Director: Michael Strassen Based on the film Passion of Love by Ettore Scola, which itself is an adaption of the mid 19th Century Iginio Ego Tarchetti novel, this musical is one of the later and lesser rated musicals of the late Stephen Sondheim and James Lappin collaboration. First staged in 1994, the musical is centred around its namesake: Passion. It therefore feels so appropriate to witness this musical, shared on the small stage of the Hope Mill Theatre, allowing the piece to revel in its own intimacy in such an immediate and personal setting, letting each audience member feel like a…
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.
Co-Directors: Conrad Murray & David Cumming Presented by BAC Beatbox Academy, Frankenstein: How To Make a Monster is an innovative and far from monstrous reimagination of the classic gothic tale. Bursting onto the stage at Contact Theatre in a dynamic explosion of poetry, music and theatre, the show draws an interesting parallel between the treacherous man-made creature of Mary Shelley’s nineteenth century novel and the impact and potentially similarly insidious effects of social media, internet bullying and cancel culture in the present day. It’s powerful, punchy and poetic when it sticks to the original material, but the beatbox covers of existing tunes…
Book: Jessie Nelson Music & Lyrics: Sara Bareilles Director: Diane Paulus Based on the 2007 film, Waitress tells the story of Jenna (Chelsea Halfpenny), as she searches for the courage to leave her loveless marriage. Jenna turns to baking as her escape from reality, creating fantastical pies in the hopes of it being her ticket to independence. Providing a different form of escape is the new doctor in town, who adds to Jenna’s growing list of moral dilemmas. Stir in to this a tablespoon of Sara Bareilles’ brilliant score, a sprinkling of comedy and a dollop of tenderness and you…
Music & Lyrics: Jack Dean Director: Jack Dean The story of Jeremiah Brandreth leading the Luddite Rebellion is rich with intrigue, passion and tragedy. Brandreth was the last man in Britain to be beheaded by axe for high treason, and yet it’s a tale relatively forgotten, or at best misunderstood. Jack Dean admits that the story fits nicely with his own politics, and it’s a timely one with the cost of living rising and an increasing number of people in poverty. Brandreth and many others like him, working in the Nottinghamshire mills, made their voices heard about the state of…
Writer: Gerry Linford Director: Paul Goetzee After being postponed due to Covid, brand new comedy Macca & Beth is finally being staged throughout May at Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre. Macca & Beth tells the story of a young couple from Liverpool who take a trip to Scotland for the reading of Macca’s late uncle’s will. Beth (Emma Bispham) isn’t happy as she was expecting a summer holiday, but is instead stuck in a blizzard, in the Scottish highlands, in the middle of July. The play opens with Macca (Danny O’Brien) and Beth arriving at eccentric Uncle Dougal’s home. The place…
Writer: Emily Brontë Adaptor: Emma Rice Director: Emma Rice Although Emma Rice’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights could be said to be gonzo rather than gothic it is surprisingly respectful of the source material. The play follows closely the plot of the book with Lockwood (Sam Archer) getting a frosty welcome when he pays a visit to the brooding Heathcliff (Liam Tamne) from whom he is renting a property. Compelled by stormy weather to stay overnight in Wuthering Heights, Lockwood is horrified by a vision of a phantom desperately begging to be allowed entrance. The Leader of the Moor (Nandi Bhebhe)…
Writer: Tim Foley Director: Jaz Woodcock-Stewart Tim Foley’s Electric Rosary received the Judges’ Award at The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting. Award-winning plays prompt certain expectations – perceived as worthy but dull – and a degree of over-thinking. While Electric Rosary touches on themes such as sacrifice and the worrying impact of technological advancement it demonstrates the perils of making such assumptions by being eccentrically charming and very funny. St Grace’s Convent is in severe decline with only a handful of nuns, an acting mother superior, a shrinking congregation, and insufficient funds to undertake a planned pilgrimage to the convent’s spiritual…
Music, Lyrics and book: Jim Steinman Director: Jay Scheib The award-winning musical Bat out of Hell written by Jim Steinman and based on Meatloaf’s music is finally on tour. This week the show hits Stoke-on-Trent, much to the delight of local fans of the artist and musical alike. As ever there is trepidation as to whether it will live up the hype from the last few years. This tour is dedicated to Steinman and Meatloaf who sadly both recently passed away. They left a legacy that director Jay Scheib has the tough task to honour. Strat is a leader of…