Yorkshire & Humber Archives - Page 6 of 43

26Jun

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Kinky Boots – Sheffield Lyceum

The Sheffield Lyceum gets Kinky this week with the iconic Red Boots, and sass galore graces its stage. Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots takes you from the anything but glamorous 'Price and Son' shoe factory in Northampton to the dazzling catwalks of Milan in this sassy, vivacious and heart warming tale of true British grit with catchy songs by Tony and Grammy Award winning eighties pop princess, Cyndi Lauper and a Book by Harvey Fierstein. With exceptional choreography on this tour by Leah Hill and pacey precise direction by Nikolai Foster adding to strong and full score under the Musical supervision of George Dyer, Kinky Boots both technically and in production is a touring tapestry of tease and tenderness. Set and costume Design by Robert Jones is in situ and avoids unnecessary...

Dear Evan Hansen – Grand Opera House, York

25Jun

By Abigail PendleburyNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Dear Evan Hansen – Grand Opera House, York

An emotional and thought-provoking masterclass. Dear Evan Hansen at the Grand Opera House York, was one of the most emotionally resonant and beautifully staged productions I've ever seen. From the moment the lights dimmed and the opening chords of “Waving Through a Window” echoed through the theatre, it was clear we were in for something special. The cast delivered powerful, nuanced performances that held the audience in rapt attention from start to finish. Ryan Kopel’ portrayal of Evan brought a vulnerability and raw honesty to the role that made his journey incredibly moving as well as hugely relatable to most audiences. His vocal performance was both delicate and commanding, effortlessly navigating the show’s emotionally charged score, and the sensitivity of Evan trying to find hi...

Five Shorts and a One-Act Play – Bilton Theatre

5Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Five Shorts and a One-Act Play – Bilton Theatre

Joining the queue to enter the Bilton Theatre on Wednesday evening, for Bilton Amateur Dramatic Society’s (BADS), production, Five Shorts & A One-Act Play, it was obvious this talented group of performers had, once again, succeeded in drawing in the crowds. No mean feat for a society that is over 70 years old! After showing my ticket, giving my drink order (tea or coffee, plus biscuits, included in the £10 ticket price), I took my seat on Row G and waited for curtain up. First up, The Pub Play or “Did We Win?”, a comedy by Doc Watson, featured befuddled playwright (Patrick Wilkinson) who, while trying to write an award-winning play, ropes in an equally befuddled actress (Ailsa Oliver) to achieve his goal. Pub-goer Nick Northcott-Orr ends up just as befuddled as the other two a...

Sh*t Life Crisis – Polar Bear Music Club

30May

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Sh*t Life Crisis – Polar Bear Music Club

“We won’t ask you to get up and sing into a microphone” - these words printed under the What to Expect section in the programme for Sh*t Life Crisis were music to my “hate audience participation” ears. But what did I do on Thursday evening when invited to sing into a microphone during the show? I instantly ignored my misgivings and sang the words I LOVE IT at the top of my tuneless voice, during a karaoke sequence. But I’m jumping ahead. I was at the Polar Bear Music Club in Hull to watch the performance presented by local theatre company, Silent Uproar. Arriving early at the venue, my first visit there, I and my theatre buddy sister were invited to relax in a back room while sound checks etc took place - a back room that wouldn’t have looked out of place a century ago. We ...

Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) – Leeds Grand Theatre

28May

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) – Leeds Grand Theatre

I have to confess I’ve always found Regency novels like Pride & Prejudice excruciatingly boring but this tongue in cheek romp through Jane Austen’s masterpiece is the exact opposite. The vague premise of the show is that we see the antics of the Bennet family, and assorted posh folk in Meryton, from the perspective of the servants. Isobel McArthur who loosely adapted the novel uses that device to allow five incredibly hardworking and funny women the chance to play all the characters as they hurtle on and off stage. This show is in the best traditions of British farce, which probably has some Austen superfans clutching their pearls in disgust, especially as our Bennet girls are a bit potty mouthed. However, if you’re not a tiresome snob then it’s a chance to enjoy a ribald trip th...

21May

By NewsdeskNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

& Juliet – Sheffield Lyceum

& Juliet storms the Sheffield Lyceum this May, with the west-end blockbuster reframing the classic romantic tragedy to great effect. Ironic gender-bending, scenes of female empowerment married to laddish disruption, there is something for everyone here. Soundtracked to Swedish pop-anthem writer Max Martin, songs from the catalogues of the Backstreet Boys and Bob Jovi to Jessie J and Katy Perry boom from Verona to Shoreditch. It’s a journey worth taking for partygoers and story-lovers alike. The design of this show is particularly astounding. Audiences are treated to perhaps one of the most dynamic and alive sets they’re likely to see on stage. Stellar skylines are transient and embellish the shifting fixtures beautifully. The lighting design is also ambitious, bold and handled effec...

15May

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Boys From the Blackstuff – Leeds Grand

‘Gizza a job. Go on, gizza job. I can do that.’ That desolate plea for help from a broken Yosser Hughes helped make Boys From the Blackstuff one of a series of epochal TV series that marked out the newly created Channel 4 as the nation’s social conscience as our industrial heartlands were decimated by Thatcherism. Scouser Alan Bleasdale used all five episodes of his 1982 BAFTA winning masterpiece to follow a bunch of unemployed former asphalt layers - gentle Chrissie, young buck Loggo, wise George, sensible Dixie and Yosser who is prone to headbutting people – who are desperately trying to keep their heads above water working on building sites while claiming the dole as Liverpool’s industries die around them. Bleasdale used these desperate and often broken men as a metaphor for the m...

Cruel Intentions The ‘90s Musical – Hull New Theatre

14May

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Cruel Intentions The ‘90s Musical – Hull New Theatre

Although an avid movie-goer, the 1999 cinema release of Cruel Intentions, passed me by, so when the musical of the same name came to the Hull New Theatre, I had no clue of what to expect. The theatre was filled far from capacity on Tuesday evening, which was a shame, but those of us who did attend were in for a treat. The many trigger warnings in the press release hinted at themes that may upset some folk, and although “explicit sexual language and behaviour, racial discrimination and drug usage” did raise their ugly heads, I can honestly say they didn’t overshadow proceedings, meaning such events came and went and then we were on to the next scene. That’s not to minimise such gross deeds, but they were so cleverly interwoven as to seem unimportant, if that makes sense. Based o...

Cruel Intentions The ‘90s Musical – Leeds Grand

8May

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Cruel Intentions The ‘90s Musical – Leeds Grand

Christopher Hampton’s gloriously camp screenplay for Dangerous Liaisons featuring two bored French aristocrats playing twisted sexual games proved to be far too tempting for Hollywood studio bosses. They repacked it as nineties hit Cruel Intentions but this time featuring New York high school kids set to a banging soundtrack of hits from that decade. As every movie ever seems to be getting the musical treatment these days it was only a matter of time before it hit the stage, and although shortened versions of those nineties bangers do punctuate the action it’s not a classic jukebox musical in the obvious ways that Mamma Mia! or We Will Rock You are. That’s because it’s based on Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ classic novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, so the plot isn’t badly written drivel, an...

To Have and To Hold – Hull Truck Theatre

8May

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

To Have and To Hold – Hull Truck Theatre

The stars shone brightly over the city of Hull on Wednesday evening, but none shone brighter than those gracing the Hull Truck Theatre stage, when they brought to life Yorkshire playwright Richard Bean’s bittersweet comedy To Have and To Hold. The star-studded cast did a marvellous job with a wonderful script, on a magnificent stage setting. Before “curtain up” and from my vantage point on the front row, I was able to admire the stage setting of comfy Dralon-covered sofa, recliner armchairs, Ercol-type tables, corded phones and stair-lift - obviously a well-loved, but dated home of an elderly couple. The pair - Florence (Paula Wilcox, star of 1970s sitcom Man About The House), and 91-year-old Jack (Ian Bartholomew, of Coronation Street fame) - bicker their way through their twilig...