Liverpool Empire Archives - North West End UK

20Nov

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

An Inspector Calls – Liverpool Empire

With the size and grandeur of the Empire stage, any play has a feat to reach the farthest eyes and ears in the audience. Especially a play that has such a wide and respecting reputation, not to mention a sell-out run to precede it. I didn't watch that initial tour of this production, so I have no comparison. That said, I was keen to see the calibre of the National Theatre re-produced, albeit with a hint of apprehension as to whether it would feel big enough for a space so different to the intimate Littleton. However, sat way back in the stalls I was pleased to feel so much life from the distant stage. The characters were bold and worked very hard to keep us in that world of tailcoats and silk gloves. Sheila Birling (Leona Allan) had humility, and a subtlety needed to counteract Mr an...

14Nov

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

Dear Evan Hansen – Liverpool Empire

The classic saying always favours the book over the film of story but when a book comes off the back of a musical, then that musical has got to be next level. Dear Evan Hansen therefore comes with a calibre. The show is the blueprint that went to Broadway before Hollywood film sets and so future renditions can sometimes be overshot with assumed greatness. Instantly this performance was not that. What I noticed first was that the story was the main character rather than the individual performers which so often occurs during ‘big’ shows. I say it every time I go to the Empire, but that theatre is a big space that demands a strong stage presence. This cast were instantly electric, purposeful and slick that captured me and the packed seats three tiers high. Ryan Kopel’s Evan wa...

29Oct

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

& Juliet – Liverpool Empire

What would happen if Juliet decided not to end it all when she finds Romeo dead? What would happen if when writing Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s wife, Ann, has a share of the writing and what we thought we knew about this well-known play is altered completely? For the better? For the worse? Well, we are here to find out. With book by David West Read and Music and Lyrics by Swedish pop song writer, Max Martin and Friends, we are taken on a bright, exciting, loud journey of discovery, love, and the meaning of compromise. The show opens with the company of players milling around the stage, interacting with the audience and treating us to some incredible dancing before an explosion of colour and life hits us and we are thrown into this rollercoaster of a story. Matt Cardle is extrem...

3Oct

By Katy GilroyNo Comments

North West

Sister Act – Liverpool Empire

Disco nuns and mobster boyfriends – Sister Act is an iconic film, and Alan Menken’s musical adaptation turns it into a glitzy stage production with plenty of fun. Starring Coronation Street’s Wendi Peters as the disapproving Mother Superior and West End star Landi Oshinowo, this was set to be a sparkling show. When disco singer Deloris witnesses her boyfriend murder one of his cronies, she is put into protection at a convent – the last place she would ever have expected to end up. From not knowing anything about life as a nun to transforming the church choir and finding a sisterhood she never knew she needed, Deloris’ life takes a massive turn. Landi’s voice and incredible acting skills brought this sassy character to fruition in an amazing way, allowing the audience to truly connect wi...

18Sep

By Bev ClarkNo Comments

North West

Peaky Blinders – Liverpool Empire

The Global sensation of Steven Knight’s’ Peaky Blinders took TV audiences by storm and not surprisingly, there would be a stage version to follow but it is very rare for a ballet to be developed from such a show. Rambert Dance rose to the challenge of taking on this iconic drama. Its violent, brutal physicality lending itself to the dance-form incredibly well. Director/ choreographer Benoit Swan Pouffer creates such a powerful, visual feast for our senses, we are mesmerized from the first moment. The eighteen strong ensemble bring alive not only the story but the emotion of Shelby’s redemption to a soundtrack that feels it actually gets inside you. Audiences will be familiar with songs from the TV show like ‘Red Right Hand’ by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds but ...

4Sep

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

Ghost the Musical – Liverpool Empire

Based on the 1990 film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg, Bill Kenwright Ltd has brought the musical back to life with a UK tour, and this week it is at the Liverpool Empire. Ghost focuses on a banker, Sam Wheat, who is murdered on his way home from his girlfriend, Molly’s, art exhibition and seeks the help of psychic reader, Oda Mae Brown, to help him save Molly and release him from the transitional world he is currently trapped in. Ghost the Musical started its life back at the Manchester Opera House in 2011, but the show has come a long way since then, and due to artistic changes and budget cuts, this is a vastly different show to what it once was. Gone are the days of elaborate sets with high tech special effects but the story and the heart still remains. ...

29May

By Manda ElizabethNo Comments

North West

Grease The Musical – Liverpool Empire

Grease The Musical has lightening bolted onto the stage of Liverpool’s Empire Theatre this week for some summer loving… much different to its movie counterpart it still promises a night choreographed to perfection and vocals worthy of mesmeric status. If you’re an avid fan of Grease the movie, you will notice the flow of the musical misses out some of the story but gives you alternative which supports the added musical numbers and characters which are highlighted more during the stage adaption.  We are introduced into Rydell High by Vince Fontaine, who we quickly warm to as our host and almost like the page turner from scene to scene, flowing the set changes with comedic charm and presence. In act one it seemed to be a warmup for the main debut in act two where we as the audience are...

10May

By Jan MellorNo Comments

North West

The Sound of Music – Liverpool Empire

Arriving at the bustling Empire theatre at Liverpool where rows of excited people were queuing to see the iconic story of a nun who becomes the mother of seven children, I was delighted to see that my favourite all time musical was still as popular as it was in the 60’s, when I went every weekend without fail, to see the film in my local cinema- ironically, here in Liverpool. So, for opening night to see the story brought to light by the BOST musicals company was, I knew, going to be a real treat. From the start, with the ever changing backdrop – bringing us the convent, the mountains and the exterior and the interior of the grand house ( great work by the projection designed Julian Butler) we were magically transported through this journey of Maria’s self-discovery from the start with ...

1May

By Miranda GreenNo Comments

North West

Life of Pi – Liverpool Empire

To the reader, few adaptations of a beloved novel are as magical as the images we create in our own head, the scenes conjured in our mind’s eye. Life of Pi at the Liverpool Empire aims high and, boy, does it succeed. The seventeen-year-old Pi, leaving Pondicherry for a new life in Canada with his family and a veritable ark of zoo animals, is the sole survivor of the ensuing shipwreck. Adrift at sea for 277 days in the company of an adult Bengal tiger, improbably named Richard Parker and whom he must master or be eaten by, he must also overcome the hurdles of a ravaging hyena, hunger, lack of shelter and fresh water, the strictures of his own vegetarianism and, surreally, an island of cannibalistic plants. In the past 20 years productions such as War Horse and His Dark Materials...

17Apr

By Grace AnnabelNo Comments

North West

I Should Be So Lucky – Liverpool Empire

This evening, I had the immense privilege of watching Debbie Isitt and Jason Gilkison’s brand new musical creation, ‘I should be so lucky’ at the marvellous Liverpool Empire Theatre, which cleverly comprises of Stock Aitken Watermans greatest hits intertwined into a hilariously feel-good tale. The show takes us on an action-packed whirlwind, when two engaged lovers (Ella and Nathan) experience the greatest pre-wedding jitters of all, causing Ella to be jilted at the altar, but as the show’s tagline says ‘The wedding is off but the Honeymoon is on’! The show opens to reveal a set of great stature, with many cut out heart layers all one behind the other boasting gorgeous seaside themed details and outlined with vibrant lighting on each panel, demonstrating the show’s incredibly high pr...