Friday, November 15

Tag: Up Next

Stayin’ Alive – Unity Theatre
North West

Stayin’ Alive – Unity Theatre

Up Next is a new event series showcasing exciting new work from Merseyside performers and following the success of her previous show Heaven or Pussy, Victoria Oxley stepped up with her new musical-themed comedy Stayin’ Alive. Written by and starring Oxley, and with directorial input from Gemma Bodinetz who introduced the piece tonight, it follows the story of Maggie (Oxley) as she confronts her mental health problems and the loss of her grandmother, with support from Emma Bispham reading in other roles including Maggie’s mother, her sister Ann-Marie, and therapist Rob. Drawing on Oxley’s real-life relationship with her grandmother and her own work as a mentor for young people with mental health difficulties, this was a powerful piece of work that in its opening lines managed to blow ...
A Heavenly Way to Die – Unity Theatre
North West

A Heavenly Way to Die – Unity Theatre

Up Next is a new event series showcasing exciting new work from Merseyside performers and this piece was a rehearsed read through of Tom Kinney’s love story about being in a relationship while suffering from Harm OCD. Centred predominantly around bedroom scenes, we see the developing relationship between Violet (Angelina Cliff) and Glen (Liam Powell-Berry). All seems well but that natural initial nervousness doesn’t leave Violet, in fact she continues to feel anxious around Glen all the time. But it’s not him. It’s because she has intrusive and obsessive thoughts that she will hurt him while she sleeps. It is an interesting concept and the piece under the direction of Emma Turner was well read by Cliff and Powell-Berry with stage directions read in by Aimee Cross. With the focus on t...