Month: January 2019

London Coliseum – until 27 January 2019

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

3***

I loved this fête du fromage, but probably for the wrong reasons. I imagine the conception of this bonkers musical went something like this:

The viewing world “Wow! Ireland have created the greatest Eurovision interval act of all time.” France “Hold my beer vin rouge…”

Notre Dame de Paris is the ultimate extended Eurovision feast – a classic of French literature with a message about the treatment of the “other” that producers can throw the kitchen sink at, mixing the ever so slightly edgy with cheesy tradition. All topped off with some insane choreography.

After 20 years of international success, the show returns to London for this short run at the Coliseum, but this time in French with English surtitles. Although I found it best to not read these as it may become a distraction realising how often the same line is repeated in each number. Just let the music carry you away. Fair play to Richard Cocciante, his score does just that, with most songs full of soaring crescendos, although my favourites were the dance numbers of the immigrants with their irresistible drumbeats.

Victor Hugo’s story is dealt with efficiently, making the show appear to be some sort of therapy session for all the sexually frustrated male characters. Esmeralda just seems to be within 100 yards of these men to set them off. The female equivalent of the Lynx effect? Her guardian Clopin is a bit fidgety now she has grown into a woman, and captain of the guard Phoebus, already engaged to one respectable young maiden, longs to possess Esmeralda as part of his unhealthy desire to deflower young virgins. Troubadour Gringoire, great with a rhyme but hopeless with women, marries her in name only, and priest Frollo has a serious existential crisis, getting very hot under his dog collar, teetering around like a tipsy scarecrow and making Esmeralda’s life hell. Quasimodo’s loving protection of her earns her gratitude and friendship, leaving him to moon over her and sing heartfelt love songs as he is wheeled around the stage perched on a gargoyle. It’s hard to emote when your costume makes you look like the Honey Monster dressed by Zandra Rhodes, but Angelo del Vecchio aces it.

The set is simple but creative, with a grey panelled wall full of handholds and opening doors for the cast to clamber over and emerge from. The cast are all extremely talented, with great voices, but sing out to the audience rather than to each other, making all their emoting amusing instead of moving. The staging doesn’t help the cause, having the actors stand in a row of spotlights, belting out the songs, and at the crucial emotional moment as the music surges, raising their arms (sometimes making symmetrical arrangements) like semaphore to signal THIS IS IMPORTANT. I HAVE FEELINGS RIGHT NOW!

Martino Müller’s choreography is batty but brilliant, with the dancers writhing and leaping around to the strong beat in frenzied unison. Acrobats scaling the walls and vaulting crowd barriers add to the organised chaos, and the aerial bell routine is mesmeric. If only the dancers were on stage for the whole show. A completely different style of musical to normal West End fare, and very entertaining, but I fear this glorious cheese is beginning to get a little mouldy with age.

Bridewell Theatre – until 26 January2019

Reviewed by Claire Roderick

3***

Sedos’s production of Baal is brave and bombastic, with a creative flair that makes you forget this is an amateur company.

Unfortunately, Brecht’s first play, translated by Peter Tegl, isn’t the most light-hearted, making the show a bit of a slog at times. The plot follows Baal, a disillusioned poet who rejects the hypocrisy of bourgeois society and wanders around the countryside, drunk and lecherous, murders his friend and lover then dies alone and unrecognised.

The tilted stage serves as Baal’s attic apartment and the countryside, with imaginative use of a water tank. The musician-actors sit either side, chorusing scene descriptions and providing eerie sound effects when not on stage. Baal’s poems become songs from mostly the 80s and 90s, accompanied by the cast, which makes some tunes sound slightly surreal with the eclectic mix of live instruments being played. The songs work well, but a few could be shortened to move things along. The best tunes are played with great energy and abandon at the end of both acts, and instead of sitting and listening, the audience are directed to leave – a nice touch adding to the anarchic feel.

Ben Wooley is a strong, dead-eyed Baal, commanding the stage, but loses all that dynamism when he sings. This may well be the point though. The casting of men in the tricky roles of the women that Baal mistreats was well meant, but the simpering caricatures were even more uncomfortable and insulting than if females were in those roles. Again – this may be what we’re supposed to feel. The strong cast work well together and director Robert J. Stanex keeps the action tight and as fast paced as possible. Which isn’t easy with heavy material like this.

TREVOR NUNN’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION OF

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

TRANSFERS TO THE WEST END

Over 25,000 tickets at £20 or less across the run

★★★★★
‘This Fiddler raises the roof. A note-perfect production.’
The Guardian

Chocolate Factory Productions, Sonia Friedman Productions and Michael Harrison present

The Menier Chocolate Factory production of

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

Book by Joseph Stein                Music by Jerry Bock         

Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick         

Director Trevor Nunn; Choreographer Jerome Robbins & Matt Cole; Set Designer Robert Jones   

Costume Designer Jonathan Lipman; Hair and Make Up Designer Richard Mawbey

Lighting Designer Tim Lutkin; Sound Designer Gregory Clarke

Musical Supervisor & Director Paul Bogaev; Orchestrations Jason Carr

Trevor Nunn’s critically acclaimed production of Fiddler on the Roof with Andy Nyman and Judy Kuhn transfers to the reconfigured Playhouse Theatre from 21 March for a limited run – with over 25,000 tickets at £20 or less across the run. The production, which opens on 27 March, with previews from 21 March, and is booking until 15 June, is currently running at the Menier, where it completes its sell-out run on 9 March. Public booking opens on 6 February. The full cast for the transfer will be announced shortly.

★★★★
‘A resounding success. This one is pretty perfect.’
Financial Times

Direct from its sold-out run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Tony and Olivier award-winning director Trevor Nunn’s ‘exuberant revival’ (Daily Telegraph) of the classic Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof transfers to the West End for a strictly limited run. The Playhouse Theatre will be specially transformed into an immersive space for this ‘shiveringly intimate chamber musical about family’ (The Times).

Old traditions and young love collide in this joyous and timely celebration of life. Tevye’s daughters’ unexpected choice of husbands opens his heart to new possibilities, as his close-knit community also feel winds of change blowing through their tiny village.

Featuring the iconic score including ‘Tradition’, ‘Matchmaker, Matchmaker’, ‘Sunrise, Sunset’ and ‘If I Were a Rich Man’, and packed with Jerome Robbins’ original Tony award-winning choreography, Fiddler on the Roof‘bursts from the stage’ (Financial Times), bringing new life to one of the most beloved musicals of all time.

Andy Nyman is an award-winning actor, director and writer who has earned acclaim from both critics and audiences for his work in theatre, film and television. As well as Fiddler on the Roof, his work for the Menier includes Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins and Abigail’s Party (also Wyndham’s Theatre). Other theatre work includes Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen (Wyndham’s Theatre), and the original production of Ghost Stories (Duke of York’s Theatre/Arts Theatre) which he starred in, co-wrote and co-directed with Jeremy Dyson. His extensive television credits include Wanderlust, The Eichmann Show, Campus, Crooked House, Dead Set as well as his highly acclaimed performance as Winston Churchill in Peaky Blinders. This year he will be seen in the up and coming series Hanna. Nyman’s extensive film credits include The Commuter, Death at a Funeral, Kick-Ass 2, Black Death,The Brother’s Bloom, Severance and Shut Up & Shoot Me, for which he won the ‘Best Actor’ award at the Cherbourg Film Festival in 2006. Upcoming films include Jungle Cruise and playing opposite Renee Zellweger in Judy. This year saw the release of the film version of Ghost Stories. Based on their own play, the film was written and directed by Nyman and Jeremy Dyson. Nyman also stars alongside Martin Freeman and Paul Whitehouse. In addition, he has collaborated with Derren Brown for almost 20 years, co-writing and co-creating much of Brown’s early TV work, he has also co-written and directed six of Brown’s stage shows winning the ‘Best Entertainment’ Olivier Award forDerren Brown – Something Wicked This Way Comes and recently a New York Drama Desk Award for ‘Best Unique Theatrical Event 2017’ for Derren Brown – Secret.

Judy Kuhn plays Golde. A four-time Tony Award nominee, she has released four studio albums, and sang the title role in the 1995 film Pocahontas, including her rendition of the song “Colors of the Wind”, which won its composers the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Her theatre credits include Fun Home (Public Theater/Circle In The Square Theatre), She Loves Me (Brooks Atkinson Theater), Chess, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (The Imperial Theatre), Les Miserables (Broadhurst Theatre), Rags (Mark Hellinger Theatre),Two Shakespearean Actors (Lincoln Center Theatre), King David (New Amsterdam Theater) and Metropolis(Piccadilly Theatre – Olivier Award Nomination), The Visit (The Williamstown Theater Festival), Passion, The Cradle Will Rock (City Center), Three Sisters (Intiman Theatre), Passion (Kennedy Center), Sunset Boulevard, Eli’s Comin’ , Dream True (Vineyard Theatre), The Ballad of Little Jo (Steppenwolf Theater), The Glass Menagerie(McCarter Theatre), Martin Guerre (Hartford Stage) and Endangered Species (BAM). Her film credits include Enchanted, Day on Fire, Pocahontas and Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World.

From 1968 to 1986, Trevor Nunn was the youngest ever Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, directing over thirty productions, including most of the Shakespeare canon, as well as Nicholas Nickleby and Les Misérables.  From 1997 to 2003, he was Artistic Director of the National Theatre, where his productions included Troilus and Cressida, Oklahoma!, The Merchant of Venice, Summerfolk, My Fair Lady, A Streetcar Named Desire, Anything Goes and Love’s Labour’s Lost. He has directed the world premières of Tom Stoppard’s plays Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia and Rock n Roll; and of Cats, Sunset Boulevard, Starlight Express and Aspects of Love by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Other theatre includes Timon of Athens, Skellig (Young Vic); The Lady From The Sea (Almeida Theatre); Hamlet, Richard II, Inherit the Wind (The Old Vic), A Little Night Music (Menier Chocolate Factory, West End and Broadway), Cyrano de Bergerac, Kiss Me Kate (Chichester Festival Theatre); Heartbreak House, Flare Path, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Tempest (Theatre Royal, Haymarket); Scenes from a Marriage (Coventry & St James), All That Fall (Jermyn Street & New York); A Chorus of Disapproval and Relative Values (West End).  Work for television includes Antony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, Three Sisters, Othello, The Merchant of Venice and King Lear, and on film, Hedda, Lady Janeand Twelfth Night. 

Listings                                                                                                                         Fiddler on the Roof

Playhouse Theatre

Northumberland Ave, London WC2N 5DE

Box Office: 0844 871 7631

Tickets from £20

www.fiddlerwestend.com

Twitter: @FiddlerWestEnd

Instagram: @FiddlerWestEnd

Facebook: /FiddlerWestEnd

Performances:

Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm until 30 March (matinees on Saturdays)

Tuesday to Saturday from w/c 2 April (matinees on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays)

Groups Bookings: 020 7206 1174

Access Bookings: 0800 912 6971

Captioned performance: Wednesday 8 May

Audio Described: Wednesday 15 May

Pleasance Theatre Trust announce new
partnership with VAULT Festival

The Pleasance Theatre Trust have announced a new partnership with VAULT Festival that will strengthen links between both organisations; working together, both Pleasance and VAULT are dedicated to developing and supporting the careers of new and emerging theatre makers, playwrights and comedians.

Pleasance’s annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme is one of the largest and most respected in Edinburgh, supplemented by its year-round programme across its three theatre spaces at Pleasance Islington. VAULT Festival has quickly established itself as London’s biggest, boldest and bravest arts and entertainment festival which runs from January – March across Waterloo.

Anthony Alderson, Director of Pleasance Theatre Trust comments, We are delighted to be working in partnership with one of London’s most exciting festivals. There is no doubt that festivals create an environment where artists can take risks, experiment and develop. Although each journey can be a daunting one, it can also be the best challenge where ideas can crystallise and new collaborations, both on and off stage, can flourish. By working in partnership we plan to develop new ways to support artists, both financially and as mentors, and to ensure that the spirit of risk taking, innovation and excellence is joined up across the country, opening up opportunities from Edinburgh to London, across the UK and worldwide

Andy George and Mat Burt, Co-Founders of VAULT Festival say, This new partnership is particularly exciting for us. Our long term aims in the support and development of new work and artists is aligned with that of The Pleasance. We share in generating platforms where artists can launch new ideas and new companies. Be bold and brave, with a support network beneath them. We look forward to working together, supporting both our audiences and artists, and enabling great makers to create new and exciting pieces.

As part of the partnership, The Pleasance and VAULT Festival have both committed to support selected shows transfer between the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and VAULT Festival (Pick of VAULT Festival, and the Pick of Pleasance Edinburgh awards), alongside a wider commitment to sharing work between the two organisations.

This partnership comes after the Pleasance recently announced a refreshed Artist Support Offer across its London and Edinburgh programmes under the Pleasance Futures umbrella, a commitment
of over £150,000 of both in-kind and direct financial support to artists and companies at all stages of their careers. From carpenters, crew, electricians, photographers, reviewers, bloggers and filmmakers Pleasance Futures recognises how important those first opportunities into the creative industries can be and nurtures the Pleasance’s core beliefs about creating opportunities, supporting ambition, encouraging excellence and building reputations.

New schemes announced this year include Pleasance Associates Programme (for companies and artists with a track record of presenting excellent and innovative work at the Fringe), The Partnership Pathways Programme (working with five partner theatres across the UK to identify and support exciting local artists and companies), The COMMON Award (in association with COMMON, a nationwide arts organisation supporting the UK theatre industry in achieving greater socioeconomic diversity) and The Popcorn Writing Award (in association with The Popcorn Group, providing a £2,500 cash prize to a writer in the Pleasance programme).

For 2019 the Pleasance’s Partnership Pathways Programme is working with HOME. Manchester, Leicester Curve, York Theatre Royal, Bristol Old Vic and Royal and Derngate Northampton. Programmes include existing schemes The Young Pleasance, XYP (an associate company comprising of ex-members of the Young Pleasance), The Network with the Scottish Drama Training Network, The Charlie Hartill Special Reserve Fund for Theatre and Comedy, The LET Award – in partnership with Les Enfants Terribles and the Greenwich Partnership Award with Les Enfants Terribles and Greenwich Theatre.

Features the iconic music of globally acclaimed song-writer Max Martin

Award-winning Miriam-Teak Lee to lead brand new musical

Manchester season ahead of West End opening at The Shaftesbury Theatre

EXCLUSIVE: Hear Miriam-Teak Lee singing ….Baby One More Time

at www.andjulietthemusical.co.uk

& Juliet is the joyous, new West End musical that asks: what if Juliet’s famous ending was really just her beginning? What if she decided to choose her own fate?

Soaring with the music of Max Martin, the acclaimed song-writer of some of the biggest pop anthems of the last 30 years, & Juliet is to star the award-winning Miriam-Teak Lee.

Miriam-Teak was awarded Best Actress in a Musical at The Stage Debut Awards for her role of Claire DeLoone in On The Town. She was one of the stars of the Original London Cast of Hamilton and will now take the lead role of Juliet in this vibrant new musical.

The production will play a limited season at
Manchester Opera House, from Tuesday 10 September to Saturday 12 October, before beginning performances in London at
The Shaftesbury Theatre on Saturday 2 November

Tickets go on general sale on Monday 11 February.

Romeo & Juliet final scene. Juliet picks up the dagger and….gets a life.

This vital new musical sees Juliet getting over Romeo by running off to Paris with Nurse and her best friends on a whirlwind trip of romance and self-discovery. You know, like a normal young woman! Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway may have their own ideas but this is Juliet’s story now.  So don’t tell her how it ends.

A timely and timeless tale of one independent young woman writing her own story, & Juliet is a riotous comic blast of fun and glorious pop music that proves when it comes to love, there’s always life after Romeo…

& Juliet includes some of pop music’s most iconic songs, including …Baby One More Time, Everybody, Love Me Like You Do andI Can’t Feel My Face, written over a span of 25 years by internationally renowned song-writer Max Martin along with various collaborators, and all in brilliant new arrangements by the ‘Tony’ and ‘Grammy’ Award-winning orchestrator Bill Sherman.

Brought to life by an award-winning creative team in an explosive fusion of styles, & Juliet will be directed byLuke Sheppard (In the Heights) with a story by David West Read (Schitt’s Creek), electrifying choreography from Jennifer Weber and stunning set design from Soutra Gilmour.

Additional cast and creative team to be announced.

Max Martin and Tim Headington present & Juliet, which is produced by Max Martin, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele, Jenny Petersson and Martin Dodd.

MANCHESTER SEASON INFORMATION

Opera House, Manchester

3 Quay Street

Manchester

M3 3HP

Tickets

On General Sale                Monday 11 February

Box Office                            0844 871 3018* 
*Fees apply. Calls cost 7p per minute, plus your company’s access charge.

Performance Dates & Times

Tuesday 10 September to Saturday 12 October

Monday – Saturday:        7.30pm

Matinees:                            Thursdays & Saturdays at 2:30pm

LONDON INFORMATION

The Shaftesbury Theatre

210 Shaftesbury Avenue

London

WC2H 8DP

Tickets

On General Sale                Monday 11 February

Box Office                            020 7379 5399 

Performance Dates & Times

From Saturday 2 November

Monday – Saturday:        7.30pm

Matinees:                            Thursdays & Saturdays at 2:30pm

Press Night:                        Wednesday 20 November at 7:00pm

SOCIAL MEDIA

www.andjulietthemusical.co.uk

@JULIETMUSICAL

FROM BLOOD BROTHERS TO BLOODY MACBETH

Three renowned stars of Blood Brothers announced for Macbeth at The Epstein Theatre

Following two critically acclaimed seasons of Shakespeare, the award-winning Daniel Taylor Productions returns to The Epstein Theatre this spring with a production of Macbeth that reunites three stars of the international smash-hit musical Blood Brothers.

Following rave reviews for 2018’s productions of Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Daniel Taylor Productions is back at the Hanover Street venue with the Bard’s most brilliant and bloody tale from Thursday 7 – Saturday 16 March.

Producers are excited to announce Sean Jones and Warwick Evans will play Macbeth and King Duncan respectively, along with Daniel Taylor who will both produce and direct the production.

The three actors have all previously starred together in Willy Russell’s iconic musical Blood Brothers.

Sean Jones having played the role of Mickey for almost two decades in both the West End and touring production; Warwick Evans starred as the Narrator in the original production on the West End as well as Toronto, Sydney and on Broadway; whilst Daniel Taylor has played the role of Sammy on both the West End and touring production.

Sean Jones trained at Clywd Youth Theatre in Mold and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. No stranger to Shakespeare, Sean makes a return to the Scottish play having previously played both Macduff and Banquo in a Japanese national tour.

With theatre in his blood, Warwick Evans was born to theatrical parents Howell Evans and Patricia Kane. He made his stage debut in 1961 with a very brief tag line in a sketch in Bridlington. He has since gone on to establish a successful career on stage and screen, including Miff Ferrie in Daniel Taylor Productions’ The Tommy Cooper Show and three periods of repertory theatre at Leicester’s Haymarket Theatre. His tv credits include Strindberg’s Easter, as brother to Felicity Kendal, for the BBC, and most recently as Jake Toniolini in Sky 1’s Stella.

Daniel Taylor was born and lives in Liverpool and in 2016 he toured the UK, Ireland, Canada and the US in the title role of Lennon: Through A Glass Onion. His acting credits also include the role of Mickey in Alan Bleasdale’s 40th anniversary production of Down the Dock Road (Royal Court, Liverpool), as well as playing the title role in and producing The Tommy Cooper Show.

Set in the aftermath of a ruinous civil war in Scotland, this exciting new production of Macbeth explores the damaging psychological effects of war, betrayal and destructive political ambition by those who seek power for its own sake.

Daniel Taylor said: “Shakespeare’s most brilliant and bloody tale has been delighting audiences for over four hundred years.

“I’m thrilled to be working with such a talented cast and crew, many of whom are long-time stars of that other blockbuster of theatre, Blood Brothers.”

This latest offering from Daniel Taylor Productions will be brought to life with the same passion and brilliance that has made his Shakespeare season a highlight of the city’s cultural calendar.

So, whether thunder, lighting, rain or shine, be sure to brave the elements and get tickets for one of their most exciting shows to date!

What The Critics Say (Reviews from 2018 Shakespeare Productions):

North West End ★★★★

“This was an enjoyable production… with strong performances from cast members. Donovan’s Mancunian apothecary was laugh-out-loud funny; Templeton’s good humour is infectious; Wood’s Mercutio captured all aspects of an entertaining albeit complex character.”

(Romeo and Juliet)

The Chester Blog

“This 2-and-a-half-hour production is an accessible piece of ‘Scouse Shakespeare’ If you haven’t been to the Epstein theatre before give it a go”

(Romeo and Juliet)

Liverpool Sound and Vision ★★★★

“Once more Daniel Taylor brings Shakespeare to a new point of overwhelming enjoyment.”

(A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

Wirral Globe ★★★★

“Here we have the type of fresh adaptation I wish had been on offer when I was at school.”

(A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

Catherine Jones, Arts City Liverpool ★★★★

“Whether you’re a seasoned Shakespeare fan or a first time audience member, this Dream is one you’ll be happy to remember when you wake up in the morning.”

(A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

LISTING INFORMATION

MACBETH

Date: Thu 7 – Sat 16 March 
Time: Tue – Sat 7:30pm / Fri 8 Mar, Tue, Wed Thu, Sat Mat 1:30pm 
Tickets: From £16

School Group booking – Workshop and ticket £20 (inc. VAT) plus 1 in 15 goes free

School Group Booking – Ticket only £12 + VAT plus 1 in 15 goes free.

Venue Details

The Epstein Theatre

Hanover House

85 Hanover Street

Liverpool

L1 3DZ

To book tickets please call 0844 888 4411* or go online at www.epsteinliverpool.co.uk * or in person at The Epstein Theatre Box Office from 12pm – 6pm Monday – Saturday.

*Subject to booking fee. All prices include a £1 per ticket venue restoration levy

For more details check out www.epsteinliverpool.co.uk and join our mailing list. Follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/EpsteinTheatre and twitter @EpsteinTheatre.

Vulvarine – A New Musical

March 2nd – July 12th, UK Tour

Fat Rascal Theatre are proud to announce the cast of the UK tour of their hit Edinburgh show Vulvarine, which tours through Spring 2019.

***** “funny, silly and smart (…) catch it while you can” Funny Women

Writer-performer Robyn Grant is a writer-performer trained on East 15 Acting school’s Acting and Contemporary Theatre course. Her piece Tom and Bunny Save the World played at York Theatre Royal and Edinburgh Fringe Assembly George Square, and was shortlisted for the Les Enfants Terribles Award 2017, the Eddies Award 2017, and won Best New Writing- Fairy Powered Edinburgh Fringe Awards. She is currently redeveloping her show Buzz: A New Musical (Shortlisted for Les Enfants Terribles Award 2016, Winner of The Stella Wilkie Award 2016, Winner of the Eddies Award 2016, Winner of The Otherplace Balkan Award 2017), and is the founder and Artistic Director of Fat Rascal Theatre.

She is joined onstage by frequent collaborators Jamie Mawson, Allie Munro and Katie Wells (Beauty and the Beast: A Musical Parody, King’s Head Theatre and UK tour; Buzz: A New Musical, Brighton Fringe, York Theatre Royal, Edinburgh Fringe; Tom and Bunny Save the World, Edinburgh Fringe), and new company member Steffan Rizzi (The Secret Garden, The Barn Theatre; Pobol y Cwm and Respectable Girls, S4C)

***** “Fat Rascal Theatre are very quickly establishing themselves as a champion of British Comedy Musicals” DIVA Magazine

Following an outpouring of new superhero musicals with a male protagonist, Vulvarine is a tongue-in-cheek comedy with a feminist message; and after the release of superhero movies with a social and political focus such as Black Panther and Wonder Woman, Fat Rascal Theatre believe that now is the time for a new politically relevant superhero musical, combining pop culture and musical theatre with gender discussions to create a fresh, funny and relevant new show.

Winners of the Otherplace/Balkan Award, the Eddies Award, the VAULT festival ‘Festival Spirit’ Award and nominated for an Off West End Award, Fat Rascal Theatre has quickly become a home for new musical theatre, having written and produced 5 new musicals since its inception in 2016, including sell-out Edinburgh show Buzz: A New Musical. It is a company run by women, discussing social and political issues through an accessible and appealing format to engage a wider audience. They believe that theatre should aim to inspire, educate or liberate and should be available to everybody.

Glasgow Kings Theatre – until 26 January 2019

Reviewed by Linda McLaughlan

5*****

GLASGOW ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?

The audience at Glasgows’ Kings Theatre were ready to rock from the opening number clapping as though they were in the front row of a 1980s Rock Concert complete with spandex and a crop of Big Hair.

This is an American love story set to over 20 classic hard core rock anthems from the 1980s between Sherrie and Drew (Jodie Steele and Luke Walsh). Both have ambitions to making it Big (as an actress and a rock star respectively). They meet for the first time when Sherrie has her purse robbed by an opportunistic thief. The fall in love, fallout due to Drew misunderstanding and not reading the signs given off by Sherrie and eventually getting back together.

The scene is set on Sunset Strip in LA between two bars, The Venus (a gentle-man’s Bar) and the Bourbon Room a run down bar that hosts live bands every night.

Rock of Ages is narrated by Lonnie (Lucas Rush) a failed singer who is now a bar tender and a self proclaimed sound engineer. Lonny deliberately injects a brand of humour which is both cheesy but extremely witty and unpredictable full of one-liners, such as “I’m no Andrew Webber Sondheim”. But sings and acts his part to an extent that he makes the show and takes us away for a night of fun and escapism.

The music, staging, set up and singing is outstanding and encourages the audience to participate to Rock Anthems played by a live band of actors/musicians, such as We Built this City, Here I go Again, I Wanna Know What love Is, The Final Countdown and ending with Don’t Stop Believing which is the real anthem to the show as Sherrie and Drew try to find what it is they want and need.

The understanding required of the cast entirely made this show come alive from the owner of the Bourban Room, Dennis, (Kevin Kennedy) an old hippy who loves his bar and his passion for rock music which is played in it nightly to The owner of the Venus Club, Justice, (Zoe Birkitt) a soul singer who could bring the roof down with power of her voice or make you cry with the soft soulful vibes that she can sing. She found it tough getting a record deal then opened a lap dancing club just for gentlemen with money she saved rather than go back home.

Also bringing the house down is an unrecognisable Kevin Clifton From Strictly Come Dancing who Plays Rock God Stacee Jaxx. Clifton is a classic box office draw but shocks everyone with his dodgy wig and costume and a decent vocal range which is a revelation to all.

To produce this type of show it is obvious that the whole cast are talented making these rock anthems sound seamless with little effort especially Lucas Rush who deserved to be centre stage as Narrator Lonny.

Rock of Ages is in itself an advert for the 1980s and all that went with it. The breakneck pace at which it goes from first curtain to the final bows containing bucket loads of laughter and some of the best vocals and musicianship heard in Glasgow or any other stage for that matter.

Rock of Ages is guaranteed to keep your spirits high whilst putting a tune in your head that wont leave for days.

Outstanding!!

Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester, M2 5PD

2084 is an exciting new immersive production inspired by Orwell’s dystopian novel. It takes the audience inside a totalitarian state that monitors every act, word and thought of its citizens. In the era of Facebook, Google and Amazon, when everyone is tracked, analysed and influenced, George Orwell’s powerful vision has never been closer to realisation.

The production is set in a future where the state claims be the only guarantor of order but order comes at the price of absolute obedience. 2084 tells the story of two people who defy the regime and find that their intimate secrets are turned against them with shattering consequences.

Writer Adam Taub comments: When it was published, Orwell’s novel shocked readers with its vision of the future. 2084 updates that vision and explores how fragile are the freedoms that we take for granted.

This immersive experience places the audience at the heart of the action. Each person must decide what price they would pay to defy a regime that seeks to control them. Starring Aamira Challenger (Romeo & Juliet, Ostalgie), Robin Hellier (The Lehman Trilogy, The Hunted) and Simon
Gleave (Bleak House, Metamorphosis), 2084 is directed by immersive theatre expert Rosanna Mallinson (Silhouette in the Smoke, Dead Quiet).

The production is being premiered in Manchester Central Library. It is presented by Pure Expression, the immersive theatre company behind the sell-out production of Frankenstein in 2018. Pure Expression is an immersive theatre company that reimagines classic stories in unique locations.

Berwick Kaler Foundation aims to bring together theatre and community

As Berwick Kaler’s 40-year reign as pantomime dame comes to an end, York Theatre Royal has launched a fund to celebrate and continue his legacy.

“The Berwick Kaler Foundation will enable us to bring families, friends and communities together to share experiences and enjoy theatre in all its many forms,” said Executive Director Tom Bird.

“We want our pantomime audiences and our whole community to support the Berwick Kaler Foundation and help us to grow the YTR family.

“The theatre strives to be a place where everyone feels they are welcome and that they belong. We want to be accessible to all. We want our community to have a stake in what we do. We want to continue to engage, inspire and excite.”

The Sylvia and Colin Shepherd Charitable Trust, long-standing supporters of the theatre, has started the Foundation with a donation to support the work YTR does across the year in the community, particularly for children and young people.

The theatre’s target is to raise £200,000 in two years.

Berwick, whose final pantomime The Grand Old Dame of York marks his 40th anniversary as York Theatre Royal’s Dame, will be the Patron and figurehead of the Foundation. His role will include hosting fund-raising activities.

One of the first projects taken up by the Foundation will be funding the Access All Areas project for 12 months at a cost of £3,800. The project prioritises disadvantaged young people – people who do not already engage with York Theatre Royal, sometimes due to social, cultural or financial barriers.

Access All Areas is a free provision that is referral only and transport costs can be supported. All children are from York and surrounding areas. There are currently 15 children attending the weekly group. The project helps the young people progress into mainstream youth theatre, community shows like Everything Is Possible: The York Suffragettes and the annual TakeOver festival, which then allows new members to join the small supported group. The project has previously been funded by the Ed De Nunzio Charitable Trust.

The BK Foundation Fund will also support a £12,000 transport project around the production of Driving Miss Daisy in June. This will involve providing transport to and from the theatre through charities supporting older people in York.

How to donate: You can donate to the Berwick Kaler Foundation through the box office, at contactless donation points in the theatre, online @yorktheatreroyal.co.uk and by contacting the Development Team on 01904 715460 / [email protected]

York Citizens’ Theatre Trust is a registered charity.