Douglas O’Connell Archives - North West End UK

28Jun

By Melissa JonesNo Comments

Scotland

Grease – Edinburgh Playhouse

Think you know Grease? Think again. This production takes Rydell High back to its gritty roots and it’s never been so refreshing. Forget your memories of Travolta and Newton-John politely bopping away in pastel pinks, Nikolai Foster’s Grease’s origins appear firmly rooted in the sardonic gritty teenage drama that Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey originally wrote. Here, the teenage hormones flow quicker than burger sauce, the cuss words come thick and fast and hand-jiving is a very serious business, indeed. Now sitting somewhere between a homage to Americana and a raw Westside Story, Douglas O’Connell's set design includes all key components of the era, reveling in Americana. One can’t help but feel a little High School Musical creep into the giant Rydell High with the bright red tracksuit...

The Wizard of Oz – Palace Theatre

Nikolai Foster has taken many a musical theatre staple and put his own spin on them, with this show being another triumph to come out of the tried and tested method of starting at the Leicester Curve before becoming a big hit. Sending this spectacle out on a national tour is a no-brainer, bound to bedazzle theatre goers all over the country with its imaginative take on the heart-warming classic. Based on the book by L. Frank Baum, the tale has had many iterations, proving its generational appeal. But at the heart of its story, there’s a young girl on a heroic journey to find a place to belong. We are taken on this adventure by Dorothy (Aviva Tulley). The audience is in very capable hands here, Tulley’s voice soars as she delivers Over the Rainbow, and her performance encapsulates all...

The Wizard of Oz – Bradford Alhambra

We’re off to Bradford to see the wonderful Wizard of Oz in an updated stage version of the classic Judy Garland movie that has become a must see every Christmas for generations of families everywhere. Unless you have spent your life in a closed religious order then there is no point in detailing the plot as a young girl in depression era Kansas enters a strange new world, and with the help of some new mates fends off a wicked witch to find her way home. This lively technicolour revival comes straight from a sell-out run at the London Palladium, and the good news for all friends of Dorothy is the classic movie tunes are still here, with typically solid extra songs by the venereal duo of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice in the second act. Whilst staying true to the movie’s message t...