Yorkshire & Humber Archives - Page 23 of 43

1Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The King and I – Leeds Grand Theatre

The King and I is without doubt one of the great musicals with a sensational score but has been in recent years a problematic piece as the original play and movie had something of a white saviour narrative to them. This intelligent and sumptuous revival directed by Bartlett Sher is now much more about the repercussions of culture clashes as widowed British teacher Anna and her son travel to Siam to teach the many children of an autocratic king. He is keen to embrace western values to protect his country from the imperialist vultures circling around his small kingdom as civil war rages in America. The King gambles that western values will make him stronger, but he soon discovers through smart and feisty Anna that what he hopes to import into a centuries old Siamese culture brings unex...

1Nov

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Greatest Days – Hull New Theatre

The pre-show stage setting greeting theatregoers at the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday evening, must rank as the oddest. It was a line of washing, and I wondered what that could possibly have to do with the production - Greatest Days, the official Take That Musical. But it’s often the little things that make an impact - and this line of washing was actually blowing in the wind. A clever touch of realism. And that simple prop came to highlight the mundanity of one of the surviving characters. I say “surviving” as there is a fatality, but my lips are sealed as to who pops their clogs. It’s 1993, and five 16-year-old schoolgirls are fans of boy band Take That who are enjoying their first UK number 1 hit, Pray. The five - Rachel (Olivia Hallett), Debbie (Mary Moore), Heather (Kitty...

25Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Beautiful Thing – Leeds Playhouse

Let me take you back to a time when the British government introduced legislation banning the promotion of homosexuality in schools trying to silence educators and the only gay role models on the TV were tired old parodies. It must seem scarcely believable to Gen Z, but for those of us who lived through those dark days it’s a delight that Beautiful Thing has been revived on its 30th anniversary as its core message that love is love was the perfect antidote to the rampant homophobia given credibility by Mrs T. Jonathan Harvey’s warm and funny play was part of an artistic response at the time to bigotry, including the much rawer My Beautiful Laundrette. Harvey went on to write hundreds of episodes of Corrie, so there is a touch of soap opera as sensitive teenager Jamie ...

24Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Annie – Hull New Theatre

What a fabulous, uplifting start to the week - all thanks to a cute, little, red-haired orphan called Annie, whose story is told in a production of the same name. A jam-packed Hull New Theatre was the setting on Monday evening for this smash-hit show, which has come direct from London’s West End. At curtain up, the stage featured metal bedsteads and sparse bedding, in an orphanage run by the drunken, cruel Miss Hannigan (Craig Revel Horwood). With unkempt hair, make-up, sloppy negligee and a fridge-full of booze, the Strictly Come Dancing star is perfection in the role, bringing much hilarity to proceedings as well as a fine singing voice. Equally perfect in her role is young Zoe Akinyosade as Annie, who is on stage for over two hours - no mean feat for a nine-year-old. With a ...

21Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Ailey 2 – Hull New Theatre

Storm Babet was no deterrent to the hardy souls who ventured out on Friday evening to watch Ailey 2 at the Hull New Theatre. This energetic troupe of modern dancers - I counted 12 in all - come to the city as part of a UK tour. Ailey 2 has been described by the New York Times as being the “younger version of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater” - a company founded in 1958 by choreographer, dancer and visionary, Alvin Ailey to bring African-American dance to the world stage from its base in the Big Apple. From what I witnessed on Friday evening, Ailey’s quest has been a huge success. At curtain up, the stage - left, right and centre - was enveloped in black, as were the dancers who emerged in the gloom to a hypnotic, and very loud, drum beat. They moved individually, sometimes...

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Hull City Hall

21Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Hull City Hall

The opening concert of Hull City Hall’s Classic Season was very well attended on Thursday evening. And as we took our seats it was a joy just to sit and watch this magnificent orchestra - its members resplendent in black and white evening wear - warming up. The City Hall’s grand organ - all 5,505 pipes of it - provided a wonderful backdrop for these talented musicians as did the historical friezes above the stage. In my reviews, I always focus on the stage setting, but the orchestra itself was all the setting needed. Any additions would have been overkill. The knowledgeable audience (alas, not me where the classics are concerned) gave a rousing welcome when the tall, handsome figure of Leslie Suganandarajah - the conductor for the evening - appeared on stage. Immediately I sens...

11Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Pop Music – Hull Truck Theatre

You never know what stage design Hull Truck Theatre will surprise you with for any of its productions. And Tuesday evening was no exception. As we theatregoers took our seats in a very busy Stage 1, the regulars among us would instantly notice the stage was now the centrepiece of a theatre in the round. A very clever move as the production we were there to see, Pop Music, features just two actors, two small tables and chairs, plus loads of booze, meaning there was plenty of room for an all-round view. The alcohol theme carried on up to the ceiling, from which hung dozens of upside-down wine goblets, some disguised as lights. Opaque in colour, they added interest to an otherwise sparse stage setting. But who needed a fancy stage with actors of the calibre of Natalie Anderson (Ha...

11Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Dirty Dancing – Bradford Alhambra

‘I like that Johnny, he ticks a few boxes.’ That was one woman’s verdict on ripped Michael O’Reilly who plays the hero of this musical version of the classic kitsch movie, and evidently shared by someone who wolf whistled at the start when he merely sauntered onstage wearing his shades. In fairness to the talented O’Reilly he’s far more than just a six pack as he brings the required swagger and some strong dancing to Johnny who is the moody dance instructor at an early sixties American holiday resort. It’s no spoiler to anyone familiar with film history to reveal that privileged holidaymaker Baby falls in love with the muscled blue-collar dancer. The musical is pretty much a scene by scene recreation of the movie that at heart is a coming of age story at the end of the golden Eise...

10Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Rocky Horror Show – Hull New Theatre

When the Rocky Horror Show comes to town, you can guarantee fishnet stockings, suspenders, bustiers, saucy maids’ costumes et al will be much in evidence. And that’s just in the audience. So, it was on Monday night when theatregoers pulled out all the stops to show their support for this iconic production, which comes to Hull New Theatre as part of a world tour. It was great fun, pre curtain up, checking out the get-ups of the brave souls who had dared - often, to bare - with all shapes, sizes and genders joining in the fun. They are an essential part of proceedings. This legendary rock ’n’ roll musical has been wowing audiences for 50 years and doesn’t look like retiring any time soon. The well-known story tells of innocent college kids, Brad (Reece Budín) and his fiancée, ...

9Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Light House – Leeds Playhouse

A lone woman comes through the dry ice holding a lantern and looking serious. So, the initial thought is this one woman show is going to be a hour long misery fest. Thankfully it is the exact opposite as Alys Williams has written and performs a show that is warm, witty, always humane, but never afraid to delve into the challenges that mental health issues pose for those battling with their own minds, and for those around them. Cleverly she uses the standard protocol for what happens when a man goes overboard at sea as a metaphor for how society reacts when someone starts to struggle with their mental health, and it’s a motif she returns to throughout. What really gives The Light House resonance is Williams has based it on her own experience with a partner who does go overboard men...