Paul Clarke Archives - North West End UK

Dalton Wood talks about being a Jersey Boy as the hit musical comes to Leeds Grand Theatre

15Jul

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Dalton Wood talks about being a Jersey Boy as the hit musical comes to Leeds Grand Theatre

If you love pop music then you will have a favourite Four Seasons songs and Jersey Boys is the musical based on their troubled journey from rags to riches. The quartet famed for their close harmonies fought their way out of humble blue collar roots in Newark to record a set of beautifully arranged smash hits like Sherry, Rag Doll, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man and December ’63 (Oh What a Night). For a musical it’s a natural tale of triumphing against the odds with the added bonus of lead singer Frankie Valli’s utterly distinctive falsetto vocal style. So, it’s no wonder Jersey Boys was a big hit on Broadway, and is still running in the West End, as fans new and old appreciate the great songs penned by Valli and musical prodigy Bob Gaudio. It’s also become a regular on the ...

Samuel Nicholas talks about why Dreamgirls resonates so strongly with cast and audiences alike

28Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Samuel Nicholas talks about why Dreamgirls resonates so strongly with cast and audiences alike

Musical theatre has often explored the dark side of showbiz for source material, and Dreamgirls looks at the murky music industry in the 1960s as the big dreams of three women are both realised and destroyed. Effie, Denna and Lorell are the Dreams who perform songs written by Effie’s brother C.C before hooking up with devious mechanic turned manager Curtis Taylor, who is quick to exploit tensions in the group. Along the way they sing back up for flamboyant soul man Jimmy Early before Curtis’ Machiavellian plans cause all sorts of heartbreak for the trio. Samuel Nicolas is one of a strong male ensemble who do a lot of the heavy lifting in this energetic show, and he spoke to our Yorkshire Editor Paul Clarke about why Dreamgirls is resonating so strongly with both the cast and audienc...

Red Ladder Local takes theatre to people where they live

5Apr

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Red Ladder Local takes theatre to people where they live

If there was one company you might expect to take theatre out of its safe traditional spaces playing to the usual suspects it would be radical mischief makers Red Ladder. Since 1968 this decidedly left leaning company has created work that challenges the way we think about the world, so it’s no surprise they created Red Ladder Local. Like all great ideas it is simple. Instead of just playing big theatres, Red Ladder and other companies take scaled down, but high-quality, productions to non-traditional venues like community centres, pubs and working men’s clubs. It all started when Red Ladder’s producer Chris Lloyd went along to the then Yorkshire Playhouse to see a new short play called Playing The Joker, and he had a lightbulb moment which led years later to the creation of Red ...

Wrongsemble take the ugly sisters to the people

21Mar

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Wrongsemble take the ugly sisters to the people

Wrongsemble take the ugly sisters to the people Traditionally the ugly sisters have been the perennial villains in Cinderella but maybe it’s so quite so simple is the idea behind a new show from Wrongsemble The Leeds based company set themselves up to make work for families, and The Not So Ugly Sisters takes a look at the classic fairy tale from their perspective for the very first time. Written and directed by their founder Elvi Piper, sisters Dolly and Barb are in their northern hair salon as kid sister Cindy prepares to marry her prince charming, but they’ve not been invited to the wedding. This bittersweet musical retelling of a story familiar to every child (and adult) aims to make us think about the sisters in a very different way. The two hander with a new cast is headi...

Musical director Harry Blake talks about Say Yes to Tess at Leeds Playhouse

11Mar

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Musical director Harry Blake talks about Say Yes to Tess at Leeds Playhouse

One of the first-time candidates in the 2017 general election was Tess Seddon who stood for the Yorkshire Party in Leeds North East. Not surprisingly given it is a safe Labour safe this political novice didn’t win with her 303 votes, but she has now turned her experiences as a candidate into a musical comedy, Say Yes to Tess. Unexpectedly thrust into the political maelstrom Tess takes her newly formed party’s passion for Yorkshire devolution to the streets, but with the election day looming her play follows the candidate as she starts to question whether she’s doing the right thing. Our Yorkshire Editor Paul Clarke caught up with the show’s musical director Harry Blake to find out more about a show that attempts to make politics fun, and maybe just a bit more accessible. Tell ...

From Japan to Leeds Playhouse – Rupert Hands

2Dec

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Interviews

From Japan to Leeds Playhouse – Rupert Hands

The annual festive shows at Leeds Playhouse have become must see spectaculars for theatre lovers across West Yorkshire and this year they recruited a massive cast to rethink the legend of Peter Pan Wendy & Peter offers a new spin on the JM Barrie classic as writer Ella Hickson has decided to tell the story through Wendy Darling's eyes, but audiences can rest assured it’s still going to be a rollicking tale of a battle in Neverland with the dastardly Captain Hook full of flying, fighting and fun. This version of the beloved tale of the boy who won’t grow up started life at the Royal Shakespeare Company and has just returned from a critically acclaimed run in Tokyo. There the creative team added an epic score by Japanese composer Shuhei Kamimura and added some Anime video design. ...

From Japan to Leeds Playhouse – Jonathan Munby

28Nov

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Interviews

From Japan to Leeds Playhouse – Jonathan Munby

Peter Pan is one of our culture’s most enduring characters but a new festive production at Leeds Playhouse takes a fresh look at the boy who refuses to grow up. This time round in Wendy & Pan the endless child’s traditional sparring partner Wendy Darling takes centre stage in Ella Hickson’s adaption of JM Barrie’s classic, but you can still expect to see the dastardly Captain Hook, The Lost Boys, a pirate ship and a crocodile in the Playhouse’s festive spectacular. This production comes straight from a successful run in Tokyo during the Olympics, featuring input from Japanese creatives, and boasts a big cast who will fight and fly their way round the huge Quarry theatre. Jonathan Munby is co-directing Wendy and Peter, and in the first of a two part look at this show tells our...

Dianne Pilkington flies into Leeds Grand with Bedknobs and Broomsticks

28Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Dianne Pilkington flies into Leeds Grand with Bedknobs and Broomsticks

When families settle down for a festive film one of the perineal favourites is BedKnobs and Broomsticks starring musical legends Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson. It’s a magical and often surreal tale of a trainee witch Eglantine Price who takes under her wing three orphans evacuated from the London blitz who fly an enchanted bed in a quest to find a spell helped by a dodgy professor of magic. The movie features some memorable songs from the pen of the Sherman Brothers and its cutting-edge animation combined with live action won the Disney team an Oscar for best Special Effects. Now it has been turned into a stage show with some new songs that comes to Leeds Grand from December 8th and plays into the new year. Dianne Pilkington plays the trainee witch on the show’s first UK to...

Nana-Kofi Kufour talks about his debut play My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored

18Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

Nana-Kofi Kufour talks about his debut play My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored

Black people in this country are nine times more likely to be stopped and searched and that is what happens to Reece in Nana-Kofi Kurfour’s debut play. In My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored the teenager appeals to his black teacher Gillian for help but she refuses leading to a tense standoff in their classroom the next day. No one can accuse this new writer of picking an easy topic for this tense two hander, but it’s a subject that impacts on all of us in modern Britain one way or another. It’s no surprise it’s being produced by Leeds based radical theatre company Red Ladder, who have a long history of taking on subjects no-one else wants to touch. As My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored gets its World Premiere at Leeds Playhouse our Yorkshire editor Paul Clarke caught up Nan...

A new show aims to tackle Islamophobia….in a car park

18Sep

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Interviews

A new show aims to tackle Islamophobia….in a car park

Bradford based Common Wealth are a political theatre company who specialise in creating pieces in unusual spaces and this time they are using open sided multi story car parks to stage a new work challenging Islamophobia. Their artistic director Evie Manning co-directs Peaceophobia along with members of Speakers Corner, who are a political collective run by women and teenage girls in Bradford. It’s focused on the experiences of young British Pakistani men growing up in the shadow of the Bradford Riots, 9/11 and police harassment, and how their cars and faith become a sanctuary for them. &nb...