All Shook Up Archives - North West End UK

26Aug

By Hannah WildeNo Comments

North West

All Shook Up – Norton Priory

What do you get when you mix the storyline of Footloose (a totalitarian mayor who bans music and frivolity in a small, rural town) juxtaposed with the themes, sentiments and love triangles of Shakespeare’s most famous plays - all set to the upbeat medley of Elvis hits? The answer is: All Shook Up, a jukebox musical written for Broadway in 2005 featuring songs by the king of rock’n’roll himself, Elvis Presley. The play unfolds in 1955 and centres around Chad, a crude caricature of Elvis, who uses his hip-swivelling, lip-curling sex appeal to turn a rural town upside down. Drawing parallels to the Shakespearean quasi-romantic-comedy Twelfth Night, there's undercurrents of forbidden love, unrequited love, and the notably Shakespearean device of girl-meets-boy-but-pretends-to-b...

26Apr

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

All Shook Up – Daneside Theatre

For those who know me, know I am not the biggest fan of jukebox musicals, so would a trip to see the very same genre tonight in Congleton change my opinion? The short answer is no, however tonight was one of the best productions I have seen of the genre with powerhouse performances coming from the stage in rapid succession. I must start by mentioning the visuals created by Simon Matthews, who also directs the show. 8 video walls places across the stage left you in no doubt as to where the on-stage action was taking place. From an American street complete with moving bus to a disused fairground nothing on show tonight would have looked out of place on a West End Stage. Cleverly designed lighting from Nick Walker complemented the screens however at times a little more face light could hav...

Trinity AOS are back on stage, and this time they are All Shook Up!

23Apr

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

Trinity AOS are back on stage, and this time they are All Shook Up!

Trinity AOS are back on stage, and this time they are All Shook Up! Returning to the Daneside Theatre in Congleton the show runs from Tuesday 25th April until Saturday 29th. Directed by Simon Matthews, with choreography by Helen Lilley and musical direction by Richard Tadman. Following an enforced break due to Covid 19 this is the first full scale musical the society have performed since The Full Monty in March 2020, one of the last shows to perform in the area before lockdown. The music of Elvis comes alive in All Shook Up. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, All Shook Up follows a small Midwestern town that is thrown into a frenzy with the arrival of Chad, a good-looking, motorcycle-riding roustabout, who rides from town to town with a guitar on his back, blue suede shoes ...

7Apr

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

All Shook Up – Hyde Festival Theatre

“I gotta follow that dream” Elvis once crooned. Two years later than planned, Hyde Musical Society have finally realised their dream to bring All Shook Up, featuring the hits of Elvis, to the stage. The musical is a frothy 50s comedy, loosely based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. ‘Bad boy’ Chad (who, thanks to the family-friendly stylings of the show, is about as dangerous as a glass of milk), swings into a small Midwestern town whose residents cower under the thumb of their very own Mary Whitehouse-type, Mayor Matilda – anything she considers immoral is banned. With less a nod, more a vigorous headbang towards the plot of Footloose, Chad’s hip-thrusting dance moves and rock and roll songs soon upset the applecart as the townsfolk are encouraged to let loose. Local ‘grease monkey’ me...