Laurie Jamieson Archives - North West End UK

The Great Gatsby – Grosvenor Open Air Theatre

2Aug

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

The Great Gatsby – Grosvenor Open Air Theatre

Frivolity fans the air as a live band dances an eager audience back to the roaring 1920s for an evening of F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. It's hard not to immediately be swept up in the decadence as the cast mingle with the audience until suddenly you aren't sure if you're within the production or simply observing it - what part do you play in the party that never stops? Cleverly framed, there is audience participation from the start. All rise as a coroner begins to question the events leading up to the death of a man, a man surrounded by mystery and rumour. Witness testimonies contradict. A cacophony of characters cause calamity. Just as it feels like a judgement has been made, in bursts protagonist Nick Carraway (Thomas Cotran). Clearly upset, he takes command of the sm...

One Man, Two Guvnors – Liverpool Playhouse

30Jun

By Blathine MaguireNo Comments

North West

One Man, Two Guvnors – Liverpool Playhouse

Liverpool Playhouse Theatre welcomes The West End and Broadway hit comedy “One Man, Two Guvnors”. Following its roaring success when the show was first performed in 2011 and starred James Cordon, it is a delight to see production companies ‘Octagon Theatre Bolton’ and ‘Theatre by the Lake’ have taken this show on the road and is gracing our Liverpool Playhouse stage this summer. The audience are welcomed by the sweet tones of the cast who also make up the house band in this production. Elevated on the first floor of a striking set, the band set the mood for this fun, energetic production set in 1963. The theatre is alight with flashing bulbs that give fantastic seaside holiday vibes, in keeping with the Brighton setting. The story begins in the home of Charlie (Rodney Mat...

1Jun

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

One Man, Two Guvnors – Octagon Theatre

After a critically acclaimed National Theatre premiere, a UK tour, an award-winning West End transfer and a Broadway run which kickstarted James Corden’s stratospheric stateside success, there can’t have been many people left who hadn’t seen the original production of One Man, Two Guvnors. And then the pandemic struck. Another 200,000 tuned in to the NT Live performance. One of the theatrical highlights of lockdown. It’s a brave programmer then who opts to revive Richard Bean’s adaptation of Goldoni’s commedia dell'arte classic The Servant of Two Masters. It’s a gamble that’s largely paid off. For anyone unaware, 1700s Venice has been replaced by 1963 Brighton. That aside, Bean’s adaptation is surprisingly faithful. Both to the plot and themes of upper-class stupidity, gender equa...

10Mar

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

71 Coltman Street – Hull Truck Theatre

As a theatregoer, when you’re handed a complementary tub of chip spice along with your tickets, it does pique your interest. The chip spice came courtesy of Hull Truck Theatre, whose world premiere production of 71 Coltman Street brought to life this local theatre’s creation, 50 years ago. This week I have almost made myself ill by laughing so much at a Hull theatre production, but on Wednesday evening, at this intimate city centre venue, my chuckle muscles took a real battering. The play centres around Hull Truck founder, Mike Bradwell, who at 23, arrived in our city in 1971, renting the run-down house of the production’s title, setting up the theatre from there the following year. Written by Richard Bean, Bradwell admits not a word in the script is true, but that made not a j...