Alhambra Bradford Archives - North West End UK

9Apr

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Operation Mincemeat – Alhambra Bradford

Hamilton proved that a rap show about an obscure figure in the American revolutionary war could be an unlikely smash hit, and Operation Mincemeat proves a musical about a long-forgotten part of our nation’s military history can also win Oliviers and Tonys. This quirky and very funny musical is based on real life events in World War Two brought to life by five incredibly talented and hard working singers and hoofers playing an array of different roles. They tell the unlikely true story of how our secret service disguised the corpse of a dead tramp as a made-up naval officer who was supplied with fake documents. The fake officer's body was dumped off the coast of Spain and based on the fake contents of his briefcase Hitler’s spies convinced him that the Allies were going to invade Sardini...

18Feb

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Dear England – Alhambra Bradford

It's always struck me as odd that for a nation that invented football there hasn't been more plays written about the beautiful game that is such a central part of so many of our lives. James Graham's Dear England puts that right with an intelligent and emotionally charged piece that genuinely captures the visceral nature of our national obsession with the game. It's a drama as much about human relationships and the unbearable pressures of holding a nation's hopes on the shoulders of 11 young men, as it is about kicking a football about. Thankfully Dear England eschews too much of the cheesy onstage attempts to replicate playing at the very highest level that all too often blights football plays. Once upon a time Gareth Southgate was famous for missing a penalty that dumped England ou...

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – Alhambra Bradford

12Dec

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – Alhambra Bradford

The year Billy Pearce began his panto career at this historic venue Bill Clinton had just become President, Microsoft released Windows and Jurassic Park was pulling the crowds in. 25 years on, and Pearce is no dinosaur as for a performer in his seventies he still has energy to burn His festive turn as the leading man at the Alhambra is now as traditional as turkey stuffing, and from the moment the kids (and big kids) bellowed back ‘hello Billy’ (oh, yes they did) he has a very lively intergenerational audience in the palm of his hand. It really is a masterclass in how to work a crowd, and as a veteran of the Yorkshire club circuit his timing and ability to think on his feet is still razor sharp. This year (as he notes on stage) for his silver jubilee he is The Man In The Mirror - com...

1Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Matilda – Alhambra Bradford

Many parents would have brought their precious ones along tonight expecting a jolly night out, but Matilda is based on a Roald Dahl classic so there’s a welcome darkness to this mega hit musical they might not have been expecting. It’s a tale of five-year-old child genius Matilda Wormwood who not only ends up in the family from hell, but then comes under the tutelage of monstrous headmistress Miss Trunchbull before using her formidable powers to take the tyrant down. Matilda is a subtly challenging but always entertaining piece that works for young minds, and for big kids like me who were huge Dahl fans back in the day, who can appreciate themes like how abuse impacts adult life like for Matilda’s teacher, the saintly Miss Honey. Dennis Kelly’s intelligent and funny adaptation kee...

17Sep

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Last Laugh – Alhambra Bradford

Sad clown paradox is actually a syndrome where comedians with early life feelings of deprivation and isolation use an audience as a release so they can remove feelings of suppressed physical rage through getting laughs. Paul Hendy’s ingenious idea to explore this paradox by imagining a meeting of seventies comedy titans Bob Monkhouse, Eric Morecombe and Tommy Cooper in a rundown dressing room as the lights flicker spookily. Trapped together, these troubled and driven funny men engage in a game of comedy one-upmanship as they slowly reveal the demons eating away at all three of them. Along the way Hendy subtly analyses the eternal question of what is funny, and who better to do than three men who dominated primetime TV in very different ways. Cooper was a physical comic who just had t...

3Sep

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Calamity Jane – Alhambra Bradford

When the town drunk picks out the notes of the Deadwood Stage on a banjo in front of the curtain, and the audience without thinking starts singing along, you can see why Calamity Jane has been such a successful old school musical revival Most of the people here when they think of Calamity Jane would be immediately thinking of Doris Day’s rollocking performance in the classic 1953 movie. This warm hearted and often very funny show offers a more folky version as a team of actor/musicians stroll and dance around Matthew Wright’s Golden Garter saloon set playing all the show’s familiar numbers. Rootin’ tootin’ tomboy Calamity Jane lives up to her name causing mayhem everywhere she goes in gold rush town Deadwood shooting her mouth off and telling tall stories much to the disgust of Wild ...

1Aug

By Phoebe Olivia Sian HobsonNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Grease – Alhambra, Bradford

Grease is most definitely the word on everyone’s lips after attending last nights show at the Alhambra, as it’s fair to say the withdrawals from the thrill and excitement have well and truly kicked in. There are always high expectations for beloved productions such as Grease, and the performance by the cast and crew exceeded all of them, inviting in younger audiences by bringing fresh new ideas but also reminding those maturer fans of their favourite scenes and songs. The show was impressively enticing, horny and funny with the entertaining representations of the burger bar boys and the pink ladies, the cast hit the nail on the head while capturing these characters, whether it was on their best or worst behaviour the teen groups had the audience in stitches. The show invites you in l...

Shifting Perspective, Breaking Boundaries: Introducing Unbound Dance Theatre

5Mar

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

Shifting Perspective, Breaking Boundaries: Introducing Unbound Dance Theatre

A brand-new dance company launches in Leeds, created to break down barriers and nurture a dance culture where everyone feels recognised. Founded by Dance Artist and Choreographer, Sandrine Monin, the company sets out on a mission, ‘to champion inclusivity, connection and expression’ and make dance more accessible. Sandrine Monin and her company of dancers, both professional and creative collaborators from the Blind and Visually Impaired community, will be delivering a series of new workshops in the coming months. Dates include London, Leeds and Bradford, as the company works towards the premier of a new performance, to be toured nationally in 2024-25, entitled Feathers. An innovative & inclusive new dance piece, Feathers takes audiences on an emotional journey, ...

10May

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

An Inspector Calls – Alhambra Bradford

A few hundred feet from this theatre stands a statue of Bradford’s favourite son J B Priestley, so it was fitting this perfectly realised revival of his enduring drama was coming home after becoming a worldwide hit. On one level it is a clever thriller with a smart twist, but on a deeper level it remains a searing condemnation of the cult of the individual - which is the essence of capitalism - written by a lifelong socialist who survived the horrors of the trenches in the First World War. Some theatre goers might find the political undercurrent a turnoff, so can just enjoy a mysterious police inspector calling on the well to do Birling family in their mansion where he strips bare their Edwardian hypocrisy as he reveals their culpability in the suicide of a destitute young working-cl...