Z Arts Archives - North West End UK

Les Misérables: School Edition – The Renaker Theatre, Z Arts

18Jul

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Les Misérables: School Edition – The Renaker Theatre, Z Arts

This is the second staging of Boublil and Schoenberg’s Les Misérables School Edition for the fabulous Manchester Musical Youth theatre company during its ten years of producing award-winning youth theatre. With a cast of sixty-two talented young performers and directed by the phenomenal Dave Holden they have brought this sensational musical score to life at its finest. Les Misérables: School Edition is based on Victor Hugo’s humongous historical novel of 1862 that covers the twists, turns and tales of the French Revolution. Despite its inherent theme of adversity and misfortune along with the weight of the title, Les Misérables it is not all misery and no-joy-show rather it beautifully brings to stage the profound realities of our deep dark history. This well-known epic story follows...

The Wizard of Oz – Z arts

The Manchester Musical Youth (MMY) production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ graces the Renaker Theatre, Z-Arts for 2 days only. This glorious rendition of L.Frank Baum with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y.Harburg is an adaptation of the 1900 children’s fantasy novel ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ which became the classic 1939’s film we all love and adore starring Judy Garland. MMY Apprentices Director Shannon Holland has done a sterling job on creating a magnificent production with the students, it is hard to believe that these talented youngsters on stage are aged 8 to 13 as they shown a maturity beyond their years. MMY has always prided themselves on igniting passion, nurturing talent and showcasing success and this is a prime example of their ethos as each, and every young person s...

The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Z Arts

Based on the 1831 novel by Victor Hugo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame has been transcribed into a musical with a little help from the 1996 Walt Disney production. The play itself has been written by Peter Parnell, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. The Manchester Musical Youth group have decided to tackle this classic as their latest production. It must be said it’s been a good few years since I’ve seen the Hunchback of Notre Dame and this production is certainly a lot darker than I remember the Disney movie. There’s also the addition of new songs. Even though the play is set in Paris, it almost has a Greek feel to it. The numerous statues and gargoyles almost act as a chorus that is quite typical of many Greek plays such as Suppliant Women. From that point of vi...