Originally published by L.S. Media. May 3rd 2011.
Brian May’s name is already assured in the annals of rock music just by being part of the British band Queen and yet time doesn’t seem to diminish his joy at being on stage playing the songs that made him an iconic figure and by making the first night on tour with Kerry Ellis at the prodigious Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool, it set the standard very high for the remainder of the tour.
Picture from Liverpool Live
Cast: Nicola McAuliffe, Paul Kemp, James Holmes, Tina Gambe, Emma Gregory, Fiz Marcus, Benedict Sandiford, Martin Wimbush, Janet Harrison.
From the mind of one of the most unique of British playwrights, comes one of the most fascinating pieces of theatre to have been envisaged and produced and given that certain inspired finish that only Yorkshire born Alan Bennett can write is the play The Lady in the Van.
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Originally published by L.S. Media. May 11th 2011.
L.S. Media Rating *****
The Wall is one of those seminal albums from the last 50 years that seems to have transcended the idea of music and theatre being a separate entity. Its main writer, Roger Waters and the guys that made up one of Britain’s most loved rock bands, Pink Floyd, are so ingrained in its effect on the national psyche that it continues to sell in massive numbers and fans of the band continue to hold onto copies of their vinyl and tape even in the face of downloads.
L. S. Media Rating: *****
Cast: David Morrissey, Julia Ford, Mark Arends, Ken Bradshaw, Richard Bremner, Neil Caple, Matthew Flynn, Gillian Kearney, Syrus Lowe, Gavin Marshall, Shaun Mason, Nathen McMullen, Eileen O’Brien.
It may not have been an easy process taking one of the great works by William Shakespeare, however in Macbeth, David Morrissey, Julia Ford and Gemma Bodinetz and all those that make up the team at the Everyman Theatre, the Liverpool public put their collective trust in the final big scale performance that will be held at this iconic Liverpool theatre before the extensive redevelopment that’s due to start.
Cast: Ben Addis, Marti Pellow, Sarah Earnshaw, Sabrina Carter, Mark McGee, Amira Matthews, Michael Taibi, Martin Dickinson, Matt Stevens, Jacob Chapman, Jon De Ville, James Gant, Daniel Robinson.
L.S. Media Rating: *****
Jekyll and Hyde is a story that has endured and thrilled generations of readers, the idea of a split personality and the notion of dealing with a darker, more insidious side is one that has prevailed since the book was first written during the 1880’s.
Originally published by L.S. Media. May 17th 2011. 
Kate Bush has long been considered an enigma, part immense talent that has inspired so many other artists and fans alike, part recluse, never really giving too much away to the point that some critics and reviewers become exasperated and ignore the music behind the woman.
It is to Kate’s credit that she has survived for so long in a business that can cruelly tear people apart just for not releasing a new album every couple of years. Kate herself hasn’t recorded a new album since 2005 with the release of the sensual Aerial and although there are rumours of a brand new set of songs that will be unleashed onto the British public at some point, Kate has decided to revisit older works and give them a new edge.
Originally published by L.S. Media. May 17th 2011.
It’s rare to come across an album that is so cool that you listen to it a couple of times just to make sure your ears weren’t playing tricks on you the first time round. Conceived by Miles Hunt of the Wonderstuff, Shared 2, is as it sounds, a collaboration between some of the U.K’s best musicians and although you may not have heard of some of the artists, when you hear the album it will encourage you to go and seek out these guys and hear them in their natural setting.
picture from Liverpool Live.
Cast: Finbar Lynch, Luke Griffen, David Ricardo-Pearce, Yasmine Akram,Youssef Kerkour, Lisa Kerr, David Rintoul.
Following on from last year’s highly intelligent and well worked play The Chronicles of Long Kesh that dealt with those imprisoned during the troubles in Ireland comes Playwright Richard Bean’s The Big Fellah, a strong and powerful play takes a long term look at the I.R.A. and the fall out between a group of people across 30 years in New York.
Mike and the Mechanics. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Originally published by L.S. Media. May 22nd 2011.
Mike and the Mechanics have been away a long time. At one time the band was the epitome of good music, thoughtful, creatively intelligent lyrics that would make the heart ache and the soul sing. Now seven years after the last album Rewired, they can officially be thought of being back to their best and amongst the highlights of the AOR scene to come to Liverpool this year.
Originally published by L.S. Media. May 25th 2011.
For the second time in the space of six months Mike Peters strode onto the Liverpool Academy stage and wowed a crowd that for all intent purposes takes him to their heart as if he was from L1 and not from Prestatyn.
Back in January it was as lead vocalist for the reformed Big Country of which Mike was an avid fan and who was especially proud to front on the night as an invited guest for the much missed Stuart Adamson. On his return a few months later it was with his own band and one of the finest to come out of North Wales, The Alarm.