Theatr Clwyd Archives - North West End UK

Pride and prejudice* (*sort of) – Theatr Clwyd

30Sep

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

Wales

Pride and prejudice* (*sort of) – Theatr Clwyd

The outrageously hilarious Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) comes bursting on to the Moondance stage at Theatr Clwyd with an impressive set, wonderful costumes and a group of five incredible women who take us through this story, playing all the roles and leaving the audience on their feet. Written and directed by Isobel McArthur and based on the Jane Austin novel, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) starts with the servants ‘cleaning’ in the auditorium, interacting with the audience, the sound of the bell ringing occasionally. The servants realise they are at work and the show begins. The servants are central to the story, reminding us that even though they are never seen, they are always there. With another ring of a bell the cast jump in to action and with a quick costume change (extrem...

16Sep

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

Wales

Handbagged – Theatr Clwyd

Written by Moira Buffini, we are taken back between 1979 and 1990 during Margaret Thatcher’s three terms as Prime Minister and her weekly meetings with Queen Elizabeth 2nd. Theatr Weston is in the round for this performance with the stage in the centre. A raised round stage with cleverly laid props and costume pieces laid on stands around the lower part of the stage, those of which are used throughout the show by the two male cast members to help transform them in to numerous characters with a lot of help from our imagination. The play starts with Alexandra Mathie entering the stage waiting for one of the men to bring her a chair. She doesn’t need a chair, but she doesn’t want them to know that. She is followed closely by Meriel Scholfield as Queen Elizabeth 2nd, dragging a chair beh...

16Jul

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

Wales

Art – Theatr Clwyd

How much would you pay for a white painting? Disley Theatrical Productions bring Art to the Weston at Theatr Clwyd. Written by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton, we follow the friendship of three men, Marc, Serge and Yvan. Serge has spent a huge amount of money on a white painting, a five foot by four foot white painting with a few diagonal white lines. But this purchase causes a huge rift between Serge and Marc. Then Yvan comes along, not wanting to upset anyone and tries to play the happy medium but only upsetting himself more. Simon Phillips as Marc is commanding, honest and frank, not buying in to the fact that Serge actually loves this piece of art and feels something when he looks at it. Chris Jones brings a calmness to Serge which balances out Marc’s fiery...

11Jun

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

Wales

The Full Monty – Theatr Clwyd

Almost 30 years after the original film came to our screens, Tiptop productions return to Theatr Clwyd with the brilliant The Full Monty. Directed by Peter Swingler, we follow the story of a group of Steelworkers in the 90s who find themselves out of work as yet another steel factory has been closed and they are trying to find their way through unemployment, depression, body image and much more. As the play unfolds, we realise it’s not just about six men taking their clothes off but heart, emotion and real people. When Gaz faces the possibility of losing shared custody of his son, he has to find a way to make money. And fast. After seeing the crowds that the Chippendales have drawn in, he gathers a group with five other guys to create the Buns of Steel, a group of strippers who will ...

1May

By Coral MourantNo Comments

Wales

Twelfth Night – Theatr Clwyd

“If music be the food of love play on” And we definitely do play- with relationships, with the audience, and in a clever twist, with the conclusion. Directed by Juliette Manon, this adaptation leans into the complications that come from “mistaken identities” and focuses on the concept of “identity” itself. In a genius move, Cesario (Lee Braithwaite), is played as a trans character who journeys through the piece exploring their new sense of self. Washing up on the shore of Ilyria, they literally break free from their dress and begin living openly as a man. In the original, this is simply a way of entering Osario’s court (as women could not do so), but this gives much more poignancy and freedom to their choice. Following this narrative concept, the entanglements of love and complica...

25Mar

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

Wales

Teechers – Theatr Clwyd

The John Godber Company bring an updated, post covid version of the classic Teechers to the Weston Theatr at Theatr Clwyd. The script has been updated after John Godber spoke to teachers post covid and realised how much things have changed in the state system, where drama, art and music have a much lower status now compared to the other subjects, and how some educators are leaving the state system and being seduced by the private system which offer more in the drama, arts and music subjects. The set looks simple but very effective, with parquet looking flooring to mark out the set area, school tables and chairs, a set of lockers and a variety of other pieces and costumes around the set that are used throughout the play, all designed by Graham Kirk. The cast are made up of three actor...

21Mar

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Under Milk Wood – Theatr Clwyd

For a Welsh theatre marking its 50th anniversary, Under Milk Wood is both an obvious and a risky choice. Dylan Thomas’s “play for voices” is so bound up with its own mythology—its lyrical density, its association with Richard Burton—that any staging must negotiate the tension between fidelity and reinvention. Kate Wasserberg’s production does so with intelligence and flair, even if it occasionally brushes up against the limits of the text itself. Written for radio and first broadcast in 1954, Thomas’s portrait of a day in the fictional Welsh village of Llareggub (read it backwards) remains a defiantly literary work: episodic, associative and rich to the point of saturation. Its comparison to Thornton Wilder’s Our Town is not misplaced, but where Wilder offers clarity and restraint, Thom...

17Feb

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

Wales

Glitch – Theatr Clwyd

Written by Zannah Kearns and directed by Gareth Taylor, Glitch is the story of a sub-postmistress, Pam Stubbs, whose life is left in tatters after she is falsely accused of deceiving the Post Office out of thousands of pounds. But with meticulous bookkeeping and the strength to keep fighting for what is right when she knew she had done nothing wrong; she finally receives a positive outcome. But at what cost? Glitch takes us right into the centre of one of the biggest “scandals” when the Post Office brought in the Horizon computer system and when Pam Stubbs, back in 2009, moved into a portacabin while the building underwent a redevelopment. The monthly Trading Statements produced shortfalls on the Horizon system and the Post Office demanded Stubbs pay it back, even though she ha...

24Jan

By Coral MourantNo Comments

North West

Clementine – Theatr Clwyd

The internet generation has an obvious infatuation with period drama adjacent shows, and there seems to be a never-ending conveyor belt of production to feed this appetite. Bridgerton and the new “Wuthering Heights” adaptation are just around the corner, and as an Austen fan myself, I’m always intrigued by a show that gives a nod to a fairytale-like bygone era. Enter Lady Clementine. A hopeless romantic, with neither sense nor sensibility. If Charlotte Lucas was chronically online and high on opium; our heroine prances around the stage lamenting her lowly life without love. Clementine is turning 27, has no husband and no prospects. She has til midnight to turn her life around and instead of turning inward, she's asking for guidance from the universe. An hour of non-stop frolicking an...

8Nov

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

The Red Rogue of Bala – Theatr Clwyd

1913, with a war looming, we are transported to a dark, dingy pub where we are treated to stories of mischief and misdemeanours from scoundrel and rogue, John Jones. But all is not as it first seems. Written by Chris Ashworth-Bennion and directed by Dan Jones, we are taken on a journey of deceit, lies, “magic” and unusual friendships. As we enter the Theatr Weston we are invited into the local pub, where the audience can buy a drink at the on-stage bar, sit in the pub and mix with the locals (cast) and join in with card games and conversations. We immediately feel involved as we are taken directly into this world and you become a part of it. With jolly music and frivolity, all is good and light, that is until the change in music and lighting and John Jones, otherwise known as Coch Bach ...