Hull Truck Theatre Archives - North West End UK

4Dec

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Oliver Twist – Hull Truck Theatre

Published as a serial between 1836 and 1839, Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist has undergone a myriad of adaptations, and Deborah McAndrew’s dramatic and highly theatrical take on this age-old classic is currently wowing audiences at Hull Truck Theatre. The venue was packed on Tuesday night with all ages of theatregoers eagerly awaiting curtain up at 7pm. Of course, regular Truckers will know there never is a curtain to actually rise; every nook and cranny of the stage for whatever production is always totally on show giving one a chance to have a pre-production nosy. At first glance, the stage for this show looked quite empty. However, towards the rear there rose huge arched windows and spaced columns, with an elevated walkway reached by a hefty spiral staircase. The atmospheres w...

23Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Outlawed – Hull Truck Theatre

I might possibly need counselling after sitting through a performance of Outlawed, at the Hull Truck Theatre, on Wednesday night. And I’ve only myself to blame for breaking my own lifetime golden rule and willingly “audience participating”. I’ll never know what possessed me to roll a chunk of dry bread up into a ball and throw it at Robin Hood performing a heartfelt ballad on the stage. Poor thing didn’t deserve it. Mind you, it’s a good job my theatre buddy sister, Chrissy, was more restrained and didn’t throw a large potato gifted earlier to her by the balladeer - now that would have hurt. On second thoughts, I’m putting all the blame on my demise on to the four madcap performers acting out a night of burlesque, drag and comedy. The intimate Godber Studio at Hull Truck was...

24Sep

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Pride & Prejudice – Hull Truck Theatre

On Tuesday evening, make-up intact, I took my front row seat at the Hull Truck Theatre to watch a performance of Pride & Prejudice. Nearly three hours later, at the show’s end, I had acquired panda eyes and could have kicked myself for not wearing waterproof mascara. The person responsible for my facial demise? Ben Fensome. In this Jane Austin classic, made extra famous by the TV series starring Colin Firth (who could forget that wet shirt scene), Fensome has a dual role - that of dashing soldier Mr Wickham and ingratiating clergyman, Mr Collins. It’s his portrayal of the latter that caused my tears of mirth. Tall and slim, every move he made in his all-black apparel had the audience in stitches. But it was his rubbery facial expressions that did the damage to my face. Y...

7Sep

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Void – Hull Truck Theatre

My out-of-this-world experience on Saturday night came courtesy of the fertile imagination of writer Ryan Simons, creator and director of The Void sci fi horror story set in the year 2160. As we theatregoers took our seats, we were faced with a darkened stage setting that bore no resemblance to planet Earth - all bare metal, wood, leather with a central huge “porthole” giving us a tantalising glimpse of outer space, eight million miles from our blue planet. One man sat by this window to other worlds, answering and asking questions of Nova (voiced by Olwen May), an all-seeing AI. Dressed in loose-fitting beige coloured overalls, the one-eyed man, Flint, a disillusioned space ranger, sounded bored with his lot, until a distress call comes through regarding ageing space research ...

To Have and To Hold – Hull Truck Theatre

8May

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

To Have and To Hold – Hull Truck Theatre

The stars shone brightly over the city of Hull on Wednesday evening, but none shone brighter than those gracing the Hull Truck Theatre stage, when they brought to life Yorkshire playwright Richard Bean’s bittersweet comedy To Have and To Hold. The star-studded cast did a marvellous job with a wonderful script, on a magnificent stage setting. Before “curtain up” and from my vantage point on the front row, I was able to admire the stage setting of comfy Dralon-covered sofa, recliner armchairs, Ercol-type tables, corded phones and stair-lift - obviously a well-loved, but dated home of an elderly couple. The pair - Florence (Paula Wilcox, star of 1970s sitcom Man About The House), and 91-year-old Jack (Ian Bartholomew, of Coronation Street fame) - bicker their way through their twilig...

7Mar

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Of Mice And Men – Hull Truck Theatre

John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice And Men, very nearly never saw the light of day, as the first draft was eaten by his dog, Toby. Thankfully, the American writer persevered and since its first performance on Broadway in 1937, his work continues to entertain theatregoers around the world. On Thursday night I was privileged to watch a stellar cast of actors bring Of Mice And Men to life on the stage of the Hull Truck Theatre. This cosy theatre never fails to come up trumps where imaginative stage settings are concerned, and Thursday was no exception, thanks to set designer Jess Curtis (who also designed the costumes). There was no raised stage to speak of, just a small step-up at the rear. The floor comprised of wooden slats, as did the entire wall at the back which opened to rev...

Mary and the Hyenas – Hull Truck Theatre

13Feb

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Mary and the Hyenas – Hull Truck Theatre

Wednesday evening saw me heading to the theatre for the second time in a week, to review the life story of a woman who, to my great shame, I had never heard of before. Mary Wollstonecraft is her name, and six super talented performers brought her story to life at the Hull Truck Theatre, when it hosted Mary and the Hyenas. The crowds flocked in for this world premiere, written by Hull playwright Maureen Lennon with original music by singer-songwriter Billy Nomates. Born in London, in 1759, Mary’s childhood was spent in the market town of Beverley, a short distance from Hull, in East Yorkshire, after her family moved there in 1768. The show starts at the end of her life, in 1797, as she is giving birth to her second daughter, Mary (who went on to find fame writing Frankenstein). ...

Pilot Theatre’s new play with music Mary and the Hyenas tells the story of a pioneering feminist

3Feb

By NewsdeskNo Comments

Interviews

Pilot Theatre’s new play with music Mary and the Hyenas tells the story of a pioneering feminist

Pilot Theatre usually offer their audience plays with a contemporary cutting edge, but this time for Mary and the Hyenas they’re gone back in time to tell the story of a pioneering feminist from the 18th century. Born in Beverley near Hull, Mary Wollstonecraft worked as a schoolteacher, a governess and as a translator for a London publisher before publishing her first book, Thoughts on the Education of Daughters, in 1787. This was followed by the still influential her later work on the place of women in society published as A Vindication of the Rights of Woman five years later, which at its core is a plea for equality in the education of men and women. The Vindication is widely regarded as the founding document of modern feminism. Written by Maureen Lennon for this producti...

4Dec

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Borrowers – Hull Truck Theatre

I loved watching The Borrowers when it aired on TV in 1992, and can well remember many of the antics of the Clock family, aka The Borrowers. Fast forward to today and the teeny family - mum Homily, dad Pod and daughter Arrietty - are still teeny and still just as entertaining. Hull Truck Theatre has the Clocks gracing its stage until early January 2025, and Tuesday night’s performance proved that size doesn’t matter where talent is involved. Of course, the Clock actors - Bea Clancy as Arrietty, Deb Pugh as Homily and Marc Akinfolarin as Pod - are all normal size, so in parts were shown as tiny puppets. Our first glimpse of the family’s underfloor home showed everyday items they had “borrowed”, including a matchbox used as a double bed by mum and dad. It’s Christmas in the ea...

2Nov

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

How To Be Brave – Hull Truck Theatre

The Godber Studio was very well-attended on Friday evening, when Hull Truck Theatre hosted How To Be Brave. Writer Louise Beech cleverly intertwined the lives of the two main characters in this true-life drama - one a Merchant Seaman in the Second World War, the other a 10-year-old girl. And, despite the 64-year gap in their stories, the two had an undeniable connection. The Able Seaman, Colin Armitage (Jacob Ward), was Beech’s grandfather, and the girl her daughter, Katy. And it’s her storytelling to young Katy of Armitage’s horrific ordeal during the war that proved to be of huge benefit for her daughter, who had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes; helping her to accept and cope with her condition. Five very talented performers brought How To Be Brave to life, on the small s...