Octagon Theatre Archives - North West End UK

24Nov

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

A Christmas Carol – Octagon Theatre

The economics of modern theatre production are currently on full display at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton, with their festive offering of ‘A Christmas Carol’ beginning its run for a mammoth eight weeks. This is a decision that may bear fruit at the box office but does little to enhance the artistic merit of this normally excellent producing house, staging a show that is threadbare and tonally inconsistent, leaving me with little of the Christmas cheer I hoped to find. In keeping with the Scrooge like nature of this review I won’t waste my word count on an explanation of the plot of Dicken’s most famous novella; the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge (David Burrell) over the course of one Christmas Eve is one of the most enduring stories in literature and has been used on countless occasions...

13Oct

By Brian MaddenNo Comments

North West

Snake in the Grass – Octagon Theatre

Would Snake in the Grass go with a bump, a bang, or a flop? Definitely not the latter. The Octagon Theatre Bolton’s gripping production of Alan Ayckbourn’s darkly comic thriller delivers a night of theatre that is equal parts chilling, suspenseful, and wickedly funny. Performed in the Octagon’s intimate space, the audience is drawn straight into the heart of a decaying family garden where secrets fester and ghosts real or imagined seem to lurk in every shadow. The story centres on Annabel Chester (Sue Cleaver), who returns home after her abusive father’s death. She’s physically and emotionally fragile, her father’s cruelty still haunting her. But her uneasy homecoming takes a sinister turn when her father’s former nurse, Alice (Lisa Zahra), arrives with a blackmail scheme, claiming ...

6Sep

By Brian MaddenNo Comments

North West

Yen – Octagon Theatre

Connor Goodwin’s production of Anna Jordan’s Yen at the Octagon Theatre is raw, tense, and painfully intimate. The play follows brothers Hench (Adam Owers) and Bobbie (Jonny Grogan), left to fend for themselves in a flat in Feltham while their mother drifts in and out of their lives. Their fragile existence is punctuated by pornography, video games, and a caged dog — numbing routines that barely cover their hunger for love and stability. The arrival of their neighbour Jennifer (Lucy Eve Mann) disrupts their chaotic balance. Her presence awakens a tenderness in Hench and a defiance in Bobbie but also exposes just how unprepared the boys are for connection. Vicky Binns, as their mother Maggie, delivers a performance that is both heartbreaking and infuriating — her fleeting warmth undermin...

12Jun

By Brian MaddenNo Comments

North West

Pride and Prejudice – Octagon Theatre

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is celebrated for its wit and insight into gender and class. Kate Hamill’s stage adaptation reframes Austen’s story through a fast-paced, farcical lens — one that’s lively and inventive, if not always emotionally resonant. The plot is familiar: Elizabeth Bennet is one of four unmarried daughters in a financially precarious household. Her sharp wit and scepticism about marriage bring her into conflict — and ultimately connection — with the aloof but wealthy Mr. Darcy. Meanwhile, younger sister Lydia throws herself into romantic entanglement with the roguish Mr. Wickham, while Jane, the eldest, quietly pines for Mr. Bingley. Hamill’s script leans heavily into broad comedy and slapstick. Some choices are entertainingly bold; others verge on caricature. ...

28Mar

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Of Mice and Men – Octagon Theatre

At one point over 90% of teenagers taking GCSE English Literature in UK schools studied ‘Of Mice and Men’ and many of the greying press night audience I spoke to had affection for the novel from their distant school days. However, Steinbeck’s moral fable of friendship and companionship has fallen out of favour in academia in recent years due to the overtly racist language, casual misogyny and portrayal of disability, so it was an interesting exercise to see how this stage production would translate to a more critical 21st-century environment. Increasingly in post-Covid regional theatre, we are seeing a movement towards co-productions as a way of mitigating risk and sharing costs, this production combines the resources of Octagon Bolton, Hull Truck, Theatre by the Lake and Derby Theatre ...

12Mar

By NewsdeskNo Comments

North West

Do I Love You? – Octagon Theatre

During the mid-1970’s a curious phenomenon was taking place in obscure nightclubs of northern Britain; in Cleethorpes and Blackpool and from Manchester to Wolverhampton young men and women were donning braces, tank tops and red star vests and gyrating all night to the melancholy lyrics and upbeat tempo of Soul music imported from the United States. This movement became known as Northern Soul and one of its disciples John Godber has taken it as the inspiration for this terrific piece of theatre, which examines the loss of community and identity in our post-Covid world, all to the soundtrack of some of the sweetest songs ever recorded. The Mecca of this scene was undoubtedly Wigan Casino and fifty years later just eleven miles down the A58 the packed press night clearly has stalwarts from...

14Feb

By Abigail PendleburyNo Comments

North West

Shirley Valentine – Octagon Theatre

Heartfelt, Humorous, Honest The Octagon Theatre Bolton's production of Shirley Valentine offers a refreshing and deeply relatable take on Willy Russell's classic one-woman play. The Lancashire setting offers a subtle but effective change that makes Shirley’s story feel even more personal and relevant, infusing the narrative with local charm. Directed by Lotte Wakeham with warmth and sensitivity, the play follows Shirley Bradshaw (née Valentine), a middle-aged housewife who finds herself stuck in a monotonous routine of cooking tea for her unappreciative husband. As she reminisces about her younger, more adventurous self, she receives an unexpected opportunity to escape to Greece, where a simple holiday becomes a journey of self-discovery. Mina Anwar, best known for her work on tel...

24Jan

By Brian MaddenNo Comments

North West

Animal Farm – Octagon Theatre

George Orwell’s Animal Farm comes to life in a vivid and unsettling adaptation that thrusts the audience into the heart of a revolution. The barnyard is transformed into a stage where animals overthrow their human oppressors, driven by dreams of equality and justice. Yet, as Orwell so keenly observed, power has a way of corrupting even the noblest intentions. What begins as a hopeful uprising soon unravels into a chilling reflection of authoritarianism, manipulation, and the rewriting of truth. Olivia Chandler stands out in her dual roles, first as Mollie, the delightfully vain mare who steals the audience’s attention with her superficial charm, and later as Moses, the revivalist raven whose flamboyant performance oozes charisma and false hope. Meanwhile, Shoroosh Lavasani's portrayal o...

27Nov

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

The Jungle Book – Octagon Theatre

When Walt Disney was contemplating adapting Rudyard Kipling’s ‘Jungle Book’ stories, he gave his writing staff a copy with the instruction ‘The first thing to do is NOT to read it’. The resultant movie, released in 1968, bore only a passing resemblance to the source material, but still became one of the best love films in the Disney canon. For this adaptation, writer Andrew Pollard has stuck closer to the source material and whilst the result is an engaging retelling of the tale with some excellent, original songs, it still sits in the shadow of its more famous celluloid cousin. Mowgli (Kiara Nicole Piliai) and his adventures as an abandoned baby growing up in the Indian jungle in the company of wolves, bears and panthers, pursued by the menacing Shere Khan (Rachel Marwood), is a fantas...

Stones In His Pockets – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

24Oct

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Stones In His Pockets – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

When a Hollywood studio arrives in the quiet, rural backwater of County Kerry in the west of Ireland to film their latest big budget drama ‘The Quiet Valley’, there is much excitement in the local community. Told through the eyes of Charlie (Gerard McCabe) and Jake (Shaun Blaney), this tale of thwarted ambition and lost opportunity veers starkly between farcical comedy and dark pathos without really convincing in either genre, despite the extremely strong performances from the gifted cast of two. Written by Marie Jones in 1996, ‘Stones’ has come to be regarded as an iconic show in its native Ireland, winning acclaim for its tragicomic depiction of the differences between the cruel reality of Irish rural life and its idealisation in film and television. Charlie and Jake are initially bot...