Latest Articles - Page 513 of 657

11Jan

By Craig HepworthNo Comments

Blogs

In The Spotlight

Hello North West End Welcome to my new weekly column here on the site, where I will talk all things theatre from local to touring, West End to Broadway and more. My name is Craig, and I am a playwright and director here in wonderful Manchester and also the co-owner of the long running theatre production company Vertigo. I am thrilled to be able to spend a little time with you each week with this column and share what's going on in the theatre world. So, with that said, I thought it might be best to bring you up to date with all that's going on around the world in theatre when it comes to everybody's least favourite party guest... Covid. It's been a dreadful two years for the theatre industry, and today we are still fighting to figure out a way to move forward in this new normal...

Pilot Theatre announce a national tour of The Bone Sparrow

11Jan

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

NEWS

Pilot Theatre announce a national tour of The Bone Sparrow

Pilot Theatre have adapted Zana Fraillon’s The Bone Sparrow about a Rohingya refugee boy who has spent his entire life living in a detention centre in Australia. The Bone Sparrow has been adapted by Shakthi Shakthidharan, who is an Australian writer, producer, composer and director for screen and stage of Sri Lankan heritage and Tamil ancestry. It’s directed by Pilot Theatre’s Artistic Director Esther Richardson. It’s story of Subhi, a refugee who was born in an Australian detention centre to a mother who had fled violence in her Burmese homeland. Subhi’s world is confined by the fences of the detention centre in which he lives, but through stories, relationships, and encounters, a wider but not always comfortable world emerges. The Pilot Theatre production has also been de...

Cast announced for An Adventure at Bolton Octagon

10Jan

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

NEWS

Cast announced for An Adventure at Bolton Octagon

A cast of four has been announced for Vinay Patel’s An Adventure which opens the 2022 spring season at Bolton Octagon from Friday 4th to Saturday 26th February. It’s a work spanning seven decades and three continents following the journey of a husband and wife as they leave India in the 1950s in search of a better, more exciting future. The husband and wife, Rasik and Jyoti, will be played by Esh Alladi and Saba Shiraz who is making her professional debut. The story is by award-winning writer Vinay Patel, whose writing credits include Doctor Who and Murdered By My Father. They’re joined by Manchester actor Daon Broni as David and Jessica Kaur will also make her professional stage debut playing Sonal and Joy. The production will be directed by Kash Arshad and designed by 201...

9Jan

By Coral MourantNo Comments

North West

Les Misérables – Liverpool Empire

Starting the new year with a storm, Les Mis opens its tour to thunderous applause. The theatre phenomenon is back with its new production and a cast as spectacular as its score. Opening in London in 1985, this tale set in the French Revolution, was not received well by critics. However, through word of mouth, the musical gained a loyal fanbase and raised the show to its current status as a household name and the longest running West End show. Fans will know that the original staging has been updated, with some devotees being of the opinion that “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it”. After seeing the new production (directed by James Powell and Laurence Connor), I can honestly say that it feels fresh, revived and still as epic as ever. And controversially, I don’t miss the revolve! This p...

Goldilocks and the Three Bears – Birmingham Hippodrome

8Jan

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Goldilocks and the Three Bears – Birmingham Hippodrome

If you go down in the woods today, you’ll be sure a vibrant explosion of panto frolics and furry fun at the Birmingham Hippodrome where, after a covid-induced hiatus, the annual treat comes crashing back forming the cherry on top of a very rich Christmas cake. The newly formed Crossroads Pantos rose phoenix-like from the remains of previous panto producers Qdos and transformed panto-like into the shiny new makers of our yuletide jollity with just enough traces of their previous incarnation blended with dollops of freshly minted ideas to justify their name change. “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is a plot rarely visited in pantodom. It’s scant and thin with only one familiar scene so it’s unsurprising Crossroads have taken to building out the story with some astounding circus artiste...

To Kill a Mocking Bird announces casting

7Jan

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

To Kill a Mocking Bird announces casting

Barry Diller and Sonia Friedman announce the full cast for the West End production of To Kill a Mockingbird. Joining the previously announced Rafe Spall (Atticus Finch) are Harry Attwell (Mr Cunningham/Boo Radley), Amanda Boxer (Mrs Henry Dubose), Poppy Lee Friar (Mayella Ewell), John Hastings (Bailiff), Simon Hepworth (Mr Roscoe/Dr Reynolds), Laura Howard (Miss Stephanie/Dill’s Mother), Lloyd Hutchinson (Link Deas), Gwyneth Keyworth (Scout Finch), Tom Mannion (Sheriff Heck Tate), David Moorst (Dill Harris), Pamela Nomvete (Calpurnia), Jim Norton (Judge Taylor), Patrick O’Kane (Bob Ewell), Jude Owusu (Tom Robinson), Harry Redding (Jem Finch), David Sturzaker (Horace Gilmer) and Natasha Williams (Mrs Dubose’s Maid), with Helen Belbin, Laurence Belcher, Paul Birchard, Ryan Ellsworth, Rebecca...

Andy Kesson and Jimmy Tucker, joint founders of ‘A Bit Lit’

7Jan

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Interviews

Andy Kesson and Jimmy Tucker, joint founders of ‘A Bit Lit’

After hearing Andy Kesson speak at a Shakespeare Festival a couple of years ago, I was eager to find out more about the newly formed collaboration ‘A Bit Lit’. Founded by couple Andy Kesson and Jimmy Tucker, they are excited to share their passion for Shakespeare with others who wish to learn about the culture of the 1600’s. Using performance, this will be a truly interactive, inclusive way of learning. A Bit Lit’s A Day Out in Shakespeare’s Theatre will take place on Saturday 15th January 4pm–6pm, and will be followed by a longer course, How to Make an Elizabethan Theatre starting 14th February. To find out more and book tickets visit - https://abitlit.co/ Further courses and events will be announced soon. Your first course A Day Out in Shakespeare’s Theatre, offe...

School of Rock – Palace Theatre Manchester

5Jan

By Blathine MaguireNo Comments

North West

School of Rock – Palace Theatre Manchester

Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of the most famous composers when it comes to the world of musicals but what some may not realise is that as well as his classics such as ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, ‘Evita’, ‘Cats’ and ‘Phantom of the Opera’ written in the 70s & 80s, he more recently wrote ‘School of Rock’ which premiered on Broadway in 2015. To kick off this new year of 2022, this smash hit musical has come to the Palace Theatre to rock the socks off this Manchester audience! Based on 2003 film, this musical follows the story of Dewey Finn (Alex Tomkins) who is desperate to make it big in a mighty rock band. Dewey takes an opportunity to make some money as a substitute schoolteacher, posing as his best friend, Ned Schneebly (Matthew Rowland). When he meets the kids of Horace Green Primary ...

Into The Night – Original Theatre Company

29Dec

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

REVIEWS

Into The Night – Original Theatre Company

On the 19th December 1981, the Penlee lifeboat the ‘Solomon Browne’ was launched with a crew of eight men (including the coxswain), to rescue the crew from a coaster, the ‘Union Star’, which was in danger of foundering on the jagged rocks of the West Cornwall coastline. There were sixteen lives lost that terrible night as the bad weather conditions made the rescue impossible. The Original Theatre Company, in collaboration with writer Frazer Flintham and the author of ‘Penlee – The Loss of a Lifeboat’, Michael Sagar-Fenton, have brought together their skills as theatre makers, with North South who specialise in bringing the stage to the screen. Writer Frazer Flintham had the difficult task of bringing together the historical detail, whilst always considering that the viewe...

22Dec

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Julie Madly Deeply – Park Theatre

Dame Julie Andrews is one of the few genuine British theatre icons, beloved by millions the world over, and with a career spanning seven decades. One of those fans - a mega-fan in fact - is Sarah-Louise Young, who in this funny, affectionate and joyful tribute celebrates the life and work of the woman everyone knows as Mary Poppins or Maria von Trapp. Young may have written a fan letter to Andrews when she was a child, but she avoids simply gushing about the highs of Julie Andrews' career, also presenting the other side of her life, the failed marriage, the casting of Audrey Hepburn in the film of My Fair Lady despite Andrews' stage triumph in the role, the 15-year low point and lack of work after her topless appearance in second husband Blake Edwards' movie, S.O.B., the devastating ...