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18Nov

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

The Lemon Table – HOME, Manchester

Have you ever been to a concert or to the theatre and had the overwhelming urge to tap the person in front of you on the shoulder to ask them if they could possibly stop talking, or put their phone away, or just cough more quietly? I know I certainly have! And that is where this play opens, with a concert goer doing just that. What follows is an exploration of the behaviour of a man who just wants to be able to enjoy the creativity and brilliance of an orchestra, its soloists and its conductor in peace. He clearly appreciates the performing arts and values being at live events, which is something that I’m quite sure we can all relate to in the new post-pandemic world; but he is also frustrated by the discourteous behaviour of his fellow audience members. However, as the scene unfolds, w...

Nana-Kofi Kufour talks about his debut play My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored

18Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Nana-Kofi Kufour talks about his debut play My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored

Black people in this country are nine times more likely to be stopped and searched and that is what happens to Reece in Nana-Kofi Kurfour’s debut play. In My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored the teenager appeals to his black teacher Gillian for help but she refuses leading to a tense standoff in their classroom the next day. No one can accuse this new writer of picking an easy topic for this tense two hander, but it’s a subject that impacts on all of us in modern Britain one way or another. It’s no surprise it’s being produced by Leeds based radical theatre company Red Ladder, who have a long history of taking on subjects no-one else wants to touch. As My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored gets its World Premiere at Leeds Playhouse our Yorkshire editor Paul Clarke caught up Nana...

17Nov

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Grease the Musical – Liverpool Empire

Fantastically feel good and naughtily nostalgic, Grease the Musical arrived in Liverpool this week with all the right moves and an abundance of exuberant energy. You cannot help but leave this show with a smile. Starring Peter Andre, and debuting several newcomers, it offers a slightly different flavour to what has been done before. Expect to have a good time. This production took a couple of scenes to find their flow but once they were in it there was no stopping them. Directed by Curve’s Nikolai Foster and choreographed by Arlene Phillips, Grease demands strong dancing from the cast in order to carry out creative sequences and transports the audience back to Rydell High School with ease. Led by Dan Partridge (Danny Zuko) and Ellie Kingdon (Sandy) the dialogue is fast paced with ...

9 to 5 The Musical – The Alexandra, Birmingham

17Nov

By Annette NuttallNo Comments

West Midlands

9 to 5 The Musical – The Alexandra, Birmingham

After an enforced break, this feel-good musical takes to the road again, stopping off in Birmingham for a week. Based on the 1980s film of the same name and of course, the iconic song, this show tells the tale of three woman (Doralee, Violet and Judy) with office jobs, struggling to get noticed in a man’s world. Their boss, Franklin Hart Jnr, has views that (hopefully) are outdated in the workplace today. Can the ladies get him to take them seriously? Being set in the 1980s, everything is of the era. The costumes, hair and make-up instantly transport you right back, as does the pared down set. Clever use of projection does the leg work for the scene setting allowing for a few well placed furniture items to create the location. The set changes create a choreographed musical interlude ...

17Nov

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Elf The Musical – Sheffield Lyceum

What a wonderful way to start the festive season, with more cheese than you would see on any Cheeseboard at Christmas! Elf - The Musical is based on the original film Elf written by David Berenbaum, staring Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf. The musical version does include a few changes from the film script, but its essence and Christmas spirit is very much alive. However, I did miss the snowball fight in the park though! (One of my favourite scenes). If anyone is unfamiliar with the storyline, we follow the story of Buddy, who is brought up in Christmastown by Santa and his elves. After crawling into Santa’s sack as a baby, Buddy is mistakenly transported to the North Pole. We join the story as it becomes evident that Buddy has a few ‘special’ qualities that set him aside from the rest of...

Eric & Ern – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

17Nov

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Eric & Ern – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

It was difficult to suppress a chuckle simply taking in the set. That sofa, for those of us of a certain vintage, the telephone (Daddy, what were they for in the olden days?) and… The Bed! With no sign of a kitchen one feared – correctly as it turned out – that this would be free of pop-up toast routines. Of Des O’Connor mentions, famous catchphrases and legendary sketches it was not. Never mind how ‘of its era’ it was (20 million+ viewers for the Christmas Specials in 1977 and 1978), this production underlined how enduring the scripts have proved. As has - faithfully captured by Jonty Stephens (Eric) and Ian Ashpitel (Ern) - the stagecraft, timing and theatricality necessary to execute them. In less safe hands a quip about watching a three-foot high person swallow a four-foot sword might ...

17Nov

By Hannah WildeNo Comments

North West

Dial M For Murder – The Lowry

The Lowry Theatre’s production of “Dial M For Murder” is probably one of the best pieces of theatre I have seen in a long, long time. Having no prior knowledge of the storyline – past the intriguing title and the vaguest of recollections of a film made in 1954 by the king of suspense, Mr. Alfred Hitchcock – I came into the Lowry Theatre on a cold Monday night not knowing what to expect... but nothing prepared me for the theatrical brilliance that awaited me. The set was simple – one single set, designed to replicate art deco living room-cum-kitchen in London’s trendy Maida Vale that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a 1960s edition of House and Home Magazine. But even in its simplicity, the set was wonderfully dynamic. It was functional, believable, and helped set the scene of mid...

17Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Me, Myself and Micha – Leeds Playhouse

When Brazilian dancer and choreographer Ana Silverio realised she was pregnant she began to make detailed notes to make a piece out of her nine month journey. Silverio who had worked across Europe initially thought this was going to be performed by three dancers after presenting an initial 10 minute work in progress during a scratch session as part of the Playhouse’s Furnace Festival she realised it was a solo show. Furnace is the engine room that supports new and more established artists like Silverio with space to create new work, as well allowing them to tap into the Playhouse’s vast reservoir of creative and technical expertise. Usually for Furnace which was cancelled last year due to the virus this is staged as a fully realised forty-minute piece that begins with a beauti...

17Nov

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

London

Lost Origin – Hoxton Docks

Cards on the table: I am a huge fan of immersive theatre. So, when I saw immersive pioneers Factory 42 had teamed up with Almeida Theatre and Sky to create ‘Lost Origin’, I was sold. The mission? In groups of six, participants turn undercover investigators as part of Wing 7 to crack an illegal dark web marketplace. The location of the experience in Hoxton Docks sets the scene. It’s a rundown building on the fringes of East London’s trendy nightlife. Greeted by special ops, you and your group are briefed on the mission and then taken off by Marsha, a crack coder with a slightly unstable personality. The experience fuses technology, performance and incredible set design in a 60-minute journey which sees you immerse yourself in solving the mystery. The different room themes are am...

A Streetcar Named Desire – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

16Nov

By Angela KellyNo Comments

North West

A Streetcar Named Desire – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

First performed on Broadway in 1947, Tennessee Williams ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ is a tragedy that highlights the inequalities of society in post war America. The play particularly shares the negative effects experienced by women during this time. Associated by many as one of the most significant of all American plays, it is certainly a brave step that the Altrincham Garrick Playhouse have undertaken in performing this epic tale. For those unfamiliar with the story, the play relays the story of Blanche Dubois (Kathryn Worthington) who arrives in New Orleans from Laurel, Mississippi having been given “a leave of absence” from her teaching role. She moves into her sister Stella’s apartment (Fiona Primrose) in the unbearable heat of New Orleans that she shares with Stella’s husband, the ...