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Jesus Christ Superstar – Wolverhampton Grand

15Nov

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Jesus Christ Superstar – Wolverhampton Grand

Now on its umpteenth resurrection in fifty or so years, “Jesus Christ Superstar” comes to the Grand in Wolverhampton in this very sombre and earnest production from Regents’ Park. The stark set inevitably dominated by a cross is cloaked in darkest from the outset and peopled with gray and black clad actors. We don’t see a fleck of colour till Act Two. The first ten minutes or so has a feeling of grudging obligation which slowly modulates into something more engaging. Of course, it’s splattered with well-known tunes throughout, and each is dutifully deployed under Michael Riley’s tight musical direction with Hannah Richardson as Mary giving us a beautiful rendition of “I Don’t Know How to Love him”, which, as musical aficionados love to point out, bears more than passing resemblance to Mend...

15Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Full Monty – Bradford Alhambra

The Full Monty was one of a group of films shining a light on the traumatic impact Thatcherism had on Northern communities, but unlike the risible Billy Elliot it did it by never pulling its punches. Simon Beaufoy has adapted his movie script for a stage version of how six jobless Sheffield blokes fought back to become unlikely strippers and let it all hang out to pay off their debts. The stage version is far funnier than the film, although it still tackles some big themes including class, suicide, ageism, body shaming, gay visibility, and the utter corrosion of the human spirit when you’re cast on the scrapheap. Beaufoy wisely still holds it together round the core theme that hope can spring from despair in often the most unlikely of ways like getting your kit off. For fans of the m...

I Should Be So Lucky – Opera House, Manchester

15Nov

By Brian MaddenNo Comments

North West

I Should Be So Lucky – Opera House, Manchester

I Should Be So Lucky, penned by Debbie Isitt, is a jukebox musical that takes its audience on a nostalgic journey through the hits of Stock Aitken Waterman. Starring Lucie-Mae Sumner as Ella and Billy Roberts as Nathan, the musical places its primary focus on the music rather than the plot, creating a vibrant but sometimes superficial experience. The story, centred around the rocky relationship between Ella and Nathan, unfolds with Nathan leaving Ella at the altar. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the musical's main draw is its soundtrack, not its narrative. Ella's rapid forgiveness of Nathan in Act 2 seems more a product of the musical's rush to showcase another hit song rather than a thoughtful character decision. The cast, including Kayla Carter as Bonnie, Jessica Daley a...

15Nov

By Hannah WildeNo Comments

North West

Nativity! The Musical – The Brindley

The Brindley Theatre in Runcorn is kicking off their festive programme very strong this year, starting with Nativity! The Musical. Adapted to stage by Debbie Isitt - the director and writer of the 2009 film of the same name - Nativity! The Musical really is festive fun for the entire family. I am always a bit dubious of hit films being adapted for the stage, as more often than not the stage show becomes a carbon copy of the motion picture, often to lesser effect. However, I needn't have worried with Nativity! - This production was the perfect blend of being true to the original source material, while having its own nuances and standout moments in its own right, playing perfectly into the audience's hands. People familiar with the classic Christmas film will be delighted to know th...

Bradford Opera Festival stage The Barber of Seville…but with a distinctive local twist

14Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Bradford Opera Festival stage The Barber of Seville…but with a distinctive local twist

The opening event of the newly created Bradford Opera Festival is the world premiere of a Yorkshire dialect version of The Barber of Seville. To make this happen the festival team have been working with legendary Yorkshire poet Ian McMillan and conductor Ben Crick, who has long had a dream to stage a version of Rossini’s classic tale of class, lust and betrayal performed in the local vernacular. Alex Chisholm who has been a stalwart of the Bradford artistic scene for many years is directing, and she told our Features Editor Paul Clarke why this festival will help democratise a misunderstood art form for local audiences. Of all the great operas, why did you choose The Barber of Seville? This really came from Ben, and he has had this dream for the last 20 years, so it's not just ...

14Nov

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Boxed In – The King’s Arms, Salford

Tall Tales Theatre Group moves in with a light-hearted comedy which has potential but remains unpacked and unpolished. The King’s Arms is the perfect venue to stage a comedy based above a pub, where we meet the inexperienced rouge Landlord (George Walker) who, he tells us, spent his inheritance on this tired, mice infested flat. Unable to afford to decorate, he now rents it out, and unbeknown to his unsuspecting tenants, he still secretly lives there. Couple Neve (Sherrelle McCalla) and Stoney (Finn McDonald) move in, and are soon visited by their numerous friends, catching up on daytime television favourite, ‘Homes Under the Hammer’ (with some debate around Dion Dublin’s presenting skills) and planning on stealing some booze from their local Tesco. Written by George Unitt, th...

Close Up Concert: Elegy – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

14Nov

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Close Up Concert: Elegy – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

This delightful and varied evening of short classical pieces featured three outstanding players from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra - Cormac Henry on flute, Catherine Marwood on viola and Elizabeth McNulty on harp. I have to say that the combination of all three instruments produced the most exquisitely magical sound, and indeed all three musicians gave stellar performances throughout the evening. The concert featured Jean-Phillippe Rameau’s beautiful baroque piece Pieces de Clavecin (1706), it is such a dazzling and extravagant piece of work and one of the finest examples of early baroque music. Rameau is still regarded as one of France’s most important and influential composers and listening to this piece, you can easily understand why – it is a truly superb composition...

14Nov

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

Babies the Musical plays Lyric Theatre

This new British musical is sure to be a hit with all ages. This musical took to the stage at this year’s West End Live in the Summer. Now, a concert semi-staged production of Babies is playing at the Lyric Theatre. This show has been in production for three years and has had a smashing debut. This one act musical and follows nine year eleven students tasked to look after babies, plastic simulator babies, for an entire week. While they discover what kind of parents they would be, these teens discover more about themselves. Friendships are tested, dreams are questioned, and the true meaning of responsibility is discovered. Photo: Pamela Raith This heart-wrenching comedy explores what it is to be a young adult and the challenges teenagers face, making mistakes and learning from them...

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Liverpool Empire

14Nov

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

North West

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Liverpool Empire

If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have probably read the Roald Dahl story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or at least watched one of the two films based on the book (team Gene Wilder over here!). It tells the story of Charlie Bucket, who comes from a poor family and never dreams of winning one of the five golden tickets to enter Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory – until it happens. We then get to go on a magical journey as Charlie and the other four golden ticket winners (and their parents) get to see the wonderous and sometimes scary, workings of Wonka’s factory. If you are used to the book or either film, then make sure you go into the musical with an open mind. Bar two songs from the 1971 film (The Candyma...

10Nov

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Mates in Chelsea – Royal Court Theatre

A fistful of comedy of manners, a pinch of absurdism with a hint of surreal topping and you get Rory Mullakey’s Mates in Chelsea directed by Royal Court Associate Director Sam Pritchard. It follows the story of a vain, leisure-loving, man-child viscount Theodore ‘Tug’ Bungay (Laurie Kynaston) who has been living off inherited wealth in a spacious West London flat with a housekeeper Mrs Hanratty (Amy Booth-Steel) until one day there is none left and her mother Lady Agrippina Bungay (Fenella Woolgar) is forced to sell their Northumberland castle to a Russian Oligarch. The larger-than-life yet empty-from-within tone is set right from the beginning with clever design (Milla Clarke) and directorial choices- an empty, high-rising, narrow-looking white apartment with steel fittings a...