Thursday, March 28

Tag: Sheffield Lyceum

Sunset Boulevard – Sheffield Lyceum
Yorkshire & Humber

Sunset Boulevard – Sheffield Lyceum

‘I am big. It’s the pictures that got small’. Norma Desmond’s famous line encapsulates all that is Sunset Boulevard, pure opulence from the scrumptious score to the dramatic and flamboyant performance. Based on the 1950’s film by Bill Wilder starring silent movie queen Gloria Swanson, the stage version; after many attempted and aborted musical adaptations; finally had its debut in 1992 with the book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and the music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Sunset Boulevard powerfully charts the decline of the silent movies and instead of celebrating the rise of the talkies such as the musical Singing in the Rain, it hovers moodily over the demise of the stars who were cast aside and ‘dethroned’. Told through the eyes of the struggling writer Joe Gillis as he...
The Boy at the Back of the Class – Sheffield Lyceum
Yorkshire & Humber

The Boy at the Back of the Class – Sheffield Lyceum

Sheffield Lyceum opened its doors and its generational spanning heart to the adaptation of Onjali Q. Rauf’s well known and much loved book A Boy at the Back of the Class. Adapter Nick Ahad’s does not disappoint in his stage version, retaining all the wit, the power of a collective sense of humanity and the eternal hope we all deserve to experience. Monique Touko as Director strives to paint a desired world stating, ‘May this play push for further actions of kindness, promote equality and depict a world where people are seen as people’. Aimed at children, teachers and parents alike this production is a full, dynamic and impactful theatrical experience bringing the characters and their story to life. The set and costume design by Lily Arnold creates the backdrop of a school setting with ...
I Should Be So Lucky – Sheffield Lyceum
Yorkshire & Humber

I Should Be So Lucky – Sheffield Lyceum

The Hit Factory of the 1980/1990’s punches into the Sheffield Lyceum this week with Stock, Aitken & Waterman’s - I Should Be So Lucky.  With over 25 of their top 40 hits packed into this farcical frolic of romance and crazy characters, I was left in a confused state - torn between irresistibility and irritation. The music has the potential to be a great addition to the tradition of jukebox musicals but unfortunately the storyline is just too manic to invest in its characters. With flashes of brilliance and moments that overstep the camp cheesiness into complete cringe – this show is definitely the marmite of musical theatre but just maybe it is meant to be so? With an audience demographic donned with rose coloured spectacles of a bygone era of dancing in their bedrooms to Rick Astl...
Beauty and the Beast – Sheffield Lyceum
Yorkshire & Humber

Beauty and the Beast – Sheffield Lyceum

What a wonderful sight, a packed auditorium full of all age groups, laughing, engaging and experiencing collectively – a tradition that spans the generations – Pantomime! Well, as Sheffield Theatres have opened their panto season, it is well and truly Christmas in Yorkshire! This year’s excellent new production being Beauty and the Beast, written by Paul Hendry who can heroically claim his 17th year of directing writing and producing Sheffield’s panto. The script contains all the expected pantomime traditions from the audience participation, the ‘it’s behind you’ scene in the dark woods and the manic ‘messy’ comedy mayhem and some very funny moments which are very geographically and topically observant. ‘Woodseats’ is now firmly on the panto map and never has it looked so effortlessly gra...
Titanic the Musical – Sheffield Lyceum
Yorkshire & Humber

Titanic the Musical – Sheffield Lyceum

Sheffield Lyceum hosted Titanic the Musical this week and it proved to be a rousingly decadent piece of ensemble theatre. The star of the show, as should be, is the ship itself with its hull of steel that claimed to be unsinkable. The production covers its fateful maiden journey in April 1912 and its promise to make history as the fastest liner to cover the transatlantic voyage.  History was indeed made on the tragic voyage, but not as intended, over 1500 souls were lost at sea as an iceberg tore a gash in its hull below the water level. This production with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and the book by Peter Stone is directed by Thom Southerland. The set by David Woodhead depicts the interior of the ship with its walls of steel towering over the cast and is a constant reminder...
Dirty Dancing – Sheffield Lyceum
Yorkshire & Humber

Dirty Dancing – Sheffield Lyceum

Before even entering the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield, the buzz and anticipation of the crowd were palpable... With its cult following, Dirty Dancing was in town! As a fan of the 1987 film and, of course, the hip movements of Mr. Swayze himself, the majority of the female audience, like myself, were awaiting a nostalgic trip back to the feelings the film evoked when we first saw it... with more than just a little excitement! With this type of fan base, the show was always going to be a success, but with my critic hat on, the production does have its flaws. However, one of its strengths is that it doesn't take itself too seriously! So if you haven't seen the film, it basically spans a three-week period in 1963, when the Houseman's (Dr. Jake and Marjorie) and their two daughters Lisa and ...
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story – Sheffield Lyceum
Yorkshire & Humber

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story – Sheffield Lyceum

A celebration of the love and power of music. With its premier in the West End in August 1989, Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story has been in production worldwide ever since, with over 10,000 performances thus giving it claim to the most successful Jukebox musical ever. The Sheffield attendees were on their feet by the end of the show and the musicianship of the cast was received with raptures by the 1400 strong Yorkshire audience. The issues Holly faced, due in part, to the American music culture of the mid 1950’s, during the 18 months his career was built are glossed over in this production as we see his meteoric rise to global stardom. All is very positive and ‘happy’ and we are presented with a young man who just wanted his rock ‘n’ roll music heard, Holly ‘never wanted’ to be the cou...
Greatest Days – Sheffield Lyceum
Yorkshire & Humber

Greatest Days – Sheffield Lyceum

A pure Band of 24k gold! Originally under the title of The Band, the musical changed its name to The Official Take That Musical Greatest Days and relaunched a new tour. But why? It would seem people were expecting to see a show about the band itself and the musical is certainly not that. With a book written by Tim Firth and the music and lyrics by Take That, it tells the tell of a group of five young fans in the 90’s who live their lives to the soundtrack of their favourite band. Their lives can be seen to mirror that of the bands as together they live, laugh and suffer loss, eventually going their own ways. 25 Years later, like their idols, they too reunite and go on their own reunion tour of re discovery. Greatest Days is a story of friendship, dreams, growth and survival with a fami...
The Mousetrap – Sheffield Lyceum
Yorkshire & Humber

The Mousetrap – Sheffield Lyceum

The Mousetrap is intricately crisp with its fearless pace and cannot fail to get you baited and trapped within its mystery. The longevity of a 70th Anniversary tour of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap speaks volumes as to its appeal for seven decades to British audiences. We do love a good murder mystery in this country! And none better than the ones written by the Queen of Crime Mrs Christie herself. Opening in London in November 1952, this once 30-minute radio play entitled Three blind Mice was now extended into The Mousetrap, still retaining its rodent reference. It is a play anyone can experience, not really frightening, not really gruesome, and not really a farce but a little bit of all these things which perhaps is its recipe for its social appeal. This production is directed b...
The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Sheffield Lyceum
Yorkshire & Humber

The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Sheffield Lyceum

This tour-de-force piece of theatre launches the entire theatrical arsenal at the audience. In fact, every trick in the book is used to keep the audience on the edge of their seats by the unexpected and stunning theatrical magic. Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, adapted by Joel Horwood and directed by Katy Rudd, the National Theatre’s acclaimed The Ocean at the end of the Lane delivers a terrifying theatrical thump as we journey to a long forgotten childhood and the darkness that lurks at the very edge of it.  With the collaboration of Gaiman whose other novels include Coraline, Stardust and The Sandman and the National Theatre who are responsible for the Curious Incident of the Dog – this allegorical production was always going to be cutting edge storytelling that is unafraid t...