festival Theatre/BBC Radio 3

10Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Scotland

Adventures with the Painted People – Pitlochry Festival Theatre/BBC Radio 3

Leading Scottish playwright David Greig’s first play since 2013 was going to be the centrepiece of the new season at Pitlochry Festival Theatre until Covid-19 forced them to close their doors. But the virus has forced theatres to become much more agile so Adventures with the Painted People has been rejigged to be part of their online Shades of the Tay offer, and not surprisingly given Greig’s reputation BBC Radio 3 snapped it up for their Arts in Quarantine series It’s the same story set in 86AD as disgraced Roman officer and wannabe poet Lucius is captured by the fierce Picts lead by Caledonian witch with a heart Eithne, who is keen to use her captive to negotiate a peace with the disciplined legionnaires who are massacring their wild menfolk. By a quirk of theatrical luck Ei...

1Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Weekly Watch – Up ‘ere Productions

Up ‘ere Productions are currently holding a Weekly Watch on Zoom to keep theatre alive during the COVID-19 crisis. This week’s offering was two new short plays, Chekhov’s Gun by Anghus Houvouras and Where the Time Went by Jim Spencer Broadbent, both directed by Jordi Williams and linked by themes of mental health issues and the overwhelming feeling of reaching the end of your tether. Performed in the actor’s own homes with no set and the bare minimum in terms of props and costume, the Company deserve credit for pulling this off with what can only have been very difficult rehearsal conditions and the need to devise a whole new way of working. The first play, Chekhov’s Gun, opens with two young men, Stuart (Matthew Heywood) and Jonathan (Alan Lewis) bumping into each other outside of t...

11Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Back to the Future – Opera House

There have been many a screen to stage adaptation over the years, some working better than others, but tonight in Manchester a capacity audience witnessed the World Premiere of what I believe to be the best adaptation of them all. Manchester’s Opera House is once again the setting for yet another World Premiere cementing itself as the go to place for some of the best theatre producers to showcase their new work before it invariably heads to the West End and beyond. It follows in the footsteps of Ghost the Musical, Bat Out of Hell and &Juliet to name just 3. Back to the Future the Musical has long been rumoured to come to the stage and trust me when I tell you the wait has been worth every single second. Staying true to the original movie written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale vi...