Author: The Reviews Hub - Yorkshire & North East

Composers: John Adams and Steve Reich Opera North spares no pains to offer a stimulating programme in the Howard Assembly Room and Steve Reich’s Different Trains proved to be a riveting conclusion to this short, but compelling, afternoon concert. In a haze of dry ice, with lamps glowing and fading, a string quartet from the Orchestra of Opera North added the hustle of trains, the sound of their whistles and the tragedy of the death camps to a pre-recorded tape. Dating from 1988, Different Trains owes its existence to the fact that Reich had come to realise that, as a…

Writer: William Humble Director: Robin Herford When you stage a play about arguably the funniest writer of the 20th century, it should raise more than the odd snicker. The first half alternates P.G. (Plum) Wodehouse (Robert Daws) writing a letter to his beloved stepdaughter, Snorkles (really Leonora) with reminiscences of his marriage and his lifelong friendship with Guy Bolton, uncommunicative conversations with his would-be biographer, mixing the drinks, doing his morning exercises and the odd song. The problem with the songs is that the Wodehouse song we all know is Bill – hardly suitable for a chap to sing -…

Writer: Laura Wade Director: Tamara Harvey and Hannah Noone Was life easier in the fifties, in the roles middle income men and women were expected to play? Judy (Jessica Ransome) looks at that era through rose tinted glasses and aspires to be that domestic goddess, the ever attentive, stay-at-home wife. She becomes locked in a self-imposed fantasy world of the bygone time. Her husband, Johnny (Neil McDermott), also a fan of the fifties, discovers that all is not bliss living in a make believe, particularly when financial difficulties arise. He does not get the promotion he had hoped for at…

Book: Kyle Jarrow Director: Tara Overfield Wilkinson Who knew what to expect from The SpongeBob Musical? It arrived in Bradford tonight to the delight of fans young and old, and those just interested to find out what it’s all about. Based on the series SpongeBob SquarePants by Stephen Hillenburg, with a book by Kyle Jarrow, SpongeBob the Musical follows SpongeBob and his friends as they save Bikini Bottom from a volcanic eruption that threatens to take down their town and end the world. There is much fun for all the family interspersed throughout the show, it’s silly and innocent enough…

Writer: Shelagh Stephenson Director: Jack McNamara Debuting at The Royal Exchange Theatre in 1998, Stephenson’s play was inspired by the painting, “An Experiment on a Bird in the air pump” by Joseph Wright. It is seen as an homage to Stoppard’s time-shifting play Arcadia and takes place in the same Newcastle house in two time periods, both New Year’s Eves, in 1799 and 1999. It juxtaposes the past and the present, science and the arts, men and women and the social classes, each time as society stands on the brink of a new century. It was performed here as a…

Writer: Tajinder Singh Hayer Director: Madeleine O’Reilly Public Acts is a nationwide initiative to create extraordinary acts of theatre and community. Cast’s second Public Acts performance follows the triumph of last year’s Doncastrian Chalk Circle, a joyful adaptation of the Brechtian classic from award-winning writer Chris Bush. This time the community ensemble, with professional performer Terence Rae as Polyphemus, take on the Greek epic poem The Odyssey by Homer. This is part two of five, with the other parts being taken on by community companies across the UK. Also following The Odyssey on its trek across the UK is The…

Writer: Dan Lovatt Director: Heather Carroll The idea is irreproachable: Divided Culture Company’s play dealing frankly with the problems of poverty, particularly as it comes unexpectedly to previously stable families, is supported by buckets for local charities and St. Catherine’s Church Centre’s work is publicised by leaflets. Unfortunately the play, though it bursts into life in the closing quarter hour, lacks the emotional impact the subject deserves. Nobody could accuse Dan Lovatt of taking his time at the beginning. Barely is the curtain up than Kivan Dene as Paul staggers in downstage left and collapses on the settee, having suffered…

Writer and Lyrics: Poppy Hollman Music: Amal El-Sawad Director: Marianne McNamara It may be raining outside, but you know Summer is on the way when Mikron take to the road. This astonishing company works on a simple creative principle: take two topics (generally very English ones) each year, commission plays about them, then take four actors, all skilled in at least one musical instrument, to perform them and, finally, head off to the playing fields, village halls and canal-side pubs of England for the summer. The first couple of months finds the company travelling by van from its Marsden base;…