Book: Julian Fellowes Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: Glenn Slater Director: Laurence Connor Based on the hit Jack Black film of the same name, Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Julian Fellowes’ musical follows the misadventures of an out-of-work musician struggling to pay his rent. When the opportunity arises to “teach” at Horace Green School, he leaps at the chance – however, what transpires is not only a lesson for the staff, parents and students of the school but also for Dewey himself. Julian Fellowes (probably best known as the writer/creator of Downtown Abbey,) keeps his adaptation very true to the original film…
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: Arnold Bennett Adaptor: Deborah McAndrew Director: Conrad Nelson It’s difficult to imagine a more successful fusion of the different elements that make up a play than Claybody Theatre’s The Card. There’s the original novel of course, a delightfully comical account by Arnold Bennett of the stages by which Edward Henry (Denry) Machin rises from poverty to become Bursley’s youngest Mayor. Deborah McAndrew’s adaptation leaves very little out of Denry’s trickery, from the moment when the 2022 Mayor introduces the sculptor who has fashioned his likeness, the cloth is thrown back – and there is Denry, in typically cheeky pose.…
Writer: Sandy Rustin Director: Mark Bell A new British play based on an American play that was based on an American film that was based on a British board game… yes, you read that correct! Sandy Rushtin’s new Cluedo-based farcical play has all the right components to make for an enjoyable evening. However, much like its outdated board game ancestor, the enjoyment wears thin and it’s not as exciting or as interesting as one might have hoped for. Set in the 1940s at a country estate Mr A Body, has invited a host of guests all under various pseudonyms to…
Writer: Samantha O’Rourke Director: Ameera Conrad Rhyl, North Wales, once a booming seaside resort and holiday destination for many families across the North West. Now a town in need of major regeneration and a Nando’s. Set in a high school the production charts the journey of five students forced together for an 8-week GSCE drama project. A project that will see friendships develop, destroyed and challenged through a variety of subjects and topics. Writer Samantha O’Rourke based the play on her experiences as a teaching assistant. O’Rourke rightly so wants to tackle some very serious topics, but the decision to…
Writers: Theresa Heskins, Andrew Pollard & Michael Hugo Director: Theresa Heskins Tunnelling their way back into full-scale productions one can’t help but make a comparison between The New Vic Theatre’s intricate planning of this show about the greatest of escapes from a German prisoner of war camp over the past couple of years to the actual events that took place in 1944. Tom, Dick & Harry is an elaborate and highly engineered retelling of the Allied escape from Stalag Luft III nearly eighty years ago. The 1963 film The Great Escape starring Steve McQueen and trouser legs full of sand…
Lyrics: Marcellus Schiffer Music: Mischa Spoliansky English Adaptor: Steven Edis Director: Anna Cabré-Verdiell Manchester’s Hope Mill has a reputation for staging vintage musicals which never made it to the UK. In the past these have originated in the USA but Es Liegt in der Luft originally staged in Germany in 1928 finally crosses the Channel in a new translation by Steven Edis as It’s In The Air! Well, almost. The production at Hope Mill comprises a single act featuring nine songs extracted from the full 24-song score. It is intended as a way of assessing audience appetite/ funding opportunities to…
Writers: Betty Comden & Adolph Green Songs: Nacio Herb Brown & Arthur Freed Director: Jonathan Church During the Summer heatwave, there has never been a better time for Singin’ in the Rain to come splashing (quite literally) into Liverpool. This touring production, directed by Jonathan Church, is the critically acclaimed 1952 musical comedy movie brought to the stage. It has all the much-loved songs, one-liners and magic that made the original film such a success, with a few surprises thrown in to keep it fresh. The story is based around the rise of talking pictures and the efforts one studio…
Writer/Director: Charlie Chaplin Music: Charlie Chaplin, played live by the Manchester Camerata orchestra The Kid, written and directed by Charlie Chaplin in 1921, demonstrated comedy could go beyond quick gags and sustain a feature-length narrative with elements of drama as well as laughs. The showing of this silent movie at Manchester’s HOME is categorised not as a film but an event. Its significance being the soundtrack, which Chaplin composed for the film’s theatrical reissue in 1972, is played live by the Manchester Camerata orchestra as the movie is shown. Rather than being screened in one of HOME’s many cinemas, the…