Michael Taylor Archives - North West End UK

The Silence of the Lambs – Bradford Alhambra

13Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Silence of the Lambs – Bradford Alhambra

The Silence of the Lambs is one of only three movies to ever win the ‘big five’ Oscars, including golden statuettes for both lead actors, so creating a stage version of such an iconic film was always going to be a risk. It proved to be a gamble that totally paid off as the producers only had the rights to the book by Thomas Harris, so writer Gina Gionfriddo eschewed some of the camper elements of the movie and focused more on back stories to the twisted psychological battles between the main characters. Rookie FBI trainee Clarise Starling was dispatched to an insane system to interview seemingly urbane serial killer Dr Hannibal Lecter as the bureau attempted to track down Buffalo Bill who was on his own killing spree. Gionfriddo cleverly explored the way Starling and Lector dev...

An Officer and a Gentleman – Manchester c

Based on the original screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart, An Officer and a Gentleman the musical is here at the Manchester Opera House as part of its UK tour. Directed by Leicester Curve Artistic director Nikolai Foster, we are treated to a well-rounded piece of theatre which has been well thought out to keep it fresh and smooth with an air of familiarity about it. The story follows Zack Mayo and his fellow Navy recruits at their training camp in Pensacola, Florida, and their journey through a 12-week programme to try and become Navy Jet pilots. Through rigorous training, we see recruits struggle and fail, leaving the training programme, eventually bringing the other recruits closer together, pushing each other along to reach their final goal. But not everything runs smoothly, and we see...

The Good Life – The Lowry

Modern society is fascinated with the idea of sustainable, eco-friendly living - rightly so, when the threat of mother nature and climate change are knocking on your door. So, its oddly fitting that the 70’s British sitcom, The Good Life, should focus on ecological living. The TV show was enjoyed by millions when it premiered way back when, in 1975. The show was adapted by Jeremy Sams and it now hits stages for the first time, before heading to the West End. It features Tom and Barbara, as we join them on Tom’s 40th Birthday. In the midst of what Barbara describes as a midlife crisis, Tom quits his job as a designer of plastic toys for cereal boxes and the couple decide to commit to a new lifestyle, in a hope to make for a more interesting life. They set off on their quest to become eco...