Yorkshire & Humber Archives - Page 13 of 26

<strong>Dick Whittington: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto – Leeds City Varieties</strong>

2Dec

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Dick Whittington: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto – Leeds City Varieties

The festive period for theatre critics is an odd one as this week started with Gallic misery fest Les Misérables and finished with this classic example of what is a quintessentially British art form that has even survived into the digital age. Pantos work (oh yes, they do) because they are plain daft, and everyone in the family can enjoy them. Whole families are out tonight as pantos don’t get any sillier than the Rock ‘N’ Roll brand, which had been offering music and fun in this historic venue for over a decade. There is something undeniably surreal and utterly joyous watching a six-foot Brummer rat belting out Pretty Vacant for reasons that weren’t entirely clear. And let’s be honest Dick Whittington is a gift that keeps giving (oh yes, it is) for any decent panto writer. Pe...

<strong>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Musical – Leeds Playhouse</strong>

1Dec

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Musical – Leeds Playhouse

Every festive season Leeds Playhouse tick off the work of a brilliant children’s writer and this time it’s the undisputed master of devilish delights Roald Dahl. It’s a doubly bold move taking on his most beloved book that had already spawned West End and Broadway versions of this production, two film versions, and Gene Wilder’s cinematic take on mysterious sweet factory owner Willy Wonka is rightly seen as the definitive version. Wonka launches a worldwide competition for five kids to visit his factory if they can find a golden ticket in one of his chocolate bars, and among the loathsome children who win is Charlie Bucket. He’s a decent kid full of ideas living in grinding poverty with his single mum, and four grandparents who share a bed in the attic. Once inside the factory...

<strong>The Nutcracker – Hull New Theatre</strong>

1Dec

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Nutcracker – Hull New Theatre

My favourite ballet, The Nutcracker, came to the Hull New Theatre stage on Wednesday evening, bathing us all in a welcome festive glow. And, to my untrained eye, the Northern Ballet company performed this wintry tale to perfection. Even before a ballet pump had performed one relevé (I Googled) on the stage, we in the packed theatre got into the Christmas spirit just my looking at the wonderful stage setting - huge, many-paned windows, warmly lit from within and laden with snow. Set on Christmas Eve, the Edwards family are excitedly preparing for Christmas. Clara (Rachael Gillespie), her sister Louise (Saeka Shirai) and brother Frederick (Filippo Di Vilio) are all enjoying themselves with typical sibling shenanigans, which includes Frederick’s teasing of Clara. Uncle Drosselmey...

<strong>Les Misérables – Leeds Grand Theatre</strong>

30Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Les Misérables – Leeds Grand Theatre

An expectant audience finally sat down after a two year wait for this musical juggernaut, and any fears that this wouldn't be the full West End experience were dashed from the first chord as massive sets rumbled on and off this vast stage. Les Misérables is an epic in every sense, based on Victor Hugo's sprawling novel of redemption and obsession set against the backdrop of a France riven by poverty and doomed petit bourgeois revolutionaries. It is perfect fodder for a sung through piece that sits somewhere between musical theatre and opera as reformed convict Jean Valjean seeks redemption after breaking his parole after stealing bread for his sick nephew, but is pursued over decades by implacable lawman Javert, who loses his reason as he tries to bring his quarry to justice. ...

<strong>A Christmas Carol – Hull Truck Theatre</strong>

30Nov

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

A Christmas Carol – Hull Truck Theatre

The "snow" that fell at the end of Hull Truck Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol, on Tuesday evening, was the icing on a quite unusual theatrical cake. There can't be anyone alive today who doesn't know Charles Dickens' story of the miserly Scrooge and his visitations from three spirits which leads to him changing his greedy ways. Well, in a rather novel move, British Sign Language (BSL) runs throughout this production, having two deaf actors in lead roles. Hull-born Adam Bassett (Bob Cratchit) and Emma Prendergast (Mrs Cratchit) used sign language to communicate, as did the rest of the cast, who must be congratulated on their BSL skills. Also, to be congratulated are the set and costume designers who created the perfect atmosphere of wealth, hardship, fun, fear and sad...

<strong>Nobody: A Dance-Circus Adventure – Hull New Theatre</strong>

25Nov

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Nobody: A Dance-Circus Adventure – Hull New Theatre

I have just one question to ask the seven performers who entertained in Nobody: A Dance-Circus Adventure at the Hull New Theatre on Thursday evening, and that is “What planet are you all from?”. I’ve lived on planet Earth all my life, so I’ve sort of got an inkling of what humans are capable of. But this crew are out of this world. The stage setting started off simply enough with a few random boxes, lit up to look like mini-office blocks (that’s my interpretation, anyway). A huge video screen backdrop showed a cityscape of high-rise buildings, and a sky full of moving clouds. A massive cube in front of the screen was draped in material, showing a building plus moving digital scenes. Each alien, I mean performer, plays two roles - one as a crow, representing the humans’ inner voic...

<strong>Demon Dentist – Hull New Theatre</strong>

10Nov

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Demon Dentist – Hull New Theatre

My second trip to the dentist in one week saw me at the Hull New Theatre on Wednesday evening, when Demon Dentist came to town. Thank goodness my first visit was a much less scary experience - nothing like the evil tooth-puller let loose on the stage in this adaptation of David Walliams’ book. The dental monster, the aptly-named Miss Root (Emily Harrigan), is the stuff of nightmares, especially for 12-year-old Alfie (Sam Varley), whose bad dental experience six years earlier had put him off dentists for life. However, strange things had been happening in the town where Alfie lives with his loving dad (James Mitchell), which had drawn the schoolboy back into the world of teeth, or lack thereof in some cases. Children who had lost a tooth and had placed it under their pillow rea...

<strong>The Shadow Whose Prey The Hunter Becomes – Leeds Playhouse</strong>

5Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Shadow Whose Prey The Hunter Becomes – Leeds Playhouse

It’s hard to think of many pieces of work where actors with disabilities are lead actors and even less so where they have roles that offer them much more. This powerful piece was devised by Australian people with disabilities working with Back to Back Theatre in Geelong. It’s performed by three actors with different intellectual disabilities (the term used in their native land) and is a breath of fresh air as it makes the audience understand them as people with the same hopes, dreams and faults as anyone else as they explore what true equality might look like. Simon Laherty, Sarah Mainwaring and Scott Price have called a public meeting ostensibly to discuss what a civic society might look like, but soon turns into a passionate debate about what it means to be seen as just a disabled...

<strong>The Sound of Music – Rotherham Civic Theatre</strong>

2Nov

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Sound of Music – Rotherham Civic Theatre

The Sound of Music - based on the true story of the von Trapp family and taken from Maria von Trapp’s memoir, ‘The Story of the Trapp Family Singers’ has wowed audiences and critics alike since its Broadway debut in 1959. With their last collaboration of music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and the book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, the musical is a timeless classic. After winning five Tony Awards including Best Musical, it was adapted into an award-winning film in 1961 starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. This romantic and unforgettable musical takes place in Austria as a time of impending war. Lively novitiate Maria, how has clear cut plans to become a nun even though she has trouble following the rules of the abbey. Wisely, Maria is sent by ...

1Nov

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Commitments – Hull New Theatre

I spent Hallowe’en in Dublin, Ireland - not literally, I was at the Hull New Theatre on Monday evening watching The Commitments, a story set in the Emerald Isle. The production, part of a nine-month UK and Ireland tour, had me hooked from the opening scene of a disparate bunch of pub regulars, in the run-up to Christmas. Based on the 1991 film of the same name, it tells of local working-class music-lover Jimmy (James Killeen) who persuades a number of his compatriots to form a band with him. Amazed to be asked, they all agree; three girl singers and a very experienced trumpeter, Joey the Lips (Stuart Reid), also sign up. Deco (Ian McIntosh) is equally amazed to be asked to be the lead singer, only having sung in public on a drunken night out, which he had no recollection of. W...