The second I hear the beat of the famous 1980s hit, my feet start tapping and I instantly imagine Kevin Bacon’s Ren McCormack dancing at the long awaited school dance and I’m sure I’m not the only one. In many ways this is probably a blessing and a curse to any stage remake.
Ray Mears is a 52 years old English woodsman, instructor, businessman, and author and TV presenter. However until this evening I had never heard of Ray Mears so found myself a little unsure of what to expect. Having read the opener “Have you ever wondered how you might cope faced by seemingly impossible odds? In this heart-stirring presentation be prepared to be shocked, amazed and inspired to succeed by the stories of our fellow human beings and the incredible circumstances they have overcome”, I was eager to see this performance.
I was looking forward to this show very much for a number of reasons. Ricky Tomlinson and Stan Boardman are stalwarts of the Liverpool comedy scene so hilarity was surely guaranteed. The courtrooms of St George's Hall have always struck me as amazing performance spaces so hosting a trial with two of Liverpool’s most well known comedians can only be good right?
The first surprise of the evening came when we discovered that Tomlinson wouldn't be performing in any of the shows during this run as he was filming instead and that the role of Ricky Tomlinson would be covered by Michael Starke. This didn't concern me as I have seen Starke perform a number of times and he is not only a great actor but a great comedian in his own right. I did wondered why though Tomlinson was still featured when he wouldn't be performing, why wasn't it Starke vs Boardman instead? This question was answered when Case Number 45 began.
Produced by Adverse Camber, this is storytelling at its best. In a very comfortable and well-placed middle ground between theatrical play and concert, this presentation told the 'true' fable of the beginnings of the great 13th century unifier of West Africa and great King of Mali, Sundiata Keita. This man existed, that is documented, but the mystical and magical folklore surrounding his origins and his family are, as all word-of-mouth stories are, enlarged upon and altered by successive teller, so that the story that exists to this day, and still told to children in Mali, is little more than a fairy story. But a very nice fairy story at that!
It's always exciting when an alternative piece of performance arrives in town and an absolute thrill to have the opportunity to indulge in a new side of the theatre. National Treasures brought to Manchester's Palace Theatre by Holy Trannity was definitely my kind of show. The performance starred Bianca Del Rio, Lady Bunny, Sherry Vine and Jackie Beat. These huge names brought an exceptionally entertaining all singing, all dancing drag show while opening my eyes to the different perceptions of drag and what it is to be a professional drag queen.
Cosi Fan Tutte is a comic opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. With its first performance in 1790, this opera followed a genre of the time of farcical behaviour with gender and identity swapping and sex being the main theme. These such operatic farces are known as 'opera buffa'. It is possibly Mozart's most extreme example of this style and certainly seen in today's climate it is unbelievably sexist and misogynistic. Indeed, even the title is something of a giveaway - its literal translation from the Italian is something like, ' And so do all ', however, when given an English title the word 'Women' is usually appended.
Wonder Women is a series of events held every spring to celebrate the work of emerging artists and to remember great women from the past. This particular event, held at the Salford Museum and Art Gallery, celebrated the life of Hannah Mitchell. Living history actress Janet Baron performed as Mitchell in the wonderfully detailed, re-created Victorian street in the museum. Looking at the original shop fronts, saved from the Manchester area and listening to the sounds of the time, the audience could step straight back into the Victorian era.
I don't think I even have the words to describe what I witnessed this evening. It was without a doubt the most bizarre, heart‐wrenching yet hilarious, amazingly weird, poignant piece of brilliance I have ever seen.
Greeted by a horse at the entrance to Contact Theatre I knew straight away that this performance was going to be slightly unusual. While the full audience made their way to their seats, we watched projections on screen of google searches (How much is a horse in Manchester), cat videos and awkward exchanges with men on video chat rooms. In fact the screen was used constantly throughout this multimedia show to great effect.
Michael King as Billy Fury may only be ‘Halfway to Paradise’ but tonight at the Theatre Royal his fans were with him all the way! For 2 hours King performed many of the greatest hits of the legendary Billy Fury to an audience of what was mainly an older generation, not surprising when you consider that Fury was topping the charts in 1959. Thankfully his memory will live on due to tributes and King has to be, with his incredible stage presence, his voice and looks, arguably the best.
From the first song to the last, the audience were singing along and clapping although surprisingly not up dancing in the aisles, with King rockin’ n’ rollin’ through the early years of Fury’s fame to Fury’s ‘Forget Him.’ which was released posthumously.
Thrusting on to the stage of The Epstein Theatre, Liverpool for one night only, fresh from their London West End Show, The UK's world famous Dreamboys certainly brought the weekend in with a bang tonight.
With a show like this, I wasn't quite sure what to expect apart from the obvious "male strippers" which is self explanatory for the most part, but it was so much more than you bargain for. Jam packed from start to finish, the 2 hour show contained popular music from modern day to club classics and slow jams. The atmosphere was electric before anyone even touched the stage.
Kicking off West Yorkshire Playhouse’s season is Anders Lustgarten adaptation of The Damn United from David Peace’s novel. The production brings to life Brian Clough’s 44 day reign as manager at Leeds United. According to many fans, it was considered a dark chapter of the club’s history, following Don Revie’s legendary era.
Co-produced by Red Ladder Theatre Company and West Yorkshire Playhouse, Peace’s ‘An English Fairy Story’ explores Clough’s brief reign at Leeds United in 1974. The play switches back and forward chronologically to Clough’s football management career from when he first managed Hartlepool United in 1965 to reliving Derby County’s successes between 1967 and 1973.
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