NK Theatre Arts Archives - North West End UK

Flashdance the Musical – The Forum Theatre

27Mar

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Flashdance the Musical – The Forum Theatre

This production of Flashdance the musical is directed and choreographed by Hannah Thomas of NK Theatre Arts and a wonderful job she has done of it too, ably assisted by Jade Wilbraham. The show is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the USA and is based on a book by Tom Hedley and Robert Cary, music by Robbie Roth and lyrics by Roth and Cary. It has a distinctive 80’s feel about it and includes a number of well-known songs including “Maniac”, “Gloria” and “What a feeling”. it tells the story of young Alex, whose job is a welder by day and 'flash-dancer' by night, and her dreams of becoming a member of a dance academy and fulfilling her ambition to become a professional dancer. It was good to see many familiar faces in the cast members who took to the stage doing improvised dancing be...

27Sep

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Bad Girls the Musical – Romiley Forum

This musical is based on the television series of the same name and tells the story of a dozen or so inmates of Larkhall Prison who are incarcerated for various misdemeanours ranging from shoplifting through drug dealing and prostitution to murder. The characters are introduced individually at the start of the show, which was a nice touch by director Lucy Worthington in her directorial debut (and a marvellous job she did of it too; I have seen shows where she has acted as assistant director, but this is her first time in charge in her own right.) The plot as it is revolves around the relationships between the female prisoners and their mainly male warders, who are split between those wanting to take advantage of the girls and those who wish a better life for them. As the play progresses...

Our Day Out – Castle Hill School, Stockport

1Feb

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Our Day Out – Castle Hill School, Stockport

As NK Theatre Arts do not currently have access to their home venue at the Romiley Forum, this production was staged at the hall at Castle Hill School. This meant that instead of their usual capacity of close on 300 seats, there was an audience of only about 50 people, but those that did attend were treated to an excellent interpretation of Willy Russell’s comedy about a group of Liverpool’s underprivileged children on a day out from their normal classes exploring the countryside of North Wales. The director described this production as an “Informal Show”, which is perhaps doing it a bit of an injustice as everything about it was done in an extremely professional manner. The date of the production has changed a number of times which necessitated a number of changes in the cast, but thes...

SIX (Teen Edition) – George Lawton Hall, Mossley

2Oct

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

SIX (Teen Edition) – George Lawton Hall, Mossley

This production would normally have taken place at the spiritual home of NK Theatre Arts at the Romiley Forum, but due to circumstances beyond anybody’s control, this venue became unavailable at very short notice, so it was moved to the George Lawton Hall in Mossley, which was the only place that could accommodate this production at relatively short notice. Within the space of two weeks the stage and production including the technical side was moved over 10 miles to the new venue, so it can only be imagined the difficulties that entailed – and this was before the show even started! Rehearsals were taking place at different venues, and it is amazing that the production went ahead at all! But go ahead it did, thank goodness. Speaking to the director, Paul Wilson, he informed me that they ...

School of Rock – The Forum Theatre, Romiley

23Mar

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

School of Rock – The Forum Theatre, Romiley

Based on the film written by Mike White. Directed by Dominic Stannage. For those few who don’t already know the story of School of Rock, the show follows Dewey Finn, a struggling musician who longs to be a rock star. After being kicked out of his own band, Dewey is penniless and jobless. To meet his rent obligations, he disguises himself as a substitute teacher and lands a job at a prestigious private school. Totally out of his depth, Dewey ignores the usual curriculum and focuses on developing the musically talented children. He forms a rock band with the 10-year-olds in the hope of winning the upcoming Battle of the Bands competition – all the while attempting to hide his true identity. There was a considerable buzz in the foyer in anticipation of the start of the show, a very nice...