Thomas Frith Archives - North West End UK

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Northwich Memorial Court

24Oct

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Northwich Memorial Court

Ever since Gene Wilder invited us into a world of ‘Pure Imagination’ in the 1971 film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been a story for the ages; a morality tale of the honest and good being (eventually) rewarded and the horrid and greedy getting their comeuppance. With the popularity of other children’s fantasies, such as Matilda, being translated to the stage, this was an obvious candidate for adaptation. For those who’ve lived in Loompaland for all their lives and haven’t discovered Roald Dahl’s long-adored story, we meet young Charlie Bucket, living in abject poverty with his hardworking mother and four bedridden grandparents. He dreams of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory at the end of the road. Soon Wonka announces a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – those who find one o...

Shrek The Musical – Northwich Memorial Court

Knutsford Musical Theatre Company (KMTC) return to tread the boards in Northwich again, only this time it is the swamp that takes over the stage, as Shrek and friends pay a visit! Directed by Ben Ireson, the musical is based on the well-known, Oscar winning film by DreamWorks – an ambitious task perhaps but one that KMTC have wanted to embrace for several years having been given the rights to perform it five years ago. With recent outstanding performances in terms of KMTCs productions of ‘Do you hear the people sing?’ and prior to that the fabulous ‘Ghost The Musical’, it is safe to say that ‘Shrek The Musical’ is a mammoth task, surely even for this award-winning musical theatre company. Intrigued prior to the performance and with so many questions such as ‘How will the swamp appear on...

Do You Hear the People Sing? – Northwich Memorial Court

It’s clear to see that theatres are delighted to open their doors again all over the country and the award-winning Knutsford Musical Theatre Company (KMTC) are one company who demonstrate this as they welcome audiences back to Northwich Memorial Court this week. This is KMTCs first concert since lockdown and in an evening that provides a wide array of songs from musicals, it was obvious that the intent of the evening was certainly to be an evening of celebration. There could be no denying from the opening number of Clare Moorhouse’s performance of ‘Tell me it’s not True,’ with the KMTC from the fabulous ‘Blood Brothers’ that the quality of the entire evening was going to be exceptional. As the evening unravelled it was hard to believe that this was amateur theatre as the energy from ...