Yorkshire & Humber Archives - Page 42 of 44

27Jul

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Piaf – Leeds Playhouse

Imagine if instead of Beyonce the world’s biggest female star was a foul-mouthed Parisian street urchin who was blessed with a golden voice that lifted her out of the slums to global fame. That’s the story of Edith Piaf – aka The Little Sparrow – and this raucous revival of Pam Gems’ musical biography pulls no punches telling the tale of a damaged woman who flew high before crashing back to earth as like Lady Day she was totally unequipped for the price of fame. If anything, Gems tries too hard to pack in too much of Piaf’s rich life, overegging her rough beginnings, and the second half feels a touch padded. This is not an evening for the faint hearted as the C bomb is dropped a couple of times, among an impressive array of expletives, drawing gasps from some of the more genteel a...

22Jul

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Romeo & Juliet – Hull Truck Theatre

Sunglasses? Tick. Suncream? Tick. Raincoat? Tick. Cushion? Tick. Blanket? Tick. Was I packing for a staycation weekend? No, just for a trip to the theatre. Let me explain … Hull Truck Theatre’s production of Romeo & Juliet is being staged at the city’s open-air theatre, Stage@TheDock. Hull, on the east coast, can get every type of weather in one day, so the above were just some of the items we theatregoers were advised to carry with us for the performance on Wednesday afternoon. As the temperature hit the high 20s, this fascinating outdoor theatre began to fill up with people of all ages. We were all here for the most famous love story of all, William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. A jolly accordion player (Nicholas Goode) musically opened proceedings and he was quick...

15Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

A Little Night Music – Leeds Playhouse

A hot July evening in West Yorkshire proved to be the perfect backdrop for a musical set at the Scandinavian midsummer, as the theatregoers of Leeds joyfully returned to a stunning adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's puckish, satirical operetta from Leeds Playhouse and Opera North. Written in 1973, during a golden period of his gilded career, 'A Little Night Music' shows Sondheim at the peak of his powers, utilising his tongue twisting lyricism and complex musicality to stunning effect, against the backdrop of a country weekend in 'fin de siecle' Sweden. Sondheim always chooses arcane subject matter around which to base his work, everything from a Seurat painting (Sunday in the Park with George) to homicidal pie making (Sweeney Todd), have been used by him as source material and 'Night Mus...

3Jul

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Hull & High Water – Hull Truck Theatre

Listening to the pre-show chatter of the Hull Truck Theatre audience, awaiting the start of the world premiere of Hull & High Water, made me realise just how much I have missed the live theatre atmosphere. I watched this, the third of the theatre’s socially distanced Homecomings Season monologues, online but, no doubt, I’ll be back in that cosy theatre before too long. As in the first two monologues (The Greatest Play In The History Of The World and Everything I Own), the stage setting was a tad too dark for my liking. Dim lighting and dark furniture added to the gloom. Luckily, Emmerdale actor John Middleton lit up the stage the minute he set foot on it. I warmed to him immediately. Although his character, Frank Piddock, is getting on in years, suffering from dementia and ...

3Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Talent – Crucible Theatre

Just over five years ago, in April 2016, Britain lost a unique and irreplaceable comedy voice with the untimely death of Victoria Wood. In addition to her brilliance as a stand up comedian and actress in both comedic and dramatic roles, Wood also scripted a number of plays and musicals for the stage and her very first attempt from 1978, 'Talent', is the subject of a revival at Sheffield’s Crucible during July. The world of the late 1970's northern working men's club, is evoked by both the cheesy ballads playing as we enter the auditorium and the set design of Janet Bird. A golden cloak covers the stage and reaches up to a white grand piano perched high on a plinth, evoking the glamour of Liberace and 1940's Hollywood. This is quickly revealed to be a grotty backstage with boxes of crisp...

20Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Everything I Own – Hull Truck Theatre

Shall I tell you the first thing that came to mind when I laid eyes on actor Gabriel Paul, on the Hull Truck Theatre stage this week? Mmm … very attractive man, muscly in all the right places, glint in his eye - obviously good fun to be around (but the vest has to go). Oh, and he is black - this last piece of info, as an afterthought. However, as this second in a trilogy of monologues at the theatre - a world premiere, no less - wore on, I realised my reaction was far from the norm experienced by Errol (Paul), in his lifetime. The central character never appears - but his presence is felt throughout. He is Errol’s dad, who has died of Covid, leaving Errol, one of his seven children, to sort out his belongings. The action takes place in Errol’s dad’s sitting room - a cosy aff...

13Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Damned United – Leeds Playhouse

The last time I saw this Leeds United were in the midst of one of their regular comedic play offs collapse, but now they are riding high in the Premier League this punchy tale of hubris at Elland Road has extra resonance. It’s nominally the tale of Brian Howard Clough’s disastrous 44 day reign at Yorkshire’s biggest club after taking unfancied Derby County to the First Division title, but it is a story about obsession and madness that will reach non football fans too. The Damned United is based on David Peace’s semi-fictional novel tracing Clough’s descent into a personal hell. Anders Lustgarten’s tight adaptation captures all the psychological demons swirling round Ol’ Big Head’s fractured psyche as he takes on a team of seasoned pros loyal who he hates as ‘cheats’, but they h...

11Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Atalanta Forever – Halifax Piece Hall

On the day after the first ever female chair of the Football Association was announced this witty and powerful piece about the pioneers of the women’s game being banned by a bunch of misogynists in a committee room couldn’t be more pertinent. These footballing underdogs are classic Mikron Theatre territory as a fictional Huddersfield factory girl and a posh teacher come together under the watchful eye of even posher Miss Waller to form Atalanta Ladies raising money for starving wondered soldiers in the years after the war to end all wars. My only criticism is that Mikron often play posh characters off against the working class, and that idea has run its course. Bit of context here for non-footie fans as in 1921 Preston’s Dick Kerr’s Ladies played in front of 51000 at a Boxing Day gam...

The Greatest Play In The History Of The World … – Hull Truck Theatre

8Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Greatest Play In The History Of The World … – Hull Truck Theatre

Hallelujah! Theatres are open again and I had a front row seat at Hull Truck Theatre. Best of all, because of social distancing, I was the only occupant on that row. However, the “front row” in question was my sofa; yes, I was watching online. Julie Hesmondhalgh, she of Coronation Street fame, was the only human on the stage - a stage she shared with numerous pairs of shoes held in cardboard boxes on two large metal frames. This very plain setting, though at times a bit too unlit for my liking, was welcome as it didn’t detract from Hesmondhalgh’s amazing performance, in this first of a trilogy of monologues at the theatre in the near future. Dressed casually, Hesmondhalgh (who happens to be writer Ian Kershaw’s wife) recounts, in a loud, clear and, for want of a better word, me...

The Not So Ugly Sisters – Leeds Playhouse

4Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Not So Ugly Sisters – Leeds Playhouse

The producers of Wicked have made a fortune retelling a classic story and now Wrongsemble are subverting a much loved children’s tale for younger theatre goers. They have great fun through song, dance, some corny gags and lots of physical comedy challenging what we think we know about Cinderella’s so called ugly sisters. Dolly and Barb are rattling round their hairdressing salon watching their baby sister getting married to Prince Smarming, and they’ve not been invited due to endless tabloid battering portraying them as the panto villains of this royal love story. Sound familiar? The demonising has left them with a phone that only rings for blow dry cancellations, so they take the time to tell their version of the classic story. The energy and inventiveness of this pacey two hande...