Hope Street Theatre Archives - North West End UK

The Canterville Ghost The Musical – Hope Street Theatre

27May

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

The Canterville Ghost The Musical – Hope Street Theatre

Every now and then a gem of a show comes along and leaves you thinking about it after like a dramatic hangover. This is that show. Unique, creative and hilarious, The Canterville Ghost – The Musical is based on Oscar Wilde’s renowned text. Be a fly-on-the-wall and witness the arrival of the brash, American Otis family as they arrive at Canterville Manor. Disrupting the peace of the Mrs Umney the housekeeper (Lizzy Paes) and the Butler (Luke Furlonger-Copeland), the Otis’ and their three daughters make themselves at home. Mr Otis (Omar Hussein) and Mrs Otis (Neve McLaughlin) are sceptical about warnings of the malicious Simon de Canterville (Jack Royens) ghost. Their mischievous twins, Stars (Frankie Fleming) and Stripes (Katie Moncaster) are also not fazed by the resident ghoul but ...

14May

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Mothers Ruin – Hope Street Theatre

Steve Bird’s worthy and sensitive biographical play about Gary Skyner who was one of the first British born people to be affected by the Thalidomide medical scandal, comes to the stage in Skyner’s hometown. The play documents the struggles that faced Skyner and his family in the early years and moves at a fairly good pace as we reach the present day. The use of a likable narrator (Tommy Tyler) is a clever idea in moving the story forward and the play almost has a feel of a documentary with the use of various multimedia which adds context and depth to this inspiring story. For me, the central and most powerful character of this piece is Gary’s strong and resilient mum Frances (Mary Savage) and how she deals, with amongst other things the breakup of her marriage to Gary’s fathe...

6May

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Dog/Actor – Hope Street Theatre

Steven Berkoff’s eloquent and evocative double bill performance of Dog / Actor is brought to the stage by Threedumb Theatre, and I have to say it is truly a masterclass in both physical and comedic theatre. Stephen Smith, who is also the artistic director for Threedumb, is the solo performer of this back-to-back double bill and he really excels in this challenging piece. In Dog, Smith portrays a racist foul-mouthed football hooligan with his companion pit bull Roy. Smith uses every part of the studio space to significant effect and provides the audience with a strong and ever-increasing sense of rage. It is without question an uncompromising and difficult piece for any actor to perform but Smith finds the right tempo throughout. Excellent lighting also adds texture to Dog. ...

11Apr

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Sunset Yellow – Hope Street Theatre

Sunset Yellow is a collection of three short, dark comedy plays, written by Jamie Pye and directed by Pye and Kieran Kidd. The first play, The Campfire, is set on the campsite of four friends who have not seen each other for a long time. It has a nostalgic feeling as the four friends tells stories around their warm campfire. It quickly becomes clear however that something is amiss as Abby tells a fun story from her childhood and Jo reacts like a petulant child throwing camping paraphernalia around in the background and pulling bored and impatient faces. She rudely interrupts Abby’s story and her friends react badly to her rudeness, but they cannot anticipate where Jo’s behaviour will escalate to. This is an interesting piece with plenty of twists and turns but could be strengthened ...

13Mar

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

Sweeney Todd – Hope Street Theatre

Sweeney Todd opened his shop in Liverpool’s Hope Street theatre. A show by Off Topic Productions, a northwest based company. The state that “their style is experimental and attempts to put new spins on classic forms of theatre.” It starts with Mr Todd (Ioseph Myrddin) coming home from imprisonment after being held for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s a new man, a man who will now act revenge on those who wronged him. Mr Todd is reunited with his razors from Mrs Lovett (Elisa Edwards) and has a competition to be the best barber. After taking solace in the room above Mrs Lovett’s bakery he welcomes customers to his barbershop. It is here where his killing spree begins. He and Mrs Lovett become lovers and decide to use the dead corpses for meat in her pies to avoid the meat crisis. Incident...

8Mar

By Blathine MaguireNo Comments

North West

Coming Home – Hope Street Theatre

Tonight, at Hope Street Theatre, Change the Act group present ‘Coming Home- Theatre unplugged’. This is a show inspired by producer and performer Callum O’Rourke’s own experience, and it explores the meaning of ‘home’. The show has been broken up into sections where songs are performed based on a wider theme such relationships, both positive and complicated, hope, love, loss and many more. It is not surprising to hear that the 6 cast members have been hand-picked from 100 auditionees as the talent, vocal range and entertainment value of this group knows no limits. Whether performing as soloist, duets, or a full company number, these talented singers belted perfection at every opportunity. It goes without saying that there are certainly no weak links within this cast and the...

25Feb

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Doing Shakespeare – Hope Street Theatre

The Northern Comedy Theatre’s Doing Shakespeare, written by David Spicer and directed by Shaun Chambers, is a farcical romp through some of Shakespeare’s best loved plays. A local village theatre company have taken the decision to perform Shakespeare but haven’t actually agreed which play to do. This might all work out if they hadn’t also taken the decision to perform the play as Shakespeare himself would have done with little to no rehearsal and lots of improvisation. As they’ve all learned different plays, stitching their individual parts together will prove to be quite a difficult task! The play opens with Jason (Elliot Bailey) running through his vocal warm up before launching into the opening of Romeo and Juliet. He is embarrassed when his enthusiastic rendition is seen by the com...

The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) – Hope Street Theatre

29Nov

By Blathine MaguireNo Comments

North West

The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) – Hope Street Theatre

It is no shock that ‘The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)’ is in fact, a musical by Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell. The show premiered off-Broadway in 2003 and went on to tour around London, Australia, Canada and America. It is a brilliant to see that a show like this has now made its way to our very own Hope Street Theatre in Liverpool. From the get-go, it is apparent that Jordan Alexander (musical director) is a musical genius on the piano as he begins playing the opening score with vigor and charm. This complex musical score barely stops for the full duration of the production and his talents lays excellent foundations for this musical creation. The thinking behind this show is unusual in that it promotes the idea that there is ‘nothing new here’. There is a loose plot which i...

31Oct

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Spring Awakening – Hope Street Theatre

In most instances, a quiet audience would be a sign of a failed, boring performance. Tonight, the quiet is a reflection of an audience completely captivated by the story being played out before them. Spring Awakening is the multi award-winning musical tale, based on the 1891 play, of teenage discovery – of the wider world around them, and of the more intimate desires starting to blossom as they reach puberty. In the setting of late 19th century Germany, we watch our cast explore new ideas and sensations that have both sweet and tragic consequences. The show is presented by students of the First Act Drama Studio, which means leading roles are tackled by much younger performers than you might usually expect, given the subject matter. It is an ambitious ask of any performer to bring li...

First Act presents Spring Awakening at The Hope Street Theatre

17Oct

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

NEWS

First Act presents Spring Awakening at The Hope Street Theatre

Warrington based First Act, will be bringing Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s award-winning musical Spring Awakening to The Hope Street Theatre from the 28th - 30th October in a fresh and vibrant new production. Based on the 1891 German by Frank Wedekind, Spring Awakening tells the story of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of adolescent sexuality. Set in mid-19th-century Germany, the musical, with its alternative and folk-infused rock score, explores oppression, freedom, teenage angst, and the dangers of hiding the truth. First Act launched in 2017 with a simple vision: create acting classes for young performers which developed skill, technique, and talent; an acting school where theatre education is the primary goal. Since its incorporation First Act have been delive...