Justin Butcher Archives - North West End UK

22Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Scaramouche Jones – Assembly Bijou

Where on earth is everybody? Justin Butcher is giving what is arguably the finest one-man performance I have seen at this year's Edinburgh Fringe. Scaramouche Jones is theatre-making and storytelling of the absolute highest quality. And the Bijou tent is barely a quarter full. What is going on? Butcher's Scaramouche Jones has been travelling the world for 25 years. Pete Postlethwaite originated the role, directed by Rupert Goold, and the play itself has subsequently travelled internationally. Maybe nobody wants to see a 25-year-old play, or perhaps it is just not to the ‘modern’ palate. Whatever the reason, what a joy it was to discover. On Millennium Eve, 1999, Scaramouche stands on the brink of his hundredth birthday and takes us back through an extr...

Scaramouche Jones or the Seven White Masks – Wilton Music Hall

“50 years to make the clown. 50 years to play the clown.” This closing remark, delivered by the centenarian clown Scaramouche as he waits for the clock to strike midnight and usher in the new millennium, is perhaps the closest to capturing the essence of this astonishing odyssey of the 20th century. Scaramouche Jones or the Seven White Masks recounts the extraordinary life of a man’s journey through crumbling empires, comic misadventures, dark episodes and tragic discoveries on a quest to understand why he is who he is. From tales of his birth in slim alleys of Trinidad and his escapades on the busy streets of Milan, to the haunting memories of concentration camps in Eastern Europe and the exhilaration of finally being on English soil, this text not only gives us a glimpse into what wen...

Shane Richie to star in digital revival of Scaramouche Jones or the Seven White Masks

Much-loved and multi-talented stage and screen actor Shane Richie (EastEnders; The Entertainer; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here) will take on the role of the titular tragic clown in the digital revival of Justin Butcher’s absorbing solo show, Scaramouche Jones. Filmed in a London theatre, and available to stream on Stream.Theatre from Friday 26th March to Sunday 11th April, this is the latest production from Ginger Quiff Media - the OnCom award-winning team behind the acclaimed revivals of Martin Sherman’s Rose starring Dame Maureen Lipman, and Little Wars (The Guardian and New York Times top picks) featuring Juliet Stevenson and Linda Bassett. Richie swaps the I’m A Celeb Welsh castle for the digital stage, taking on the role made famous by the late...