GM Fringe Archives - North West End UK

1Aug

By Abigail PendleburyNo Comments

North West

Missed Calls – Hallè St Peter’s

“Missed Calls” is like someone took every unread message, ghosted text, and late-night “are you up?” call and turned it into theatre that actually understands what it's like to be young, a little lost, and trying to connect in a world that’s constantly online but emotionally offline. This beautiful piece brought together movement, silence, and unanswered voicemails to create a thought-provoking masterpiece. Audiences listen to the dialogue through headphones while the two lovers we hear from move and dance around us. Through a series of contemporary movements and mime, they tell their story without speaking. The only time the actors speak is at the end, after a time jump. This moment adds a new dimension to the performance and brings the entire story to a poignant close. Througho...

When You Die – Anthony Burgess Foundation

23Jul

By Brian MaddenNo Comments

North West

When You Die – Anthony Burgess Foundation

When You Die pitches itself as a Gothic horror comedy exploring the afterlife through the lens of undead housemates—but despite a promising concept, the show is let down by sluggish pacing, underwhelming humour, and several frustrating production choices. Finn, Yuri, Devon, and Boby are sharing a flat in death, trying to get along in the afterlife when their already turbulent dynamic is disturbed by the arrival of a mysterious briefcase. With the help of the cryptic Lazlo, they must uncover who—or what—is behind the growing sense of threat. It’s a quirky setup with potential, and the cast give it their all, but the execution falls flat. The first half drags considerably. There’s far too much time spent establishing the characters’ personalities and routines, with little dramatic ...

Delusions and Grandeur – Anthony Burgess Foundation

20Jul

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

North West

Delusions and Grandeur – Anthony Burgess Foundation

The best fringe moments are discovering something unexpected and brilliant. World-renowned cellist Karen Hall’s Delusions and Grandeur is both. A thought-provoking, inventive and emotional hour of storytelling that is bursting with talent. The blurb isn’t quite clear, though. “Come for the music, stay for the existential crisis,” it suggests. Audiences are told to expect a “classical cello recital” that “plays out like a piece of performance art run by a masterly jester”. Its one of those examples of marketing that makes total sense after the event. Hall’s one-woman show is, essentially, a recital of Bach’s famous Suite No. 1, interspersed with part monologue, part audience dialogue that tells her own musical story and poses some fascinating questions. What does it reall...

20Jul

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Almost Famous – The King’s Arms

“Escaping and pretending is better than the truth,” says Emily Benton (Jac Wheble), the hero of this one-woman show about identity, fame, and the desire to be seen, not for what you are, that’s boring. She has a thirst, a craving almost to be seen in the spotlight, out front, and famous. Benton, we find out, is living a lie from the start. Suddenly, we are taken into an examination of identity in a world where everyone is pretending. She came from Australia to the UK in the early 1970s to pursue her dream of finding fame and fortune as a performer. “Naivety gets you through,” she says as she looks back at her younger self and the pitfalls she faced in a business where more established, powerful men will take advantage of her with the promise of a record contract or a juicy part o...

One Hundred Percent – The King’s Arms, Salford

4Jul

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

One Hundred Percent – The King’s Arms, Salford

In a claustrophobic apartment, an actor confronts the examiner who once gave him a perfect score in an acting exam. On the wall, the certificate which validates his perfect score is proudly framed and the actor, who believed he was destined for greatness, faces the consequences of his misplaced hope and the harsh truth of what it is to build a career in his chosen profession. Now I have to disclose that for 20 plus years I worked as an examiner for both GCSE Drama and A Level Theatre Studies and the premise of this darkly comedic piece of theatre directly addresses something that I had never thought about before but have significant experience of. What is the impact of a perfect score on the recipient? In this case, the actor has believed that he has a profound talent and as such has pu...

The Death of Dr. Black – The Fitzgerald, Manchester

2Jul

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

The Death of Dr. Black – The Fitzgerald, Manchester

For how long have we been fascinated by magic and murder mysteries? In a way, what’s more extraordinary is not the exact length of time, but the continued ability for creatives to refresh and reinvent both. Take The Death of Dr. Black. This isn’t necessarily breaking new ground in murder mysteries. There’s candlesticks and ropes, there’s a study. It feels familiar. The magic, too, is relatively recognisable. Some prediction, some mentalism, one assumes a smattering of sleight of hand. And yet, Andrew Stannard’s one-man immersive theatre show still feels fresh. It is also smart, fun, lovingly put together and really enjoyable. Dr. Black is dead. That much is obvious before the audience arrives. What’s soon clear, also, is that everyone in attendance is under suspicion. De...

Ahoy! Ballad of the Time Kraken – Salford Arts Theatre

30Jul

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

Ahoy! Ballad of the Time Kraken – Salford Arts Theatre

A confusion of school disco music, playground lyrics, art room props, nativity choreography and dress-up box costumes make this poorly performed, barely-plotted absurdity of a musical unfit for performance in front of a paying audience in its current state. You wouldn't swab the poop deck with this two-and-a-half-hour shamble. ‘Ahoy! Ballad of the Time Kraken’ continues at Salford Arts Centre until 29th July with tickets available from https://manchester.ssboxoffice.com/events/ahoy-ballad-of-the-time-kraken/ Reviewer: Scot Cunningham Reviewed: 28th July 2023 North West End UK Rating: ★

What Happened to Connie Converse? – King’s Arms, Salford

25Jul

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

What Happened to Connie Converse? – King’s Arms, Salford

In the 50s and 60s Greenwich Village, New York, was at the centre of the American Folk Music revival which gave the world performers such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and, of course, Bob Dylan. There were also female singers and writers performing there such as Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins and also, on the periphery of this scene, there was an unknown singer-songwriter called Connie Converse. Even though these days she is largely a forgotten figure, her only public performance was on one TV show, there is an intriguing mystery about her as one day she just disappeared and was never seen again. Elizabeth Converse, Connie was a nickname she picked up when she lived in New York, was brought up by an extremely conventional religious family. She decided to rebel against them by...

25Jul

By Bo WarnerNo Comments

North West

Lucifer Speaks -The Fitzgerald

In the 1920s speakeasy-style Fitzgerald bar, Lucifer gives his own side of the story. This short play explores Lucifer as a witty, cynical jilted lover, unfairly victimised at the hand of God, a former lover. It has a distinctly northern rhythm and flair in the back-and-forth banter between Pegeen Murphy and Mike Cunningham who deliver their lines with conviction and total commitment to the bit. Lucifer Speaks describes itself as a ‘comedic take on an emotional […] story’, touching on ‘sexuality, gender and love’. However, the writing falls short of hitting the emotional and comedic beats needed to make this concept fly. The jokes are not brought to a satisfying punchline and therefore fall flat, or never materialise, and chances to fully explore audience participation are lost. ...

22Jul

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

The Crisp Review: LIVE – King’s Arms

Having tickled audiences’ palates at last year’s Fringe, Adam Evans takes to the stage once more with a presentation packed to the rafters with all things crisp-related. If the title doesn’t give his game away, Adam unapologetically spells it out: he reviews every variety of the potato snack imaginable with the aim of encouraging suppliers to send him free bags. A high-and low-light reel of his videos offers a hilarious insight into the review process. Adam gives honest verdicts on crisps’ names, texture, flavour, and value, regaling everyone in the room with observant critiques. In person, his nonchalance and cynicism allow him to deliver one satirical quip after another, but put-downs (almost entirely aimed at himself) tagged onto the end of them regularly get the biggest laughs...