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Behind Closed Doors – Christ Church Spitalfields

8Oct

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Behind Closed Doors – Christ Church Spitalfields

If there’s one thing that transcends linguistic, cultural and socio-political boundaries for humans, it’s our curiosity about other human beings. More specifically, the people who live in our neighbourhoods and their lives. Multicultural collective 27 Degrees seeks to bring forth this innate curiosity about people who live next door to us through their show Behind Closed Doors, a site-specific theatrical experience that unfolds on the streets of East London. The journey begins at the steps of Christ Church in Spitalfields where you are invited to put on your headphones and access the audio instructions. Step by step, you are introduced to the rules of the world and you begin your journey on foot. Guided by audio, you cross different streets in and around Spitalfields. As you progress, y...

8Oct

By Zoё MeeresNo Comments

London

Eulogy – National Theatre Courtyard

Before I even arrived at the courtyard outside the National Theatre, I could see the large white container with EULOGY written in black letters along the side. In the ten minutes I was waiting for the performance to begin, two people came up to me and asked me what it was. It’s unusual for something to stick out on the Southbank – there are street performers and installations most weeks – but there’s something mysterious about the Eulogy set up that immediately captures your interest. Performance isn’t quite the right word; Eulogy is billed as an in-person, immersive experience and I can’t think of another way to sum it up. We take our seats in our “suite” don a pair of headphones and are plunged into such extreme darkness that at times I wasn’t sure if my eyes were open or closed. I’ve...

7Oct

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Grease – Sheffield Lyceum

Directed by the renowned Nickolai Foster and Choreography by the legendary Arlene Phillips, Grease hits the Sheffield stage with all the frenzy the original 1978 film created. With an audience full of Pink Ladies and T Birds, I anticipated a night of raucous sing-a-long, but on the whole the audience were too riveted by the performances they were witnessing to join in, until invited to on the Grease Mega Mix. Only then was the whole audience on its feet raising the roof and loving every moment. As the band struck up, conducted by Rickey Long the oh so familiar songs soared and so did my expectation as I realised we weren’t in for the sweet version of the film, the energy from the cast was electric from the very start, edgy, with a hint of modernity, a lifetime away from the sickly image...

7Oct

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Leaving – Hope Street Theatre

This was the second night of a quartet of new plays written by Liverpool Scriptshop playwrights. Selected from many scripts submitted, Scriptshop wanted to present four of these new pieces as part of the exciting Liverpool Fringe Theatre Festival 2021. The theme, like the previous pair of plays, was all about leaving in one form or another. The third play in this quartet is Left Behind written and directed by Tom McLennan and centred around a couple Margie (Sarah Wood and Mick (Tommy Tyler Morgan) trying to come to some sort of agreement during a family crisis. The couple’s discussions alluding to both Brexit and the UK political landscape was quite sparky and their differing opinions and thoughts made for some good solid drama. We see their marriage unravel as the days lead up to...

7Oct

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Fritz & Matlock – The Pleasance Theatre

Fritz & Matlock is a new two-hander play by James Wallwork and Salvatore D'Aquilla that makes its way to the Pleasance Theatre’s autumn programming, after being written over Zoom during the pandemic. The show, produced by Part of the Main and directed by Jessica Millward, has been described as a contemporary 'Waiting for Godot’, an almost tongue-in-cheek reference to how its two titular characters find themselves trapped in a dingy basement, grappling with the consequences of an unfortunate incident, and are waiting to make their next move. These are childhood friends Carl Fritz (D'Aquilla) and Barry Matlock (Wallwork) whose vastly different outlooks on life are, perhaps, only exceeded by their considerably different approaches to the situation at hand. The story begins sometime mid...

7Oct

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Rock of Ages – Manchester Opera House

We were asked for proof of COVID vaccinations as we entered the theatre; those who couldn’t produce them were asked to take a temperature check at the side entrance. All theatre staff were wearing masks. The theatre was two thirds full: mostly with a 23-35 year old age group with a sprinkling of older theatre-goers. There was an air of anticipation as we waited for the curtain to go up. Once it did, two lone guitarists appeared beneath projected images of USA; the set was a nightclub, The Bourbon Room, with a small stage and a bar with tables and chairs. Rock of Ages doesn’t have much of a story, but for what there is, it is a typical love story, well three love stories really but the main story concerns a small town girl, Sherrie (Rhiannon Chesterman), who relocate...

Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! Full Casting and Touring Dates Announced

6Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! Full Casting and Touring Dates Announced

New Adventures is delighted to announce full casting and touring dates for 30th Anniversary, newly designed and reimagined production of Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! The tour opens at Theatre Royal Plymouth on Monday 15th November 2021 ahead of a Christmas Season at Sadler’s Wells, London from Tuesday 7th December 2021 to Sunday 30th January 2022. The tour then continues until April 2022, visiting a total of 14 venues across the UK. Full listings below. Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! features a cast of well-loved New Adventures stars along with many stars of the future! Cordelia Braithwaite and Katrina Lyndon will play Clara with Ashley Shaw and Monique Jonas as Princess Sugar. Harrison Dowzell will play the title role, along with Ben Brown and Reece Causton and Fritz will be ...

Casualty legend Tony Marshall talks about a revival of Jitney at Leeds Playhouse

6Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Casualty legend Tony Marshall talks about a revival of Jitney at Leeds Playhouse

August Wilson is now seen as one of the great voices of 20th century drama, but his poetic works reflecting on the experiences of black Americans aren’t performed that often in this country. Now Jitney about the trials and tribulations of eight drivers offering low-cost rides in their jitney cabs to a poor community in 1970s Pittsburgh gets a welcome revival as a part of Leeds Playhouse’s new season. Tinuke Craig directs a strong cast including Casualty legend Tony Marshall who spoke to our Yorkshire Editor Paul Clarke. So, what’s Jitney about? It’s based in Pittsburgh in 1977 and the word jitney derives from the cabs being five cents a ride. It’s for the local community instead of using the other cabs, so it’s people taking other local people shopping and so on. It’s just anot...

Blue Remembered Hills – The Daneside Theatre

6Oct

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

North West

Blue Remembered Hills – The Daneside Theatre

After a long period of ‘resting’, the Congleton Players are back in business and begin their season with a Dennis Potter play. The ‘Blue Remembered Hills’ began its life as a television play broadcast in 1979, in the days when the BBC broadcast plays for the TV. Potter came up with the idea that this story of seven children should be played by adults, an idea that he first tried in his play ‘Stand Up, Nigel Barton’. Set in the Forest of Dean in the Summer of 1943, wartime lurks in the background and tells of the life of a group of children, trying to be young and carefree, but with the knowledge that their life has changed and the innocence of their youth is a mere reflection in the eyes of the adults inhabiting their personas. As we enter the theatre, the ...

Cast Announced for The Wiz at Hope Mill Theatre

6Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Cast Announced for The Wiz at Hope Mill Theatre

Following its sold-out, critically acclaimed production of ‘Rent’, Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre in association with Ameena Hamid Productions announces the cast for a radical new version of the 70s musical The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical “Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. Directed by Matthew Xia (‘Into the Woods’, Royal Exchange), The Wiz is a joyous retelling of L. Frank Baum’s classic children’s novel ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ reflecting contemporary African-American culture. Its 1975 Broadway premiere production won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Matthew Xia said: “The Wiz is approaching its 50th anniversary, it now exists within the canon of mainstream musicals and it’s due time for some bold reinvention. Originally a funk and soul-based analogy for the African-American ex...