With a school of over 300 students ranging from 2 years to adult, and now in its 22nd year, it hardly feels right to name it the Debut Academy; it is well established, well patronised and indeed well thought of, and quite justly too. Trying to coordinate a dance presentation which involves so many young people - no matter how committed you are - is a dauntless task I certainly do not envy.
However, Debut aspire to greatness. Yes, of course, most of the youngsters who go to the school go there as a hobby, but many of the older ones are there because they now know that they wish to continue their education and training in the field of Performing Arts and to make a career from it. To this end, Debut also offer their students more intensive training and can take BTEC and HND examinations with this academy. This school is serious and really wants its dancers to succeed and do the best they possibly can.
I was thrilled to return tonight to see the latest production from PADOS at the beautiful PADOS House in Prestwich. Following their last production of I Love You, Your Perfect, Now Change which won 4 awards at the recent GMDF Awards my expectations were high. PADOS House is a stunning little theatre space with hospitality to match and is always a pleasure to visit.
Tonight I made my way up to Lowton and the Rose Centre to meet The Addams Family. The Addam’s are a group of fictional characters created by cartoonist Charles Addams. They are an eccentric wealthy clan who delight in the macabre and are unaware that other people find them weird or frightening. What better premise for a musical I hear you cry! With a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice and music/lyrics from Andrew Lippa, The Addams Family is a joy from start to finish with razor sharp comedy and some superb songs.
In a theatre, not school,
Is the Jungle Of Nool,
Where Seuss's characters play.
You must go there by train,
Or even by plane
To watch Horton saving the day!
Helen O’Grady Drama Academy hosted their end of year annual performance at Culcheth High School’s drama studio. The Helen O’Grady Drama Academy was founded in a church hall in Perth, Australia in 1979 and has been operating around the world since then, the academy came to the UK in 1994 where the programme is available to every child from the age of five until they leave school.
On a rather freezing visit to Wakefield’s Theatre Royal in the Winter months of 2015, I spotted a poster for an upcoming production of the 1997 musical ‘Bat Boy’ by a local theatre company – Diva Theatre Company, and was instantly filled with excitement, having seen the musical a few years ago elsewhere. I cannot put it into words what makes ‘Bat Boy’ such a unique, quirky and original musical with a marmite edge to it – in the sense that you will think it’s the best thing to happen in musical theatre in years or come out wondering what on earth you just witnessed! I hope it is not the latter, as everybody that I know that has seen any production of it has done nothing but rave about it for months afterwards.
This Showcase of Dance was presented by The Northern Ballet School who have their home inside The Dancehouse Theatre. One thing I find rather strange however, is that The Northern Ballet School has an international reputation and attracts students from all corners of the world, with students coming from South America, Central and Eastern Asia and Europe and yet, to mention their name in their home city, they are comparatively unknown. This is such a shame for Manchester though, because The Northern Ballet School consistently produces work of very high quality and keeps the bar raised high with everything I have seen them do. Their graduates often finding employment very soon after leaving, to join famous ballet companies, international show dance companies or other work within the performing arts industry; it is a regular hive of talent and creativity.
Leeds Youth Opera proudly presents their latest amateur production West Side Story at the Carriageworks Theatre.
This popular musical, both film and stage, is set in the 1950s in New York’s Upper West Side. Written by Arthur Laurents it is about the rivalry between the Jets, a white gang, and the Sharks, made up of Puerto Rican immigrants. The musical was composed at a time when social problems were at the forefront and they are certainly reflected in the story through music, song and dance.
“Here upon these stones we will build our barricade” – and that is certainly what the cast at Easy Street Theatre, Sheffield have done.
For just five performances (Wed-Sat evening plus a Saturday matinee), Sheffield based Easy Street Theatre company, a relatively new company (founded 2009), bring the epic West End smash ‘Les Misérables’ to the Montgomery Theatre, Sheffield.
Let’s get one thing straight before I start; I was a child of the 70’s and a teenager of the 80’s. The music in this jukebox musical is all from the era that I am probably still stuck in and therefore it all speaks to me. That potentially creates one of the key difficulties with this Musical (and this is not a comment in relation to this production, but the show in general) – it is written to be performed by (predominantly) a cast of 17 & 18 year olds but now, some 26 years since the 80’s came to an end, the references to the period and the music are largely lost on a cast who have no link to the time involved. Add to this the unknown quantity that is a school production (some are amazing, some are painful and many fall in the space between) and I arrived at Tytherington School with some little trepidation.
Based in Droylsden, this was The Nicholson Academy Of Performing Arts' end of year showcase on the main theatre stage at The RNCM. With approx 140 performers, some as young as 2 years old and one of the adult dancers in her 70s, this must quite simply have been one logistical nightmare, as over the course of the show we were given 30 different 'numbers', from all styles of dance from Classical Ballet to modern Hop-Hop and each one costumed brilliantly.
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