Anything Goes Archives - North West End UK

24Dec

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

Best Amateur Production of 2023

We have been thrilled to be invited to review a huge number of amateur productions in 2023, but which was the most popular with our readers. Below are the top 5 shows, we are looking forward to visiting even more amateur shows in 2024. You can request reviews for your society by emailing info@northwestend.co.uk with at least 4 weeks notice. NUMBER 5 – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Altrincham Garrick Playhouse. “one of the strongest opening nights of a show I have seen in a long time” https://northwestend.com/chitty-chitty-bang-bang-altrincham-garrick-playhouse/ NUMBER 4 - Betty Blue Eyes at Gladstone Theatre. “a great family show – charming, funny, uplifting and memorable” https://northwestend.com/betty-blue-eyes-gladstone-theatre/ NUMBER 3 – The Wedding Singer – Grange T...

13Jul

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Anything Goes – Z–Arts, Manchester

Z-Arts Renaker Theatre hosted Manchester Musical Youth’s (MMY) latest summer production of ‘Anything Goes’. With a cast of over forty young performers, I was intrigued to see how Principle and Musical Director Kimberley Holden would pull this musical off with its huge repertoire of songs, monumental tap numbers, including the sensational choreography that we have come to expect from this classic Cole Porter’s masterpiece. The set is that of the ocean liner S. S. American, where nightclub singer Reno Sweeney (Hanna Cunningham) is on route from New York to England. Reno’s love interest and friend Billy Crocker (Oliver Horton) has stowed away to be his true love Hope Harcourt (Amelia Ruffley), the problem being that his true love is betrothed to be married to a wealthy English Lord – Evel...

15Jul

By Aditi DalalNo Comments

London

Anything Goes – Barbican Theatre

Put together three pairs of (almost) lovers and their muddled relationships, against the backdrop of a grand ship with scintillating choreography and music, and you get a spirited production of Anything Goes. There isn’t very much else to the plot, just a classic case of entangled couples, falling in love and attempting to see it through. But the story is not what the audience comes for. It is the escape into this magical world of a magnificent ship where everyone talks in song and dance, makes silly jokes and enthrals the audience with contagious energy! Cole Porter’s classic masterpiece is back with an award-winning cast including Kerry Ellis as Reno Sweeney, Denis Lawson as Moonface Martin, Simon Callow as Elisha Whitney, Bonnie Langford as Evangeline Harcourt, Samuel Edwards as Bil...

Anything Goes – Palace Theatre, Manchester

9Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Anything Goes – Palace Theatre, Manchester

Manchester is basking in theatrical bliss right now. We’ve just bid farewell to Beauty and the Beast and are getting ready to welcome the Lion King back to the city later in the year, but before that the SS American has docked in the city with a stellar cast proving that literally Anything Goes. Originally opening on Broadway in 1934 the show has gone through many re inventions, the last being the 2021 revival which played in London’s Barbican Theatre and mirrors this UK tour before it returns to the Barbican this summer. Cole Porter sure knows how to pen a tune with some of his most famous songs featuring in this 2 and a half spectacle. For those not familiar with the plot, the story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London. Billy Crocker is a stow...

19May

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

Anything Goes – The Brindley Theatre

Centenary Theatre Company brings Cole Porter’s Anything Goes to the Brindley Theatre after two and a half years in the making. With the dreaded Covid putting a hold on things, they were able to bring most of the original cast back to display the hard work they have put into this show. Set aboard the Luxury liner S.S. American as it travels from New York to England, we follow the comings and goings of a nightclub singer, a wealthy English Aristocrat, a public enemy, and many more in this fast paced, music filled show. The show started with the house curtains closed as the band played the Overture, sounding incredible and stayed sounding amazing throughout. When the curtains opened, we were introduced to the very impressive looking set, mostly the deck of the liner with pieces wheeled on...

Anything Goes – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

12May

By Melissa JonesNo Comments

Scotland

Anything Goes – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

When theatre reopened in London 2021, it opened with a bang. The Barbican’s Anything Goes starring Sutton Foster and Robert Lindsay was not just a highlight of 2021, but rather a theatre highlight of the decade. With a new star cast, starring Bonnie Langford, the absolutely de-lovely production hits the spot. Tonight’s cruise liner was crammed with as much action as a Shakespearean romantic comedy, if not more. Mistaken identity, farce and wall to wall tap dancing abound in every scene. Starlet Reno Sweeney (Kerry Ellis) is heading to New York aboard SS American, where her love Billy Crocker (Samuel Edwards) has also stowed away but is in hot pursuit of the debutante, Hope Harcourt (Nicole-Lily Baisden), who is due to be married to her PG Wodehouse-esque fiancé, Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. A...

23Apr

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

North West

Anything Goes – Liverpool Empire

In olden days, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking, but now God knows, anything goes. Last years’ Olivier Award nominations were proof that Cole Porter’s 1934 musical hit is a timeless classic and can still please audiences today. This new touring production also shows, that with the right casting, it can raise the roof on large theatre venues. Set on the SS American, as it sets sail from New York to England, the press and passengers on board are complaining that there are no celebrities to make this trip worthwhile and worth the price of the ticket. Unbeknownst to them, there are stowaways and gangsters hiding in plain sight aboard and chaos, of course, ensues. With storylines that follow four main characters, it’s easy to think you’d get confused with the multip...