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Magic Goes Wrong at the Opera House Blackpool this November

29Aug

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Magic Goes Wrong at the Opera House Blackpool this November

Olivier award-winning comedy favourites, Mischief, today announce hit comedy Magic Goes Wrong is set to head to the Opera House Blackpool this November from Wednesday 24th – Saturday 27th November 2021. Mischief’s biggest and most daring comedy catastrophe to date, Magic Goes Wrong follows a hapless gang of magicians as they stage an evening of grand illusion to raise cash for charity. As the magic turns to mayhem, accidents spiral out of control and so does their fundraising target! The show premiered in the West End at the Vaudeville Theatre in December 2019 and is set to resume performances in London this October. Created with magic legends Penn & Teller, the touring cast presents: Daniel Anthony (Mickey), Valerie Cutko (Eugenia), Sam Hill (Sophisticato), Kiefer Moriarty (The ...

Alcina: Grimeborn Opera Festival – Arcola Outside

26Aug

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Alcina: Grimeborn Opera Festival – Arcola Outside

Now in its 14th year, the Grimeborn Opera Festival returns at the Arcola Theatre’s new outdoor space, Arcola Outside. Almost a year and a half after the act of singing was largely prohibited due to the pandemic, Arcola Artistic Director Mehmet Ergen felt thrilled to host the Grimeborn programme in their new and safe outdoor theatre. In its fourth outing at the festival, London-based Ensemble OrQuesta returns with a contemporary treatment of Handel’s compelling opera of desire, power and rage. Written in the 18th century by the German-British Baroque composer, the opera seria's story was originally taken from Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso. The original story is set in enchantress Alcina’s island where she rules a magnificent palace full of former lovers and muses that she’s lured un...

Rock of Ages opens UK Tour in Birmingham

26Aug

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Rock of Ages opens UK Tour in Birmingham

Following a sell-out tour in 2018/2019, the producers of the smash-hit ROCK OF AGES are delighted to announce the cast and Kevin Clifton’s return in the role of Stacee Jaxx. The tour will open at The Alexandra, Birmingham from 9th September 2021. Full dates and casting can be found at the website www.rockofagesmusical.co.uk Kevin Clifton thrilled audiences as Stacee Jaxx on the 2018/2019 ‘Rock of Ages’ UK tour and he is so excited to be back, reprising the role in 2021. Kevin is best known for being a professional dancer on BBC1's 'Strictly Come Dancing’. In seven years on the show Kevin reached the final a record five times - winning four glitter balls including the main show Glitterball trophy in 2018 with Stacey Dooley - before leaving in 2019. Since then, Kevin has gone on to appear...

Faulty Towers the Dining Experience Returns to London

26Aug

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Faulty Towers the Dining Experience Returns to London

Faulty Towers the Dining Experience, the critically acclaimed international immersive phenomenon that celebrates its tenth birthday in London’s West End in October 2021, will resume full capacity performances at the Radisson Blu Edwardian in Bloomsbury from 2nd September for a limited run this autumn. Closed for much of 2020 due to the pandemic, the show reopened last autumn in a new socially distanced format, before closing again due to the December lockdown. The producers are pleased to announce that they will be bringing back the original version of the pre-pandemic show, in a newly refurbished space in the hotel, which has extremely high-quality ventilation. A loving tribute to the BBC’s classic TV series, the show has been seen by over a million people worldwide since it was born i...

25Aug

By Donna M DayNo Comments

Scotland

Carmilla – Edinburgh Fringe

Carmilla, adapted and directed by Laura J Harris from Le Fanu’s original Gothic novella, is a tale of love, decorum, passion and vampires. The adaptation focuses on and enhances the LGBTQIA+ elements of the story, to create a piece of theatre which is haunting, tragic and wonderfully terrifying. The play opens with a dark and creepy stage with the background of a very Gothic castle. We see Dr Hesselius creeping across the stage with a lantern, towards a table holding an old book, glass of red wine and a delicate porcelain teacup. The good doctor is nearing the end of his life, and leafing through his casebook as he reflects on whether his future may lie in hell, or if the souls he saved were enough to gain passage to heaven. As he ruminates on what is to come, Laura rises from the be...

25Aug

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

All Above Board – Gladstone Theatre

The World Premiere tour of Nigel Planer's All Above Board came to life at the Gladstone Theatre in Port Sunlight this week before heading off around the North and Midlands. It was wonderful to be back at the Gladstone theatre after such a long time of it being closed due to Covid and it was as homely and welcoming as ever. Nothing is too much in this theatre and that is why people continue to return time and time again All Above Board is a hilarious farce where a good deed ends up going as horribly wrong as it possibly could but with much wit and laughter along the way. Set in the living room of a flat, it had a feeling of Not Going Out with a hint of Fawlty Towers and a huge nod to The Young Ones, the show that writer, Planer, is so well known for. Robert Stuart-Hudson in the ...

25Aug

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

When Darkness Falls – Park Theatre

If you have a liking for ghost stories, then make your way to the Park Theatre in Finsbury Park. James Milton and Paul Morrissey have written and directed a modern take on the genre, which is intriguing, well-acted and excellently presented. The staging is the disorganised office of John Blondel, a teacher and historian, on the island of Guernsey. For his weekly Vlog on the subject of paranormal events on the Channel Islands he has invited a young man to recount some of the extraordinary tales of the supernatural, for which the islands are apparently renowned. Although an avowed sceptic, as the stories unfold, he becomes increasingly involved in a series of stories which become more than fiction. Apparently based upon true events, the five stories which were told by the visitor, know...

25Aug

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

The Rocky Horror Show – Opera House

If ever a show epitomised how happy people are to be back in theatres, it’s this one. You can’t move for corsets, sequins and high heels. And that’s just the men. For those unfamiliar with the nature of the show, perhaps having no more than a vague recollection of the 1975 film, it’s like being taken on a joyride on a high-powered motorbike and has an atmosphere more akin to a rock gig than a theatre show. The cheering and enthusiastic audience participation is in full throttle from the moment the strains of ‘Science Fiction Double Feature’ start and the curtain twitches open. It’s a fantastic atmosphere for our cast to bounce off, which they do with gusto. Philip Franks, in a role a billion miles away from his stuffy Darling Bud of May character, is outstanding as the Narrator, g...

What’s Love Got To Do With It? A Tribute to Tina Turner – Regent Theatre

25Aug

By Angela KellyNo Comments

West Midlands

What’s Love Got To Do With It? A Tribute to Tina Turner – Regent Theatre

If you are a star that is known instantly by your first name ‘Tina' and have a musical career that spans more than 50 years, then you really don’t need much of an introduction. However, one lady who should be applauded is the one and only Elesha Paul Moses, performing songs by Tina Turner. Brought to the stage by the producers who brought us the fabulous ‘Whitney, Queen of the Night’, this show was a celebration of Tina Turner’s career. ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’, is certainly the perfect return to the theatre for most audiences post lockdown. Jam packed with Tina’s hits it provided the audience with an uplifting, extremely energetic, feel-good show that is undoubtedly a wonderful tribute to the great Tina Turner. There are often strong opinions one way or another about tribute...

Act Your Age New Writing Festival – Hope Mill Theatre

24Aug

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Act Your Age New Writing Festival – Hope Mill Theatre

In a youth obsessed culture such as ours it was nice to see some plays written for actors over forty. This new writing festival, we were told, had been in the planning for 18 months and now, thankfully, it was here. It was the first of three evenings of new short plays that will be taking place at the Hope Mill Theatre over the next few weeks. The first play was Paper Crown by Laura Harper. It was partly about how we imagine the lives of others to be better than our own. This two-hander was an intriguing take on the familiar trope of the errant husband and the vengeful wife. Hell hath no fury… At first, we think we are watching a play about class. A working-class couple are in their pyjamas getting ready for bed. His are stained by ketchup, hers are cheap and tasteless. She ido...