Writers and co-lyricists: Jonathan Ainscough and Caitlyn Burt Composer and co-lyricist: Yshani Perinpanayagam Director: Natasha Harrison The British Youth Music Theatre, producers of The Clockmaker’s City, is a charitable organisation offering 11-21 year olds training and opportunities to realise their creative potential. The Covid lockdown necessitated changes to working practices including staff working from home and meetings being held remotely over the internet. This introduced a degree of flexibility often perceived as beneficial to staff. The Clockmaker’s City imagines the reverse – a city so tightly regulated deviation from the norm is not permitted and workers are liable to be…
Author: The Reviews Hub - North West
The Reviews Hub - North West
The North West team is under the editorship of John McRoberts. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. Our mission is to provide the most in-depth, nationwide arts coverage online.
Writer: Le Navet Bete (Nick Bunt, Al Dunn, & Matt Freeman) and John Nicholson Director: John Nicholson Mighty Boosh meets Greek mythology in Oh Zeus!. Anyone who loves surreal comedy will find Oh Zeus! a fun night out with friends. Packed with slapstick, wigs and strange antics, Oh Zeus! follows the king of the gods, Zeus, as he begrudgingly comes to terms with his daughter Hebe’s wedding to a mortal. Twists and turns make even the wildest fever dreams seem mundane. With the three actors of Le Navet Bête sharing 40 characters throughout the production, the action centres on mortal…
Director: Bryony Kimmings There are theatrical productions that cast a spell over their audience, and true to its name, Bog Witch does exactly that from the moment Bryony Kimmings steps onto the stage. Equal parts folklore, memoir and fever dream, this striking solo show is an exquisitely crafted exploration of identity, belonging and the wild places that exist both around us and within us. As the audience settled into their seats at Storyhouse, there was an undeniable sense of uncertainty. No one quite seemed to know what they were about to witness. Kimmings emerges in a delightfully bedraggled costume, immediately…
Writer: Helen Redcliffe Director: Rob Green & Lucy Thatcher This summer, Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre and Storyhouse in the Park are taking us back to the summer of 1969. In a quiet little country village, clinging on to Britain’s ‘glorious past’ or should I say, frozen in time following the tragedies of war, the locals are suddenly imposed upon by a music festival, set up to save a local farm. Through the drab and dreary airs of Abide With Me come the songs of revolution and hope, as the audience are placed right in the centre of the Sun…
Book: Daniel Bye Music: Bay Bryan and Claire O’Connor Director: Elvi Piper It’s the season where outdoor theatre takes centre stage and in the spotlight this year at Williamson Park in Lancaster it’s Robin Hood. Written by Daniel Bye, directed by Elvi Piper and presented by The Dukes, this adaptation of a well known classic is full of humour, with catchy music by Bay Bryan and Claire O’Connor. It follows Rob (Joe Parker), who suddenly finds himself a hero after killing the original Robin Hood, as he navigates the baddy Sheriff (Ian Crowe) who is trying to marry off the…
Book: Patricia Resnick Music and Lyrics: Dolly Parton Director: Paul Jepson 9 to 5 is a show packed with Southern charm. The girl power story with Dolly Parton music is the perfect night out for fans of the classic film and Dolly Parton fans alike. The storyline follows Dora Lee, Violet, and Judy as they navigate being women in the workplace during the 80s. Their chauvinistic boss, Mr Hart, relentlessly bullies and harasses them and keeps them from fulfilling their true potential, so they fight back. For an independent production company, Landmark Theatres provides as good a show as patrons find at the…
Writer: Che Tligui Co-Creators: Callum Burns & Joseph Stanley A promising start, with laugh-out-loud Northern wit and humour, but one that never quite gives its intriguing characters the opportunity to fully unravel. Fly on the Wall Productions presents a modern take on an Ibsen-style one-room drama, offering a one-act dose of Northern realism. Set against the bleak backdrop of a cold January Sunday morning in 2008, we’re invited into a council flat where two young men are trying to navigate unemployment, financial hardship and an uncertain future. Written by Che Tligui and co-created by Callum Burns and Joseph Stanley, who…
Writer:Kieran Lynn Director: Hannah Noone Outlaws – A Robin Hood Story by Storyhouse at their annual Open Air Theatre, proves that some stories are so familiar, they seem incapable of surprising an audience. Yet this spirited retelling most certainly does. Performed in the gloriously intimate Grosvenor Open Air Theatre, the production transforms the theatre-in-the-round into a medieval kingdom, with the audience surrounding the action on all sides. Director Hannah Noone makes full use of the unique space, ensuring the action never feels static and allowing every corner of the stage to become part of the storytelling. Rather than relying on…