Gary McNair's hour-long, one-man show is a tribute to his gambling grandfather who 'allegedly' won a fortune betting on the 1966 World Cup and, when diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and only one month to live, bet his whole gambling winnings on living, against the odds, to see the year 2000.
Subtitled 'The Ballroom Dance Sensation', this was an evening of non-stop music and dancing. With 19 musical numbers in each act, they were back-to-backed with no through thread or even the tiniest thought of how they might work being put together this way. Yes, I know that we went to watch the dancing - that's the whole point of the show right? But, it is also live theatre and as such I would have expected there to be some through-line or idea behind the sequence of music.
LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS imagines a world where we are forced to say less. The average person will speak 123,205,750 words in a lifetime and in this one-hour, two-handed Orwellian rom-com, we discover what happens when the British Government introduce a draconian law which sets a daily limit of just 140 words.
Occasionally you go and see shows which make you want to really cry out in pain. This was the first time I actually did. To be fair this was, believe it or not, the first time a performer has ever asked me to hammer a nail into their heart. I cried out in pain because I missed the nail and hit my own thumb thus spending the rest of the performance sucking said thumb. It was only after my embarrassing faux pas that it dawned on me that he meant the wooden board with a painted heart upon it that he held up rather than his own actual heart. Perhaps I’m too stupid to write a review of a performance which was much more sophisticated than my own sorry contribution to the performance.
Over the course of one hour we were given an insight into the little known country in eastern Africa of Ethiopia, and the country's last King, Haile Selassie; starting from his imperial all-knowing unquestioned authority to his overthrowing, imprisonment and suspicious death. This was presented in the form of anecdotes from the people of the court who worked with him and knew him. These people were brought to life by Kathryn Hunter, who despite her advancing years, showed incredible athleticism and flexibility as she contorted herself into the different people she portrayed. It also has to be said that I am not a fan of gender-blind castings, but had I not looked at the programme I would have been unaware that the performer was anything other than a man.
We all have our favourites; TV shows which come along and are hard to top. Only Fools and Horses is one such example of this, a fantastically successful sitcom which I have fond memories of sitting as a family to watch, an event in the TV listings and a programme you could have a laugh with your friends or your Grandad about, it was timeless; so when I got the opportunity to see one of the main characters discussing the show on stage, I jumped at the chance.
As soon as I heard that Akram Kahn’s World Premiere of Giselle was performing at the Palace Theatre I jumped at the opportunity to watch my first ever ballet performance. If you will patiently allow me to elaborate for one second I shall and explain that I actually found out that the English National Ballet were in town only six hours before I actually saw it. I hastily set about searching for a trained ballet dancer to accompany me and provide the knowledge of ballet which has so far in my life utterly escaped me. Alas my ballet dancer expert friend had inconveniently scarpered to Whitby for the week with her mother so I was forced to brave my first ballet alone.
Rarely does a play move me so much that it leaves me speechless and welling up both during and afterwards. Rarely does any production impress me so much that I simply cannot find anything negative to say. This play did both and it is one that will stay with me for a long time to come.
Stevie Helps from New Live Theatre Company presented his latest play, Mind’s a Labyrinth at Gullivers Ballroom.
New Live Theatre Company is an independent theatre production company based in Manchester founded in 2011. Writer and Director Stevie Helps described the process of his play somewhat like the life of a butterfly. “A baby caterpillar was dragged up, which cocooned into Borderline Electra. It has now undergone a final incarnation and Mind’s a Labyrinth has been born”.
Hope Mill Theatre continues to be a warm, friendly and inviting venue, which has to be one of my favourite theatres in the UK. On this evening, there was an added air of excitement with a show dedicated to Bette Midler. The audience, made up of a ‘Divine’ mix of the young & old, gay & straight and Jew and gentile mingled together on a beautiful autumnal night to celebrate the life and career of a true icon.
How can you possibly do a musical about cancer? That is what every audience member and critic in the country is screaming at this production. Musicals are all so happy and uplifting it just doesn’t make any sense. However with the talented writer and director that is Bryony Kimmings armed with a highly skilled cast this musical was pure perfection.
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