Pippa Evans Archives - North West End UK

Now That’s What I Call a Musical – Hull New Theatre

5Feb

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Now That’s What I Call a Musical – Hull New Theatre

Set in Birmingham, the Brummy tones in this new musical were a joy to listen to. Now That’s What I Call a Musical, written by Pippa Evans and directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, of Strictly Come Dancing fame, charts the lives of two best school friends, whose loves, hopes, dreams (shattered or otherwise) are played out to some of the greatest pop hits of the 1980s. It’s 1989, and April (Maia Hawkins) and Gemma (Nikita Johal) are typical schoolgirls - April is blonde, bubbly and dreams of stardom in Hollywood. Her bestie, the shorter, dark-haired Gemma, dreams only of marriage and having kids. Gemma’s family are a scream - that accent again. Dad (Christopher Glover) works in a car factory, while Mum (Poppy Tierney), seems to spend her time laying the kitchen table...

Now That’s What I Call A Musical – Opera House

29Jan

By Coral MourantNo Comments

North West

Now That’s What I Call A Musical – Opera House

A new musical comedy hits UK theatres and transports its audiences back to the 80’s with pop-tastic hits, flashy routines and an empowering story of love and friendship. Two high school friends dream of their futures, April wants to take Hollywood by storm, Gemma is quite content in Birmingham, but nothing is going to come between them. Fast forward twenty years to the high school reunion and the girls are confronted with their decisions, their love-lives and their futures ahead. Is their friendship going to conquer all? Or have they grown up and, ultimately, grown apart? Now… isn’t anything ground-breaking, in fact it’s very familiar. It’s a story of every-day people, with songs we all know and love performed with gusto by a brilliant cast who represent a typical British city (kudos...

NOW That’s What I Call A Musical – Bradford Alhambra

16Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

NOW That’s What I Call A Musical – Bradford Alhambra

Back in the eighties when CDs first came on the market NOW That’s What I Call Music! compilations packed full of mega chart hits dominated the hit parade, so it’s no shock that a jukebox musical version is on the road. We’re back in 1989 with Brummie best mates livewire April and sensible Gemma, who for some reason is in love with Jay Osmond, but years later like many intense teen friendships they have drifted apart until a school reunion. Shock, horror - it’s all soundtracked by the sort of middle of the road bangers featured on the NOW collections. Pippa Evans' slightly flabby book is full of eighties inspired gags, but she does cleverly weave the narrative from 1989 to the reunion, and then backwards and forwards. Evans makes some good points about the fragile nature of friendship...

Now that’s What I Call a Musical – Sheffield Lyceum

12Sep

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Now that’s What I Call a Musical – Sheffield Lyceum

Now that’s what I call a…. trip down memory lane for an 80’s kid! I was smiling until my jaw ached as the now 40 year old ‘Now That’s What I Call’ music CD phenomenon blasted out the songs of my youth. The music is prominent in Now, That’s What I Call a Musical as the name implies…The production is unapologetically nostalgic and a little lacking in depth at times, but the soundtrack of a generation takes centre stage as the story underscores the songs for once. And it works a treat! Penned by comedian Pippa Evans and inspired from the screenplay ‘The Video Help Service’ by Ian W Brown, Lotte Mullan and Natalie Malla, the story starts in 2009 and thrusts us back into 1989. Cleverly directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, we are greeted by two simultaneous time eras as we se...

Relive the playlist of your life as Craig Revel Horwood brings NOW That’s What I Call a Musical to Liverpool

8Jun

By NewsdeskNo Comments

Interviews

Relive the playlist of your life as Craig Revel Horwood brings NOW That’s What I Call a Musical to Liverpool

Get ready to relive the playlist of your life at the brand new NOW That’s What I Call A Musical. Celebrating 40 years of the iconic and chart-topping compilations brand NOW That’s What I Call Music, which has sold an estimated 200 million copies worldwide, this fun-filled production is bursting with hits from Whitney Houston, Wham! Blondie, Tears For Fears, Spandau Ballet and many more. Written by award-winning comedian Pippa Evans, and directed and choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing legend Craig Revel Horwood, the heart-warming and funny story takes audiences on an uplifting journey down memory lane Here, director and choreographer Craig Revel Horwood reveals all about the show... What sort of night are audiences in for when they come to see NOW That's What I Call A Music...

I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

28May

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

For the long-standing listener, a chance to see just exactly how they do it. Twice, as it happens, which makes for a long night but detracts not a jot from the hugely entertaining formula honed and tweaked over the years, the A-List cast (Rory Bremner, Pippa Evans, Milton Jones and Fred MacAuley) and its A-List Humph replacement, Jack Dee. Who, on reflection has been at it for pretty much 15 years now. The show with no apparent end to its stamina was conceived in 1972, a riposte to the wave of ‘panel’ games taking over our screens and wireless units. So that’s what he looks like! The first reveal is the appearance in front of three tourquoise-covered tables of producer Jon Naismith, who performs the oft-belittled role of warm-up bloke with greetings, explanations and the odd cracker of ...

The London Improvathon – Wilton’s Music Hall

13Mar

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

The London Improvathon – Wilton’s Music Hall

After taking time to catch up on sleep and sustenance, it is comforting to reflect on what a special event the London Improvathon is. I covered the whole show but had breaks to grab a couple of hours sleep and to eat, so you could consider me to be a lightweight in comparison with these improvathoners. For cast and audience, there is an invisible bond that forms over the fifty hours, the commitment to perform, or to watch the equivalent of twenty-five shows back-to-back, binds the two together, and the final bows are met with celebration. For those who do not wish to commit to fifty hours, there was an option to buy a two-hour episode ticket. The history of the Improvathon goes back to 1993, when the first Canadian Improvathon took place, and then some years later Ken ...

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Garrick Theatre

8Jun

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Garrick Theatre

As the theatres gradually re-open, audiences are like kids in a toy shop, wide-eyed, rushing around not sure what to see first. Well it's a no-brainer. Book tickets for Showstopper! It sounds absolutely crazy - a musical improvised on the fly with suggestions of setting, musical styles and show title provided by the audience - but it has been running to incredible and well-deserved success since 2008. After a long stint at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the show had two West End runs and a series on BBC Radio 4. And along the way they picked up an Olivier award. It's funny, clever, interactive and unique, each night becoming a completely different show full of references to styles the audience can recognise. A bit of Shakespeare here, a Hamilton-esque sequence there, an homage to ...

The Alternative Eurovision Song Contest – The Showstoppers

16May

By Brian MaddenNo Comments

REVIEWS

The Alternative Eurovision Song Contest – The Showstoppers

I am a self-confessed Eurovision geek! The annual contest is almost like a religious ceremony to me. So, I jumped at the chance to watch the Alternative Eurovision Song Contest by The Showstoppers. Given that social distancing is still part of our daily lives, the entire production was filmed according to the guidelines. With some of the contests taking part from their bedrooms. Clearly it is a challenge to produce any kind of show when the cast are not all physically in the same location, but The Showstoppers did a wonderful job. The show had a mixture of live and pre-recorded segments, which slotted together brilliantly. A few things here and there would have made it even better - but nothing that would distract from the enjoyment of the show as a whole. I think it’s fair to say...

8Dec

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Garrick Theatre

Showstopper did not allow lockdown to stop their creativity, they have continued to produce online improvised shows, in fact North West End UK have reviewed some of these (see our website). For those who have somehow missed the artistry that is musical improvisation here is a quick summary. Showstopper use suggestions made by the audience to make up a musical from scratch in front of your eyes. In a normal musical production, it can take years for a production to make it to the stage, with the services of a lyricist, a composer, producer, director, actors, etc, etc! Showstopper does all of this in one night – the performers multi-task and roll all of this into one very sleek team. Ring, ring, the red phone shrills, and we know it’s going to be Cameron asking the ...