Latest Articles - Page 573 of 666

53two launch charity auction to continue their journey in supporting underserved artists & developing their accessible venue

5Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

53two launch charity auction to continue their journey in supporting underserved artists & developing their accessible venue

In May, 53two opened the doors to its bar/café arts venue – a hub for creatives across Greater Manchester to meet, work and play together. At the end of June, their pop-up ‘Studio’ space was opened for theatrical and event bookings. The 60-seat studio space, designed to be a stop-gap, will house short-plays, new writing nights, intimate gigs and events until they can open their 150 seater venue early next year. Whilst they are open and functioning, they still have some way to go to make the venue as brilliant and accessible as they possibly can. For this, they’re looking to you! Manchester giants have donated auction items for you to view and bid on over the next couple of weeks. From Damon Albarn tickets at Manchester Central & Parklife Weekend VIP Passes, to Afternoon Tea i...

Spotlight on Nigel Planer – writer of All Above Board

5Jul

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Interviews

Spotlight on Nigel Planer – writer of All Above Board

As we look forward to Nigel Planer’s new play ‘All Above Board’ coming to the stage in partnership with The Northern Comedy Theatre, we asked Nigel about playwriting, his views on comedy and where did the idea for his character Neil from ‘The Young Ones’, come from? For further details of ‘All Above Aboard’ including tour dates and booking information, follow this link to The Northern Comedy Theatre’s website - https://northerncomedytheatre.com/ Your new play ‘All Above Board’ is due to premiere in New Brighton on the 23rd August. Without giving away too much, can you give us a brief summary of the plot of the play? Well, it’s a farce, so the plot is a bit intricate, but I’ll have a go. Timothy Upton-Fell has quit the world of banking and now - for all the wrong re...

5Jul

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

REVIEWS

Idlib by Storm in the North

Idlib, from new production company Storm in the North, is a transient piece in so many ways. Written and directed by Kevin Dyer, it started as a piece of prose as a prelude for a play that morphed into a short story before becoming the script for this monologue. As a halfway step on its journey to becoming a full-length stage play, the parallel to its content couldn’t be more complete. Commissioned by Chester Bandstand, performed by Paislie Reid, and based on the story of a Syrian baker who wanted to go home and real interviews with Syrian refugees and escapees across Europe, it tells the story of a woman who has hope. There’s a normality to Reid’s delivery that is comforting and almost invites you to step into the picture she paints, but it isn’t a scene that most of us would recogn...

3Jul

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Hull & High Water – Hull Truck Theatre

Listening to the pre-show chatter of the Hull Truck Theatre audience, awaiting the start of the world premiere of Hull & High Water, made me realise just how much I have missed the live theatre atmosphere. I watched this, the third of the theatre’s socially distanced Homecomings Season monologues, online but, no doubt, I’ll be back in that cosy theatre before too long. As in the first two monologues (The Greatest Play In The History Of The World and Everything I Own), the stage setting was a tad too dark for my liking. Dim lighting and dark furniture added to the gloom. Luckily, Emmerdale actor John Middleton lit up the stage the minute he set foot on it. I warmed to him immediately. Although his character, Frank Piddock, is getting on in years, suffering from dementia and ...

3Jul

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Extinct – Theatre Royal Stratford East

As I walked through the exit doors of Theatre Royal Stratford East, two immediate thoughts struck me. First, a growing feeling of being overwhelmed (in a good way) by something I thought I knew but hadn’t fully grasped until just then. Second, a feeling of (self-conscious) irony that washed over me as I looked around for a recyclable bin to dispose of my complimentary-press-night beverage can. Unable to find one, I settled for a general use bin instead (I know, I know) and made my way home. Through this brief and exceedingly casual act that many of us probably undertake everyday without much thought, I was confronted by the central argument the show represents – human indifference in the face of a global extinction crisis. Extinct is a deeply gripping, hauntingly vivid call for action a...

3Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Talent – Crucible Theatre

Just over five years ago, in April 2016, Britain lost a unique and irreplaceable comedy voice with the untimely death of Victoria Wood. In addition to her brilliance as a stand up comedian and actress in both comedic and dramatic roles, Wood also scripted a number of plays and musicals for the stage and her very first attempt from 1978, 'Talent', is the subject of a revival at Sheffield’s Crucible during July. The world of the late 1970's northern working men's club, is evoked by both the cheesy ballads playing as we enter the auditorium and the set design of Janet Bird. A golden cloak covers the stage and reaches up to a white grand piano perched high on a plinth, evoking the glamour of Liberace and 1940's Hollywood. This is quickly revealed to be a grotty backstage with boxes of crisp...

Spend, Spend, Spend – Guilford School of Acting

2Jul

By Tracey BellNo Comments

REVIEWS

Spend, Spend, Spend – Guilford School of Acting

Upon winning a fortune of £152,000 (today’s equivalent of 3.3m) on the football pools in 1961, Viv Nicholson told the press she was going to "spend, spend, spend." Her true life rags to riches story and its decline back to rags is chronicled in this musical with book and lyrics by Steve Brown and Justin Greene based on the original book by Viv Nicholson herself and Stephen Smith. The story both starts and ends in present day, with Viv working in a Hairdressers in Castleford, West Yorkshire. We are transported back to the young, 16-year-old Viv as the story unfurls of her abusive father, poverty to a pools win, five unconventional marriages, fast cars, Fur coats, lots of alcohol and parties and a desperate need to be loved. Spend, Spend Spend does not make Viv as happy as she first think...

2Jul

By Rebecca CaseyNo Comments

North West

Swan Song – Unity Theatre

I have just returned home from Liverpool’s Unity Theatre, or for the purposes of this evening a high school back in 1997. Swan song is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement all I can say is that I truly hope that this is not Andrew Lancel’s swan song because he is outstanding in this role. I don’t quite know what I was expecting tonight but Lancel’s portrayal of the character was the polar opposite to any role you may have seen him in previously. Andrew has had a celebrated career including several leading roles in television. I personally can’t look at him without picturing his character from Coronation Street. I also saw him in the national tour of The Sound of Music last year in Blackpool. The guy seems to be able t...

Can You See Into a Black Hole – Iris Theatre

1Jul

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Can You See Into a Black Hole – Iris Theatre

“Can You See Into A Black Hole” is the first of a three-part series by Tom Ryalls that offers a glimpse into childhood epilepsy and youth hospitalizations told through their own personal story. Through a heart-warming personal account of their adolescent years and a combination of documentary interviews, electronic music and the only surviving film of one of their seizures, we witness the complex consequences and conditions of living with an invisible disease that could strike at any time, without warning. Presented at an outdoor setting under the Iris Theatre’s Summer Festival at the St. Paul’s Church in Covent Garden, the show is directed by Deirdre McLaughlin and performed by Dan Fitzsimons, accompanied by Christian Czornyj’ sound design. The text by Ryalls is the driving force of th...

Full company of hit musical Come From Away announced ahead of 22nd July reopening

1Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Full company of hit musical Come From Away announced ahead of 22nd July reopening

As the multi award-winning Come From Away prepares to welcome audiences back to the Phoenix Theatre in London from 22nd July, the international hit musical announces two new members of the London cast and confirms the full Come From Away UK family, on and off stage. Gemma Knight Jones (Falsettos, Sister Act UK Tour, Hairspray UK Tour, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) will play Hannah and others, and Sam Oladeinde (Hamilton, The Book of Mormon, A Christmas Carol, The Prince of Egypt) will play Bob and others. They join the current London cast Jenna Boyd (Beulah and others), James Doherty (Claude and others), Mary Doherty (Bonnie and others), Mark Dugdale (Kevin T/Garth and others), Alice Fearn (Beverley/Annette and others), Kate Graham (Diane and others), Alasdair Ha...