Bill Kenwright Archives - North West End UK

12Mar

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

Blood Brothers – Liverpool Empire

A centenary celebration is a milestone in itself, but having Liverpool’s iconic musical back in the city’s legendary theatre for its one-hundredth birthday is a new level of special. Audience members may have watched Blood Brothers countless times, I being not from the city, have only studied Willy Russell’s play, never seeing it performed. So, I had all hopes this would live up to expectation. Bringing Sean Jones back to re-imagine Mickey was a stellar move by Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright. He was at home in that character and his ease in the role from age seven to eighteen is nothing but smooth and effortless. Together with Joe Sleight’s equally natural and charming Eddie, they make a magnicent pair, full of vivacity until the very end. This musical will never die. Just like the Em...

20Nov

By NewsdeskNo Comments

North West

Blood Brothers – Palace Theatre

Full disclosure that in well over forty years of watching and reviewing theatre I have always managed to avoid watching this musical paean to our Scouse cousins down the M62. I am certainly in the minority, as since its inception in 1983, Willy Russell’s ‘Liverpudlian Folk Opera’ has been garlanded with awards galore, toured the world and clocked up over 10,000 performances in the West End. So, after a little nudge from my Liverpool FC supporting editor, I braved the November sleet and snow and made the trip to the Palace Theatre in Manchester to catch its latest incarnation and finally see what all the fuss is about. The story of the Johnstone twins ‘as like each other as two new pins’ and their enforced separation - one given a life of rich opportunity whilst the other is condemned to...

26Sep

By H.S. BakerNo Comments

Scotland

Blood Brothers – Edinburgh Playhouse

Blood Brothers is an emotional morality tale which is all about the narrative, less about the music. Poor and fecund Mrs Johnstone discovers she is expecting twins shortly after starting work as a cleaner for rich infertile Mrs Lyons. With her husband having done a bunk and too many mouths to feed already, Mrs Johnstone agrees to let Mrs Lyons have one of her twins. Conveniently Mr Lyons is away on business for nine months, so Mrs Lyons is able to create the pretence of pregnancy, fooling everybody including her husband, into believing the baby is hers. The show’s narrator constantly warns of the consequences of their actions and is the voice of impending doom throughout. Written by Willy Russell, directed by Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright (resident director...

1May

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Blood Brothers – Birmingham Hippodrome

It’s not surprising that two of the greatest, and longest-lasting, touring shows in the history of the British theatre (“Blood Brothers” and “Joseph”) have outlasted the producer of both, Bill Kenwright. It was his acumen as well as his insight which spotted their potential for longevity - and he was certainly proved right. Not only was Kenwright a powerhouse of theatre production for many years, but the progenitor of numerous solid, lucrative tours giving work to hundreds, if not thousands, of actors, singers and dancers. It’s with these two shows Kenwright will be synonymous, and both have toured forever without a conclusion in sight. “Joseph” has lasted pretty much continuously for forty years with “Blood Brothers” trailing behind with a mere thirty or so under its belt. Where “Joseph” ...

Ghost The Musical embarks on new UK tour

13Mar

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

Ghost The Musical embarks on new UK tour

Bill Kenwright Ltd is delighted to announce the triumphant return to the stage of the worldwide sensation Ghost the Musical, opening on 22nd August 2024 before embarking on a major national tour across the UK. Written by multi Brit Award winner Dave Stewart and Grammy award winning Glen Ballard, with a script by Bruce Joel Rubin based on his OSCAR winning screenplay, Ghost the Musical brings all the romance and magic of the classic story to life on stage. “Walking back to their apartment late one night, a tragic encounter sees Sam murdered leaving his girlfriend Molly alone, in despair and utterly lost. With the help of a phony storefront psychic, Sam, trapped between this world and the next, tries to communicate with Molly in the hope of saving her from grave danger...” Ghost has...

7Feb

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

Blood Brothers – Floral Pavilion

Floral Pavilion, New Brighton welcomes Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers back for the start of its 2024 UK tour and tonight’s full house audience were lucky enough to be there to witness it. This venue is the nearest venue to the story’s origins of Liverpool on this tour and the audiences are fully behind this show with an almost sold-out week, give or take a few single seats throughout before the show has even opened. Directed by Bob Tomson and the late Bill Kenwright, this classic musical has been entertaining the masses for over 40 years and is a favourite that has audience members returning time and time again. The joy with this show is not just the story, but the music, the heart and the cast who return over and over to the point they become part of the family. Returning to the ...

Dreamboats & Petticoats: Bringing On Back The Good Times – Blackpool Grand

3Aug

By Rebecca CaseyNo Comments

North West

Dreamboats & Petticoats: Bringing On Back The Good Times – Blackpool Grand

Dreamboats & Petticoats: Bringing On Back The Good Times is a follow on from the original feel good juke box musical. I had no idea what to expect this evening, but I assumed that the production would be very similar to previous DreamBoats & Petticoats productions, it was also a juke box musical and it did feature the same central characters and songs from the golden era of Rock’ n’ Roll, such as ‘To Sir With Love’ ‘Palisades Park’ and ‘Is This The Way To Amarillo’ The story tells of Laura (Elizabeth Carter) a successful singer and her partner on their number one hit record Dreamboats and Petticoats’ Bobby (Jacob Fowler) who has decided to re-join his former group Norman and The Conquests at St Mungo’s Youth Club. This is where the majority of the production is set, the other ha...

Dreamboats & Petticoats – King’s Theatre Glasgow

20Jul

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Dreamboats & Petticoats – King’s Theatre Glasgow

On the hottest day ever (so far!) I hauled myself along the M8 to Glasgow to this touring show. The question was – would it, could it, bring back the good times at the King’s this week? The third instalment of Bill Kenwright’s Dreamboats and Petticoats franchise, set in the mid 1960’s and following the trials and tribulations of rock ‘n roll band, Norman and the Conquests, from youth club dive to Butlins at Bognor Regis, aka ‘bonking by the sea’. At the centre of the story is the ongoing relationship of Laura and Bobby played by Elizabeth Carter and Jacob Fowler, can their love survive a Summer apart, can Bobby resist the wall-to -wall crumpet of Butlins and will Laura escape the clutches of Frankie Howard where she is booked for the Summer season at the Palace Theatre Torquay? This ...

Dreamboats and Petticoats – Palace Theatre

15Mar

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Dreamboats and Petticoats – Palace Theatre

Bill Kenwright’s and Laura Mansfield’s presentation of Dreamboats and Petticoats opened for its one week run of the 2022 tour at the magnificent Manchester Palace Theatre. This juke box musical is written around a compilation of hit songs from the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the storyline is thin but still noteworthy where we see a group of youngsters trying to make a success of their musical careers. Laura (Elizabeth Carter) the most successful of the group and her beau Bobby (David Ribi) who has taken a backstep from the limelight due to stage fright. The couple take summer jobs Laura alone in Torquay and Bobby in Butlin’s Bognor Region with the rest of the gang. Another significant coupling in the script is Norman (Alastair Hill) a cool and flirtatious lead singer and the mother of...

17Feb

By Aditi DalalNo Comments

London

Saturday Night Fever – Peacock Theatre

A homage to the 1977 film, Saturday Night Fever musical makes a comeback on the West End. Produced and directed by Bill Kenwright, the stage adaptation is by Robert Stigwood in collaboration with Bill Oakes. The show traces the story of a young Tony Manero (played by Richard Winsor) as he navigates through his day job and complications in his personal life while aspiring to be the king of disco. He is confronted with the discovery of the personal life of his dance partner, Stephanie (played by Olivia Fines), messy relationships with his friends and a complicated atmosphere at home. Holding potential for nuance, the storyline is quite basic - it is the music and dancing that hold the show together. The iconic music is given its due credit, with Jake Byrom, Oliver Thomson and James Hudson...