Winter Gardens Archives - North West End UK

Calendar Girls – Winter Gardens, Blackpool

24Jan

By Rebecca CaseyNo Comments

North West

Calendar Girls – Winter Gardens, Blackpool

Based on the 2003 film by the same name Bill Kenwright Ltd brings us Calendar Girls - The Musical, Written by Gary Barlow and Tim Firth. An evening of nostalgic British humour with a true story centred around a real group of Yorkshire ladies creating a controversial calendar with their WI group to raise money for cancer research. Director Jonathan O’Boyle brings us a star-studded cast and a witty interpretation of the tale, cleverly scripted and warm, natural believable characters. Even if like me you have already seen the show before, this is not the same musical score or script, it has gone under some changes for this tour and in parts is unrecognisable. The set remains the same for the entire show, with a few additions to change it from the Women’s institute hall to the hospita...

The Full Monty – Winter Gardens, Blackpool

6Dec

By Paddy Darnell-WalshNo Comments

North West

The Full Monty – Winter Gardens, Blackpool

A classic from 1997, The Full Monty is ranked as one of the best British films of the 20th century by The British Film Institute. It tells the tale of six recently unemployed men from Sheffield, all with different stories to tell, desperate to make ends meet in a post-Thatcher Britain. For various reasons, the men have lost hope but unite in the most unlikely of ways to forge themselves a better future… by taking their kit off! I was very pleasantly surprised with Simon Beaufoy’s adaptation of his film script. Celebrating the film’s 25th Anniversary with this tour, the play remains faithful to the film, whilst making it appropriate for the stage. Despite being very funny, it deals with many of the original hard-hitting themes such as depression, body image, sexual equality, homosexualit...

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – Winter Gardens, Blackpool

22Nov

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – Winter Gardens, Blackpool

Blackpool Winter Gardens welcomes West End hit musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie as part if it’s UK tour. Based on the true story of 16-year-old Jamie Campbell, the boy who wanted to go to prom in a dress, Tom Macrae and Dan Gillespie Sells have created a beautiful story with real heart, and songs that make you smile from ear to ear, to ones that have you crying from emotion. Lead by Ivano Turco as Jamie New, we are treated to a spectacular show, with stunning choreography (Kate Prince), an incredible and multifunctional set and beautiful costumes (Anna Fleischle), and fantastic direction (Matt Ryan and resident director Georgina Hagen). The story revolves around a group of teens ready to face their GCSEs and the more important after exams event, school prom. This is where w...

Comedy Festival to celebrate Blackpool’s legacy of laughter

26Mar

By NewsdeskNo Comments

NEWS

Comedy Festival to celebrate Blackpool’s legacy of laughter

Summer spectacular spearheaded by Eddie Izzard & Seann Walsh at the Winter Gardens Blackpool The Winter Gardens Blackpool has joined forces with the Comedy Station to deliver two high profile, side-splitting line-ups on 7 & 8th July 2023 as part of a weekend of entertainment as part of the Blackpool Comedy Festival which returns for the first time since 2019. Compere Ryan Gleeson will host Friday Night Laughs and Saturday Live! welcoming some of the best stand up and most celebrated comedians to the Opera House stage. Friday Night Live will feature MC Ryan Gleeson, Jojo Sutherland, Angelos Epithemiou, Tom Stade and Eddie Izzard. Eddie is one of the most celebrated comics of her generation since the early nineties and has an equally stellar reputation as a film, tele...

Rock of Ages – Winter Gardens, Blackpool

21Feb

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Rock of Ages – Winter Gardens, Blackpool

Are you ready to rock? Buckle up for this jukebox musical, belting out nonstop 80s classic soft rock riffs which will leave you fist pumping and head bobbing well after the final guitar crunch. 1980’s USA is a country still recovering from the post-Vietnam war conflict which caused economic and political uncertainty, creating an anxiety which led to an American identity crisis. Bands such as Journey, Europe and Starship were making music and writing lyrics which talked to the disenfranchised youth of the day with messages of hope, fighting for what you believe in and pursuing your dreams. These messages resonated with young people who admired the flamboyant, long haired rock gods, their vitality representing freedom and liberation in contrast to the condescending voices of a...

27Oct

By Hannah WildeNo Comments

North West

Dreamgirls – Winter Gardens, Blackpool

Direct from the West End, the latest adaptation of the multi-award-winning Dreamgirls really did transport the audience into a dream-like state – a dream filled with soul, sass, a whole lot of sequins, and some truly spine-tingling singing. The story follows three soulful songstresses, The Dreams, who ride the wave of the turbulent music industry in the 1960s, as they experience the ups and downs of sex, love, fame, and the ruthlessness of the industry they all love. The trio (Effie, Lorrell and Deena) each negotiate through their own trials and tribulations, which makes for interesting parallel storytelling. Many will be familiar with the story from the 2006 film adaptation of the same name, starring Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson. Although strenuously denied by the original creator...

<strong>Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Winter Gardens, Blackpool</strong>

27Jul

By Rebecca CaseyNo Comments

North West

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Winter Gardens, Blackpool

A magical evening at The Winter Gardens Blackpool. Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is in town this week. I have seen the show previously but even if this is the case for you, this performance was a whole new experience. This is the perfect show to bring the children to, it’s short energetic, engaging and full of fun. The performance started at 7.30pm and was over by 9.30pm with a short interval. With a mesmerising score form Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice this musical never fails to fill the theatre. It was so nice to see The Winter Gardens so busy. The cast and creatives have done a superb job putting this tour together and keeping the piece fresh. Choreography by Joann M Hunter, Direction from Laurence Connor and Musical Director John Rigby, a winning team. ...

14Apr

By Rebecca CaseyNo Comments

North West

Footloose – Winter Gardens, Blackpool

This week sees the return of 1980’s screen sensation ‘Footloose.’ The Blackpool leg of the tour was due to begin on Monday 11th April, but the cast and crew have struggled to put on some performances due to Covid, they had five casting covers this evening, so that considered they did a good job putting the show on. The theatre was sadly quite empty, which has been the case on my last few visits to The Winter Gardens. A multitalented cast featuring several leads and ensemble also playing live instruments. For me the music stole the show. It’s so nice to see live musicians onstage and the timeless classics Let’s Hear it For The Boy, Holding Out For a Hero’ and of course the title track itself were highlights of the evening. Some lovely moments of comedy provided by the large e...

The Rocky Horror Show – Blackpool Winter Gardens

7Dec

By Coral MourantNo Comments

North West

The Rocky Horror Show – Blackpool Winter Gardens

The theatre is packed full of eager visitors in corsets and gold hats, ready for the madness to ensue. The Rocky Horror Show has its fanbase hooked, and now, I finally understand why. The cult-classic hit takes hints of sci-fi, gothic horror and rock n' roll to create an utterly fantastical show. With such a reputation, the stage production has a lot to live up to. An all-American couple stumble upon a castle inhabited by a multitude of weird and wild characters. Their innocence is lost as they succumb to the allure of the sensual scientist, Frank N Furter, and the characters sing and dance their way through a naughty, frivolous romp. In this production, the high heels of Frank N Furter are filled by Stephen Webb (Jersey Boys), who struts onto the stage with sass and a smirk. Webb...

Derren Brown: Showman – Blackpool Winter Gardens

2Oct

By Anne PritchardNo Comments

North West

Derren Brown: Showman – Blackpool Winter Gardens

‘Showman’ is Brown’s first brand new theatre show in six years; his one-man shows have received wide critical acclaim and more Olivier wins and nominations than any other in history. The award-winning mentalist and illusionist closed his successful Broadway show, ‘Secret’ in January this year. Brown is known worldwide for his numerous television appearances, including the series Trick of the Mind, Mind Control, and his Netflix show Pushed to the Edge. After enjoying watching Derren Brown many times on TV, I was eagerly awaiting seeing his live theatre show. I wanted to be enthralled, amazed and left literally speechless. As I took my seat in the packed theatre, I kept my fingers crossed. The theatre was packed to capacity, audience members being mainly in the 23–...