Author Archives: admin

Down Our Street, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Micky Finn, Crissy Rock, Suzanne Collins, Lesley Butler, Lenny Wood, Lynne Fitzgerald, Roy Brandon, Lindzi Germain, Ruth Laird.

There may be a very wide river that runs between Liverpool and Birkenhead, perhaps at times it may seem like a gulf or a yawning chasm but the actual differences between the two sides of the Mersey are in truth very small. Birkenhead and Liverpool are communities, communities built upon tradition, hard work and friendship and in Brain McCann’s outstanding musical play, Down Our Street, the history of Birkenhead is explored to its fullest, from the founding stones of John Laird and the thoughts of a model town and the shipyard that still bares the family name.

Down Our Street, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(431 words, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

Yes, Prime Minister, Theatre Review. Apollo Theatre, London.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Simon Williams, Richard McCabe, Chris Larkin, Charlotte Lucas, Kevork Malikyan, Jonathon Coote, Michael Chadwick, Mark Extance, Sarah Baxendale.

Some comedies are created great, some achieve greatness and then there was the political satire that set the bar so high it had greatness thrust upon it and the sincerest kind of admiration that Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister deserved.

Yes, Prime Minister, Theatre Review. Apollo Theatre, London. full post

(405 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and 3/4, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. July 7th 2011.

L.S. Media Rating * * * *

Cast: Tate Kearns, Philip Brookes, Jenny Tully, Amy Morris, Joesph Burns, Tom Martin, David Evans, Nicola Guy, Adam Titchmarsh, Josh Henfrey, Amy Lawson.

Sue Townsend’s The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 and ¾ was to 1980’s teenagers as the Harry Potter series has been to the current generation of children and young adults. In popular culture it was a book that was loved and adored by all who read it, it spawned a stage show in 1984 and then burst onto television the following year. The book follows the adventures of Adrian Mole, his dysfunctional family and his misinterpretation of the events that happen around him.

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and 3/4, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(355 words, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)

Elastic Bridge, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S.Media. June 16th 2011.

Cast: Eddie Fortune, Rosie MacPherson, John James Tomlinson.

One of the final plays of the current season on offer by the Unity Theatre is the hard hitting and emotional drama, Elastic Bridge. Unusually for a play, as the audience took their seats to enjoy the show, one of the actors was already on stage pacing the small set in a scene of absolute desperation etched all over his face. This unique beginning drew the audience in straight from the start and provided a new take on how to stage a performance.

Elastic Bridge, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(288 words, estimated 1:09 mins reading time)

Black Snow, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. May 28th 2011.

Mikhail Bulgakov is not a name that runs easily off the lips and there will be many who will not have had the pleasure of reading anything by possibly one of the greats of Ukrainian literature which is a shame for his adaptation of Black Snow by Keith Dewhurst is one of the most perfect satirical take on the life within theatre and its allusions to nationhood.

Black Snow, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(359 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

Jekyll and Hyde, The Musical. Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre.

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.

Jekyll and Hyde, The Musical. Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre. full post

(394 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

Roald Dahl’s Twisted Tales, Theatre Review. Liverpool Playhouse.

Originally published by L.S. Media. April 1st 2011.

Cast: Nicholas Burns, David Cardy, Ryan Cage, Andy Nyman.

To some, the very name Roald Dahl invokes memories of hiding behind the sofa and watching through the gaps of tight, clamped hands and being mesmerized by the sight of lady dancing in flames, as the title music to The Tales of the Unexpected rang through living rooms up and down the country.

Now after last year’s smash hit Ghost Stories, The Liverpool Playhouse once more delves into the mysterious and peculiar as Jeremy Dyson adapts some of the most popular stories from Roald Dahl’s collection and brings them to life on the stage.

Roald Dahl’s Twisted Tales, Theatre Review. Liverpool Playhouse. full post

(357 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

Hairspray, Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre.

Originally published by L.S. Media. August 19th 2011.

Cast: Les Dennis, Michael Starke, Dina Tree, Liam Doyle, Gillian Kirkpatrick, Wayne Robinson, Danny Bayne, Emma Dukes, Clare Halse, Sandra Marvin, Yvonne O’ Grady, Seliza Sebastian, Kane Andrews.

Set against the start of the heightened racial tensions that plagued America socially and politically during the early 1960’s, Hairspray is one of those musicals that stretches the audience’s idea of fun to new limits and leaves them gasping for more!

Hairspray, Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre. full post

(396 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

Rid The World, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Cast: Hugo Chandor, Andrew Sykes, Lewis Marsh, Andrew Roberts-Palmer.

The year 1911 could be seen as a corner stone in the life of Liverpool and yet the life of Tom Mann and The Liverpool Transport Strike of that year is not readily available for the youth and teenagers growing up in the city to learn about.

Thankfully with the run up to the 100th anniversary of this momentous occasion Breathe Out Theatre have adapted Trevor Griffiths Such Impossibilities and created a hard hitting play called Rid the World.

Rid The World, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(358 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

Dead Heavy Fantastic. Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 17th 2011.

Cast: Michelle Butterly, David Carlyle, Helen Carter, Stephen Fletcher, Con O’Neill, Samantha Robinson, Jess Schofield, Alan Stocks.

Dead Heavy Fantastic is the new exciting play by Robert Farquar, that deals with the subject of a world rarely seen by many who live in Liverpool but who will have heard gory tales of hedonism, the party culture, drugs and of out of place postmen.

Dead Heavy Fantastic. Theatre Review. Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(404 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)