Nostalgic, Interactive and Funny
The Bradshaws is a fictional family created and voiced by the comedian and musician Buzz Hawkins. The family was created for The Gary Davies Show in 1983 when Hawkins wrote a poem about a family's day trip to Blackpool and soon developed into a radio series which has gained great popularity in the North and abroad. Some episodes were also made into a television series by Granada TV.
Based on a true story, The Pitmen Painters is the true story of the Ashington Group: a group of ordinary, hard working mining men in the 1930’s who, by taking up art lessons one Tuesday evening, changed their lives.
As James Quinn’s character Harry explains in the play, “Most of us left school at eleven,” so they valued weekly sessions from The Workers Educational Association. It was one day in 1934 that they decided to try some education in art, and invited Master of Painting Robert Lyon to instruct them.
It is easy to see why “And Then There Were None” is Agatha Christies’ best-selling novel with more than a hundred million copies sold, as it is truly thrilling, ingenious and full of delightful twists and turns.
Ten guilty strangers are trapped on an island off the Coast of Devon. Eight guests who have never met before, along with two house servants and an apparently absent host and hostess, are marooned. Soon after their arrival to the island a mysterious voice accuses them all of murder one by one. Then one by one they meet their demise. In this superlative mystery comedy, statuettes of little soldier boys on the mantel piece at the house, go missing one by one as those in the house succumb to a diabolical avenger. Accompanied by a framed nursery rhyme that tells how each of the ten soldiers’ meets their death.
This was a play I really wanted to see. I had heard so many good things about it prior to last night, and yet, despite other publications doling out 5 star reviews, I am sadly unable to do the same.
The story is that of a young Irish girl, and we follow her from birth, into childhood, going to college, and returning home. It is the story of the first 20 years of her life. The play is adapted from the award-winning novel of the same name by Eimer McBride.
I have left the theatre more confused and frustrated than I have for a very long time after seeing That’ll Be The Day. It is chocker block full of songs I love, in fact there wasn't one song I felt indifference for during the whole three hour performance. At times I wanted to rise to my feet to applaud the elements of brilliance I witnessed but there were also times I wanted to get up to leave!
The opening line of “Miners united will never be defeated” definitely set the theme for the evening’s performance of ‘Shafted!’ at Wakefield’s Theatre Royal. I have followed John Godber’s plays with a personal interest in the past few years, with his honest portrayals of every day life combined with witty, raw humour always leave me with a lot to think about on my journey home. With the simplistic set on display and the noticeable references to the mining culture (dangling miner’s lamps and union banners) it was clear Godber had a personal message to communicate to the audience and it wasn’t going to go unheard. Godber has previously quoted, “I want to create theatre that connects with people’s lives, not a piece of candy floss” and I would say the audience’s laughter and grunts of approval through out the performance confirmed that he has achieved his goal.
“Oh I do like to be beside the seaside” but this time it’s not a first in New Brighton, it is a return to the capital of variety; Blackpool, and the intimately welcoming Grand Theatre. A beautiful theatre that just has to play host to a show of the same nature - Miss Nightingale - a show written and arranged, musically-directed and produced by Matthew Bugg (who, as well as a more than just ‘triple-threat’, started as a dancer before pursuing sound design) of which this was his first written work! Pretty impressive and surprisingly so.
The Lonely Walk Home is an intriguing tale set in the pubs and clubs of Canal Street. It starts with the usual fodder: an older shy man, a young man using bravado to hide insecurity, drugs, chance encounters, and sexual frustration. Given the expansion of gay drama over the past decade, this predictable beginning feels a little dated, but quickly we realise that all is not as it seems, and as the plot kicks in the play develops quickly, holding our interest up until the final revelations and plot twists. The audience surrounds the stage in the basement of Taurus bar, a setting which heightens the darkness and claustrophobia. There was a real buzz in the bar before we descended into the basement, and the friendly staff helped make the whole evening really enjoyable.
Based on the 2001 Dreamworks Animation Motion Picture and the book by William Steig, Shrek trumped into Salford on its latest and last leg of a 2 year countrywide tour that began in Leeds way back in July 2014. Shrek was originally written and illustrated by William Steig and was first published in 1990.
Shrek the musical was first performed on stage at the Broadway Theatre in New York City on 14th December 2008. Successful runs on Broadway and in London’s West End preluded the national UK and Ireland tour which has seen two people take the role of Fiona whilst the remainder of the cast remained pretty much the same.
Arriving tonight at The Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool, it looks very different from when Brick Up The Mersey Tunnel premiered here 10 years ago. The renovations are starting to take shape and are giving visitors a much more pleasurable welcome to the theatre than before.
The Royal Court has become synonymous with good old Scouse comedies and Brick Up The Mersey Tunnel fits that bill perfectly. The play is based around The Kingsway Three who, after a lifetime of feeling belittled by the people of The Wirral, formulate a plan to separate the two areas again by bricking up the Mersey Tunnel.
The Royal Exchange's main house production is the curiously and perhaps rather misleadingly titled 'Wit', by Margaret Edison. A rather brave choice of play to be part of Manchester's, nay, the north west's premier independent regional theatre's season, but for me it was certainly a choice that paid off a thousandfold.
I went with no preconception since I knew neither the playwright nor the play, and since I am coming to this play rather late on in the run, and all the other press have already given their critiques I have deliberately avoiding reading any in order to be as unbiased as I possibly could be.*
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