Yorkshire & Humber Archives - Page 2 of 37

12Mar

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Ghost The Musical – Sheffield Lyceum

We are all familiar with the 1990 film Ghost, with its iconic casting of Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, the famous potter’s wheel scene and the soaring soundtrack of Unchained Melody – now this latest and slightly reworked touring production has manifested itself at the Sheffield Lyceum. This Bill Kenwright Ltd production with a masterful Book and Lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin and Music and Lyrics by Eurythmics Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard had is first stage opening in 2011 and all will forever by judged by that stunningly visual production. Unfortunately, I found myself having to ‘suspend my disbelief’ as this production as it left me sporadically underwhelmed and at times - disappointed. The title alone leads us to expect supernatural / unexplainable occurrences and the special...

9Mar

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Intrusion – Leeds Playhouse

Famously it’s said that cockroaches will be the only living things to survive a nuclear holocaust. So, it makes sense for theatre makers Bric a Brac and Told by an Idiot to use our six legged insect friends acting as a metaphor for how the seemingly more advanced human race are determined to destroy our planet. The Intrusion is set below a devastated earth’s surface as the cockroach’s scheme to take control until they discover the sole female survivor of our species, throwing the world domination plans of Queen of the Insects Cecille into disarray. The really clever conceit of this often amusing, if slightly depressing, piece is that the cockroaches seem as obsessed with pointless hierarchies and destructive power dynamics as are our own billionaires and oligarchs. Along th...

7Mar

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Of Mice And Men – Hull Truck Theatre

John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice And Men, very nearly never saw the light of day, as the first draft was eaten by his dog, Toby. Thankfully, the American writer persevered and since its first performance on Broadway in 1937, his work continues to entertain theatregoers around the world. On Thursday night I was privileged to watch a stellar cast of actors bring Of Mice And Men to life on the stage of the Hull Truck Theatre. This cosy theatre never fails to come up trumps where imaginative stage settings are concerned, and Thursday was no exception, thanks to set designer Jess Curtis (who also designed the costumes). There was no raised stage to speak of, just a small step-up at the rear. The floor comprised of wooden slats, as did the entire wall at the back which opened to rev...

6Mar

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Book of Mormon – Hull New Theatre

After watching The Book of Mormon for just 15 minutes at the Hull New Theatre on Wednesday evening, I wanted to stand up and shout STOP! to all on the stage. The reason? I was in danger of dying of laughter. Seriously, I didn’t feel I could endure another minute. But duty called … South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are to blame, as they, in cahoots with Robert Lopez (who co-wrote Frozen), are responsible for the book, the music and the lyrics. Hailed as the “funniest musical of all time” it’s no surprise to me to read it has won nine Tony Awards and four Oliviers. The Book of Mormon follows young male disciples of the Mormon church, who have been deemed ready to spread the church’s word around the world. Venturing forth in pairs to such places as Norway, France and ...

5Mar

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Calamity Jane – Leeds Grand Theatre

All musicals need at least two showstoppers, and Calamity Jane exceeds that bar with songs to spare. Show opener The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away) would be enough on its own for any self-respecting posse of musical theatre fans, but when you throw in the Oscar winning Secret Love, plus an utterly bonkers ahistorical plot, then it’s time to saddle up for a fun night out in Dakota’s Wild West. Calamity Jane is a stagecoach driver in Deadwood where her sparring partner gunslinger Wild Bill Hickok helps keep the peace, and when a local saloon singer is unmasked as a drag act she hightails it to Chicago to persuade famed performer Adelaide Adams to come back to Deadwood. But the brash and excitable Calamity - who as the folk of Deadwood sing is Careless With The Truth - is aptly ...

Pig Heart Boy – Sheffield Theatres Playhouse

5Mar

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Pig Heart Boy – Sheffield Theatres Playhouse

This play with a big heart is based on the novel by Malorie Blackman and newly adapted by Winsome Pinnock, Pig Heart Boy is an emotive and thought-provoking stage play. With the just the right amount of suggestion opposed to detail, this educational production aimed at the young adult audience, provides plenty of room for discussion both before and after. As all good theatre in education, we are introduced to the moral dilemma and allowed to consider, ruminate and make up our own minds as to the ethical/moral issue. Cameron is awaiting a heart transplant after a childhood illness severely weaken his own. With the clock ticking and his life on hold, unable to do the things his friends do and live life to the full, he is offered a pioneering, top secret and some say - unethical option of ...

2Mar

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The House Party – Leeds Playhouse

Miss Julie is one of the great totems of naturalistic writing and that gives Laura Lomas full licence to update August Stringberg’s text from a Swedish mansion to an upscale London apartment as a raucous house party goes off the rails Lomas also makes the main protagonists mismatched eighteen-year-olds as hidden passions and enmities between the trio are slowly exposed over an intense 90 minutes told straight through. Despite the update Lomas does keep to the key principles of naturalism by making the whole scenarios realistic, the characters are most definitely flesh and blood with all the flaws that brings, and they are informed by their heredity and environment. Our Julie is an entitled, but damaged, posh kid who is throwing a boozy eighteen birthday party to spite her absent rich...

Only Fools and Horses: The Hit Musical – Leeds Grand

26Feb

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Only Fools and Horses: The Hit Musical – Leeds Grand

Once upon a time before catch up TV millions of people used to sit around in their millions on Christmas Day to watch hit shows with Only Fools and Horses being an annual festive ratings buster. So, it was obvious it would become a stage show, but what was more surprising that the antics of dodgy Peckham street trader Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter and his gormless bruv Rodney would end up as the sort of musical Cockney knees up you might have dahn the boozer. Thankfully the producers have gone for early Fools and Horses before the show really jumped the shark when the Trotters actually became millionaires, so Granddad is their sidekick rather than that unfunny buffoon Uncle Albert. The TV series was created by legendary comedy writer John Sullivan, and his son Jim, working with comedy grea...

The Merchant of Venice 1936 – Leeds Playhouse

21Feb

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Merchant of Venice 1936 – Leeds Playhouse

There’s always a feeling of trepidation when creatives shift The Bard’s words into a more contemporary setting, but this production of an always controversial play completely resonates with the troubled times we live in This adaptation by former Eastender Tracy-Ann Oberman and director Brigid Larmour is set in 1936 around the Battle of Cable Street in London’s East End as working class Jews and their allies stood together to kick Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists off their streets. Here the characters are on both sides of this bitter political battle. Sound familiar? Oberman is the first female Shylock becoming an East End money lender living off Cable Street who strikes a deal with Fascist noble Antonio, which has disastrous consequences for the single mum. This is a l...

21Feb

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Romeo & Juliet – Hull New Theatre

What word describes a ballet that is more than just the choreography? “Drambalet” is the perfect description of the production I enjoyed on Thursday night, when the Varna International Ballet and Orchestra company brought its production of Romeo & Juliet to Hull. This most famous of William Shakespeare’s stories was brought to life by a musical score composed by Sergei Prokofiev, in 1935, who, according to historic reports, endeavoured to model his work on the idea of a drambalet - “a ballet rooted in dramatic storytelling”. And it’s to his rousing music, played live by an amazing orchestra, conducted by Peter Tuleshkov, that the most talented performers danced and acted out the tale of the star-crossed lovers. Set in Renaissance Verona, Italy, the huge backdrop throughout, mo...