Hope Street Theatre Archives - North West End UK

Lewd and Lascivious Acts – Hope Street Theatre

10Nov

By Ben PearsonNo Comments

North West

Lewd and Lascivious Acts – Hope Street Theatre

Danny Partington’s Lewd and Lascivious Acts is a heart wrenching love story wrapped in an unflinching examination of the brutality experienced by members of the LGBTQ+ community at the hands of the Nazi regime. It’s 1931 and Freddie (James Sprague) and Paul (Evan Watkinson) have just met in Berlin’s famous Eldorado club. The chemistry between the actors is palpable, with Sprague’s earnest and vulnerable sincerity contrasting beautifully with Watkinson’s more flamboyant and captivating presence. An inescapable air of dread follows Freddie and Paul as they begin their enduring romance. While they hold one another and dream of better times, the audience is ever more aware of the horrors lurking on the horizon. Partington’s script plays on this awareness to great effect, frequently honing i...

Britannia Waves The Rules – Hope Street Theatre

5Oct

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Britannia Waves The Rules – Hope Street Theatre

Gareth Farr’s 2011 Bruntwood Prize winning play is a brutal and gritty account of a young man’s journey from the cold, wet beaches of Blackpool to the dry, burning deserts of Afghanistan and it takes no prisoners along the way. It’s a tough but important story to listen to and a sad reflection on society that its message still resonates so strongly some fifteen years on. It's grim up north and nowhere more so than Blackpool which only has rose-tinted memories of bygone days to fall back on for its older residents, whereas for young Carl Jackson (Jim Kelly) it is a place to run away from, whether that be from family members or mock-Mancs. It really has nothing to offer – even the girl next door doesn’t want to know. Only the army offers a way out and a trip around the world after ...

Picnic at Hanging Rock – Hope Street Theatre

10Aug

By Ann Marie JamesNo Comments

North West

Picnic at Hanging Rock – Hope Street Theatre

A performance which portrayed excellent acting ability, variety and characterisation. The performers (Hosanna Starkey, Juliette Collins, Lucie Rose, Lucy Hickman-Germon and Holly Lawless) certainly gave passion and energy to this production and provided us with excellent physical theatre and voice work. They were able to glide smoothly between character transitions. The set was very minimal and used mainly props and media to change scenes. The symbolism of the shoes being left on stage when the girls went missing was a clever incorporation. However, personally, I found the production quite difficult to follow, as yes, the performers switched characters and demonstrated their acting abilities well, but sometimes it was hard to ascertain who was who. Also, there was some confusion amon...

3 nights of theatre celebrating the Workers Theatre Movement

26May

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

3 nights of theatre celebrating the Workers Theatre Movement

Playing at The Hope Street Theatre – Friday 6th, Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th June, 7.30pm. In the 19320 and 30s, all over Britain, working-class theatre groups sprang up all over Britain, under the umbrella of the Workers Theatre Movement. A production that celebrates the Workers theatre Movement and its upsurge of Cultural Activism will be showcasing at one of Liverpool’s best small City-Centre Theatres, the Hope Street Theatre. Included in the 3 nights are a one act play about a 30s Socialist Theatre group, “Unity” by Tom Mclennan, and 3 modern Living Newspapers by local actors, inspired by the work of these Socialist Theatre pioneers. The show – called “Workers Playtime” – can be booked via the Hope Street Theatre website and box office. Tickets £8/£6 from ww...

7Mar

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Wild Swimming – Hope Street Theatre

Directors Dan Meigh and Connor Wray delightfully plunge us into the lives of a young couple whose relationship is firmly in the ‘can’t live with you, can’t live without you’ stage, with their production of Marek Horn’s somewhat timeless two-hander that plays fast and loose with time. Whilst men are from Mars and women are from Venus, Nell (Amy Thompson-Hope) and Oscar (Harry Clark) opt to meet on a beach in 1595 – or is it 1610 – and to which they will return like the tide over the next four hundred years to debate feminism, privilege, literature, sex, and, of course, swimming. Watery metaphors abound for these two very diverse characters; she is witty and acerbic with a sharp tongue whilst he dreams of being a poet and adventurer from the safety of his beach towel, yet the opening k...

8Feb

By Stephanie WiswallNo Comments

North West

Exposed – Hope Street Theatre

Exposed (written, produced and performed by Laura Tellwright and wonderfully directed by Faye Caddick) is a painful but powerful performance which documents the ups and downs of life through the depths of grief. Don't be fooled into thinking this performance is going to be depressing and morose. Although, yes, you do need tissues in parts, this story really does have you crying, laughing and crying laughing. Very rarely do I see an audience so captivated, entranced and mesmerized. Yes, all similar words but I feel it needs to be shown just what an amazing performance this really is. You feel every emotion, you understand those emotions, you can relate with what is happening on stage, from the raw grief to the comedic take on dating, therapy and sometimes grief itself. By the e...

A Man and His Circumstance – Hope Street Theatre

31Jan

By Stephanie WiswallNo Comments

North West

A Man and His Circumstance – Hope Street Theatre

A man and his circumstance is a thought provoking and educational piece of theatre based around breaking the stigma of talking about male health issues and opening the floor for men to talk. Written and produced by Tom Cain, owner of his own independent theatre company Tom Cain Theatre. The performance is portrayed by three very talented actors, some of whom take on multiple roles throughout the performance. Firstly, Matthew Swinnerton who plays Joel, a friendly, down to earth, relatable lad next door type. He is the main character and narrates the whole story. You empathise with his health struggles, and he portrays a guy's different personalities within different settings and social groups extremely well. Also, portraying touching more delicate moments with ease. Thoroughly ...

25Jan

By Stephanie WiswallNo Comments

North West

Breezeblock Park – Hope Street Theatre

Breezeblock Park, set in Liverpool, during Christmas of 1975, following the highs and lows of a Scouse family as they encounter a different class, a shock revelation and try with all their might to maintain their Christmas spirit throughout. Written by Willy Russell, directed by Clayton Travis and performed by Off Topic Theatre Company. This performance is lengthy, hard hitting and diverse. The cast did extremely well with such a performance and each character portrayed their own morals, characteristics and mannerisms well, meaning the audience had a good grasp of the types of personalities, temperaments and natures which graced our stage. The story follows rebel Sandra (Chloe Gratton) who is trying to break free from her family class and norms to experience a wider world. Her dy...

8Jan

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

Exposed at Hope Street Theatre

New Year is a time of joy, but it can also be a difficult time for those who have experienced or are experiencing loss. Stagewright Theatre Company’s upcoming production of Exposed, Laura Tellwright’s debut one-woman show directed by Faye Caddick, at The Hope Street Theatre in Liverpool, explores the often-unspoken experiences that surround loss and grief and the deeply personal vulnerability that inevitably follows for so many people. When thirty-something Charlotte suddenly loses her dad to cancer, her whole life dramatically changes. Charlotte invites an audience to observe her journey through grief, heartache, crippling mental health, finding joy, and sharing secrets she’ll take to the grave, in this powerful, painful but truthful comedic monodrama that exposes grief for what it rea...

An Evening of Talking Heads – Hope Street Theatre

7Dec

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

An Evening of Talking Heads – Hope Street Theatre

When Alan Bennett wrote the play Enjoy, in which an elderly couple find themselves being packed up to become a living museum exhibit, there’s a chance he might have been seeing the future for many of his other characters. Tonight, we have three monologues from Bennett’s first series of Talking Heads, first broadcast in 1988. The series, which has become a staple of English literature syllabus’, provides a variety of perspectives on themes such as isolation, guilt, and loneliness. Pieces like these will always present a bit of a challenge to some audiences – those who remember the time-period will find warmth in evocative references to times gone by, but younger audience members may find the idea of regularly writing letters, waiting for a call on a landline, or the 1980s buying power...