Hull New Theatre Archives - North West End UK

Lord of The Dance: A Lifetime of Standing Ovations – Hull New Theatre

24Jul

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Lord of The Dance: A Lifetime of Standing Ovations – Hull New Theatre

From its official debut on July 2nd, 1996, in Dublin, Ireland, Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance has enchanted more than 60 million people worldwide. And on Tuesday evening a packed Hull New Theatre added to that figure when Lord of the Dance: A Lifetime of Standing Ovations came to town. It was a thrill for me to review the 25th anniversary of Lord of the Dance, back in 2022 - a production I was “astounded” and “mesmerised” by. Would Flatley’s revival have the same effect on me in 2024? The answer is yes, with the prefix “more” added. As in 2022, the show opens and closes with on-screen performances from Flatley, who is still definitely the Lord of the Dance. The huge video screen played a very important role throughout, with fantastic scenes of forest fires, flower-f...

10Jul

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Syndicate – Hull New Theatre

Hull New Theatre was far from full on Tuesday evening, as it hosted the world premiere of Kay Mellor’s stage adaptation of The Syndicate, a BBC TV series that ran for four seasons. As the curtain rose, a realistic stage setting showing the interior of a small supermarket greeted us, giving a colourful first glimpse of proceedings. Manning the till is Denise (Samantha Giles of Emmerdale fame), a motherly figure who dutifully collects the lottery money each week for the syndicate she and her four co-workers have joined. While Denise goes about her business serving customers, single mum Leanne (Rosa Coduri-Fulford) half-heartedly sweeps the floor. This peaceful scene is interrupted by the arrival of shop manager Stuart (Benedict Shaw) who rushes in, barging into the manager’s off...

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – Hull New Theatre

18Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – Hull New Theatre

This week Hull New Theatre plays host to the hit musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, a production inspired by the 2011 TV documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16 which features County Durham lad, Jamie Campbell, who, from a young age, liked to dress in girls’ clothes. The theatre was packed on Monday evening; would everybody be talking about Jamie at the show’s end? Sixteen-year-old Jamie New (the super talented Ivano Turco) lives on a Sheffield council estate with his mum Margaret (a passionate performance from Rebecca McKinnis). Single mum Margaret’s best friend is bargain-loving Ray (the amusing, sassy and protective Sejal Keshwala). The opening scene shows Jamie and his classmates with patient teacher, Miss Hedge (the irrepressible Sam Bailey), discussing their career asp...

5Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Come From Away – Hull New Theatre

A complimentary badge was handed to me, along with a press pack, as I entered the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday evening, to watch the musical Come From Away. The badge depicted the Earth surrounded by the words “Wherever We Are”, words relating to one of the 14 songs in this uplifting musical. The story centres around the Newfoundland town of Gander whose inhabitants found themselves playing hosts to almost 7,000 passengers, as American and Canadian planes were grounded on September 11, 2001 after two planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York. Although the tragedy was the catalyst for Gander’s upheaval, this lively musical doesn’t dwell on the bad stuff. The all-singing, all-dancing cast, accompanied by talented musicians, portray townsfolk who refuse to be downhearted by the...

31May

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Mind Mangler – Hull New Theatre

My reviewer mind started to be slightly mangled as I was handed my press pack in Hull New Theatre’s foyer on Thursday night, and told there would be no programme available for Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle. No programme meant I had to really pull up my reviewer socks and, gulp, concentrate for the duration of the show. After the initial shock wore off, I took my seat in row N of the stalls, after being handed a pencil and a folded card upon which we were asked to write our full name and a secret about ourselves. Now, my regular reader will know I have an intense aversion to audience participation. So I tucked the blank card away from the prying eyes of the tall young man collecting completed cards from those eager theatregoers not as averse to the spotlight. Howeve...

15May

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

2:22 A Ghost Story – Hull New Theatre

Having reviewed quite a few musicals this year, it was a lovely change to take my seat at the Hull New Theatre, in participation of watching a ghost story. The city’s theatregoers were out in force on Tuesday night when 2:22 A Ghost Story came to the stage. And what a stage! The setting of a big, old house was wonderfully realistic - large kitchen with the usual electrical trappings, plus a sofa, table, chairs, an Alexa and a baby monitor. Oh, and a large digital clock which my eyes were drawn to every two minutes waiting for it to turn to 2:22. It’s the home of young married couple Jenny (Fiona Wade) and Sam (George Rainsford) and their baby daughter, Phoebe. While Sam is away working on the island of Sark, Jenny and her baby girl are alone in the big, rambling house - a hous...

24Apr

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Edward Scissorhands – Hull New Theatre

The 1927 song “I Danced With A Man, Who Danced With A Girl, Who Danced With The Prince of Wales”, refers to the oft-desired human condition of forging connections with famous people - however remote those connections may be. Well, I possibly suffer from the same condition and can claim family folklore has revealed that my nephew’s daughter’s mum is Liam Mower’s cousin. Impressive eh? Mower, for those not in the know, has the lead role of Edward Scissorhands in Matthew Bourne’s magical dance production of the same name, which began a run at the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday night. As I took my seat, I wondered if the Hull-born dancer’s performance would cut it (pun intended) with his home crowd. I needn’t have worried, he was stupendous. And that goes for everyone on stage that n...

10Apr

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Cluedo2 – Hull New Theatre

When a publicity blurb for a theatre production informs us we will “laugh ’til they die`”, it’s bound to pique the interest of theatregoers. Those four words certainly got my attention, and I looked forward to watching Cluedo2 at the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday night. But would I laugh ’til they die? As we waited for curtain up we could admire the stage setting of a huge Cluedo board, at an angle, with the shape of the multi-windowed Graveny Manor in front. A few minutes after 7.30pm the action started with the home’s owner, rock star Rick Black, inviting selected guests to listen to his latest album. The married Rick (Liam Horrigan), he of the afro hair and dazzling white teeth (well, it is the swinging sixties), is a bundle of energy. You simply can’t ignore him. His w...

Opera North: Così Fan Tutte – Hull New Theatre

5Apr

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Opera North: Così Fan Tutte – Hull New Theatre

Theatre lovers enjoyed more than three hours of a most delightful opera on Thursday night, as Opera North brought its production of Così Fan Tutte to the Hull New Theatre. I say delightful because, unlike others I have seen, I found this very easy to understand from the get go, though it helped that it was sung in English. The title translates as “they’re all the same”, describing professor Don Alfonso’s take on all women. Dutch baritone Quirijn de Lang played the professor with the right amount of menace, cunning and gravitas, as well as more than a hint of mischief. The professor is the cause of all the shenanigans on the night, betting two lovestruck young men that their faithful amours would cheat on them, because in his mind women are “all the same”. He challenges the ...

28Mar

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Life of Pi – Hull New Theatre

I was almost lost for words - written and vocal - after watching Life of Pi at the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday night. Not a good state for a reviewer to be in. Faced with the question “How do I describe perfection?”, back home, I made myself a coffee, opened a bag of chocolate buttons and got my brain into gear. Life of Pi tells the story of 17-year-old Indian boy, Pi Patel, who, after political disruptions in his homeland, seeks out a new life in Canada, with his family. However, the Tsimtsum, the cargo ship they embark upon, sinks in a terrible Pacific Ocean storm, leaving Pi stranded on a small lifeboat with a hyena, zebra, orangutan and a Bengal tiger - animals being transported from his family’s zoo. Pi (the amazing Divesh Subaskaran) loses his family - mother (Goldy Nota...