The Squad House Archives - North West End UK

30Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

No Further Action – The Squad House

From the opening audio of news headlines highlighting cases of historical abuse finally coming to light, there is a very clear message in tonight’s show – the system has done a terrible job of supporting victims of abuse, with perpetrators often walking scot-free; prosecutors unable to meet a seemingly impossible threshold of evidence to make a case worth pursuing. Mia Lockley has turned her own experience into a short play, being shown as part of the Manchester Fringe festival. We meet Lottie, a young woman who finally decides to report the abuse she has suffered at the hands of her grandfather, only to hit brick wall after brick wall as she tries to get justice. Mia acts as our narrator, guiding us through Lottie’s story, which is made powerful from being informed by (sadly) person...

Baggy Bra – The Squad House, Stockport

Meet Barb. Barb loves bras. Her daughter designs and makes them. Together they sell them to grateful women, keen to have something comfortable, stylish and well fitted to wear each day. From Barb’s little shop they welcome women in need of advice, support and a proper fitting. Starting in the bar of this great new venue, Barb (Sian Parry-Williams) welcomes the audience into the space where cabaret style seating awaits, glitter sparkles, Welsh flags proudly adorn, and we enter her world of all things mammary. Parry-Williams takes immediate control of the action and the audience takes to her instantly. A well-rounded character with sharp wit and enormous warmth, she shatters the fourth wall conspiratorially and instantly gains our loyalty, which remains throughout. The play itse...

Maybe Dick – The Squad House, Stockport

As the pun in the title implies, this is a comedic interpretation of ‘Moby Dick’, the 1851 novel by Herman Melville depicting the obsessional pursuit of ‘the great white whale’ by Captain Ahab. In the hands of Hambledon Productions this great work of Victorian literature becomes a jumping off point for puppetry, puns and silly slapstick which purposefully elicits as many groans as it does belly laughs. Writer and Performer John Hewer plays every character throughout the hour long show (with an unnecessary interval), and clearly has a deep knowledge and love of post war British comedy. Paying homage to his heroes by heavily drawing on Ronnie Corbett and Tommy Cooper in the delivery style, he concocts a ‘Carry On Moby Dick’ structure which allows a constant stream of wordplay and double e...