Jo Patmore Archives - North West End UK

26May

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

As You Like It – Liverpool Playhouse

In their 30th anniversary production, Northern Broadsides, under the direction of Laurie Sansom, bring a bold approach to Shakespeare’s most musical and much-loved comedy. Unfortunately, we are met more with a misguided fantasy than a great production. In a stylish but stifling court, where the Duke (Tom Shaw) is all powerful and brute strength is championed over basic human decency, the high-spirited Rosalind (Em Williams) and devoted cousin Celia (Isobel Coward) are no longer welcome. When they escape into the forest in disguise, accompanied by Touchstone (Joe Morrow), they bump into the recent object of Rosalind’s affection, Orlando (Shaban Dar), who has fallen foul of Oliver (Aron Julius) but is supported by Adam (Claire Hackett), leading to an elaborate game of fluid identity wh...

As You Like It – The Lowry

Consistently one of Shakespeare’s most frequently performed comedies, this 30th anniversary Northern Broadsides production of As You Like It, by its’ own admission, attempts to provide the audience with an opportunity to consider ‘the transformative power of love and the natural world’ and the ‘crazy power of love to change the world’. Presented Arena style, square rather than in the round, and using a collection of hat stands and what looked like my Nana’s washing line to create the magical Forest of Arden, designer E M Parry has success in creating their ‘Narnia- like’ giant dressing up box in which the cast of 12 Northern actors were able to play. From naff shell suits to gorgeously coloured gypsy skirts, rigid bone corsets to shiny superhero capes and anything in between that glitte...

Queen Mab – Iris Theatre

"O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you. She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes In shape no bigger than an agate-stone..." (Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet, Act I scene IV) Mab, an ancient fairy, travels the world and, as Mercutio describes, has been bringing dreams and nightmares to mortals for centuries. But she's bored and unhappy, seeing humans as nothing more than "a pestilential scourge upon the Earth" and preferring to dole out nightmares that prey upon their deepest fears rather than bestowing positive dreams on their sleeping forms. There are many lockdown and pandemic-themed dramas around, but likely none as charming as Danielle Pearson's "Queen Mab". The play cleverly links Shakespeare's Mab to the present day through Freya, a teenager who is going through all...