Author: FairyPoweredProductions

York Theatre Royal – until Saturday 25th November.  Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

3***

The Original Theatre Company in association with Eastbourne Theatres present Frederick Knott’s play Wait Until Dark, which is probably best known for the 1967 film staring Audrey Hepburn, a role for which she was nominated for an Oscar .

The story is set in Notting Hill in the 1960’s, all staged in a downstairs flat. It follows Susy, who is blind and in fact is played for the first time by a blind actress (Katrina Jones), who has been left alone in her flat and becomes the target of 3 conmen, who are searching for a doll which is packed with heroin.

Mike (Jack Ellis) and Croker (Graeme Brookes) have been summoned to flat by Roat (Tim Treloar) and are somewhat reluctantly persuaded to help him retrieve the aforementioned doll. Mike manages to worm his way into her home convincing Susy that he is an old friend of her husband Sam. Croker is introduced as a policeman and the menacing Roat is first his father and then the father’s son, excusing his father’s behaviour. Confusing? I certainly thought so, especially with him running up and down the stairs, slamming doors and I did get a bit lost of who he was pretending to be, it all got a bit too much during the first half of the play.

Jones delivers an ok performance, but it was a bit over the top during the hostage scene with Roat and I did find that quite off putting. Ellis was affable as Mick and not threatening at all, not sure if he was meant to be. I did slowly warm to his character and did believe his attack of conscious towards the end. Treloar was certainly deranged as Roat, but at times his accent was all over the place and I wasn’t sure if he was even meant to have one, he was menacing though.

With a staircase in a basement flat, and period fixtures and fittings the staging is spot on. The lighting is crucial to this show and we were warned beforehand that there would be sections where there would be complete darkness. Obviously, the lighting, or should I say lack of, as well as the flickering strip light, is intended to emphasis the drama right up until the very end, and it does help the suspense.

After struggling with the first half with not being quite sure what was happening and why, I’m glad to say that after the interval the plot was less confusing and I did enjoy it more. There were some decent performances but the story was just a bit of nonsense and implausible, lacking in the suspense it was craving for, average at best.

Hull New Theatre – until 25 November 2017.  Reviewed by Catherine McWilliams

5*****

“Girls don’t write music, they teach it” says Carole King’s mother at the beginning of this musical, thankfully of course she ignored this piece of advice and we follow her progress from the young 16 year old selling her first piece of music to a performance at the Carnegie Hall as a multi Grammy award winner. And what music it is, from the early hits such as “It might as well rain until September” to “You’ve got a friend” and the stunning “Beautiful”.

Bronté Barbé is superb as Carole King, her voice is powerful and indeed beautiful, yet it is also full of pathos and poignancy. She is totally believable as the gauche young school girl growing into the married successful songwriter, who still somehow does not quite believe in herself. She never faltered in showing Carole King’s emotions and made us feel with her.

Grant McConvey as Gerry Goffin was convincing in his relationship with Carole, appearing almost contemptuous towards her as the relationship broke down. The audience last night was clearly fully immersed in the story, as when Carole finally told Gerry Goffin enough was enough there was a huge round of applause!

The story also includes the songs of Carole’s friends and song writing rivals Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann (played with just the right touch by Amy Ellen Richardson and Matthew Gonsalves), who add humour to the story.

The music is always at the centre of this production and the ensemble do a fabulous job of bringing it alive and evoking the period in which it was produced. There is slick dancing from “The Drifters” and “Shirelles” whilst “Little Eva” leads the Locomotion across the stage. Scenes and songs change rapidly and smoothly, the lighting and scenery taking us from office to homes to “on the roof”. A special mention should go to the costumes which accurately depicted the passing years.

Full of timeless music and superb talent, this show is definitely one to go and see.

Palace Theatre, Manchester – until 25 November 2017.  Reviewed by Marcus Richardson

5*****

Cilla Black was an iconic woman who most of us know either from TV or her music career, died suddenly from a fall two years ago.  The musical Cilla is a homage to her life and the start of her career. We see young Cilla just an average scouse girl in the 1960s, and we follow her rise to stardom. The musical included songs by her and the Beatles who she had close connections with for a long time.

I cannot put into words how good Cilla was, we are given the best vocals you will ever hear from all the cast, but Kara Lily Hayworth (Cilla) played the role with so much perfection and finesse, I’m sure Cilla would be pleased, with how she sang and just captured her iconic character that the nation loved. We see how she grew up in Liverpool listening to the ‘Big Three’ and then started performing with them, then we are introduced to her friend Richard who is better known as Ringo. We see her relationship with her partner Bobby, played superbly by Carl Au.  They share the song ‘You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling’ together in the second act which took the whole audience breaths away. How can anyone talk about Cilla with mentioning Brian Epstein, one of the most famous managers in the world, played by Andrew Lancel – who knows the character pretty well as he played the man himself in the production of ‘Epstein- The Man Who Made The Beatles’.  Needless to say he gave the role a stellar performance capturing his complex character and relationship with Cilla Black

The staging and costumes captured the 1960s so well, with everything having a seamless finish, the scene changes took no more that 5 seconds and with the detail that some scenes had I was impressed, as at some points there was a whole array of furniture. The costumes mirror the decade and looked stunning on stage.

I could force anyone to see a show at this moment in time it would be to see this show, it is an instant classic with the lovable characters and iconic songs that you will be singing along to, the songs like ‘Anyone Who Had a Heart’ and ‘You’re My World’. The musical is done to a standard that makes it seems like you aren’t even watching a show with the amount of precision from both the cast and crew.

Icarus Theatre Collective with Millenium Forum, Derry present
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Shakespeare for the Game of Thrones generation
International Tour – January-April 2018

The vicious, barbaric undercurrent in Shakespeare’s fear-filled tragedy erupts in Icarus Theatre’s kinetic and blood-thirsty production.

Unrivalled on the battlefield, Macbeth is rewarded with rank and favour by a grateful king but the war has left its scars. With each enemy Macbeth butchers, his lust for power takes a more menacing grip. Spectres slaughtered on the battlefield drip poison in his ear, and passions erupt as he ferociously seizes the throne. But, violence breeds violence, and a reign born in blood quickly spirals out of control as Macbeth’s demons return to destroy him.

Set in the 11th century and culminating in an epic battle filled with revenge, justice, and beheadings, Icarus Theatre blends the traditional and the physical to bring to life some of literature’s most vibrant language and characters.

This production centres around the idea that Macbeth himself is suffering from PTSD. Director Max Lewendel comments, War is hell, and medieval warfare even more so. There is something in the psychology of PTSD that resonates here in a very Hitchcockian kind of way. This world is a supernatural nightmare for Macbeth and I wanted to explore the idea that the horrors of whathe has done and seen lurk in every shadow, in every corner.

In addition to this new psychological element, many of the traditional male roles are here cast
as female characters, stressing the importance of gender parity on stage. This is a patriarchal
world, but one that is being challenged by powerful women pushing forward change.

WHATSONSTAGE ANNOUNCE RESULTS OF POLL ON THE NATION’S FAVOURITE SHOWTUNES

Leading theatre website, WhatsOnStage, launched a poll to find the nation’s favourite showtunes. With thousands of votes cast, the clear winner was “One Day More” from Les Miserables – reflecting the show’s huge popularity as the West End’s longest running musical, opening in 1985. It continues to play to packed houses today.

Les Miserables had 7 songs in the top 100, only eclipsed by the US phenomenon Hamilton with 8 songs – the latter opens next month in London at the Victoria Palace Theatre.

Wicked also performed strongly, with 4 songs in the top 100. The top composers were Lin Manuel Miranda with 10 songs, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Andrew Lloyd Webber both with 9 songs, followed by Stephen Sondheim and Alan Menken with 5 songs each.

WhatsOnStage’s Chief Operating Officer Sita McIntosh said today, “We had an unprecedented response to our top 100 showtunes of all time poll and the result shows that people’s favourite musical songs are a wonderfully varied mix. Tunes from shows such as Les Miserables and Hamilton, Wicked and Company, In the Heights and Matilda sit happily side by side.

“There were several appearances of songs from shows that have been recently revived – including Follies and Gypsy – as well as old school classics such as West Side Story. The list also clearly demonstrates the appetite for Hamilton, which is due to open in London next month. And isn’t it great to see a tune from new American musical Dear Evan Hansen – which hasn’t yet made it over to these shores – alongside veteran towering greats in the top ten? “

THE TOP 100:

1 “One Day More” from Les Miserables

2. “Defying Gravity” from Wicked

3. “The Phantom of the Opera” from The Phantom of the Opera

4. “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables

5. “Being Alive” from Company

6. “Alexander Hamilton” from Hamilton

7. “Seasons of Love” from Rent

8. “Waving Through a Window” from Dear Evan Hansen

9. “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl

10. “Tonight” from West Side Story

11-20

11. “Rose’s Turn” from Gypsy. 12. “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from Les Miserables. 13. “Music of the Night” from Phantom. 14. “For Good” from Wicked. 15. “On My Own” from Les Miserables. 16. “Memory” from Cats. 17. “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables. 18. “Stars” from Les Miserables. 19. “Somewhere” from West Side Story. 20. “My Shot” from Hamilton.

21-30

21. “No Good Deed” from Wicked. 22. “Send in the Clowns” from A Little Night Music. 23. “Springtime for Hitler” from The Producers. 24. “50 Percent” from Ballroom. 25. “Heaven On Their Minds” from Jesus Christ Superstar. 26. “Losing My Mind” from Follies. 27. “Wait for It” from Hamilton. 28. “Anthem” from Chess. 29. “I’m Here” from The Color Purple. 30. “And I Am Telling You” from Dreamgirls.

31-40

31. “Falling Slowly” from Once. 32. “Gethsemane” from Jesus Christ Superstar. 33. “Non-Stop” from Hamilton. 34. “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat” from Guys and Dolls. 35. “Burn” from Hamilton. 36. “The Wizard and I” from Wicked. 37. “This is the Moment” from Jekyll & Hyde. 38. “When I Grow Up” from Matilda. 39. “Yorktown” from Hamilton. 40. “96000” from In the Heights.

41-50

41. “Anything Goes” from Anything Goes. 42. “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” from Evita. 43 “Quiet” from Matilda. 44. “Raise You Up” from Kinky Boots. 45. “The Sound of Music” from The Sound of Music. 46. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel. 47. “A Weekend in the Country” from A Little Night Music. 48. “All That Jazz” from Chicago. 49. “Listen” from Dreamgirls. 50. “Do Re Mi” from Sound of Music.

51-60

51. “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” from Gypsy. 52. “Ring of Keys” from Fun Home. 53. “For Forever” from Dear Evan Hansen. 54. “Friend Like Me” from Aladdin. 55. “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess. 56. “I Am What I Am” from La Cage Aux Folles. 57. “I Know Him So Well” from Chess. 58. “If I Loved You” from Carousel. 59. “La Vie Boheme” from Rent. 60. “Take Me Or Leave Me” from Rent.

61-70

61. “Once and For All” from Newsies. 62. “Revolting Children” from Matilda. 63. “Santa Fe” from Newsies. 64. “Satisfied” from Hamilton. 65. “She Used To Be Mine” from Waitress. 66. “Singin’ in the Rain” from Singin’ in the Rain. 67. “Til I Hear You Sing” from Love Never Dies. 68. “Tomorrow” from Annie. 69. “The Room Where it Happens” from Hamilton. 70. “Gold” from Once.

71-80

71. “If I Were a Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof. 72. “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” from Avenue Q. 73. “Bui Doi” from Miss Saigon. 74. “Circle of Life” from The Lion King. 75. “I’m Still Here” from Follies. 76. “Javert’s Soliloquy” from Les Miserables. 77. “Luck Be A Lady” from Guys and Dolls. 78. “Make Them Hear You” from Ragtime. 79. “Man Up” from Book of Mormon. 80. “Stars and the Moon” from Songs For a New World.

81-90

81. “Out There” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. 82. “Put on Your Sunday Clothes” from Hello, Dolly!. 83. “Run Freedom Run” from Urinetown. 84. “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors. 85. “Sunday” from Sunday in the Park With George. 86. “Ol Man River” from Show Boat. 87. “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” from My Fair Lady. 88. “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” from Phantom of the Opera. 89. “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray. 90. “All That Matters” from Finding Neverland.

91-100

91. “America” from West Side Story. 92. “Any Dream Will Do” from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. 93. “Aquarius” from Hair. 94. “As Long As He Needs Me” from Oliver!. 95. “Breathe” from In the Heights. 96. “Cabaret” from Cabaret. 97. “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago. 98. “Dead Girl Walking” from Heathers. 99. “And Eve Was Weak” from Carrie the Musical. 100. “Electricity” from Billy Elliot.

Grand Opera House York – until Saturday 25th November.  Reviewed by Michelle Richardson

4****

Based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, Pick Me Up Theatre brings My Fair Lady to the stage at the Grand Opera House in York this week.

Most of us know the tale of Eliza Doolittle (Toni Feetenby) and her transformation from the cockney flower girl into an elegant lady, tutored by the smug and pompous Professor Henry Higgins (Rory Mulvihill), who is a linguistics expert. Egged on by Colonel Pickering (Mark Hird), they make a wager on whether or not Higgins will succeed and turn Eliza into a lady able to mix with royalty.

All Eliza wants to do is to own her own flower shop as opposed to selling flowers in the street, struggling to make a living. Eliza agrees to take lessons with Higgins, in fact she approaches him and offers to pay before moving into his house at 27a Wimpole Street, in the belief she will better herself and increase her chances in opening her own shop.

Before her transformation, Eliza is loud and brash, and cries like a strangled cat when things go wrong, wiping her nose on her sleeve in the process, but this all changes after her elocution lessons with Higgins. In fact, she is mistaken for European royalty following her transformation and outing at the Embassy Ball, a success all round, or is it?

Feetenby delivers a superb performance as the leading lady, her transformation is wonderful to watch and the work and effort put into her role with the changing of character and accents is amazing. She seamlessly delivers both parts with equal success. This is the third time she has played Eliza Doolittle over the years and you can tell how comfortable she is with the role. Mulvihil was convincing playing the arrogant, controlling, sometimes awkward and yet ultimately charming role of Professor Henry Higgins. His treatment of Eliza at time is so belittling and condescending, trying to really disguise his true feelings, you couldn’t help but love and loathe him at the same time. Just like Feetenby, My Fair Lady is not new to him having previously played Higgins in an earlier production. The lead characters were superb, perfectly cast and performed with great voices.

I must also mention Sam Hird as Freddy Eynsford-Hill, the lovelorn young chap in love with Eliza, his singing just blew me away, what a voice!

The stage was well used and the choreography was excellent, especially considering the amount of performers there were on stage. The costumes were also excellent, at times beautiful, and the amount of changes that all the cast had was staggering, how all managed that so successfully is a feat on its own. All I can say is that the back of house did a fantastic job and a huge well done must go to all who we never get to see.

It is always great to hear live music at theatre show and this was no exception, though at times I did find the orchestra to be overly loud and not necessarily always consistent in their playing. Saying that it did not detract from the singing or overall effect of the show. I did also find that there were a couple of scenes that really dragged on just a bit too long for me, which made for a very long show.

Overall the large cast worked well on stage, with near flawless performances by all. I’m always amazed at how supposedly amateur productions put on such professional shows and I had to keep reminding myself that it was in fact an amateur show, the only way I could tell was because of the very large cast. It was a credit to the well-loved film, and a brilliant display of teamwork and how amateur theatre should be done.

23rd MARCH – 15th APRIL 2018

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 24th NOVEMBER AT 8.00AM

STARRING

TORVILL & DEAN

AS TOUR HOSTS AND HEAD JUDGES

The Dancing on Ice Live UK Tour will be skating back across the country next year, starring the legendary Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.  Following a four year break, this spectacular new show will perform all over the UK throughout March and April 2018.  Tickets for this live extravaganza will go on sale at 8.00am on Friday 24^th November.

Joining Torvill & Dean on tour will be a host of celebrities and professional skaters from the new Dancing on Ice series, which starts on ITV in January next year.  Jayne & Chris will host the tour once more and take up their new roles as Head Judges.  The King and Queen of Ice will be on hand to give their expert critical feedback and their all-important scores to the celebrities and their skating partners.

In addition to the scores from the Ice Panel Judges, arena audiences can text vote from their mobile phones for their favourite skating couple.  Audience votes will then be added to the scores from the Judges to decide the overall celebrity winning couple.  They will then take to the ice to perform a magical finale. 

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean said: “We are delighted that Dancing on Ice Live is touring again next year.  We really enjoyed hosting the last tour in 2014, so we’ll be doing that again, plus we’re taking on our new roles as Head Judges.  The tour has struck such a huge chord with audiences around the country ever since it began in 2007 and we can’t wait to be back on the road in 2018, with a bigger and better live show for all the family to enjoy.”

The 27 show spectacular will open at The SSE Arena, Wembley on 23 March.  The tour will then visit some of the biggest entertainment venues across the UK, including Sheffield’s FlyDSA Arena, Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena, Manchester Arena, the SSE Hydro in Glasgow and a homecoming at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena.  The tour culminates at the Arena Birmingham on 15 April.

Tickets for DANCING ON ICE LIVE TOUR 2018

will be on sale from Friday 24^th November

23 – 25 March             London: The SSE Arena, Wembley             0844 815 0815

(Friday 23^rd at 7.30pm, Saturday 24^th at 2.30pm & 7.30pm, Sunday 25^th at 1.30pm & 6.30pm)

27– 29 March             Sheffield: FlyDSA Arena                                0114 256 5656

(Tuesday 27^th at 7.30pm, Wednesday 28^th at 7.30pm, Thursday 29^th at 7.30pm)

30 March – 01 April    Newcastle: Metro Radio Arena                    0844 493 6666

(Friday 30^th at 7.30pm, Saturday 31^st at 2.30pm & 7.30pm and Sunday 1^st at 1.30pm)

03 – 04 April                Manchester Arena                                         0844 847 8000

(Tuesday 3^rd April at 7.30pm and Wednesday 4^th April at 2.30pm & 7.30pm)

06 – 08 April                Glasgow: SSE Hydro                                      0844 395 4000

(Friday 6^th at 7.30pm, Saturday 7^th at 2.30pm & 7.30pm, Sunday 8^th at 1.30pm)

10 – 12 April                Nottingham: Motorpoint Arena                  0843 373 3000

(Tuesday 10^th at 7.30pm, Wednesday 11^th at 7.30pm and Thursday 12^th at 7.30pm)

13 – 15 April               Arena Birmingham                                        0844 338 8000

(Friday 13^th at 7.30pm, Saturday 14^th at 2.30pm & 7.30pm, Sunday 15^th at 1.30pm & 6.30pm)

Tickets: £35 – £65 (bands venue dependent) 

The O2 prices are £36 – £66 (Inclusive of a £1 per ticket venue facility fee)

All ticket prices are subject to a booking fee

To book tickets or for further information visit: www.dancingonicetour.co.uk 

Facebook:           /dancingonicetour

Instagram:          @DancingOnIceTour

Twitter:                @DOI_Tour

Hashtags:            #DOITour

                                #DancingOnIceTour

Emma Rice’s production of Noël Coward’s ‘Brief Encounter’ to play The Lowry

Brief Encounter
Tue 20 – Sat 24 February 2018

Kneehigh’s production of Noël Coward’s ‘Brief Encounter,’ adapted and directed by Emma Rice, will play The Lowry (Tue 20 – Sat 24 February 2018) before a West End run. 

The award-winning Kneehigh Theatre production will be produced by David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers, Jenny & Steve Wiener and The Old Vic. 

Emma Rice said, “I’ve always loved getting lost in the dark, and the cinema is one of the best places to do it.  However, a film doesn’t change.  It carries on whether you are there or not; performances are captured forever, never altering. 

“My production of ‘Brief Encounter’ combines the romance of cinema with all that live theatre can offer; magic, passion, surprise, suggestion and naughtiness.  I carry this show in my heart and couldn’t be more excited to return to this heart-pounding production. Radical and romantic, nostalgic but oh, so relevant – let passions ignite!”

Producers David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers said, “Emma Rice’s award-winning theatrical production of Brief Encounter is one of the highlights of our producing career. It is incredibly exciting to bring it to The Lowry before a West End run. Our wonderful stage production of ‘Brief Encounter’ switches between live action and film, so we will once again be turning the cinema into a theatre especially for this show.

“We are very proud to be working again with Emma on this spellbinding production, which we hope a new generation will now have the chance to see, as well as those who may have missed it the first time or loved it so much they just have to come back and see it again.”

A chance meeting in a railway station café where they were brought together by Laura ‘getting a little piece of grit in my eye’, led to one of the most haunting and heart-breaking love stories ever told.  The award-winning Kneehigh production of Noël Coward’s ‘Brief Encounter,’ which was originally produced at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, triumphed in the West End in 2008 and subsequently received great critical acclaim on Broadway and went on to tour worldwide.  It was described by Ben Brantley in the New York Times as ‘surely the most enchanting work of stagecraft ever inspired by a movie.’

‘Brief Encounter’ will be directed by Emma Rice, designed by Neil Murray, with lighting by Malcolm Rippeth, original music by Stu Barker, sound by Simon Baker and projection by Gemma Carrington & Jon Driscoll.