The King’s Arms Archives - Page 2 of 4

23Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Leeches – The King’s Arms

How far would you go for influence? Would you be prepared to use work colleagues, friends, or even family, in the name of ambition? Leeches, written by Kieran Scott and slickly directed by Thomas Bateman explores themes of insecurity, cancel culture and personal ethics, amongst others, through the eyes of three highly flawed narrators. When a protest erupts in the city centre, it results in a moment of violence that has significant repercussions for all three. Simple staging with nothing more than a crowd control barrier and a couple of chairs allows the spotlight to shine on three strong actors from the Manchester School of Theatre, who do an excellent job of showcasing Scott’s tight and compelling script, peppered with deft touches of levity, and which itself smartly exposes an...

20Jul

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Almost Famous – The King’s Arms

“Escaping and pretending is better than the truth,” says Emily Benton (Jac Wheble), the hero of this one-woman show about identity, fame, and the desire to be seen, not for what you are, that’s boring. She has a thirst, a craving almost to be seen in the spotlight, out front, and famous. Benton, we find out, is living a lie from the start. Suddenly, we are taken into an examination of identity in a world where everyone is pretending. She came from Australia to the UK in the early 1970s to pursue her dream of finding fame and fortune as a performer. “Naivety gets you through,” she says as she looks back at her younger self and the pitfalls she faced in a business where more established, powerful men will take advantage of her with the promise of a record contract or a juicy part o...

Your Therapist is Clueless – The King’s Arms

19Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Your Therapist is Clueless – The King’s Arms

Holding an audience rapt for any period of time where the subject is the meaty, nuanced and personal elephant that is mental health support in the UK is a very big ask of any performer. One thinks of writers such as Adam Kay, who’s book and tour, This is Going to Hurt, vividly brought to life the warts and glory of being an NHS doctor. Or copper turned stand-up comic Alfie Moore’s It’s a Fair Cop in which, by allowing the audience to play police, he highlights the idiosyncrasies and impotencies of the criminal justice system. Tonight, performer Nathaniel Tresise shares his experiences of working for a Greater Manchester mental health charity where a dreadfully under-resourced service attracts people with all the quirks you expect, often risking those with genuine, urgent need bei...

15Jul

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Varnish – The King’s Arms

We are all the stars of our own lives, and in this one-man show, Jonathan Mayor is undoubtedly the star of his. Mayor comes onto the stage full of glitter and glam. A sparkling presence, the epitome of the outrageous stage and screen performer. He is the star of the show, and all the stars have come out to see him, including Dame Judi, Oprah and Tom Cruise, on a booster seat! He is charismatic and camp as he starts the show. You feel that in his head, he imagines he is at the opening of his Las Vegas residency or appearing at the top of the bill at the London Palladium. However, this isn’t a show. It’s a play written by his friend, Janet Taylor, and based on his life. It is not necessarily the unvarnished truth, but who, in reality, tells the truth of their own lives, even to the...

14Jul

By Kathryn GortonNo Comments

North West

Magic and Sex – The King’s Arms

I didn’t know what to expect walking into Magic and Sex — a one-woman stand-up, magic, and improv show by Australian comedian Kathryn Haywood — but I was more than pleasantly surprised. Even on a very, very hot and stuffy night in the upstairs room of the King’s Arms, Haywood’s boundless energy and zany charm kept us all laughing, chuckling… and then laughing some more. From her entrance in sparkly tail coat, top hat and deck of card leggings and tap shoes she bounded round that space and sucked us in, immediately. She is a very engaging performer. Part stand-up, part magic show, with a cheeky (but not over-the-top) nod to the title’s promise of “sex,” Haywood’s performance is a joyful, chaotic romp. She has a knack for creating an easy rapport with the audience, she read them well ...

Pat Goldsack: How to Flirt Well into Your Grave – The King’s Arms

13Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Pat Goldsack: How to Flirt Well into Your Grave – The King’s Arms

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if your nan discovered TikTok and decided to audition for Love Island, Pat Goldsack might be your fever dream come true. Created from the mind of award-winning Kiwi actress, Katie Boyle, tonight the octogenarian granny is here to dish out her decades of expertise in the game of flirting and relationships. Greeting her audience as they trickle into the cosy side room of the Kings Arms, Pat’s repartee instantly harks back to the warm and genteel comedy of Dame Edna Everage and Mrs Merton – where even the most stinging observations somehow feel like a warm hug. As we ramble through the highly interactive show, peppered with parodies of modern hits (accompanied on the pub’s piano by Nino Raphael) and regular bursts of ‘Bingo was his Name-O...

10Jul

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Wannabe – The King’s Arms

Following on from Amy Webber’s awarding winning show ‘No Previous Experience’, Wannabe is an autobiographical exploration of her lifelong desire to be famous in the form of a one woman opera -standup - spoken word- pop song. Webber is extremely warm and welcoming to her audience, immediately putting them at their ease and instantly engaging them with her funny, quirky, humble and open style. From the moment she enters the space in the wonderful Kings Arms, she owns it and shares it in equal measure. Inspired by a visit home during which her mother ‘sorts out’ some of her childhood memorabilia, Webber uses her box of ‘junk’ - the trinkets, mementos, diaries, letters, poems and songs of her childhood, to shape a hilarious tale of longing, searching and learning that is utterly enga...

One Hundred Percent – The King’s Arms, Salford

4Jul

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

One Hundred Percent – The King’s Arms, Salford

In a claustrophobic apartment, an actor confronts the examiner who once gave him a perfect score in an acting exam. On the wall, the certificate which validates his perfect score is proudly framed and the actor, who believed he was destined for greatness, faces the consequences of his misplaced hope and the harsh truth of what it is to build a career in his chosen profession. Now I have to disclose that for 20 plus years I worked as an examiner for both GCSE Drama and A Level Theatre Studies and the premise of this darkly comedic piece of theatre directly addresses something that I had never thought about before but have significant experience of. What is the impact of a perfect score on the recipient? In this case, the actor has believed that he has a profound talent and as such has pu...

The Pornstar Martini Effect: A Bartender’s Guide to not K*lling Yourself at Christmas – The King’s Arms

28May

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

The Pornstar Martini Effect: A Bartender’s Guide to not K*lling Yourself at Christmas – The King’s Arms

It's that time of the year when theatre companies and productions gear up for Edinburgh. The team behind The Pornstar Martini Effect will be taking their show to the fringe and, judging by the Manchester previews, they are pretty much ready. Even if the first performance at the Kings Arms in Salford didn't get going until a good half hour after the advertised start time. This is a slickly directed and solidly acted two-hander with some interesting things to say about misogyny, gender stereotypes and the complexities of human nature. Kat (Zane Marsland) and Tom (Finnen McNiffe) are working the dreaded Christmas Eve shift at a packed bar. Alongside the inevitable shaking, mixing, straining and pouring they are also having to deal with inappropriate customers. Their personal s...

The Grill (Jokes about ovens) – The King’s Arms

14Aug

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

The Grill (Jokes about ovens) – The King’s Arms

In the small studio theatre above a Manchester pub, the pressure is on. Two chefs, drafted into a prison kitchen due to a staff strike to cook the Death Row inmates’ final meals. Welcome to The Grill where the stakes are high and the steaks are non-existent, our soon-to-be-deceased favouring garden salads and soup instead before they depart this plane of existence. Directed by Adam Cachia, our two chefs Tom and Wally filet and flambé their way through a blackly funny script that explores everything from class wars, culinary memories and how to fleece a Tesco meal deal. There are some spicy one liners, lovely wordplay, and great blocking of the two main actors that builds in some enjoyable physicality. There are a few fluffed lines here and there but both cope marvellously with the...