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Young Everyman Playhouse bring toil and trouble of a different kind to the Bombed Out Church this summer

29Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Young Everyman Playhouse bring toil and trouble of a different kind to the Bombed Out Church this summer

This summer, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse theatres’ Young Everyman Playhouse programme will perform a modern version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, in the outdoor setting of St Luke’s Bombed Out Church. The young actors will take over the iconic Liverpool church at the top of Bold Street, tackling one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, for five performances from 21st – 25th July. In this bold and inventive YEP production, a female Macbeth takes centre stage. Kingdoms are replaced for street corners, broadswords for pocket knives and armies for gangs as one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies is re-imagined by and for young theatregoers. Initially planned the for summer 2020, the production was rescheduled to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, after preparations for ...

Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse announce casting for Love, Liverpool

29Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse announce casting for Love, Liverpool

In roles inspired by original writing from Amina Atiq, Luke Barnes, Roy, Aron Julius, Mandy Redvers-Rowe, Inclueless Theatre and the people of Liverpool, separate lives intertwine to celebrate and interrogate the rich tapestry of everyday life in Liverpool. Performing a role inspired by his own work, Aron Julius is cast alongside fellow A Christmas Carol company member Helen Carter, and Our Lady of Blundellsands actor Nathan McMullen. Chloë Clarke, a visually impaired actor, will also perform in the stage production created from the award-winning, collaborative project Love, Liverpool: An A-Z of Hope. Love, Liverpool threads together the stories and shared spaces in Liverpool. Local writer Chloë Moss brings to life the original letters, commissioned in lockdown. Directing the cast, E...

First Waves Of Shows Announced For Liverpool Theatre Festival 2021

29Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

First Waves Of Shows Announced For Liverpool Theatre Festival 2021

The first wave of shows for the second annual Liverpool Theatre Festival taking place in September have been announced, with tickets going mow on sale. The inaugural Liverpool Theatre Festival was created by Liverpool theatre producer Bill Elms and staged in September 2020. Bill stepped in to bring entertainment back to audiences after theatres across the country were ordered to close their doors as part of the first Coronavirus lockdown in March 2020. The outdoor festival went on to be a huge success, scooping an award and shortlisted for further accolades, winning praise across the industry for once again giving live performance a platform during the most challenging of times. Liverpool Theatre Festival runs between Wednesday 1st September and Sunday 12th September 202...

Katrina And The Waves And All Star Line-Up To Shine At Hale Barns Carnival

29Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Katrina And The Waves And All Star Line-Up To Shine At Hale Barns Carnival

Hale Barns Carnival will step back into the Eighties next month with a stellar line-up of musical favourites headlined by Katrina and the Waves. This year’s Hale Barns takes place across the weekend of Friday 16th July, Saturday 17th July and Sunday 18th July 2021 – and will be a socially distanced event with extra Covid-safe measures in place. The Eighties extravaganza on Sunday 18th July is the brilliant finale to three unmissable nights of music promised at the annual Cheshire event which raises thousands of pounds for good causes. And just announced is Brother Beyond featuring Nathan Moore who will also perform live on the evening. Katrina and the Waves were formed in the early 1980s and scored a massive international hit in 1985 with the irrepressible Walking on Sunshine. ...

28Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

The Ballad of Mulan – Capstone Theatre

Many of us with children know the story of Mulan from its Disney incarnations but Ross Ericson’s re-telling of this classic Chinese tale is far from fluffy. Performed by Michelle Yim, this Mulan is brought to life as the woman, warrior, and legend that she is, the real Mulan who, to save her family’s honour, disguised herself as a man and joined the Emperor’s army. We meet her ten years on, her true identity still a secret, and with one last battle to contend with, she will soon be going home. But to what exactly when younger siblings will now be fully grown adults and parents, if alive, more aged still. And who is Mulan? Yim takes us through those ten years tinged with the horrors of war that are offset by subtle moments of humour that resonate with the audience, but it is a man’s w...

28Jun

By Donna M DayNo Comments

REVIEWS

Trees: An Audio Journey – Physical Fest

Jamie Wood’s Trees: An Audio Journey combines a detailed and personal memoir of a homemade pilgrimage with a guided mindful walk and a spiritual journey of self-discovery. Recorded by Wood on a ten day walk from Coventry in Warwickshire to Treherbert in South Wales, it is recommended that you listen to the piece while taking your own walk outside and reconnecting with your own roots as Wood did. Wood’s voice is very soothing from the opening of the piece and the background noises of the recording blend beautifully with those around you. Wood encourages you to be curious and notice things you haven’t noticed before. The chorus of sounds allow you to get lost in the experience. Wood’s journey is one which his grandparents undertook when they were younger and he scatters their ashes at ...

27Jun

By Donna M DayNo Comments

REVIEWS

Vigil – Physical Fest

Mechanimal’s Vigil, created and performed by Tom Bailey, with movement direction by Philippa Hambly, is a desperate and poignant illustration of the devastating effects of climate change on animal and plant life endangered as a result of both that and other environmental concerns. Opening in a small wooded area, Bailey walks around with a glass box which he slowly fills with twigs from the ground, some of which are too big to fit into the small confines of the box, indicating from the start that what we are going to see will feel overwhelming in many ways. Moving into a plain room with a white screen, Bailey sits on his box, seemingly full of foliage, when the names of plants and animals on the red list, those at highest risk of extinction begin flashing up on the screen. Bailey watc...

Hello and Goodbye – Elysium Theatre Company

27Jun

By Brian MaddenNo Comments

REVIEWS

Hello and Goodbye – Elysium Theatre Company

As I sat down on my couch and tuned into the live streamed production of ‘Hello and Goodbye’, I was quite curious about how this would play out. A television production and theatrical production are remarkably different, so trying to do both is quite a challenge. When the lights go up, we are greeted to a shabby living room that looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in years. It’s clear that whoever lives here hasn’t got a lot of money or is extremely lazy - or perhaps both? The window netting is torn and the walls are stained. One of the first things to grab my attention is the hole in the wall that appears to be in the shape of Africa. It is soon confirmed that the play is set in South Africa in the 1960s. Set designers; Caitlin Mills and Lee Ward have done a fantastic job in capturing th...

Leeds Playhouse’s James Brining talks about staging A Little Night Music with Opera North

27Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Leeds Playhouse’s James Brining talks about staging A Little Night Music with Opera North

Most people have heard the haunting Send In The Clowns but how many could say which musical it is from? Well, it’s just one of a bunch of brilliant tunes penned by Oscar and multiple Tony winner Stephen Sondheim for A Little Night Music that traces the complicated and interlocking relationships of several Swedish couples at the dawn of the twentieth century. Inspired by Bergman’s film Smiles of a Summer Night, Sondheim’s challenging score and an intelligent book by Hugh Wheeler offers genuine insights into the high and lows of human relationships. Leeds Playhouse’s Artistic Director James Brining was gearing up to direct A Little Night Music as his latest coalition with Opera North, but then the pandemic struck. Now the company including the legendary Dame Josephine Barstow are...

27Jun

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Staircase – Southwark Playhouse

Presented by Two's Company and Karl Sydow in association with Tilly Films Staircase is a revival of late English playwright Charles Dyer’s play from the late 60s that explores the relationship between an ageing gay couple who own a barber shop in Brixton, London. Set in a time when homosexuality was not fully decriminalized in the UK, the play shines a light on the various social pressures and anxieties suffered by gay couples who often had to resort to living an undercover life to stay clear of the law. Presented by Two’s Company, who are known for their revivals of texts from the previous century and staged at The Southwark Playhouse, this production is a striking glimpse into the lives of Charles and Harry as they struggle to get past personal differences, estranged family relationsh...