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<strong>Blow Down tells the story of two iconic Yorkshire landmarks</strong>

10Jan

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

NEWS

Blow Down tells the story of two iconic Yorkshire landmarks

The demolition of the iconic cooling towers at Ferrybridge Power Station that impacted on the lives of the people who lived and worked beneath them is probably not an obvious choice for a play. When the towers were explosively demolished thousands turned up to watch them come down and Blow Down about their history is scripted by award-winning playwright Garry Lyons who lived near them based on stories collected from the local community in Ferrybridge and Knottingley. He’s written a funny, gritty and thought-provoking show with music about how losing a major landmark and employer impacts on a typical post-industrial Yorkshire town. From the towers’ raucous seventies heyday through recession and decline in the 2000s, Blow Down tells the story of the area through the experiences of peop...

<strong>Handel’s Messiah – Liverpool Philharmonic</strong>

8Jan

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Handel’s Messiah – Liverpool Philharmonic

Hallelujah! Renowned and revered, George Frideric Handel’s masterpiece, Messiah, fills Liverpool Philharmonic Hall to provide a sumptuous evening of music. Led by eminent German maestro Clemens Schuldt, this rousing aural experience is not to be missed. First performed in 1742, Messiah has become one of Handel’s most successful works. Fusing the traditions of Italian Opera, German Passion and English Anthem, it has both a geographical and timeless appeal that often cuts to the core of audiences, and this performance is no different. Featuring four of the finest singers in Europe on the solos – Dorothee Mields (soprano), Anna Stéphany (mezzo-soprano), Caspar Singh (tenor) and Benjamin Appl (baritone) – the marriage between musicians, choristers and soloists is truly harmonic. Messi...

<strong>The Ghosting of Rabbie Burns – King’s Head Theatre</strong>

6Jan

By Aditi DalalNo Comments

London

The Ghosting of Rabbie Burns – King’s Head Theatre

A heartbroken young woman (Emily Ashton) retreats into a cottage, frantically trying to rearrange it. As the realisation of being alone on Burns Night dawns upon her, she sinks into her chair. Little does she expect to be joined by Robert Burns (Kieran Francis Begley) himself! After testing whether he is the ghost of the real man himself through a laboured quiz on dates of publication of his plays, she is somewhat satisfied. Interspersed with song, which brings a lovely energy to the show, he tries to give her dating advice and ends up taking her through a, (again) quite laboured, practice date which only increases her frustration. The story ends with him literally ghosting her (though, to be fair, with warning) and some new insights spark for this young woman. From the outset, Begley p...

<strong>Salt-Water Moon – Finborough Theatre</strong>

6Jan

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Salt-Water Moon – Finborough Theatre

David French's Salt-Water Moon is set in 1926, when Newfoundland was still part of the British Empire, only becoming the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1949. Having won a slew of awards since its premiere in Toronto in 1984, the play has since become a classic of Canadian theatre. It's a moon-lit night in the isolated Newfoundland community of Coley's Point, and young Mary Snow is gazing at the stars as she awaits the return of her fiancé, the wealthy Jerome McKenzie. Due to marry Jerome the following month, she is startled by the sudden return of her former love, Jacob Mercer, who left suddenly and without even saying goodbye twelve months previously. Mary cannot forgive Jacob for leaving and not writing to her in the intervening months. But, as more is reveale...

<strong>Dreamgirls – Liverpool Empire</strong>

4Jan

By Clare ChandlerNo Comments

North West

Dreamgirls – Liverpool Empire

Dreamgirls is an iconic musical, later movie musical, but it is on stage where the story really sings. The show follows the rise of the Dreamettes (later the Dreams) amidst the changing sounds of America in the swinging sixties. The trio at the musical’s heart (Effie, Deena and Lorrell) navigate these challenges, finding success, overcoming heartbreak and – ultimately – learning to love themselves and one another. Dreamgirls premiered on Broadway in 1981, it was directed and choreographed by musical theatre legend Michael Bennett. Thirty-five years later the show made its UK debut, opening on the West End in a new production directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw. This production is now on a UK tour, and we caught up with it at the Liverpool Empire. The show continues ...

<strong>Standing at the Sky’s Edge – Crucible Theatre</strong>

29Dec

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Standing at the Sky’s Edge – Crucible Theatre

Some books you only ever want to read once, some films do not stand up to the scrutiny of a second watch, and some plays you will try to forget before you even leave the theatre foyer. I reviewed 'Standing at the Sky's Edge' in its original incarnation at the Crucible Theatre back in March 2019, when I had no hesitation in naming it amongst my top five shows of that year. I'm delighted to say that this revival matches the original production in every way, my love affair with this superb production was rekindled and London audiences are in for an invigorating blast from the north when it transfers to the National Theatre early in 2023. Retaining eight of the original cast of nineteen, including the core of the lead performers, allows these actors to revisit and more fully explore their c...

<strong>Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh</strong>

22Dec

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Like an unruly bottle of Christmas fizz this Panto popped and sparkled in all the right places. And plenty of the wrong ones. The sentence ‘Macbiehill – watch yer bags everyone’ is not a sentence you’ll hear very often. Of Champagne Moments there were plenty: Nurse May’s (Alan Stewart) Prawn & Crab joke may be an old one but the punchline neatly utilised the richness of the local dialect, steamin’ and reekin’ being interchangeable for one who’s drunk, or just plain smelly… Lucifer’s (Grant Stott) song, nay, homage, to the Edinburgh Tram works was a release for those inconvenienced - meaning everyone in Edinburgh - for the last no-one-knows-how-many-years… the shirt-sleeves routine… the riotous 12 Days Of Xmas caper… Muddles’ (Jordan Young) précis of the entire show up to halfway… but n...

<strong>Jack and the Beanstalk – Hope Street Theatre</strong>

22Dec

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Jack and the Beanstalk – Hope Street Theatre

Jack and the Beanstalk is an all singing, all dancing pantomime, full of Scouse humour, original and fun musical numbers and all of the interactive jokes that make pantomime a great festive experience for all of the family. Written by Christopher Jones and directed by John Garfield-Roberts, assisted by Kazia Cannon, this is a great pantomime to introduce children to the theatre or continue an existing festive tradition with children who are already familiar with the annual showcases. The stage, with set design by Amy Le Dain, is outlined in bright green cheerful beanstalks and features a cute house that has been taken straight from a fairy tale. This is the home of Jack Trott (Joe Owens) and he, as Mother Nature (Lesley Butler) tells us, is the reluctant hero of our tale. Jack however i...

Stocking Fillers – Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio

21Dec

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

Stocking Fillers – Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio

Stocking Fillers – Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio December 2022 If you need something to make you feel Christmassy, look no further. Amongst the wholesome decoration of the studio, Emma Bird has allowed these short plays to shine. With a drunken Santa, a police investigation, and a church flasher, laughs were not running short. As a collection of short plays provided by the new writer's scheme at the theatre, it was a fantastic collection of tales. Rachel Hunter’s Derby Day Domestic was a lovely way to open. Pip was a highlight and the comedy timing was sharp. Tendency was had to verge on playing for a laugh, but it was minor and didn’t distract from the story. White Christmas Lies by Wallace Charles was a highlight for me. Performed with conviction and warmth, this monologu...

<strong>The Nutcracker – Leeds Grand Theatre</strong>

21Dec

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Nutcracker – Leeds Grand Theatre

Northern Ballet’s festive spectacular is their annual thank you to the city which they call home and has supported them to become a world class company. It’s also had the feel of an onstage office Xmas do where the dancers, creatives, musicians and technical teams really let rip in a production that is always epic in scale, and often gloriously over the top. The Nutcracker with its surreal, dreamy narrative, and Tchaikovsky’s familiar score, is the perfect vehicle as naïve young rich girl Clara is given an introduction into another world by a mysterious magician Drosselmeyer, who gives her a toy nutcracker that in classic fairy tale fashion turns into a handsome prince. Charles Cusick Smith’s massive sets from an opulent country house to a wonderfully realised winter fantasy...