Category Archives: Theatre

Calendar Girls, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. September 28th 2010.

Cast: Denise Black, Elaine C. Smith, Julia Hills, Rachel Lumberg, Anna Charlston, Jennifer Ellison, Susan Bovell, Joe McGann, Bruno McGregor, Bruno Langley, Mikyla Dodd.

Surely there is no better way to get some of the leading ladies of British theatre and television on one stage that by bringing the celebrated Calendar Girls to the Liverpool Empire.

Based on a real life story, Calendar Girls tells the tale of a group of Women’s Institute members attempt to create a piece of work that will raise much needed funds for a hospital sofa, the same hospital in which one of the member’s husbands had been treated for Leukaemia.

Calendar Girls, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

No Wise Men, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. December 9th 2010.

Cast: Helen Carter, Annabelle Dowler, Javier Marzan, John Nicholson, Clare Thomson, Milo Twomey.

Take a pinch of Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life, mix it up with lashings of Hans Christian Anderson’s tale of The Little Match Girl and add the very best of humour from theatre company Peepolykus you end up with a compelling, sometimes heartstring pulling and totally absorbing production of No Wise Men.

No Wise Men, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(328 words, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)

The Friendship Experiment, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Originally published by L.S. Media. January 15th 2011.

Cast:  Matt Rutter, Tim Lynskey.

It takes two brave men to create the genuinely superb insanity that is portrayed on stage in the form of The Friendship Experiment. From the moment Matt Rutter and Tim Lynskey bound on stage, the audience is in for over an hour of mayhem which will lead them down several rabbit holes and coming out the other side asking “what the hell just happened”.

The Friendship Experiment, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(297 words, estimated 1:11 mins reading time)

Beachy Head, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

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

Cast: Sarah Belcher, Dan Ford, Katie Lightfoot, Matt Tate, Neal Craig.

There is only one way to describe Analogue’s production of Beachy Head and that is shockingly powerful, a play that will have audiences leaving the theatre having their perceptions changed about the way we look at the way someone takes their own life.

The Unity Theatre once more played perfect host to a troupe of actors and a story that is swept under the carpet and not discussed openly in any home. The intimacy of the stage reflecting perfectly how the main character of Stephen Mitchell, played with stunning grace by Dan Ford, and his story, as told initially by the other actors on the stage.

Beachy Head, Theatre Review. Unity Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Footloose, Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 9th 2011.

Cast: Max Milner, Carys Gray, Steven Pinder, Karen Ascoe, Lorna Want, Jodie Jacobs, Keisha Amponsa Banson, Tanya Robb, Matt Willis, Daniel Smith, Adam C. Booth, Giovanni Spano, Michael Palmer.

Footloose! The very word brings up images of one of the great teen movies of the 1980’s. Reason in the face of oppression for which any teenager of the time would have identified with, a stunning soundtrack and a great cast made the film a smash in box offices both sides of the Atlantic.

Footloose, Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre. full post

(435 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

12. Theatre Review. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool.

The Cast of the 12 at The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Originally published by L.S. Media. August 24th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating ****

Cast: Shaun Fagan, Morgan McBride, Nick Crosbie, Jamie Vere, Robbie Locke, Bob Schofield, Owen Jones, Josh Quigley, Josh Hughes, Bradley Walker, Paul Holliday, Sophie Eves.

Transferring a 1950’s Henry Fonda classic film to the unsympathetic existence of 21st century Liverpool takes some imagination and a lot of writing talent to give it the grim reality that post war Hollywood films sometimes glossed over. With Shaun Fagan and Matthew Shiel at the helm of 12, the latest play to be performed at The Lantern Theatre, this was more than was ever needed to show how good writing can shine through no matter how unattractive and prejudicial the story line is.

12. Theatre Review. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

Tell Me On A Sunday, Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre.

Cast: Claire Sweeney.

Tell me on A Sunday is one of the most endearing and likeable musicals created by Andrew Lloyd Webber, whether it’s the addition of Don Black’s superbly written and well observed lyrics or the fact that almost everyone can resonate and identify with the girl on stage as she finds herself thrust into a life far from home, in a strange city, strange country with nothing but her sense of humour and the thought of meeting that one person who they can share their life with.

Tell Me On A Sunday, Theatre Review. Liverpool Empire Theatre. full post

(435 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

The Lady in the Van, Theatre Review. Liverpool Playhouse.

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.

The Lady in the Van, Theatre Review. Liverpool Playhouse. full post

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

Macbeth, The Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. Theatre Review.

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.

Macbeth, The Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. Theatre Review. full post

(447 words, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

The Big Fellah, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.

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.

The Big Fellah, Theatre Review. Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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