Category Archives: Theatre

Still Life, Theatre Review. University Of Liverpool.

Mark Raynor, Iona Campbell, Georgina Rose in Noel Coward’s Stll Life. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast:  Iona Campbell, Jonny Campbell, Jack Conway, Mary Cooper, Barney Eliot, Reuben Green, Mark Raynor, Georgina Rose, Elena Spiegl, Katherine Wright.

With the strains of Noel Coward’s I Went to a Marvellous Party greeting the audience at the University of Liverpool’s intimate theatre space, the stage was set for a renaissance of the great actor and playwrights work performed by L.U.D.S, one of the two amateur dramatic societies that give young budding actors their first real taste of life in front of an audience. Their chosen piece to start their 2012-13 season off was the sublime affair of several hearts, Still Life.

Still Life, Theatre Review. University Of Liverpool. full post

(439 words, 1 image, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Steptoe And Son, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Photograph by Steve Tanner. Dean Nolan, Mike Shepherd as Steptoe and Son.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Mike Shepherd, Dean Nolan, Kirsty Woodward.

Albert and Harold Steptoe, national comedy legends that were bought to B.B.C. television by the incredible writing of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, two men bound to each other through blood, despair, apathy and a small measure of distant attachment. No one could have predicted how much the two men would change the television viewing habits of the nation as they settled down each week to watch the Steptoe and Son.

Steptoe And Son, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(427 words, 1 image, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)

Rita, Sue and Bob Too!, Theatre Review. St. Helens Theatre Royal.

Dannielle Malone, Paul Opacic, Nikki Sanderson in Rita, Sue and Bob Too! Photograph by Ian D. Hall

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Tina Malone, Nikki Sanderson, Paul Opacic, Dannielle Malone, Mickey Finn, Elyn Kennedy, Paul Malone.

In 2011 Andrea Dunbar’s Rita, Sue and Bob Too! had a sell out run at the St. Helens Theatre Royal, as it comes round again it is easy to see why this portrayal of Margaret Thatcher’s council estate Britain is such a popular and long lasting hit production.

Rita, Sue and Bob Too!, Theatre Review. St. Helens Theatre Royal. full post

(442 words, 1 image, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Theatre Review. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool.

Fine Time Fontayne and Neil Gore at The Lantern Theatre. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 29th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Neil Gore, Fine Time Fontayne.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell should be considered one of the most important books of the last 100 years, no matter what your background is. First published in 1914, it shocked then as it still has the power to do so now. The adaptations for the stage have been equally well received and especially in Liverpool where in 2010 Howard Brenton’s adaptation and starring Finbar Lynch, brought the house down.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Theatre Review. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(414 words, 1 image, estimated 1:39 mins reading time)

The Wedding Singer, Theatre Review. St Helens Theatre Royal.

The cast of The Wedding Singer. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 22nd 2012.

L. S. Media Rating ***

Cast: Michael John Griesen, Cameron Jones, Anthony Mackin, Katie Speakman, Jennie Scully, Gary Lamb, Jean Aspinall, Diane Glover, Ann Connolly, James Kirby.

It is always a challenge transferring any successful film to the stage, adapting it, playing with idea but never straying very far from what it was that made it that sensation in the first place. The Wedding Singer is no different to say Legally Blonde or Spamalot in that respect and for the Pilkington Musical Theatre, The Wedding Singer was a joy to perform and to watch.

The Wedding Singer, Theatre Review. St Helens Theatre Royal. full post

(442 words, 1 image, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

The Yarn, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 20th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Peter Bromilow, Sharon Clarke, Steve Dalgeish, Chris Douglas, Vera Farrell, Carl Fowler, Patricia Palombella Hart, Gaynor La Rocca, Francesco La Rocca, Mike MacKenzie, Rachael Reason, Carmel Skelly, Kirsty Taylor, Edwina Walsh, Jim Welsh.

Rob Brannen’s play The Yarn is as homely as you can ask for but it also hides the darkness, very cleverly, of what happens to a village when the heart is ripped out of it.

The Yarn, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(437 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

The Alchemist, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Photograph by Tristram Kenton

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 19th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating *****

Cast: Ian Bartholomew, Simon Coates, Hasan Dixon, Kevin Harvey, Joshua Higgott, Laurence Kennedy, Ellie Kirk, John McGrellis, Kristian Phillips, Lara Rossi, Nicolas Tennant, Roger Watkin.

The whole world is out for a fast buck, a sure fire way to make money no matter who suffers or is made a fool of. Such was the world during the time of Ben Jonson…and time hasn’t moved on any! Ben Jonson’s play The Alchemist is something different from the plays of the 17th century.

The Alchemist, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(421 words, 1 image, estimated 1:41 mins reading time)

Dirty Dating.Com, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 14th 2012.

Cast:  Nicki French, Grace Bishop, Phil Hearne, Jo Mousley, Jess Schofield, Craig Chalmers, Alan Stocks.

The world of dating has never had so many options, mates dates, internet dating, blind dates, work dates, and now thrown heartily into the mix comes Pauline Fleming’s well observed look at the rights of passage involved in the world of speed dating.

Dirty Dating.Com, Theatre Review. Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(499 words, estimated 2:0 mins reading time)

Dreamboats And Petticoats, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Cast: Graeme Henderson, Francesca Loran, Adam Howard, Mathew Quinn, Chris Coxen, Christopher Wheeler, Tristan Pate, David Ribi, Josh Little, Samantha Dorrance, Katie Birtill, Anna Campkin, Ben James-Ellis, Christopher Fry, James Nitti, Robbie Durham, Emily O’ Keefe.

The past is a foreign country, as the saying goes. However the early sixties is still fresh in our minds as it bought the fashions, the music and the second wave generations of teenagers ready to find their own way, their own style and stamp their time on the following decades and those that would follow them.

Dreamboats And Petticoats, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(388 words, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

You’ll Never Walk Alone, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Cast: Pauline Daniels, Chris Grahamson, Howard Gray, Jamie Hampson, Adam Keast, Dan McIntyre, Mark Moraghan, Anthony Watson, Lenny Wood.

It seems to anyone from outside the city of Liverpool, that whenever they come here for their shopping trips their days out or just to catch the ferry to Ireland that all Liverpool folk talk about is football.

From little old ladies waiting for the bus in Queen’s Square, to the bars and clubs of the town centre and even discussions in barbers and hairdressers from Aigburth to Bootle to Kirby, it’s either red or blue and nothing else matters.

You’ll Never Walk Alone, Theatre Review. Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(456 words, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)