West Midlands Archives - North West End UK

20Aug

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Mrs Doubtfire – Birmingham Hippodrome

It’s hard to believe it’s 12 years since that shimmering colossus of stand-up comedy, Robin Williams, took his last bow leaving behind a staggering array of glorious movies from the much maligned “Popeye” to the profoundly moving, “Dead Poet’s Society.” Nearly everything he touched seemed to turn into comic gold and through it all shone a heart of honesty and truth. I remember watching his “Live from the Met” and being totally mesmerised by his charm, speed and humour. He was a good man and a hard act to follow. With “Aladdin” re-animating his celluloid turn on Broadway (running, it seems, forever) it’s only reasonable his other major film favourite should also receive the stage treatment - “Mrs Doubtfire.” First a book by Anne Fine, then a family film hit directed by Chris Columbus and...

Game of Thrones: The Mad King – RSC Stratford Upon Avon

8Aug

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

West Midlands

Game of Thrones: The Mad King – RSC Stratford Upon Avon

There is a particular excitement that accompanies a genuine theatrical event: not simply another adaptation of a familiar property, but the sense that a production is attempting something genuinely ambitious. Three days before its official press night, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s preview of Game of Thrones: The Mad King already feels like one of those rare occasions where expectation meets execution. Running for well over three and a half hours, with just a single twenty-minute interval, this is epic theatre in every sense. Remarkably, it rarely feels overextended. Director Dominic Cooke maintains an unerring grip on the pacing, while adaptor Duncan Macmillan has achieved something that should perhaps have been impossible: distilling George R.R. Martin’s vast mythology into a work t...

The Cherry Orchard – Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon

22Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

West Midlands

The Cherry Orchard – Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon

There is a temptation with The Cherry Orchard to treat it as a museum piece: a wistful farewell to a vanished aristocratic world wrapped in reverential melancholy. Laura Wade’s ambitious new version, directed by Tamara Harvey for the Royal Shakespeare Company, refuses to preserve Chekhov in aspic. It brings freshness and immediacy to one of theatre’s greatest farewell plays, though its determination to find contemporary clarity occasionally comes at the expense of some of the original’s quieter poetry and ambiguity. Written specifically for Harvey, the Swan Theatre and this ensemble, Wade’s adaptation is less concerned with reproducing Chekhov’s exact cadences than capturing the emotional and political forces beneath them. Purists may notice the freer language and sharper rhythms, but t...

Sweeny Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Birmingham Rep

15Jul

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Sweeny Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Birmingham Rep

With the recent death of Stephen Sondheim musical theatre has been robbed of its most eloquent and profound creator - of whom Mandy Patinkin said, “The man who wrote my prayers has died” - we are left with a long, long legacy of which everyone who has ever placed pen to paper and finger to key would be right to call the Master. His works, words and tunes swooping high over all his contemporaries and masterfully nail what a great artist aims for - trying to understand the human condition. Words and music achingly blending with profound insight evoking feelings and sensations we never knew we had or could identify until he helped us. Photo: Manuel Harlan It is right and proper, then the Birmingham Rep as part of Joe Murphy’s new programme offer us one of Sondheim’s most loved, most per...

15Jul

By Annette NuttallNo Comments

West Midlands

The Choir of Man – The Alexandra

From its early days starting at the Edinburgh fringe festival, this show has grown from strength to strength with runs in the West End and now a national tour. Set in a traditional style pub that could be anywhere, Choir of Man is more about a vibe and opening your hearts and minds to the archetypal characters on stage. From the moment you walk into the auditorium, you will realise immediately this is not a traditional show. The stage is already full with cast and members of the audience having a chat and a pint. Cast are also roaming through the stalls chatting and making friends for later. You are part of the show, the characters speak directly to you and a few of the audience get involved on stage. You are introduced to each man in turn by his real name and the personality type he...

4Jul

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Matilda – Birmingham Hippodrome

“There’s a newt in my knickers!” It’s hard to believe “Matilda” has been conjuring its magic in the UK for nearly fifteen years beginning back before Covid, before Brexit in 2011. It’s even harder to believe this well-versed critic, whose bottom has dinted hundreds of stalls seats at hundreds of shows, has resolutely failed to see it. Mea culpa. How can you ever forgive me, but tonight I make amends by treating my eyes and ears to their very first viewing. I may not have seen this Matilda, but I have seen a Matilda. Here’s a little known factoid for Tilly fans. An earlier musical version c.1992 toured the country playing number one dates without hitting the West End to great acclaim but rummage the internet and you’ll little mention as it’s upstaged by its younger, shinier sister. This ...

20Jun

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Planet Omar – Birmingham Rep

Asif Khan’s adaptation of Zanib Man’s book first launched to the stars at the Leeds Playhouse with intergalactic backup from Unicorn Theatre and, of course, our own much-loved space station, the Birmingham Rep. “Planet Omar” has blossomed into five much loved children’s books whose creator, who studied Molecular Cell Biology, has developed further titles and appeared on BBC’s CBeebies Bedtime Stories. Omar is a fantastically imaginative 8-year-old boy of British Pakistani Muslim heritage who is forever getting into scrapes, scraps and escapades. His family has moved to a new neighbourhood entailing a tsunami of new experiences - including a new school, a bully and a very unfriendly neighbour. How Omar navigates his way through these obstacles is revealed in this new play directed by Sameen...

Operation Mincemeat – Alexandra Birmingham

12May

By Annette NuttallNo Comments

West Midlands

Operation Mincemeat – Alexandra Birmingham

Operation Mincemeat has been running in the West End for three years and is currently on its 18th extension. You don’t need to travel to London to see it though, audiences in Birmingham have the chance to see this tour, with many cast members who have appeared in the West End version. The slightly unappealing title of the show comes from the code name of an MI5 mission to deceive the German army and help to win the war. Not exactly ideal musical material, but somehow this show really works! There is everything you need for a cracking night out, great characters, humour, drama, perfect comedy timing, surprises, wonderful vocal performances and moments that will tug at the heart strings. All the songs are original and help to propel the story on at a rapid pace. There are a mix of styl...

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui – The Swan (RSC Stratford)

28Apr

By Annette NuttallNo Comments

West Midlands

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui – The Swan (RSC Stratford)

This is a play that feels as relevant now as it did when it was written by Bertolt Brecht in 1941. We are transported to Chicago in the middle of the Great Depression. Times are hard and the underworld is ruled by gangsters. Can Ui save the city or is he just power hungry? Will anyone try to stop him? From the very start the fourth wall is smashed down. This is perfect for the intimate setting of The Swan Theatre and helps to set the irreverent tone for the evening. From the stark grey and introductions to the characters, the stage bursts into colour and life. While many of the costumes are muted, there are splashes of colour and nods to a cabaret/circus feel in the set and costumes, both designed by Georgina Lowe. As the story and time develops, the clown style make up becomes more ...

23Apr

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Barnum – Birmingham Hippodrome

Some musicals are classics and last forever, strong enough to weather changes in socials mood and time and attitudes. Other pieces have their place, their period and should, thereafter, be quietly archived as a curiosity of its time. Barnum falls into the latter category. Not for any fault in the music which continues to be vibrant, lively and riddled with humble ear-worms, but because we are asked to support, empathise and care for a character whose real-life exploits are clearly questionable by today’s standard. In the hands of a beloved TV entertainer forty years ago this would have passed without remark but today it’s somewhat toe-curling. A tweak of a line here or there would’ve avoided that. Barnum exploded on Broadway in the eighties with the multi-talented Jim Dale in the title ...