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Black Is The Color Of My Voice – HOME Mcr

29Apr

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

Black Is The Color Of My Voice – HOME Mcr

Apphia Campbell’s play, inspired by the life of Nina Simone, has won critical acclaim and sold-out venues around the world. It is not hard to see why. Black Is The Color Of My Voice is about as accomplished a one-person show as you are ever likely to see. Confined to one sparsely decorated room, jazz singer Eugenia vows to ditch the booze and the cigarettes as she tries to connect with the spirit of her late father. Campbell’s character clutches a framed picture of ‘daddy’ as she reflects on her life, loves and losses. Artefacts and articles of clothing pulled from a suitcase trigger memories. Memories that are beautifully and believably portrayed to a spellbound audience. Memories punctuated by stunning interpretations of Nina Simone classics. Within the first few beats of the fi...

29Apr

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Moby Dick – Wilton’s Music Hall

You know the story. Boy meets whale. Whale eats boy’s leg. Boy never gets over whale. The enduring power of the novel, Moby Dick is difficult to relate to in this modern day and age for audiences without a special interest in whale anatomy or sperm oil derivation methods. Some productions take on this difficulty by recontextualizing the story, playing up its tragic or romantic elements, and this production, by the theatre ensemble simple8 technically checks both of these boxes. Our narrator/protagonist Ishmael (Mark Arends) and his beloved bunkmate Queequeg (Tom Swale) have more than a hint of chemistry and jokingly allude to a sea marriage. The doomed Captain Ahab (Guy Rhys) and his gloomy mate Starbuck (Hannah Emanuel) both take their respective roles in spreading their component element...

27Apr

By Coral MourantNo Comments

North West

The Wizard of Oz – Palace Theatre

Nikolai Foster has taken many a musical theatre staple and put his own spin on them, with this show being another triumph to come out of the tried and tested method of starting at the Leicester Curve before becoming a big hit. Sending this spectacle out on a national tour is a no-brainer, bound to bedazzle theatre goers all over the country with its imaginative take on the heart-warming classic. Based on the book by L. Frank Baum, the tale has had many iterations, proving its generational appeal. But at the heart of its story, there’s a young girl on a heroic journey to find a place to belong. We are taken on this adventure by Dorothy (Aviva Tulley). The audience is in very capable hands here, Tulley’s voice soars as she delivers Over the Rainbow, and her performance encapsulates all...

27Apr

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Evita – Buxton Opera House

There’s always a warm welcome at the beautiful Buxton Opera House, and their current amateur production of Evita delivered a spellbinding theatrical experience that left Friday night’s sold-out audience captivated from start to finish. The production boasted an extraordinary amateur cast whose performances breathed new life into the iconic characters. Catherine Pugh’s portrayal of Eva Perón was a tour de force, displaying a remarkable range of emotion and commanding the stage with her presence. Opposite her, Ross Clifton delivered a powerful performance as Juan Perón, capturing the character’s authority and complexity with finesse. Luke Clayton brought depth and charisma to the role of Che, serving as a compelling narrator throughout the production, while Steve Sheppard charmed audience...

Agnes of God – Cortonwood Comeback Centre Theatre

26Apr

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Agnes of God – Cortonwood Comeback Centre Theatre

Agnes of God is a 1979 play by American Playwright John Pielmeier which he later penned as a film script in 1985. With runs in both the West End and Broadway this play is believed to be Pielmeier’s finest. Inspired by the true story of American Maureen Murphy, a 37-year-old Nun who was found in a pool of blood after giving birth to a baby in the Our Lady of Lourdes convent in New York. Murphy, a resident of 19 years at the convent before the conception, the baby boy was originally reported missing but was later found in a garbage can. The baby’s death was logged as Asphyxiation and Murphy was later evaluated and cleared by the court as to her emotional and mental stability, to stand trial. Her criminal defence argued she was unable to comprehend her actions, due to the excessive loss of bl...

Little Shop of Horrors – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

26Apr

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Little Shop of Horrors – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

Composer Alan Menken is best known nowadays as the man who, together with Writer Howard Ashman, revitalised the Walt Disney franchise in the early 1990’s, through their work on The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Indeed, such is his creative genius that he is one of only 19 people in all entertainment history to be classified an EGOT, winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony for work spanning five decades. Tonight, we have the opportunity to enjoy one of Menken and Ashman’s earlier creations from 1986, with a cracking revival tour of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ reaching the Octagon Theatre in Bolton. ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ has become a staple Amateur and Youth theatre production over the last thirty years, combining a small cast with a relatively simple set it can be sta...

Made In Dagenham – University of Sheffield Performing Arts Society

25Apr

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Made In Dagenham – University of Sheffield Performing Arts Society

Based on the 2010 film and centring around the Ford factory strike of 1968, 'Made in Dagenham' is the story based on the real life events that led up to the Equality Pay Act of 1970. As the female machinists in the factory were downgraded to 'unskilled' workers, the fight escalated into a full on war against the government and Trade Unions to secure equal pay for all workers regardless of gender. 'It's not about money it's about equality!' This small group of women, like all ground breakers, found that the battle had to be won in their home lives as well as the factory floor. As the principal character encapsulates with her poignant line in response to her young daughter's career choice, 'I laughed at her when she wanted to be a doctor and bought her a nurse’s outfit instead', but this was...

25Apr

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

What (is) a Woman – Arcola Theatre

Set across four decades, the one-woman play tells the one woman’s story of sex, love and identity as she matures from schoolgirl to woman. From critically acclaimed West End and TV actress Andrée Bernard, best known for her roles in Holby City, Hollyoaks and Kiss Me, Kate, the piece is written, composed and performed by Andree herself, directed by Michael Strassen and asks the question of what it means to be a woman of the Modern Age. Bernard expertly commands the stage from start to finish, the audience were enthralled as she encapsulates the various characters in the story, from wide-eyed university student to an overbearing Drama teacher, she does a brilliant job of quickly adopting these characters, showing her versatility. Bernard playing her character’s sho...

Boys From the Blackstuff – Liverpool’s Royal Court

25Apr

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

Boys From the Blackstuff – Liverpool’s Royal Court

After its sell out run last Autumn and news of a transfer to the National Theatre, this production remains keenly awaited. The industrial, bare-boned set frames a strong start. Punchy, witty and clear are the performances, with a sense of foreboding about what’s to come. That ever-present feeling of foreboding is what keeps this play alive. Other than the everyday feel, the unassuming personalities on stage and the important subject matter, this play survives, just, on likeability of characters. As someone not originally from Liverpool, especially not in the mid-80s, I fear that presenting to a non-scouse audience, this production would not hit emotional beats as strongly when those watching do not necessarily understand the realities of this quintessentially scouse story of struggle. ...

The Legend of Ned Ludd – Everyman Theatre, Liverpool

25Apr

By Carole BaldockNo Comments

North West

The Legend of Ned Ludd – Everyman Theatre, Liverpool

The cast list is handed over rolled up like a treasure map (as well as a poster: a sinister robotic head against a binary code background); you need a few clues because this random collection of vignettes doesn’t always shed much light. And you could call it irony that a play dealing with commercialism and the Industrial Revolution, machines taking over, has a High Tec setting, yellow scaffolding with what looks like an Amazon warehouse at the back, fronted by a factory. Props are robustly manhandled or pop up through the floor or are doled out on conveyor belts. Including clothing; the cast are booted and suited as it were in a brown and beige peasant uniform, which helps enable role and gender swapping: fair play, Shaun Mason as the sulky little girl hankering after a balloon, while i...