Tag Archives: Newcastle Under Lyme

Writer: Mark Herman Adaptor: Paul Allen Director: Conrad Nelson           Reviewer: Mel Duncan Revived in recognition of the 30-year anniversary of the 1984 miner’s strike, Brassed Off has been enjoying the limelight in performances, professional and amateur, up and down the country.  The poignant tale of a community brought to their knees by a Government not fully understanding the implications of decisions ...

Writer: Robert Louis Stevenson Adaptor and director: Theresa Heskins Reviewer: Jay Nuttall Artistic director Theresa Heskins writes in her programme notes that after consultation with focus groups of children as to what should be on their stage at Christmas the overwhelming consensus involved pirates, treasure and fights. And so, bowing to popular opinion, Treasure Island is in full production as ...

Writer: Maxine Peake Director: Gemma Fairlie Reviewer: Carol Lovatt It seems fitting to write a review of Beryl by Maxine Peake on International Women’s Day. The world-beating cyclist Beryl Burton from Yorkshire, was a woman who soared to incredible sporting highs at a time when women were not taken seriously in the competitive cycling world,  In fact, it was Beryl ...

Writer: Edmond Rostand Adaptor: Deborah McAndrew Director: Conrad Nelson Reviewer: Matthew Bagnall Both heart-warming and heart-breaking in equal measure, this adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergerac is a poetic delight. Taking a classic and reimagining it into a culturally relevant piece of art is no mean feat, yet Northern Broadsides consistently achieve this through their adaptations. Cyrano is ...

  Reviewer: Carol Lovatt Alan Ayckbourn’s The Karaoke Theatre Company are something completely different and the world premiere of their eclectic and riotously funny show is currently being performed at the New Vic Theatre in Staffordshire. To say it is a ‘live’ production where anything can happen is apt in the extreme. It is a feast of innovation, creative licence ...

Writer/Director: Alan Ayckbourn Reviewer: Carol Lovatt Henceforward is a dark, clever and uncompromising story about the interplay between humans and machines. Set in the studio of a deep and artistic man, Jerome, a father, a musician and a tortured soul, it focuses on his quest to win back his estranged daughter from her dominant and caustic mother and the depths ...

Writer: Geraldine McCaughrean Adaptor/Director: Theresa Heskins Reviewer: Carol Lovatt Everyone knows the story of Peter Pan, or so it seems. The story of a little boy who can fly and lives in Neverland along with other lost boys and Tinkerbell and her mischievous band of fairies. Peter’s days are spent making Captain Hook’s life as problematic as possible while creating ...

Book: Betty Comden &Adolph Green Music: Nacio Herb Brown Lyrics: Arthur Freed Director: Elizabeth Newman Reviewer: Carol Lovatt The New Vic’s latest co-production with Bolton’s Octagon Theatre of Singin’ in the Rain is a show not to be missed. Full of memorable songs written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, laugh-out-loud antics, clever choreography plus heaps of love and ...