Welsh National Opera return to Liverpool Empire with this revival by Caroline Chaney of John Caird’s 2011 production of one of Mozart’s most complete operas, and incorporating John Napier’s original brutalist staging, inspired apparently by Rodin’s The Gates of Hell. Don Giovanni (Aaron O’Hare – a last-minute replacement due to cast indisposition) has seduced over […]
Everyone is familiar with the ‘Mamma Mia!’ films but not everyone has seen the stage show upon which they’re based; I’m lucky enough to have seen it many times, the first time being the London premier in 1999 when I was blown away by the production, the songs and the energy of the cast. Based […]
Those of a nervous disposition at the Hull New Theatre on Wednesday evening were warned, just before curtain up, that platform shoes and white satin trousers would be much in evidence on the stage, as feel-good musical Mamma Mia! came to town. Talented musicians got a packed theatre into the right mood, pre-show, by playing […]
So, this week we are going to talk about the age-old question of separating the art from the artist, especially when that artist is Michael Jackson and especially now when a big budget glossy stage musical about his life has just opened on Broadway. In brief, MJ: The Musical tells the story of Jackson preparing […]
One of the craziest true stories in Britain’s history, ‘Operation Mincemeat’ was a wartime deception that somehow successfully fooled Hitler into changing his invasion plans in 1943, and all thanks to the well-dressed corpse of a homeless man who’d died by ingesting rat poison and was shipped off to Spain with a briefcase full of […]
Once upon a time amiable Aussie Peter Andre was best known for his rippling six pack and being married to a controversial model. Since then, high profile appearances on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! And Strictly Come Dancing showed Peter to be a genuinely nice guy winning him many new fans. Peter is […]
Following on from the success of their event at 81 Renshaw Street in July 2019, the Lantern Writers collective were all set to soar again last April until – well, we all know what happened next. But time flies, the world moves on, and so better late than never, they reconvene to deliver another three […]
Well, what a stimulating night I have just had! Returning back to my favourite local theatre – the gorgeous Brindley Theatre in Runcorn- the long absence of attending live theatre has had its toll on me and to be back to see live theatre feels like Christmas has come early! To see an amateur theatre […]
This was my daughter’s fourth time seeing this perennial blockbuster, but it was certainly the most unusual with the audience sitting in a windy field near Leeds. This was the very first time the team behind the Mamma Mia! juggernaut have opted for an open-air production and given how protective they are of the brand […]
Lucy May Barker has travelled the globe playing Sophie Sheridan searching for her long-lost dad in smash hit musical Mamma Mia and she rejoins the show for its first ever open-air production at Harwood House near Leeds. This show has been seen by over 65 million people in 50 productions in 16 different languages, plus […]