Author: The Reviews Hub - Yorkshire & North East

Writesr: Ian Kelly and Kenneth Tindall Music : Kerry Muzzey Choreographer & Artistic Director: Kenneth Tindall The spellbinding character of Casanova, a person not afraid to be himself, a polymath, a writer not just an infamous womaniser is portrayed magnificently in this Northern Ballet production of Casanova. First premiered in 2017, it was Kenneth Tindall’s first full length ballet. As choreographer and scenario writer he worked closely with biographer Ian Kelly to create the ballet. Taken from Casanova’s own memoirs it is based on the story of his life and the women in his life. Varied scenes provide opportunities for…

Writer:  Sandy Rustin Director: Mark Bell Was it Colonel Mustard with the revolver in the study? Or perhaps Miss Scarlett in the billiard room with the lead piping? Entrenched into British vocabulary these characters and murder weapons have formed many of our childhood pastimes on rainy Sunday afternoons. The board game on which this play is based needs no introduction. This Cluedo, though, is a whodunnit of silly proportions. Taking Jonathan Lynn’s screenplay from the magnificent 1985 film Clue, writer Sandy Ruskin has relocated the action from 1950s America embroiled in McCarthyism to post war 1940s Britain as Westminster replaces…

Writer: Alison Scurfield Director: Graeme Thompson In 2020, Live Theatre responded to the theatre’s closure by setting out to invest in the future of theatre in the region. They did this by awarding 13 bursaries to emerging theatre makers. Intergalactic (Petals and Constellations) is one of the pieces thus created, playing as part of Live’s Elevator Festival to showcase the new work. This the first full-length performance of a play by Alison Scurfield. Both in its storytelling and in the characterisations, it is an impressive debut by any standards. Sixteen-year-old Johnny is bright, articulate and obsessed, both with the science…

Writers: Jack Weinstock & Willie Gilbert Director: Bob Thomson Not to be confused with the 2002 film of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg (and the subsequent musical based on it), this Catch Me If You Can is a small ensemble thriller that debuted on Broadway in 1965. Based on a French play by Robert Thomas, this American version was written by Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert, sketch comedy and television writers who also contributed to the book for the 1961 musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The wit that Weinstock and Gilbert brought to How…

Director and Choreographer: Kenneth Tindall Composer: Kerry Muzzey Northern Ballet are back on stage again to bring audiences the sumptuously decadent and scandalously erotic story of Casanova, the 18th Italian nobleman whose name is synonymous with sex and womanising. But while his relationships are what he is famous for, is there more to the man himself? Did you know, for example, that the famous seducer started life studying for the priesthood? That he was initially the seduced? That the debauchery only really started after his fabulous escape from prison? Casanova wants to look beyond the fame and at the heart…

Book: Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice Music: Bob Gaudio Lyrics: Bob Crewe Director: Des McAnuff Doo wopping its way into Bradford until 19th March, Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical following Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons journey from the streets of New Jersey to the Hall of Fame. Their journey to stardom takes them through periods of time in prison, various debts, family death, mob connections and of course, music making. If the band famed for being the soundtrack of a generation is not from your generation, don’t worry, there’s little chance their music by Bob Gaudio has passed…

Writer: Lindsay Rodden Director: Amy Golding Here is a co-production between Northern Stage, Curious Monkey and Newcastle University. It is informed by work with sanctuary seekers from around the world and the University’s research project on young refugees’ experiences. This performance was preceded by a curtain raiser performed by Curious Monkey’s Arriving Group, sanctuary seekers who helped develop the play. The play fits into Northern Stage’s This is Now, billed as ‘A year-long festival… asking important questions about the issues of today..’ It could hardly be more timely to consider the plight of refugees and asylum seekers, particularly in the…

Writer: Richard Bean  Director: Mark Babych   There’s been a certain buzz among Hull’s theatrical circles surrounding their theatre’s 50th anniversary celebrations. This comic new play written by local lad and international playwright Richard Bean, is set in a house-come-rehearsal room just off  ‘Essle Rerd’ and  it really doesn’t get more ‘Ull than that ! This patchy but cleverly written offering is very Bean, very Truck.  Hull Truck was formed as an experimental theatre company in 1971.  Believing that theatre could change the world, Mike Bradwell moved to Hull because of the cheap rent and because he believed that theatre in…