Deb Pugh Archives - North West End UK

12Feb

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Macbeth – Hull Truck Theatre

Macbeth, aka The Scottish Play, got off to an explosive start on Tuesday evening, as part of its run at the Hull Truck Theatre. An insider informant - who I will call “Jay” for the purpose of this review - revealed to me pre-show that we theatregoers were in for a thrilling time. And, my goodness, “Jay” was absolutely right. The plain (but extremely effective) stage setting gave no hint of what was to come. The stage floor was level with the audience’s walkway and comprised mottled grey “stone” sections surrounding a drain cover. The backdrop consisted of misshapen doorways, an industrial staircase and a mezzanine revealing more doors. All dimly lit by overhead metal lamps. A large central opening was hung with wide plastic strips through which most of the action took place....

The Borrowers – Hull Truck Theatre

I loved watching The Borrowers when it aired on TV in 1992, and can well remember many of the antics of the Clock family, aka The Borrowers. Fast forward to today and the teeny family - mum Homily, dad Pod and daughter Arrietty - are still teeny and still just as entertaining. Hull Truck Theatre has the Clocks gracing its stage until early January 2025, and Tuesday night’s performance proved that size doesn’t matter where talent is involved. Of course, the Clock actors - Bea Clancy as Arrietty, Deb Pugh as Homily and Marc Akinfolarin as Pod - are all normal size, so in parts were shown as tiny puppets. Our first glimpse of the family’s underfloor home showed everyday items they had “borrowed”, including a matchbox used as a double bed by mum and dad. It’s Christmas in the ea...

Pinocchio – Hull Truck Theatre

Theatregoers braved freezing temperatures on Wednesday evening to see a production of Pinocchio at the Hull Truck Theatre. It never got much warmer inside, to be honest - so was glad I wore socks, scarf, gloves, but I never expected to keep them on once seated. But that’s my only gripe on what was a magical night of colour and energy. Everyone knows the age-old story of how poor, lonely carpenter, Gepetto, carved a puppet out of a piece of pine he found in the forest. In this thoroughly enjoyable adaptation by Mike Kenny, the pine was left behind by Stromboli (Patrick Dineen), ringmaster of a travelling circus, who was transporting his puppets, Colombine (Deb Pugh) and Harlequino (Niall Ransome). As Gepetto (James Clyde) picked up the pine log in the forest, it lit up, havin...