Unity Theatre Archives - Page 5 of 8

29Mar

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

The Winston Machine – Unity Theatre

Brought to us by the critically acclaimed Kandinsky, we see a fusion of worlds decades different, but with mirrored tensions of grief, purpose and place. An awesome use of effects and controlled dialogue led to a crisp performance that I would watch again. The teamwork on stage was apparent and which led to an impressive and at times funny mode of storytelling. Unfortunately, I am unable to identify who exactly played on stage, but each performance lent itself to the quality of the work, with detail and precision used in each moment. The conviction and presence of the players was palpable. Their use of singing, swift accent changes and physical movement were again impressive. Together with an emotive soundtrack with modern flavours meant the audience were fully immersed in the performan...

10Mar

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

Algebra – Unity Theatre

Amongst a packed-out audience, the debut performance of Algebra was well received, and I took the time to appreciate the platform for queer expression that Unity and Stuart Crowther provided. Being a play of two characters, the stage can become a big space. Yet, Stuart and Kieran Mason carried the story with a professionalism and flare, and the space felt perfectly filled. The connection of the actors, and the whole creative team for that matter, was noticeable. Due to the sensitive and intimate themes, it was evident that each artist supported each other in the space, allowing one another to explore the light and shade in the emotional rawness of the story. Sam McKay and Morven Currie chose an uncluttered, open space to frame the story. The plants brought a calmness to the ...

27Jan

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

Touch – Unity Theatre

Becky Downing has carefully crafted a beautiful script that brings four people’s stories together. As they were playing to a sold-out crowd, there was high expectation for the long-awaited verbatim piece, and it was received with great warmth. Verbatim, for those that are unaware, is a theatrical device where the real words of people are used in the script. In this instance, it was handled well, and the language of those people was owned and honoured by those on stage. Set over one day, this play tells a lot more about the connections between four neighbours, and for me the best moments were when everyone was still. At times it felt that the movement in and around the space was scripted and not spontaneous, which distracted from what was being said. Using a wonderfully diverse cas...

<strong>You Are My Sunshine – Unity Theatre</strong>

22Jan

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

You Are My Sunshine – Unity Theatre

Izzy Campbell took on the daunting task of writing and starring in her own work. You are my Sunshine shines a light on the difficult conversations that families have about mental health. With only two performers, the task was big, and they made a large effort to try and make it succeed. It begins with music, a common device for the bringing on of characters, but in this case, it went on for too long and the dialogue got lost. Faye Donnellan chose a simple setting of a living room set-up which worked for the intimacy of the conversations that followed. Yet, the yellow balloons, the same ones on the poster, were rid of in the first scene, perhaps they could have had a bit more relevance throughout the performance to be deemed necessary to have onstage. The character of Emily, played by...

<strong>Stuffed – unity Theatre</strong>

19Nov

By Andrew LeeNo Comments

North West

Stuffed – unity Theatre

‘Stuffed’ is a fantastic piece of theatre, there is absolutely no doubt about that. A series of coherent physical theatre and clown sketches serving to highlight food poverty in this country, social attitudes to it, and the regime’s lack of meaningful action. A concept that seems so important, and something we expect the viewing public to be aware of but told in a way that changes everything we think we know about food poverty and the use of food banks. Every bit of the piece made sense and felt meaningful. There were moments where laughter was closely followed by guilt - how can we as an audience make light of such a dire situation? However, when the piece was ready to get serious you could hear a pin drop in the furthest corner of the room. ‘Stuffed’ is very well choreographed and ...

<strong>An Evening with Ms Sharon LeGrand & Friends – unity Theatre</strong>

15Nov

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

An Evening with Ms Sharon LeGrand & Friends – unity Theatre

The theme for this year’s Homotopia festival - Queer Joy Is A Protest! - could not be more accurately represented than in An Evening with Ms Sharon LeGrand & Friends. Liverpool’s annual LGBTQIA+ arts showcase is the UK’s longest running celebration of queer culture and it just seems to go from strength to strength. This year, fresh from causing outrage in the nation’s capital, drag queen Sharon LeGrand returns to her native Merseyside to host an evening of cabaret at the Unity Theatre. Sticklers for the Trade Descriptions Act might be a tad disappointed. There appear to be more friends of Ms LeGrand in the audience than on the stage with her. Each introduction only happens thanks to a shouted reminder from the wings of the next act’s name. Even our host declares the show shoul...

15Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

This Charming Man – unity Theatre

Sian Davies’s show, part of Liverpool’s Homotopia Festival, was warmly received by a home crowd, keen to proudly welcome the Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Award winning stand up back to her Liverpool home. This Charming Man tells the story of Davies’s life to date and her experiences of the male role models in her life, punctuated by her vast knowledge and significant love of The Smiths. As that famous Johnny Marr guitar intro hit the auditorium, the crowd were clearly ready for a night of entertaining banter, thought provoking observations and candid opinions of the world that has brought Davies to this point in her life. Arming everyone the crowd with a kazoo, to be used every time they spotted a Smiths lyric, allowed the Smithspotters amongst us to finally get a return on those teenage yea...

<strong>Confetti – Unity Theatre</strong>

10Nov

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Confetti – Unity Theatre

As part of Homotopia 2022, Quick Duck Theatre brings us this one-man queer rom com show to the Unity stage. It had its debut at this year’s Edinburgh fringe festival and received some well-deserved reviews during its run. Written and performed by Will Jackson (who also brought his show Yours Sincerely to last year’s Homotopia) Confetti tells the endearing story of Felix, wedding planner extraordinaire who is helping set the stage for his best mate’s wedding. Felix’s story takes in all the events leading up to the wedding (including the traditional hen night shenanigans) and Jackson’s vibrant script is definitely a homage to the gay best friend (always reduced to the minor character position in more traditional rom com’s). Photo: Emma Jones It is just so good to hear positive an...

29Jul

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

North West

No Place Like Home – Unity Theatre

This energetic solo performance from Alex Roberts & Co. explores issues surrounding violence and hate crimes within the LGBTQ+ particularly referencing the nightlife culture. The question is whether there are any safe places to be queer in our towns and cities, especially at night-time. With the increase of violence within our community, I found this a timely and pertinent piece of work. It would be so easy to stand up and rant on about the many ways that society fails to acknowledge violence and hate crimes towards the LGBTQ+ community but Alex Roberts & Co. have produced a meaningful and honest show that is far more subtle and thoughtful in its approach and appeal than most others of a similar theme. Cleverly fusing both spoken word, video art, dance, and music we are...

9Jul

By Blathine MaguireNo Comments

North West

Vice Versa – Unity Theatre

The Unity Theatre tonight Host ‘Vice Versa’ by Dorcas Seb. As the audience gathered in this quaint theatre, it was clear by the volume of the crowd that there was some excitement in the air to see this modern piece of theatre. We are welcomed into the auditorium where Dorcas is already performing, moving robotically around the stage in immaculate stylised movements. When the show begins, we soon see why Dorcas Seb can be described as a ‘multi-disciplinary artist’ as her talents unfold through acting, movement, song, poetry and lots more. She has created something very unique with this production which is a one-woman, one act performance. The story takes us into the cyber world, and we are fully immersed thanks to the fantastic auditory and light stimulation within this production. Do...