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9Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Rose – Hope Mill Theatre

Rose is sitting shiva, participating in the Jewish tradition of mourning someone who has died and sharing stories about their life. And this particular death turns out to be tangled up with her story in a way that is really quite unexpected. As she sits, she shares snapshots from her own life that sometimes seem a little disconnected, as she wanders through the images in her memory, trying to separate the things that actually happened to her from the movies she has seen over the years and the stories she has been told; recognising that there are some things that she just doesn’t want to remember. Rose begins by talking about growing up in a Jewish village in Ukraine, her relationship with her parents and siblings, and the civil war and its consequences. She talks about following her bro...

Revolutionary production Mr. Adam to make its UK premiere at The O2 in 2021

9Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Revolutionary production Mr. Adam to make its UK premiere at The O2 in 2021

Coming to the O2 this March for its UK premiere, Mr. Adam is a dynamically modern multi-arts cross-media extravaganza. The work of Welsh composer Sir Karl Jenkins has been transformed into a narrative piece by Kairat Kulbaev, Marat Bisengaliev, Vasily Barkhatov, and The Almaty Symphony Orchestra, who have combined digital design with powerful performance for a classical concert like no other! The production integrates innovative Black Trax technology to enable real-time tracking of 14 frames onstage so that compelling projections are layered with seamless choreography and symphonic performance to create a revolutionary approach to presenting classical music. CREDIT TIMOFEY KOLESNIKOV This live digital experience sees sixteen musicians perform live alongside pre-filmed scenes of th...

9Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Macbeth reboot set for this October

Tradition requires that a ‘ghost-light’ be left on while the theatre is dark, to ward off restless ghosts and protect its magic from harm. The lights are off, but the magic is not gone. A closed theatre is a perfect playground for mischievous spirits intent on wreaking havoc. Three witches usher, stage manage and execute the tragedy of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, two innocents trapped in a Truman-esque reality which is both virtual and brutal. This October, Big Telly Theatre Company invites audiences to draw their curtains tight, turn off the lights and enter the realm of the witching hour for an up close and personal theatrical reboot of one of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays. Directed by the theatre company’s founder Zoe Seaton, this atmospheric Macbeth is a timeless...

32 Above Brings a Taste of NYC to Liverpool

8Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

32 Above Brings a Taste of NYC to Liverpool

As live performance begins again across the country, a series of socially distanced cabarets featuring West End stars and the city’s finest musical theatre performers will be staged in Liverpool this autumn. 32 Above is inspired by New York City’s iconic 54 Below and will take place at The Pillbox @ Frederiks on Hope Street, a street that is regarded as the heart of the Liverpool’s theatre scene. Produced by Musical Director, George Francis (Amelie, Liverpool Everyman Rep Seasons, Miracle on 34th St) and friends. 32 Above promises an evening of song led by the house band featuring George Francis (Musical Director/Keyboard) Danny Miller (Bass) Emily Linden (Guitar) Rhys Jiang (Drums) sound design by Will Miney. The cabarets will initially take place over three dates thro...

Shakers – RTB Productions / Liverpool Theatre Festival

8Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Shakers – RTB Productions / Liverpool Theatre Festival

It was an absolute pleasure, as always, to catch up with producer Siobhan Noble of RTB Productions and get the lowdown on their upcoming production of Shakers, written by John Godber and Jane Thornton, as part of the Liverpool Theatre Festival. Like most involved in theatre, Noble has had to put many a well-made plan on the backburner in 2020, so when opportunity came calling from fellow producer Bill Elms to feature in this outdoor theatre spectacle she jumped at the chance and began kicking ideas round with fellow creatives Margaret Connell, Jennifer Vaudrey, and Danielle McLauren. In a moment of life imitates art – two of the crew work part-time in bars –a play presented by four waitresses, each under pressure in different ways, and which describes a typical night at a bar called ...

My Beautiful Laundrette – Curve Theatre Leicester

8Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

East Midlands

My Beautiful Laundrette – Curve Theatre Leicester

Britain in the 1980’s – a time of division and change and this is the setting for an adaptation and stage revival of Hanif Kureishi’s screenplay from that era. First off, I must say that it hasn’t worn that well and suffers from some shameless stereotypical characterisations that modern audiences would find hard to accept. Having said that, the company under the direction of Nikolai Foster provide a lively and thoughtful rendition of Kureishi’s script and most of the acting is fine throughout. This is a recording of a dress rehearsal for the actual stage show from 2019 and it does show somewhat – the sound quality is poor and the staging does seem a little slapdash, which is a shame because I’m sure the actual performance would’ve been so much better (there is a fuller review in our ...

7Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

West Midlands

Birmingham Hippodrome

The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England. Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including visiting opera and ballet companies, touring West End shows, pantomime and drama. The Hippodrome is the venue for West End touring theatrical shows, such as Wicked, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Lion King, Matilda, Mary Poppins, Annie, Grease and We Will Rock You. The theatre's Christmas pantomimes are produced by Qdos Entertainment, over recent years attracting stars such as Brian Conley, Don Maclean, Julian Clary, Joe Pasquale, John Barrowman, Joan Collins, Nigel Havers, Keith Harris, Lynda Bellingham, Lesley Joseph, Gary Wilmot, Paul Zerdin,...

Back To The Future: The Musical Returns to The Stage in 2021

7Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Back To The Future: The Musical Returns to The Stage in 2021

It’s back! One of the most spectacular new musicals to hit the stage in recent years returns in 2021 following a run at Manchester’s Opera House which was dramatically cut short days after its official opening due to COVID-19. Back To The Future: The Musical will open at London’s Adelphi Theatre on the 14th May 2021, initially booking until the 19th December 2021. Welcome to Hill Valley! Take an electrifying ride back in time as the 1985 blockbuster film and pop culture phenomenon arrives in London’s West End as a groundbreaking new musical adventure! When Marty McFly finds himself transported back to 1955 in a time machine built by the eccentric scientist Doc Brown, he accidentally changes the course of history. Now he’s in a race against time to fix the present, escape the p...

7Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Buxton Opera House

Buxton Opera House is in The Square, Buxton, Derbyshire, England. It is a 902-seat opera house that hosts the annual Buxton Festival and, from 1994 to 2013, the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, among others, as well as pantomime at Christmas, musicals and other entertainments year-round. Hosting live performances until 1927, the theatre then was used mostly as a cinema until 1976. In 1979, it was refurbished and reopened as a venue for live performance. History It was built in 1903 and designed by Frank Matcham, one of Britain's finest theatre architects. He also designed a number of famous London theatres, including the London Palladium (1910) and the London Coliseum (1904). The Opera House ran as a successful theatre, receiving touring companies until 1927, when ...

7Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Grand Theatre, Blackpool

The Blackpool Grand was designed by Victorian theatre architect Frank Matcham and was opened in 1894 after a construction period of seven months, at a cost of £20,000 between December 1893 and July 1894. The project was conceived and financed by local theatre manager Thomas Sergenson who had been using the site of the Grand for several years to stage a circus. He had also transformed the fortunes of other local theatres. Matcham's brief was to build Sergenson the "prettiest theatre in the land". The Grand was Matcham's first theatre to use an innovative 'cantilever' design to support the tiers, thereby reducing the need for the usual pillars and so allowing clear views of the stage from all parts of the auditorium. Sergenson's successful directorship of the t...