Yorkshire & Humber Archives - Page 3 of 48

Legally Blonde The Musical – Sheffield Lyceum

4Mar

By NewsdeskNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Legally Blonde The Musical – Sheffield Lyceum

‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’ took Sheffield Theatres’ stage by storm. An absolute tour de force, it is a hilarious, dazzling night of entertainment for all. Amber Davies stars as Elle Wood, the chihuahua wielding, pink-wearing, fashion-obsessive sorority queen who embarks on an adventure in pursuit of status and legitimacy (or what her ex-boyfriend Warner refers to as ‘seriousness’). Davies is remarkably adept in the role, possessing great comedic sensibility and offering a very precise and focussed portrayal of the unlikely, unlucky-in-love law student. She is excellently matched by George Crawford’s Emmett who provided an equally as pointed and complete performance. Adam Cooper’s Callahan is formidably authoritative and delightfully antagonistic. Jocasta Almgill’s Brooke is refreshin...

Friends! The Musical Parody – Hull New Theatre

4Mar

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Friends! The Musical Parody – Hull New Theatre

Friends graced our TV screens from 1994 to 2004, so you would surmise that many of the iconic moments from that period, acted out in Friends! The Musical Parody, which has been running since 2022, would be long forgotten. The show arrived at the Hull New Theatre on Monday as part of a UK and Ireland tour, and, judging by the audience’s reactions during the performance, there were many whose memories didn’t need to be jogged re the shenanigans of Rachel, Ross, Joey, Chandler, Phoebe and Monica - the friends in question. There is a long gap between the end of the original TV series to the 2021 Reunion TV Special, an unscripted celebration of the iconic show. But Friends is now streamed on TV, maybe spawning a new crop of fans. Photo: Pamela Raith Monday’s show revealed a stage se...

27Feb

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Swan Lake – Hull New Theatre

Without fail in Hull, a former city of culture, theatregoers flock to the theatre when the ballet is in town. And Thursday was no exception as Hull New Theatre was packed in anticipation of watching the Varna International Ballet company perform the classic, Swan Lake. Founded in Bulgaria in 1947, the company has been playing to full theatres at home and abroad and brings its talents to Hull as part of a UK tour visiting 23 venues around the country. As well as Swan Lake, the ballet dancers will perform Cinderella during their visit to Hull. Classed as the greatest romantic ballet of all time, Swan Lake benefits from the musical compositions of none other than Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky. And throughout Thursday evening’s production we were treated to his music played by the most t...

25Feb

By NewsdeskNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Dry Bits – Crucible Playhouse

Imogen Ashby, with support from Sheffield Theatres and the LEVEL Centre, brought her raucous, raw solo show ‘Dry Bits’ to the Crucible Playhouse stage. What followed was a night of humour, vulnerability, ferocity and honesty. To the show’s credit, whilst a one-woman piece about menopause might feel like it has a very clear target audience (and it does), it is ultimately a story about change, memory and how we attach and detach ourselves emotionally from moments, events and conditions of past, present and future life. That seems loaded, but this show also knows exactly what it is and isn’t afraid to put that on the tin (the show’s title doesn’t leave much to the imagination, for example). The concept is delivered with great playfulness and kookiness to good comedic effect. Ashb...

25Feb

By Natalia PrucnalNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Single White Female – Sheffield Lyceum

‘Single White Female’ is an intense psychological thriller, adapted by Rebecca Reid from the iconic 1992 film under the same name, but with a modern twist for its 2026 audience. The script takes many creative liberties in updating the story from the source material, but generally does so fluidly, despite the occasional already-outdated reference and odd pacing of the end of the second act. The play follows Allie and her teenage child Bella, as they navigate life in a skyscraper apartment. Allie’s ex-husband, Sam, tells her his new fiancée is pregnant and cannot afford to support them, so Graham (Allie’s coworker and best friend) encourages her to look for a roommate. Online they quickly find Hedy. Hedy’s relationship grows with both Allie and Bella, but things take a turn for the worst,...

25Feb

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Sunny Afternoon – Leeds Grand Theatre

If you thought Liam and Noel were the most quarrelsome rock ‘n’ roll siblings, this often dark jukebox musical featuring the hits of The Kinks will make you think again. The decades-long sibling rivalry at the band’s creative heart, tortured songwriter Ray Davies and his wild guitarist sibling Dave, make the Gallagher boys look like choirboys in comparison. They were at each other’s throats from the moment they formed The Kinks in Muswell Hill with constant bickering, plus onstage fistfights, which led to them being the only UK pop act banned from America at the heart of their powers, denying them the chance to be huge across the pond. They probably wouldn’t have made it big like the Fab Four or The Who as Ray’s often bittersweet classics that are all included in the show are so quin...

The Tiger Who Came To Tea – Sheffield Lyceum

20Feb

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Tiger Who Came To Tea – Sheffield Lyceum

Tea that hits the perfect spot! The Sheffield Lyceum Theatre welcomed a full house of young theatre goer’s to The Tiger Who Came To Tea. Expertly created and adapted by David Wood with Emma Clayton as Associate Director and Choreographer. The set design by Susie Caulcutt gave the visiting Sheffield tea party guests an open stage showing the detailed kitchen of the house. With an initial welcome by Aaron Andrews as Daddy/ Postman/Milkman and Tiger, Jenanne Redman as Mummy and Eleanor Meredith as Sophie, the audience are encouraged to interact with the characters, and this is maintained throughout the 55-minute performance. With Musical arrangers by Peter Ponzen and musical direction by like Cotton, this musical production is aimed at an audience of ages 3+. I took along my 8-year-old Gra...

Perfect Show For Rachel – The Crucible Playhouse

20Feb

By Nathan DunnNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Perfect Show For Rachel – The Crucible Playhouse

Zoo Co (co-produced with Improbable) brought ‘Perfect Show for Rachel’ to The Crucible Theatre Playhouse this week, and what a delight it is to have this production on Sheffield stages this February. The show is a beautiful evening of unrestrained creative exploration and recreation. As we enter the full cast are on stage, very relaxed and smiley as they allow the audience to filter into their pastel coloured living room stage space. An electronic drum-kit, piano and guitar stand upon a small raised area. Rachel O’Mahoney is the director, the all seeing eye, the creative arbiter and final say of this show. She sits behind a large desk adorned with dozens (some 40+) buttons. Her art adorns the walls, and her face is live streamed to a couple TVs attached to a colourful set evoking recrea...

18Feb

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Dear England – Alhambra Bradford

It's always struck me as odd that for a nation that invented football there hasn't been more plays written about the beautiful game that is such a central part of so many of our lives. James Graham's Dear England puts that right with an intelligent and emotionally charged piece that genuinely captures the visceral nature of our national obsession with the game. It's a drama as much about human relationships and the unbearable pressures of holding a nation's hopes on the shoulders of 11 young men, as it is about kicking a football about. Thankfully Dear England eschews too much of the cheesy onstage attempts to replicate playing at the very highest level that all too often blights football plays. Once upon a time Gareth Southgate was famous for missing a penalty that dumped England ou...

Buddy! The Buddy Holly Story – Hull New Theatre

16Feb

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Buddy! The Buddy Holly Story – Hull New Theatre

So engrossed was I while watching Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story at the Hull New Theatre on Thursday evening, that for a fleeting moment I really felt I was watching the man himself. Ridiculous, of course, as the real Buddy died in a plane crash on February 3rd, 1959. But so impressive was AJ Jenks as the spectacle-wearing rock ’n’ roller, it was difficult not to be transported back to a time when, not only was the music groundbreaking and fantastic, but, hallelujah, every word was clearly audible, meaning the songs were ripe to sing along to. And, over 60 years later, that’s exactly what we in the audience did from the very first note Buddy and his backing group, The Crickets, struck up. Buddy (Jenks) on his guitar and The Crickets - bassist Joe B Mauldin (Melker Nilsson), ...