Thursday, April 30

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Crazy For You – Hessle Theatre
NEWS

Crazy For You – Hessle Theatre

We theatre reviewers are a spoilt bunch. Any productions we are invited to watch have been honed and polished to perfection - bugs given the boot and glitches dealt with, ensuring our view of proceedings isn’t hampered by such pesky events. With that in mind, I was intrigued to receive an invitation from Hessle Theatre Company to watch a “full run of the show in an open rehearsal”, with backing tracks but without scenery and costumes, for a production of Crazy For You, a show they will grace the Hull New Theatre stage with later this month. So, Sunday afternoon saw me and my regular theatre buddy, my sister Chrissy, head for Tranby School, in Anlaby, near Hull, to experience my first ever rehearsal. If it was any other company but the Hessle Theatre, I would have thought they had ...
Immersive Van Gogh Spectacular Set For Liverpool This Summer
NEWS

Immersive Van Gogh Spectacular Set For Liverpool This Summer

Liverpool is set to host the UK premiere of a stunning immersive show which brings the masterpieces of Vincent van Gogh thrillingly to life in one unforgettable cinematic multimedia experience. Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience – produced by Annerin Productions and Paquin Entertainment Group - blends more than 300 of the post-Impressionist icon’s paintings with cutting-edge technology and a specially curated musical soundtrack to tell the story of one of history’s most influential artists. It has already been seen by more than five million people across the United States and Canada. And now it is coming to the UK, with the unmissable show being staged in Liverpool on its famous waterfront at Exhibition Centre Liverpool (for a limited run) from 27th June to 14th July. Ticke...
Standing at The Skys Edge – Gillian Lynne Theatre
London

Standing at The Skys Edge – Gillian Lynne Theatre

Standing at the Skys Edge is a heartwarming musical about love and familial relationships growing through time. The musical explores love and home. Standing at the Skys Edge is a well written musical with beautiful lyrical songs which opened at The National Theatre last year to show stopping reviews and certainly deserves its west end transfer and spot on the West End. Standing at the Skys Edge tells the stories of three families living in an estate in Sheffield, starting at three different points of the same timeline. The three storylines play out simultaneously with all the characters wrapping up seamlessly towards the end of the show. Whilst this device is frequently used in film, it is rarely successfully deployed in theatre. Chris Bush’s book is cleverly structured to give all the ...
Peak Stuff – Traverse Theatre
Scotland

Peak Stuff – Traverse Theatre

Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre’s reputation as the Capital’s go-to venue for cutting edge, experimental and thought-provoking new work can only be enhanced by this belter of a play from award-winning theatre company Thickskin. Touring England for the last month, the Scottish premiere tonight of Peak Stuff, by young writer Billie Collins fairly fizzes along with new ideas and brilliant acting not to mention superb lighting and set and spectacular video design. Stage centre, on a raised LED-edged plate Meg Lewis takes us on an often-overwhelming journey, through the eyes of three characters, Alice, Ben and Charlie. All consumers, and all consumed to varying degrees by the world we live in today. Teenager, Alice wants to poke a stick into the wheel of fast fashion, Ben is hiding from reality...
Scarlett Sunday – Omnibus Theatre
London

Scarlett Sunday – Omnibus Theatre

Obsession and dark secrets of the infamous artist Ray Blackwood and what lay behind the enigma of a painting named Scarlett Sunday. Following the death of Blackwood, it was now left to his daughter Ava played by Camilla Aiko an introverted girl still living in the family home with her demons. This play was simplistic in its form and told the story of Yasmin, played by Sorcha Kennedy an excitable rather intense arts author curious to find out more about Blackwood, the man who inspired her career in the arts, a man she had feelings for and was hungry in pursuit to get the exclusive scoop on his unseen masterpiece Scarlet Sunday. The set is staged first in a coffee shop for their first meeting which sees both characters sparring with each other over childhood memories, the arts and a plan ...
Strictly TV Star Announced for Madagascar in Liverpool
NEWS

Strictly TV Star Announced for Madagascar in Liverpool

Popular TV presenter, theatre performer and Strictly finalist Karim Zeroual will lead the cast of the brand-new tour of smash-hit family favourite Madagascar the Musical as the hilarious King Julien.   Karim Zeroual is a television presenter and theatre performer best known for anchoring CBBC and reaching the final of Strictly Come Dancing in 2019. Theatre goers may also know Karim from his numerous TV credits, including EastEnders, Da Vinci’s Demons and The Sparticle Mystery, alongside reality shows such as Celebrity Best Home Cook on BBC One and Celebs Go Dating.  No stranger to the stage, Karim’s West End performances include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Lion King and Here Come The Boys.    “I’m really excited, I love the film dearly, it’s one of my favouri...
New show Chisholm for President! celebrates the life of a civil rights legend
NEWS

New show Chisholm for President! celebrates the life of a civil rights legend

New soul/funk musical Chisholm for President! tells the inspiring story of the first Black woman to be elected to Congress and to run for the nomination of the President of the United States. Through live music and performance, it recalls the life of Shirley Chisholm who struggled against the political machine and made her trailblazing run for the Democratic US presidential nomination in 1972.   Shirley Chisholm was a trailblazer as the first Black woman to be elected to Congress in 1968 and was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, before making history as the first African American to make a serious bid for the Presidency of the United States of America in 1972.   She was known for her advocacy on behalf of women and minorities, standing with the Gay com...
Tickets are now on-sale for Hamilton’s long-awaited run at the Liverpool Empire
NEWS

Tickets are now on-sale for Hamilton’s long-awaited run at the Liverpool Empire

Tickets are now on-sale for Hamilton's long-awaited run at the Liverpool Empire Theatre from Tuesday 6th May - Saturday 7th June 2025. Priced from just £15 (subject to availability), fans can now get their hands on the hottest tickets in town for this multi award-winning masterpiece by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Hamilton the musical is the winner of 11 Tony Awards - including Best Musical, 7 Olivier Awards, the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album. This is the story of America's Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and helped shape the very foundations of the America we know today. The score blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&...
Hanif Kureishi’s My Beautiful Laundrette Takes Centre Stage in Liverpool
NEWS

Hanif Kureishi’s My Beautiful Laundrette Takes Centre Stage in Liverpool

Based on Hanif Kureishi's Oscar-nominated screenplay, My Beautiful Laundrette stars Gordon Warnecke, who originally played Omar in the 1985 movie. Featuring original music composed by the Pet Shop Boys, this stage production is directed by Nicole Behan, Co-Artistic Director of Liverpool-based company Paperwork Theatre (Deep Blue at the Everyman). My Beautiful Laundrette is at the Liverpool Playhouse from Tuesday 26th to Saturday 30th March. Set in South London during the Thatcher years, My Beautiful Laundrette was nominated for Best New Play and Best Regional Production at the WhatsOnStage Awards 2020. The play tells the story of young British Pakistani, Omar, who transforms his uncle’s run-down laundrette into a thriving business.  Gordon Warnecke, who played Omar in Stephen Fr...
Bhangra Nation: A New Musical – Birmingham Rep
West Midlands

Bhangra Nation: A New Musical – Birmingham Rep

2024 starts with a bhang! Dancing just got serious! The Birmingham Rep presents the UK Premiere of Bhangra Nation. This is a sensational new show about finding your true self and explores the thrilling world of competitive Bhangra dancing.  The story follows a university Bhangra dance team. When teammates Mary and Preeti's Bhangra team qualifies for Nationals, they set off on opposing quests to dance to their own beat. Preeti believes that the team needs to stick to tradition, but Mary is passionate about shaking things up to belong to today. Drawing from competitive Bhangra and mixing it with other Indian and Western dance forms, Bhangra Nation – A New Musical is a brash, intoxicating, and joyous musical comedy for today. Photo: Craig-Sugden We are instantly transporte...