Guy Unsworth Archives - North West End UK

25Feb

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Spot’s Birthday Party – Theatre Severn

It’s hard to believe Eric Hill’s joyous creation has been bouncing joyfully through children’s literature for over forty years. I’m not sure what that is in doggy years, but Spot’s appearance in Shrewsbury this afternoon showed no sign of old age or flagging. “Where’s Spot?” quietly appeared on our book shop shelves in 1980 and slowly went talkies all over the country and onto bedroom bookshelves all over the world. Spot, the worldwide phenomenon, has barked in over sixty languages and has appeared on television, video, DVD, CD and now, in what appears its natural habitat, on stage. Surrounded by a giggling, gurgling, pointing, chatting audience with an average age of about 6, this critic took his seat wondering what wonders would unfold in the doggy world of which he knew so little. W...

Jack And The Beanstalk – Opera House, Manchester

8Dec

By Hannah WildeNo Comments

North West

Jack And The Beanstalk – Opera House, Manchester

Christmas is never complete without a token pantomime performance - and what better show to see to get you feeling Christmassy than Guy Unsworth’s dynamic and innovative reworking of Jack and the Beanstalk. Touted as “the second biggest show in Manchester”, this panto really did have it all - a star-studded cast, sensational sets, brilliant costumes, fabulous song and dance sequences, a script jam-packed full of witty repartee (and even a flying car, wholly reminiscent of theatre favourite Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). What really brought this show to life was its exuberant characters - headlined by comedian Jason Manford, he was of course the titular character of Jack Trot, who not only had the lion’s share of the jokes but had some great musical numbers too. That said, every panto ...

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em – St Helens Theatre Royal

3Aug

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em – St Helens Theatre Royal

Theatre Royal St Helens welcomed Frank Spencer and his chaos to the town last night in ‘Some Mothers do ‘Ave ‘Em a popular comedy in the 1970s with Michael Crawford. The same Michael Crawford who was phantom. This stage show was written and directed by Guy Unsworth. The leading man playing Frank Spencer was the hugely funny Joe Pasquale who can cause a riot of laughter just by walking on stage. Frank is currently out of work and in between jobs or as he puts it, he’s in between his old one and waiting for a new one. He has just received a letter from the BBC to say he has a audition for a top talent competition and will be over shortly to film his magic act. His wife Betty played by Sarah Earnshaw, has news of her own but is finding it hard to tell Frank. Frank and Betty are having a dinn...

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em – Regent Theatre

27Jul

By Angela KellyNo Comments

West Midlands

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em – Regent Theatre

Fans of the original sit com in the 70’s, when we only had three channels on the TV, will be intrigued to observe the stage version of ‘Some Mothers do ‘ave ‘em. With some vague recollection of a time when Michael Crawford was the very accident prone, hapless ‘Frank’, with his facial expressions that often required no words, any stage version certainly has a lot to live up to. Written by Guy Unsworth and Raymond Allen and directed by Unsworth himself, the delivery of the comedy itself must be applauded. The writers ensure that there is a consistency to the energy in the entire performance and jokes come fast and are plentiful. Occasionally it felt as though there was almost ‘too much’ to laugh at as there were so many comedic lines delivered by all the cast throughout the entire perfor...

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em – The Alexandra, Birmingham

20Jul

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em – The Alexandra, Birmingham

Across the eons of time the bleep-bleep-bleep morse code theme tune familiar to millions of viewers from those old three channel TV days comes wafting into the very hot and sticky auditorium of the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham taking every single audience member back to their childhood. “Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em” was an iconic show set in the heart of middle-England sit-com land which not only gave television a number of breathtaking stunts, but a number of producers a number of headaches and any number of impressionists a regular income impersonating its star. No impressionist of the 70’s was worth their show biz salt without donning a beret and saying in a slightly camp way, “Oh, Betty!” Anyone could do and everyone did. It was a show which seared itself into our s and the theme tune...