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Queen Extravaganza – Manchester o2 Apollo

17Feb

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Queen Extravaganza – Manchester o2 Apollo

50 years ago, the late, great Freddie Mercury and his fellow Queen bandmates put the finishing touches to a bombastic six-minute piece of prog rock, featuring one of the most famous moments of rock falsetto that, despite mixed critical reaction, would go on to top the UK charts not once but twice. Tonight, Queen Extravaganza, the official tribute band with members hand-picked by Roger Taylor and Brian May, roll into Manchester as part of a UK tour to celebrate Bohemian Rhapsody’s Golden Jubilee, alongside a set-list crammed with other greatest hits. To pay homage to a band like Queen is like picking low-hanging fruit, in that you are assured of a fantastic catalogue of music that weaves through hard rock, heavy metal and operatic sensibilities. Queen Extravaganza, to their cre...

International Shorts : On The Edge – The French Institute

17Feb

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

International Shorts : On The Edge – The French Institute

As part of Manipulate Festival, and screened in the gorgeous interior of The French Institute, this is a series of short animated films mostly set in and around the Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions focusing on the Climate Emergency and the effects on the indigenous peoples and the animals that live there. Education is the key and short films like this are just perfect for delivering bite sized thought-provoking perspectives. Kicking us off is an enjoyable 14 minute documentary from the National Film Board of Canada, Three Thousand, by Asinnajaq. This mixes animation with archival footage to explore the cinematic representation of the Inuit. The format is light-touched but the implication is clear, this is a people whose days are numbered. In The Power Grid (2018) by Clara Boden, a grai...

It’s all Cushty as Only Fools and Horses: The Musical comes to Leeds Grand

16Feb

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

It’s all Cushty as Only Fools and Horses: The Musical comes to Leeds Grand

For fans of classic British comedy it’s all cushty as Paul Whitehouse reprises his West End starring role as lovable Grandad in the UK and Ireland tour of the smash-hit show Only Fools and Horses: The Musical. Joining The Fast Show legend at the Grand are Wicked star Sam Lupton as Cockney chancer Del Boy and Tom Major making his professional theatre debut as his daft brother Rodney. It’s all kicking off in 1989 Peckham as the yuppie invasion of London is in full swing, but love is in the air as Del Boy sets out on the rocky road to find his soul mate. Meanwhile Rodney and Cassandra prepare to say ‘I do, and even Trigger is gearing up for a date. Boycie and Marlene give parenthood one final shot as Grandad takes stock of his life, and decides the time has finally arrived to get his pi...

Outlying Islands – Jermyn Street Theatre

16Feb

By Sadie PearsonNo Comments

London

Outlying Islands – Jermyn Street Theatre

What is human nature? How similar are our needs to those of the animals around us? Is society a force of refinement, or restriction? These are some of the questions posed by David Greig’s play Outlying Islands. August 1939, a prelude to the Second World War. Arriving on a remote Scottish island to a pagan chapel they will call home for the next month, Robert, (Bruce Langley) and John (Fred Woodley-Evans) are sent from London to undertake ministry-ordered observational research into the island’s seabird inhabitants. But this is not all that will be observed. Chaperoned by island owner Old man Kirk (Kevin McMonagle), accompanied by his young niece Ellen (Whitney Kehinde), the events which unfold offer a complex exploration of human nature. Our desires, when free from the shackles of socie...

16Feb

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Law of Gravity – Traverse Theatre

Spell-binding, sublime performance by the the six-strong strings of the Scottish Ensemble, accompanied by the delicate puppetry skills of a quartet from Blind Summit, made this a night to savour at Traverse 1 tonight. Classical Music can take us places in our mind, it is surely part of the joy of the experience to close our eyes and float…. Is it wise to curate, lead or interpret that trip? Blind Summit, attempted to do that tonight, but was it a help or a hinderance, an unnecessary distraction? The jury will be pretty split on this one. There was no questioning the quality of the music from Philip Glass (Symphony No. 3(1995)) and Arnold Schoenberg (Transfigured Night(1899)) superbly, and effortlessly, led by Johnathan Morton which has the audience transfixed from note one. Iro...

These things aren’t mine (film) – Traverse Theatre

16Feb

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

These things aren’t mine (film) – Traverse Theatre

Gabbie Cook’s attempt to turn something rotten and corrosive from her childhood into something positive and creative, aided by director Barney White, finds form in this watchable short film at the subterranean Traverse 2 tonight. As part of the Manipulate festival, which has a deserved reputation for bringing the strange and downright absurd together, this abstract film follows the life of former gymnast turned circus artist Cook. High on imagery and low on dialogue it still manages to pack quite a punch, without perhaps finding the knock-out blow. As we now look back and grimace at the ick-inducing objectification of Miss-World or the sexism of Benny Hill or indeed the unchecked racism of Rigsby, we will undoubtedly look back in years to come and grimace at the dehumanising and brutal ...

Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 6 – Liverpool Philharmonic

16Feb

By Anna Ní DhúillNo Comments

North West

Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 6 – Liverpool Philharmonic

On a very cold February night, the cozy Liverpool Philharmonic hall proved a glorious respite for more than one sense. The evening’s layout began with Missy Mazzoli’s River Rouge Transfiguration, followed by Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major, and finished off with Shostakovich’s Symphony in D minor. Lidiya Yankovskaya conducts the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra on this occasion. Photo: Karen Almond Mazzoli’s contemporary River Rouge Transfiguration is given an introductory explanation by conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya, warming us up to the shop floor of the Ford factory in Detroit that the music will soon transport us to. Mazzoli, deemed ‘Brooklyn’s post-Millennial Mozart’ by Time Out Magazine, brings the factory floor to us with an awe and holiness. Indeed, she says tha...

Scrooge comes to Leeds Playhouse for the festive season

16Feb

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

Scrooge comes to Leeds Playhouse for the festive season

Leeds Playhouse’s tradition of spectacular festive shows continues this winter with a new adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Yorkshire writer Deborah McAndrew. This version of the Charles Dickens classic written over 180 years ago is directed by Leeds Playhouse Deputy Artistic Director Amy Leach. For the few unfamiliar with the story, it begins on Christmas Eve in Victorian England as miserly Ebenezer Scrooge grumbles his way through a typical "bah humbug!" day. But as the frosty night unfolds, four ghostly spirits whisk him on a whirlwind journey through his past, present, and future, revealing to Scrooge the true meaning of Christmas. Scrooge’s journey to redemption remains a beloved ghost story that still captivates audiences of all ages, blending festive cheer, live...

14Feb

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Animal Farm – Stratford East

George Orwell's Animal Farm was published in 1945, in a world radically different from the modern political scene. Much may have changed in that time, but the themes of human nature, the lure of power and greed remain scarily relevant. Tatty Hennessy's revised working of Orwell's iconic novel highlights the changing work landscape, the loss of an industrial base, the realities of factory farming, and the roles of equality and fairness in society. On the run-down Manor Farm, owned by cruel farmer Jones, the animals long for a world in which they can be equal, free and happy. Major, the elderly and respected boar, calls on the animals to work together to overthrow the farmer. On Major's death, Napoleon and Snowball, two young pigs, assume the informal leadership of the group and org...

14Feb

By Harry AltyNo Comments

North West

One Punch – HOME Mcr

Everything can change in a moment, sometimes to devastating effect. Demonstrating that is the ambition of ‘One Punch’, a unique one-hour production from the John Godber Company in partnership with the charity One Punch Hull. Opening on minimalist staging, a square outlined with police tape symbolic of a boxing ring, our story is narrated by three NHS paramedics Corey (Ellis Basford), Sarah (Camille Hainsworth-Staples) and Jack (George Reid) detailing the stresses of their jobs. Setting the scene for the story ahead, it is clear from the beginning this is a cautionary tale. Our narrators smartly guide the audience through the oncoming scenes making up the events of this poignant but fatal day. The company of three performers switch through multiple characters as they tell the story of...