West Midlands Archives - North West End UK

28Oct

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Paranormal Activity – The Alexandra

Boo! There that’s got that out of the way to begin with. Lurking in the shadows so close to Halloween is an unsettlingly spooky play whose title is “Paranormal Activity” a reincarnation of the film of the same name, but with a whole new plot line and characters. I’ve no idea why but perhaps as the evening inflicts its creepy self upon the unsuspecting folk in the darkness of the Alexandra theatre, we may find out. The 2007 movie from which this was spawned was created by Oren Pell as an independent picture purporting to use “found footage” and shot for $15,000 - not much but could certainly pay off a chunk of my mortgage. Dreamworks got their claws on it and tweaked and adapted the movie and it’s ending for $200,000 - which could pay off me and most of my friend’s mortgages - and ended up ...

Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man – Birmingham Hippodrome

14Oct

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man – Birmingham Hippodrome

The sultry, slinky melodies of Carmen have been sliding across our collective consciousnesses since they slipped from George Bizet’s quill back in 1875 with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy in turn plundered from the novella by the gloriously named Prosper Merimee. I wonder if he ever did. At the time it was a ground-breaking and shocking presentation scandalising the good folk of Paris and within only 33 performances the composer was dead unaware of what a world-renowned classic he had given birth to. Commercials, movies, samplings, parodies, concerts and even the occasional ice dance all gleaned inspiration and clips from dear George. Opera houses across the globe rely on its crowd pleasing sauce and sex to light up the box-office which is does with relentless ease year aft...

24Sep

By Annette NuttallNo Comments

West Midlands

Twelve Angry Men – Birmingham Rep

Based on the 1957 Academy Award Nominated film of the same name, this production visits Birmingham as part of a National Tour following previous West End success. Following a three-day murder trial, the jury are sent to consider their verdict. Locked in a room, these 12 men from wildly different backgrounds have the difficult task of considering the evidence to convict or acquit the accused. In a State where the death penalty is the mandatory sentence for the crime committed, the decision weighs hard on one man’s mind. Keen to discuss the case and not jump to the ‘obvious’ answer he raises the question of reasonable doubt, the debate begins, and tensions rise. From the moment the lights go up on the jurors in the court room to the end when the final verdict is reached you are transpo...

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...