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Scottish Opera presents a filmed performance of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel

8Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Scottish Opera presents a filmed performance of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel

Scottish Opera premieres Humperdinck’s enchanting Hansel and Gretel in the latest Scottish Opera: On Screen, filmed at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal on 19th December. The whole family can immerse themselves in this modern adaptation of the classic fairy tale from Wednesday 10th February at 6pm, via the Scottish Opera website. Sung in English, with staging by Daisy Evans, this vivid and joyful reimagining of Humperdinck’s opera tells the heart-warming story of two children and their journey from an impoverished home, into the mystery and danger of the woods. Brought to life by Daisy’s unique staging, with a Christmas-crazed witch and a shopping trolley full of sugary sweets and garish goodies, Hansel and Gretel seem a long way from their simple family life. Packed full of charm and sparkle thi...

Musical Daddy Long Legs to be streamed online later this month

8Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Musical Daddy Long Legs to be streamed online later this month

The Barn Theatre have announced today that they will be releasing an archive recording of their 2019 Built by Barn production of the musical Daddy Long Legs for a limited number of dates over the Valentine’s Day and February half term weekends. The Built by Barn production, which stars Ryan Bennett (Jersey Boys, The Importance of Being Earnest) as Jervis Pendleton and Rebecca Jayne-Davies (Half a Sixpence, Singing in the Rain) as Jerusha Abbott, originally ran at the Barn Theatre in Cirencester from 2nd October – 2nd November 2019 and marked the first time that a UK theatre had produced the Drama Desk award-winning musical. Daddy Long Legs is set in turn-of-the-century New England and tells the story of orphan Jerusha Abbott and her mysterious benefactor who agrees to send her to col...

Riz Ahmed – The Long Goodbye, a unique 30 minute performance

8Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Riz Ahmed – The Long Goodbye, a unique 30 minute performance

Riz Ahmed rounded off 2020 with The Long Goodbye, a very special digital performance blending music, storytelling and theatre which was a sell-out event when it aired in December. Due to the popularity and interest of this one-off show, it will now air on demand until the 1st March 2021. Presented by WeTransfer and developed especially for the digital realm, this online performance was written, filmed and performed entirely by Riz Ahmed and is a companion piece to last year’s critically-acclaimed The Long Goodbye album and the live stage show commissioned by Manchester International Festival (MIF) and Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) that was due to take place before the pandemic. Weaving together storytelling, music and immersive sound to guide audiences through an emotional landscape, ...

The Secret Society of Leading Ladies Goes Interactive

8Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

The Secret Society of Leading Ladies Goes Interactive

The Barn Theatre have announced an upcoming digital musical theatre event entitled The Secret Society of Leading Ladies, which provides a new innovative format that allows the viewer to make decisions and control the set list. The Secret Society of Leading Ladies, which will run from 22nd February – 7th March, takes audiences into a world where Musical Theatre characters can co-exist in the same space regardless of era or genre. The concept was created to reward die-hard musical theatre fans, whilst being mould-breaking enough to invite a new audience to discover the world of musical theatre. Conceived and directed by the Barn Theatre’s Ryan Carter, the event focuses on the archetypes of Female Musical Character, ranging from princesses and dreamers to villains and divas. Over the...

8Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Theatreland relocates to St Helens

The producers of stage show spectacular Theatreland regretfully announce this evening that it has become necessary for their production, due to be staged at the DriveINSIDE Theatre at the Trafford Centre this Saturday 22nd May, to be cancelled. However, they have arranged for Theatreland to be presented in the socially-distanced, Covid-safe environment of St Helens Theatre Royal at 2pm on Saturday, May 22nd. Producer of the show, Adam Curtis, says that his company has been left with no alternative but to withdraw Theatreland from the planned drive-in theatre at the Trafford Centre. “We have been liaising with the venue organizers, Beyond Theatre Limited, this week,” says Adam. “Our concerns regarding delivery of the venue infrastructure by them within a timescale capabl...

Heads or Tails by Skye Hallam – The Living Record Festival

8Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Heads or Tails by Skye Hallam – The Living Record Festival

Heads or Tails is a solo play written and performed by Skye Hallam for The Living Record Festival that asks us to deliberate the afterlife, our hang-ups about life (or those around our imminent death), and the decisions we make our in present ways of living. Presented as a 40-minute filmed performance that uses the free/shaky camera technique and has Skye speaking directly to the viewer, this piece makes you giggle, listen and reflect by exploring the life (and afterlife) of Steph, an actress gone in her prime who has now returned to the mortal world for one last show. By sharing candid experiences about the final years leading up to her untimely death and her encounters in heaven, particularly with God herself (please note the pronoun), Steph intends on sharing practical tips, suggesti...

Casting confirmed for the highly anticipated online concert streaming of Treason

7Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Casting confirmed for the highly anticipated online concert streaming of Treason

Casting has been confirmed for the highly anticipated online concert streaming of Treason, the exciting new musical drama based on the notorious gunpowder plot of 1605. The world premiere of this exclusive musical concert will be performed by a selection of some of the West End's most gifted performers including Lucie Jones (Legally Blonde, Waitress), Oliver Tompsett (& Juliet, Kinky Boots), Daniel Boys (Falsettos, Nativity Rocks!), Waylon Jacobs (Hamilton, Memphis), Bradley Jaden (Les Misérables, Wicked), Emmanuel Kojo (Oklahoma!, Show Boat), Rebecca LaChance (School of Rock, Beautiful), Cedric Neal (Chess, Memphis), Sharon Rose (Hamilton, Caroline Or Change), and alongside the multi-talented poet, writer and performer, Debris Stevenson (1st Luv, Poet in da Corner), as the show’s n...

This Little World – The Living Record Festival

7Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

This Little World – The Living Record Festival

This Little World is a solo adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry II, adapted by Owen Corey and Matthew Windham. Performed by Corey and directed by Windham, the piece utilises original body puppetry under the direction of Essie Windham to tell this story of isolation, desperation and the absolute loss of everything someone holds dear, whether that’s friends and family or the throne of England itself. Opening with Corey, playing Richard II, huddled up in his bare and dusty cell, wearing a torn tracksuit, we see him firstly engaging in desperate attempts to escape before scrawling desperately into a notebook. He pulls the camera towards him, a subtle push against the fourth wall, as he begins his first soliloquy. Using Shakespeare’s original text, Corey essentially tells the story to the a...

Ain’t No Female Romeo – The Living Record Festival

7Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Ain’t No Female Romeo – The Living Record Festival

Ain’t No Female Romeo, created and performed by Lita Doolan, is a surreal and disconcerting story of social media, the relationships they create and how reliant people can become on both posting and consuming content on it, and, more importantly, receiving responses, particularly “likes”. Combining snippets of poetry, selfie videos, images, quotes and hashtags, the piece exposes social technology, as Doolan travels the world looking for Peter, someone she knows through Instagram, but how well is never made clear. It’s possible that she and Peter have exchanged messages and comments, but the more disturbing possibility is that their only interaction has been liking each other’s posts. The images, quotes and hashtags which flash up on screen from time to time are often very quick, crea...

7Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Shook by Samuel Bailey – Papatango

Samuel Bailey’s Shook, directed by George Turvey in collaboration with James Bobin, tells the story of three young new or soon to be fathers, who are all in prison. The play won the 2019 Papatango New Writing Prize and shows the characters proceed through a series of parenting classes. The set shows a bleak, simply furnished room, with obviously faded paintwork and fold-up furniture. The play opens with Jonjo (Josef Davies) sitting on one of the fold-up chairs, with his head down as he tries to avoid Cain (Josh Finan), a loud Scouser who knows everything about everyone else and goes to great pains to maintain his own reputation. The play makes good use of the online format by including snippets of black and white CCTV recordings, emphasising the prison environment and giving the piece a...