Unity Theatre Archives - Page 4 of 6

18Mar

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Rice – Unity Theatre

Rice, written by Michele Lee and directed by Matthew Xia, is a fun two woman show which explores the roles of gender, race and class in today’s world, against a background of the migrant experience and how different generations are impacted by it. Nisha (Anya Jaya-Murphy) is a young executive officer at Golden Fields, Australia’s largest producer of rice. The fashion of alternatives such as cauliflower rice and quinoa are impacting business in a big way, but Nisha has her eye on a deal which would make the company the national distributor of rice in India. Long hours and long phone calls with the Indian Agricultural Minister’s irritating PA, Gretel are taking their toll and Nisha soon finds herself conflicting with office cleaner, Yvette (Angela Yeoh). Yvette is part of a new cleanin...

10Mar

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Kerbs – Unity Theatre

Kerbs, written by Michael Southan and directed by Nickie Miles-Wildin, is a brutally honest and delightfully awkward story about dating with disability and fighting for your independence while keeping your relationships, romantic and otherwise, alive. Fully subtitled throughout, with audio description available, the play cleverly uses set and graphics to bring life to an original take on the boy meets girl story. Lucy (Maya Coates) has signed up to a dating app and it’s clear from the start that she’s looking for sex rather than love. As is always the way, there are a few cringey profiles that she quickly blocks, but sparks fly when she “meets” David (Jack Hunter) resulting in some heavy flirting in the DMs. They soon meet up in person for drinks, but a fun evening which both are hoping...

8Mar

By Blathine MaguireNo Comments

North West

Dead Good – Unity Theatre

Vamos Theatre, in a co-production with Corn Exchange and a co-commission with London International Mime Festival present “Dead Good”, performed tonight at The Unity Theatre Liverpool. Having never seen or heard of ‘Vamos Theatre’ before, I was very intrigued to find out what this masked performance had in store for the audience. A few hours later and it’s gone from being a theatre group I have never heard of, to one I will never forget for all the right reasons! When you hear the basics, “it’s a masked performance, with no words”, I think it’s quite natural to be sceptical as you do wonder how that could ever be something to ‘wow’ but trust me, after watching this talented group, do their very talented thing, you’ll be left astonished. The first thing to credit is not only t...

14Feb

By Johanna RobertsNo Comments

North West

Fern Brady – Unity Theatre

The energy buzzing around Unity Theatre last night was an indication that this was an audience ready to enjoy themselves, and they weren’t disappointed. Fern Brady knows her audience and gave them exactly what they wanted – a night full of gritty but good-humoured observations on this world we all live in. If the aim of comedians is to present us with that world seen from a different angle, pointing out the inconsistencies and the absurdities in the quotidian, the surreal in the real, Fern Brady has a head start. Her recent diagnosis of autism has helped her understand why she has always felt that sense of not quite fitting in, of being on the outside. As she explains, the stage is the one place she feels she can be herself; it is her space, and there is no obligation to fit into anyone...

Mark Watson: This Can’t Be It – Unity Theatre

10Feb

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Mark Watson: This Can’t Be It – Unity Theatre

We’ve all had some pondering to do about the fragility of life over the last couple of years but at almost 42, Mark Watson has it covered – he’s halfway through his life according to the life expectancy calculator app he paid 99p for and is ready to share his overthinking on what life is really all about in this ninety-minute stand-up routine (plus interval). For anyone in the entertainment industry, the pandemic has wiped out pretty much everything from audiences to venues and as Watson is keen to explain, online gigs don’t really work too well when you can only see one member of your audience. To these travails, add a messy divorce and the challenge of bringing up two children as a single dad and he has every reason to be on a downer but with his healthy dose of self-deprecating humou...

8Feb

By Clare ChandlerNo Comments

North West

8 Hours There and Back – Unity Theatre

The latest production from All Things Considered is a collaborative verbatim piece exploring the stories of children affected by parental imprisonment in the UK. The show (co-created by Time Matters UK and the Unity Theatre) has the usual warmth, humour and pathos of All Things Considered as Michael Irvine-Hall, Alivia Yemm and Adebola Olayinka creatively and energetically share testimonies from children who have had a parent sent to prison. Indeed, at one point Yemm was so enthusiastic in her performance that she added a dramatic fall to the proceedings – a moment that she quickly incorporated into the show for comedic effect as she informed Olayinka “no you go, I’m injured!” (Thankfully she appeared to make a quick recovery). 8 Hours There and Back is intended for social workers,...

13Dec

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

The Secret Circus – Unity Theatre

Showcasing local talent and alternative acts, the Secret Circus provides a variety show based on fun. Offering opportunity to local acts, it aims to share originality and diversity in entertainment. With the line-up and acts changing, no two performances are the same, so it is roulette on the experience you’ll get on the night. Compered by The Queen of Heartbreak, Beija Flo and Naffrodite, the audience encountered a selection of the entertainment Liverpool has to offer. Eleven performers took to the stage, many in costume and some appearing to suffer the impact of nerves. First up was Trev Fleming, who gave a reading of three poems. The final one, Christmas Dinner, touched the audience and had a nostalgic poignancy within it. This was followed by some interpretative dance from The...

20Nov

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

DDDivas – Unity Theatre

We all know there are plenty of fully-developed, full-length theatrical productions that feel utterly impenetrable to an audience not ‘in the know’. How wonderful then to report that DDDivas, a short 10-minute selection of new material still in development, is beautifully and heartbreakingly lucid. DDDivas - which also has the working title of Ruby’s Slippers - is described as a fictional telling of real events from the life of neuro-divergent, disabled performer Elaine Collins. The audience finds Elaine’s character Ruby on an empty, unlit stage dancing alone to Cyndi Lauper. Dressed from head to toe in colour and glitter, Ruby is, quite literally, the light in the darkness. It’s obvious from the off though that the pink tights, silver bow and purple arm warmers mask a less happy truth....

9Nov

By Johanna RobertsNo Comments

North West

Rajesh and Naresh – Unity Theatre

Seventy minutes, two actors, one set. That’s all that is needed to tell this touching story of how two men, with different backgrounds, different experiences, and different personalities, make a connection that changes their lives. The play opens with Rajesh (Brahmdeo Shannon Ramana), who works in a financial firm in London, and Naresh (Madhav Vasantha), who makes cricket bats in Mumbai, sitting on chairs on separate halves of the stage – the one in London and the other in Mumbai. Their initial actions as they prepare for the day clearly and concisely convey their personalities. Rajesh – young, good-looking, and seemingly self-confident – presents a sharp contrast to the 42-year-old Naresh, who focuses only on what he considers to be his faults. The action continues to develop separa...

26Oct

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Sessions – Unity Theatre

Ifeyinwa Frederick’s eloquent and captivating meditation on masculinity and mental health is brought to vibrant life in this touring production from theatre company Paines Plough. Tunde (Joseph Black) is fast approaching his thirtieth birthday and somehow, he feels his life is unravelling. His relationships both with himself and other people seem fragile and fractured, so he seeks help from his unseen therapist in one-to-one sessions to alleviate his anxieties and try to look forward with renewed confidence. It’s not an easy journey for Tunde as the piece reveals. This one-man performance is a fairly simple construct and much depends on both Fredericks writing and Black’s performance but what could appear to be a simply framed set of monologues morphs into something a lot mo...