Saturday, November 23

Tag: Donna M Day

The House Amongst the Willows – Formby Little Theatre
30Oct By Mark DavorenNo Comments
North West

The House Amongst the Willows – Formby Little Theatre

Fletcher (Peter Harris) is taking his fiancée Sadie (Hannah Johnson) away for a week, but they will be staying with the parents, Paul (Michael Leathley) and Erin (Vicky Birrell), of his previous wife, Laura (Donna M Day). Although engaged, they haven’t been together that long and Sadie is about to discover more than she had bargained for when his friend Josh (Simon James), a former policeman, reveals some hidden truths about Fletcher’s previous relationship, and when his Parisian ex, Kelly (Samantha Jones), turns up, things are about to get really complicated. If that’s not enough to get you started, then director Day’s unravelling of the subtext of the story definitely will as all is most certainly not what it seems in this tranquil part of middle England. Without giving too much away,...
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What He Said: A collection of short plays exploring male mental health
10Jul By Paul DownhamNo Comments
NEWS

What He Said: A collection of short plays exploring male mental health

This July, the second show from Pique Niche Productions is coming to The Theatre at the Casa, Hope Street, Liverpool. What He Said showcases four plays from North West based writers. Each play explores mental health from a male perspective including the severe illnesses and death of loved ones, custody issues and the sense of belonging following the end of a romantic relationship, and political turmoil. We aim to raise awareness of issues affecting men in today’s society and these are four stories representing different aspects of that experience. We appreciate that gender exists on a spectrum and definitions of men and the male experience vary. Pique Niche Productions is a Liverpool based theatre company supporting new writing from the North of England, particularly writing exploring t...
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Lantern Lites – The Casa Theatre
11Oct By Blathine MaguireNo Comments
North West

Lantern Lites – The Casa Theatre

Lantern Lites are a writing group based in Liverpool who meet on a weekly basis and tonight they showcase some of their latest pieces at The Casa Theatre, Liverpool. Lantern writers aim to produce new and exciting work on a regular basis by supporting one another through the writing development process. The first play showcased tonight was ‘Child’s Play’ written and directed by Mark Davoren.  This is a comedy abstract from a full play where we meet a very young Mark who faces the challenge of growing up with two devious sisters. The writing is very unique in that it covers themes we don’t often see on stage. It was great to see drama which moves away from typical themes of love, soul seeking and big quests! This piece felt very light and made for easy watching. For future developme...
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Short But Sweet: Zoom Edition Liverpool Network Theatre Group
15May By Louise PennNo Comments
REVIEWS

Short But Sweet: Zoom Edition Liverpool Network Theatre Group

Liverpool Network Theatre, a company of non-professional local creatives, share five short plays in their first Zoom live-stream. In Private Number, written by Steve Bird, William (PJ Murray) and Judy (Liana Jane Bourne) have an awkward first date, but events conspire against them. Although the ending was weak and the premise a little unconvincing, the plot twist was interesting and there could be room for expansion of this piece to find out what happened next. First-time director Gillian Paterson Fox does a respectable job. The Interview, by John Jones, has moments of comic mania as it progresses. You can tell it was written for a couple of male characters, but Katarina Dobrovodska gives a lot of expression to her keen candidate with tall tales, and Karolina Gorska’s reactions are a...
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From Page to Stage is a Leap
11Jun By Paul DownhamNo Comments
Blogs

From Page to Stage is a Leap

Today I received an email from a publisher saying that while the theatres are dark it’s an ideal time to start giving reading playscripts a go, as it creates the same experience you’re missing while you’re not able to see a play. Now, a publisher’s primary responsibility is to sell books, so I understand where they’re coming from in making the best of the situation to create a market for books which probably don’t sell that well to people who don’t work within theatre, but I do think it’s very important to point out that reading a playscript absolutely does not create the same experience we’re missing out on while our theatres sit empty during this crisis. Obviously, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t read playscripts. Reading scripts can be a fulfilling and rewarding experience, ...
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