Shakespeare North Playhouse Archives - Page 2 of 7

Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope – Shakespeare North Playhouse

14Jun

By Kevin EcclestonNo Comments

North West

Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope – Shakespeare North Playhouse

Actor and writer Mark Farrelly’s portrayal of Quentin Crisp is mesmerizing. Under Linda Marlowe’s careful direction, Farrelly delivers a 75-minute performance that is both insightful and engaging. His ability to embody Crisp’s unique mannerisms, voice, and flamboyant style transforms this solo act into an intimate and deep theatrical experience. Naked Hope depicts Crisp at two phases of his remarkable life, firstly alone in the 60’s in his Chelsea flat convinced that life had passed him by and thirty years later as a celebrity who has conquered New York. Crisp, born Dennis Pratt was known for his sharp wit, and Farrelly makes sure these one-liners hit with the right mix of humour and emotion. From the funny yet bittersweet line, “Sex is the last refuge of the miserable; if we do not suf...

Much Ado About Nothing – Shakespeare North Playhouse

12Jun

By Stephanie WiswallNo Comments

North West

Much Ado About Nothing – Shakespeare North Playhouse

Ever seen a punk version of Shakespeare? No, well take a seat for Laura J Harris's adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. With a colourful cast of emerging LGBTQ+ and Northern talent, I can guarantee you haven't seen Shakespeare quite like this. Set in the North West of England during the 1980s We have the cunning and dastardly Captain Don John (Mike Bell) who orchestrates mayhem with his band of mischief makers Boracchio (Amy-Lou Harris) and Conrad (Elinor Boult). The trio play great villains and they are the characters you want to see brought to justice in the end. Entangled in their corrupt plan are the poor lovers Claudio (Coda James Neil) and Hero (Shannon Lancashire). Both characters were well portrayed with some excellent emotive scenes, especially Claudio, a very powerful and mov...

Terminal 2 – Shakespeare North Playhouse

7Jun

By Stephanie WiswallNo Comments

North West

Terminal 2 – Shakespeare North Playhouse

Terminal 2, is a short play written by the very talented writer and director David Payne. It explores the very important topics of sexuality, grief, life and death, but don't be fooled into thinking you're in for a hard hitting evening, I can guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised. Taken on a rollercoaster of emotions, this performance had me laughing and crying all the way through. Terminal 2 explores the topics in a sensitive but light hearted way which equally gives you time to soak up every emotion and leaves you thinking about what really matters. Two strong characters lead you for the entire journey. Lynda (played by Janice Fryett) was a bubbly, lovable character who exudes care, love and compassion. Fryett portrayed Lynda brilliantly with excellent comedic timing and tone, g...

6Jun

By Jan MellorNo Comments

North West

Macbeth – Shakespeare North Playhouse

Dark, scary and foreboding. The three words that summarise the Shakespearean masterpiece. The tale of greed, malice and murder shown in the magnificent theatre at Prescott - it’s very foundations from the times that the original plays were performed. The set was thick with an eerie mist as the audience entered the round theatre, and as the play started, we were put into pitch blackness with only the sound of eerie sighs and moans from ghouls, surrounding us as the play began. It was immediately atmospheric and as the first scene opened – a bare stage with only a tin bath at it’s centre - we were immediately transfixed. A woman is carried to the bath, her gown covered in blood and in this bath, she miscarries her baby. Screams from the woman fill the theatre. This is not for the fain...

Sense & Sensibility – Shakespeare North Playhouse

16May

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Sense & Sensibility – Shakespeare North Playhouse

The Pantaloons roll up in Prescot again with their delightful ensemble of skits, songs, and gags this time aimed at Jane Austen’s first novel with lashings of Regency romp raising the bar high even if there are a few low flying beams to watch out for. All actors want to perform in a theatre-in-the-round but with nowhere to hide, only the best can deliver: The Pantaloons served up a theatrical masterclass tonight and a timely reminder of how great theatre can be. Sisters Elinor (Alex Rivers) and Marianne (Cicely Halkes-Wellstead) along with their mother are somewhat down on their luck and effectively palmed off by their older half-brother when their father dies to live on the estate of a cousin, Sir John Middleton (Christopher Smart). Elinor is disconsolate as she had become close to Edw...

Ní Liomsa an Teach Álainn Seo (This Is Not My Beautiful House) – Shakespeare North Playhouse

10May

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Ní Liomsa an Teach Álainn Seo (This Is Not My Beautiful House) – Shakespeare North Playhouse

Described as a story of myth, legend, and identity, whilst Anna Ní Dhúill's play is certainly ambitious in exploring what it means to be non-binary, it ultimately comes up short. Cult Collective’s show revolves around an unnamed artist (Seoirsín Bashford) as they wait in their studio for their partner to come home so that they can reveal their secret and finally come out as non-binary. As they wait, they begin to delve into their recent obsession with an old Irish legend about a bull that caused an all-island war many centuries before. When the bull comes alive, a battle of monologues begins, as they fiercely debate whether it is better to live as your true self and potentially be alone for it, or to exist only in other people’s expectations and remain a legend. Whilst the pre...

Do I Love You – Shakespeare North Playhouse

5Apr

By Coral MourantNo Comments

North West

Do I Love You – Shakespeare North Playhouse

A love letter to Northern Soul from the witty playwright John Godber tours the UK this year, and it’s guaranteed to tug at a few heartstrings and give us all the nostalgia kick we crave. Three twenty-somethings from Hull contemplate life, friendship and the state of the world in this delightful comedy. Finding an appreciation for Northern Soul, the friends explore why this phenomenon was so popular, and how we’re all just wishing for the simple joys of the old days. With dreams paused because of Covid, and a feeling of helplessness and resentment in their working-class roots, the trio find their solace in the discovery of Northern Soul dancing. Sally’s gran has a load of vinyl in the attic, the song “Do I Love You” is constantly played at their work (a drive through takeaway, which m...

19Mar

By Eleanor HallNo Comments

North West

The Moth – Shakespeare North Playhouse

Paul Herzberg’s two hander is a nuanced take on familial responsibility, the ethics of searching for forgiveness, and history’s grip on our adult lives. Using the studio at Shakespeare North to its full potential, The Moth directly confronts its audience with these thought-provoking themes. The stage was preset with tall posters and a flat screen TV that introduced one character’s ‘Confesisonal’, implying a public forum and foregrounding the character study that was to come. The action weaved between John Josana’s talk on racism, his international childhood and his experiences meeting Marius (a South African ex-solider) on a train and later elsewhere. In detailing John’s experiences, the play introduced some vivid imagery and an interesting historical backdrop, supported by monochro...

Love’s Labour’s Lost (more or less) – Shakespeare North Playhouse

5Mar

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Love’s Labour’s Lost (more or less) – Shakespeare North Playhouse

Shakespeare North Playhouse’s latest co-production with Stephen Joseph Theatre promises much, but sadly, as the title hints at, delivers little in this 1990’s-based adaptation. Ferdy (Timothy Adam Lucas) and his stags Berowne (Thomas Cotran) and Long-Dumain (Linford Johnson) have tipped up at a resort in Ibiza run by Armado (David Kirkbride) for their lads’ weekend but are under a promise to not talk to any girls, let alone think about them. Meanwhile, Yvette (Annie Kirkham) and her hens Mary-Kate (Alice Imelda), Rosie (Alyce Liburd), and Boyet (Jo Patmore) are heading to Malaga until the resort says they’ve had to relocate them to a hotel in Ibiza. Cue shoddy disguises, mislaid love letters, and theatrical chaos as we wait to see whether the boys get the girls or indeed something el...

An Evening of Irish Myths and Queer Love at Shakespeare North Playhouse

4Mar

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

An Evening of Irish Myths and Queer Love at Shakespeare North Playhouse

Liverpool-based Irish theatre-maker Anna Ní Dhuill is set to bring their new show ‘This is Not My Beautiful House’ to the Shakespeare North Playhouse Studio this May. Building off its success at the Galway Theatre Festival in 2024, where audiences called it “incredible” with a “richness of imagination and language”, Ní Dhúill and company Cult Collective are so excited to bring their work to a Scouse audience. A story of myth, legend and identity, ‘This is Not My Beautiful House’ is a one-person play in the Irish language. With English surtitles, the show revolves around an unnamed artist as they wait in their studio for their partner to come home so that they can reveal their secret and finally come out as non-binary. As they wait, they begin to delve into their recent obsession wi...