What a fantastic night at The Royal Court in Liverpool watching this years’ Christmas offering, “Pharaoh ‘Cross The Mersey”. On the way home I was discussing how best to describe the show to somebody who hasn’t seen it, and my son who accompanied me tonight said, Back to the Future meets Carry On! I couldn’t have put it better myself. If you are looking for a Christmas show to take the older kids to, don’t look any further.
I have to be honest; I had never heard of this opera until being asked to review it. I had heard of Kurt Weill, and knew of his marriage to Lotte Lenya and his long-term friendship and collaboration with Berthold Brecht. I was familiar with The Threepenny Opera, and some of his lighter music... but this was something new, and therefore exciting and I was really looking forward to seeing this. And let me tell you I was in no way disappointed.
This opera was presented by students of The Royal Northern College of Music under the expert tutelage of Stefan Janski (Director), Jonathan Ainscough (Assistant Director), Clark Rundell (Musical Director) and Kevin Thraves (Chorus Master); and, having never seen a production of theirs before, let me tell you right here and now, I am an instant fan and can't wait to see this talented group perform again. If this is an 'in-training' production, then I was watching the stars of the future last night. The quality of their combined talents was unsurpassable, and I was in awe!
I feel sure that most of us will already be aware of the storyline. It has been on the school syllabus for some time and is considered a modern classic; with even two film versions to its credits. It is, in essence a very simple story - a plane crashes on an uninhabited tropical island, the only survivors being a group of young boys. It is the overriding struggle of human nature; the exposition of fear and the fundamental conflict that exists in all humans, good versus evil, which Golding uses to terrifying effect in his novel, and it is that theme which has been debated upon endlessly. In The Lord of The Flies this manifests itself as the struggle between wanting to live by order, rules, morals and to act peacefully; the desire to work as a group for the good of the group rather than simply gratify our immediate desires, act ruthlessly and violently and to forcedly impose supremacy and power over others. The "good" being Ralph and Piggy, and the "evil" represented by Jack. What makes Lord of the Flies all the more horrific though is that these are children; just young schoolboys, some as young as six.
Jasper Carrott is a British comedy legend who has been on our screens and on stage for almost five decades. Career highlights include his own television show in the 80s and 90s and teaming up with Robert Powell in the 90s to produce the popular comedy 'The Detectives', as well as his own game show and a sitcom.
Alistair McGowan got his big break as an impressionist providing voices for 'Spitting Image' and had his own television show, 'Alistair McGowan's Big Impression'. He is also a star of the West End stage, as well as the big screen.
Carmen was written by French Composer Georges Bizet and was his 17th, final and most popular opera. However, it faced critical failure on its premiere in 1875 due to its intensity, violence and passion. He died shortly after, never knowing how successful it would become.
Carmen is a passionate story revolving around a gypsy girl and the two men who are besotted by her: Don Jose - a Corporal and Escamillo, a Toreador. It is set in southern Spain and the abhorrent practice of bullfighting is also an element of the story.
Being a newbie to the opera I was a little hesitant about what to expect and whether I'd understand the plot or roles on stage. I was very wrong to judge this show before watching the performance as I was very overwhelmed by the new experience.
Tosca first premiered in January 1900 in Rome, this is an Italian piece normally in three acts and by Giacomo Puccini and composed by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. What I liked about this production is that it was traditional and told exactly how it was meant to be which is credible when telling a story through song.
Speaking as a comedy club virgin but nevertheless an enthusiastic fan of comedy I was extremely excited to be attending the opening of the new LAUGHTERHOUSE Comedy Club on Mathew Street in Liverpool, and I was not left disappointed. A few well-known and well respected comedians were in attendance such as Mick Miller, Jo Caulfield, Liverpool’s own Neil Fitzmaurice and, filling in for John Bishop last minute who sadly could not attend, The Boy With Tape On His Face.
Mother’s Ruin takes you on the journey of two estranged sisters whose lives are thrown together following the death of their mother.
Mothers Ruin was created and directed by Tara Daniels and written By David Smith and Tom Arrowsmith.
The play is set in a living room around Christmas time as the pre funeral wake is in full swing behind the scenes with their elderly relatives freezing as Alice played by Nadia Dilamy refuses to turn the heating up. The sisters are worlds apart Alice was left behind to look after her mother following several strokes and to run a busy dairy farm alone whilst Andrea played by Tara Davies escaped to find her rich man in London.
“Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo?”
It has been over a decade since I studied Romeo and Juliet for English lessons back in High School, but the story and some of its more famous lines have stayed with me, imbedded permanently into my memory. To see it on stage with only dancing and music interpreting the story, I worried it was going to be more difficult than Shakespeare’s jargon to follow, however within the opening act, set in feuding Verona, my worries dispersed as through the power of dance and costumes, it was made easy to follow. The rival enemies all wore the same colour costumes, as in one side all wore one colour and the other side all wore a different colour.
‘Be not afraid. This isle is full of noises’. This quote from The Tempest could not ring more true with this performance, full of guitar noise, voices and earthy sounds. Beginning where Shakespeare’s text left off, Prospero’s ship is sailing away to Naples leaving Ariel and Caliban alone on the island. This piece discovers what it is like to be a slave with no master, to be free and to try and co-exist with each other.
The performance began with Neil Johnson, a casual barefooted narrator, introducing us to the piece as if we were old friends. Neil quickly changed roles and became our musician for the night and we were treated to an intimate rendition of Ariel’s song and lulled into the performance with his husky voice and acoustic guitar.
Shrek the musical is based on the 1991 DreamWorks animation film. It follows the story of an ogre named Shrek and his trusty steed, Donkey on their quest to rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona. Meeting many misfit fairytail characters along the way, a lovesick dragon plus the diminutive Lord Farquuad, this is a big, bright Musical comedy. With book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, this musical was originally produced in Broadway and opened in December 2008.
From the get go you could feel the excitement from the audience, which was made up of a wide range of ages, waiting to see if this well loved animation could be brought to life before our eyes. We were not disappointed.
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