Saturday, April 20

Tag: Jasper Hawes

Bedknobs and Broomsticks – Hull New Theatre
Yorkshire & Humber

Bedknobs and Broomsticks – Hull New Theatre

Within two minutes of Bedknobs and Broomsticks hitting the Hull New Theatre stage on Tuesday evening, the stage setting fell apart. An almighty cock-up? No, just the most amazing and dramatic opening of any theatre production I have ever witnessed. It was breath-taking and the whole musical continued in the same vein throughout. Take a bow, set and illusion designer, Jamie Harrison, not forgetting the associate scenic and puppet designer Kenneth MacLeod (more of the puppets later). We in the packed theatre were transported to the dark years of the Second World War, hence the aforementioned stage setting collapse, the result of bombing on the London home of the Rawlins family. The three children, orphaned in the tragedy, are packed off to the safety of the countryside. Thirt...
Bedknobs and Broomsticks – Palace Theatre
North West

Bedknobs and Broomsticks – Palace Theatre

Bedknobs and Broomsticks arrives in Manchester this week, the first of a trilogy of Disney productions to play at the Palace Theatre with Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King arriving in the next 12 months. Tonight’s show was truly a lesson in visual artistry with scene after scene making you question if your eyes really saw that? Countless illusions including a flying bed and fully functioning broomstick take centre stage alongside glorious puppets all illuminated by a stunning lighting design all knitted together with slick direction from Candice Edmunds. The shows website says “When the three orphaned Rawlins children are reluctantly evacuated from wartime London to live with the mysterious Eglantine Price, they have no idea what adventures lie ahead. Upon discovering Eglantine...