Tag Archives: Empire Theatre

The Searchers, Gig Review. Sixties Gold Tour, Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

The Searchers at the Liverpool Empire Theatre. November 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

You are never too young to be spoken of highly, you are never too old to perform as if the world has always loved you and as long as there is an audience who responds to your music then never mind the detractors, forget those that decry the period as something that is no longer relevant, for the four men who make up The Searchers, every cheer, every moment of the long lasting applause between songs and every well played note was more than worth rolling back the years to headline a night of pure wonderful 60s music at the Liverpool Empire Theatre.

The Searchers, Gig Review. Sixties Gold Tour, Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(532 words, 1 image, estimated 2:08 mins reading time)

The Fortunes, Gig Review. Sixties Gold Tour, Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

The Fortunes, Liverpool Empire Theatre. November 2014. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The ties that bind Liverpool and Birmingham are deeper and stronger than many might realise or even understand. Politically both squeezed by the Westminster Empire and its mouldy London centric viewpoint, both devastated by unrest in the early 80s and both at one point claiming the title of second city of the U.K. They also share a people who took music to the hearts more than any other city during the 60s pop revolution and who have spawned some of the greatest musicians to ever play on a stage the length and breadth of the islands.

The Fortunes, Gig Review. Sixties Gold Tour, Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(475 words, 1 image, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

Annie Get Your Gun, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Jason Donovan, Emma Williams, Norman Pace, Dermot Canavan, Ed Currie, Kara Lane, Yiftach Mizrahi, William Oxborrow, Lorna Want, Ste Clough, Matthew Dale, Natalie Day, Floe Fields, Sarah Galbraith, Jonny Godbold, Hannah Grace, Katie Marie-Carter, George Parry.

There is no business like show business…even when sometimes during a performance, for whatever reason, the tension in the actor’s voices, the verve and command of the piece feels a little flat, there is still nothing quite listening to an audiences reaction before the star of the show says a word and the adulation given at the end of the musical.

Annie Get Your Gun, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(465 words, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)

Del Amitri, Gig Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The very nature of a seated gig, the chance for the music lover to sit and take in a set of musicians in a relaxed manner is one that doesn’t always suggest that an audience is going to do anything for most of the night but smile, perhaps take a picture or two as keep sakes of hopefully a good night out and generally let the stress of the day wash off them as if being hosed down by the makers of any soap bar. They might get up off their chairs towards the end of the evening when the big hits come rolling out, the provocative spellbinding finish in which audience and artist can be as one in mutual adoration of a well-played out gig, rarely does an audience stand throughout, the worries of age and tiredness forgotten for a couple of hours as they revel from first note to last teasing goodbye.

Del Amitri, Gig Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(548 words, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)

Tonight’s The Night, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

Cast: Ben Heathcote, Jenna Lee-James, Jade Ewen, Michael McKell, Tiffany Groves, Andy Rees, Michael Antrobus, Joshua Dever, Amy Diamond, Rosie Fletcher, Rosie Heath, Sinead Long, Craig Mather, Tom Millen, Darryl Paul, Ricky Rojas, Lindsay Tierney, Spin.

Rod Stewart certainly belongs in the pantheon of all-time greats of performers that have bridged both sides of The Atlantic Ocean. His music is as popular as it perhaps ever was and still gets performed live by a man whose life off stage is as interesting to millions as the music he has helped make musically immortal. That immortality will perhaps continue long after the end of the next decade and beyond with Ben Elton’s latest foray into the world of musical theatre in The Rod Stewart Musical, Tonight’s The Night.

Tonight’s The Night, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(515 words, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

Cabaret, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Will Young, Siobhan Dillon, Lyn Paul, Matt Rawle, Linal Haft, Valerie Cutko, Nicholas Tizzard, Carly Blackburn, Emily Bull, Luke Fetherston, Simon Jaymes, Alessia Lugoboni, Callum Macdonald, Alastair Postlethwaite, Oliver Roll, Alexzandra Sarmiento, Shahla Tarrant, Cydney Uffindell-Phillips.

There are musicals that grace the stage with such spellbinding brilliance that the glitter and sheen never seems to rub off, never falters and certainly never lets the audience come away feeling anything other than wanting to dance all the way home and sing their favourite song with gladness in their heart. Then there are those that are so astonishing because they have made the crowd question everything they know about humanity and the darkness in people’s hearts and in a nation’s deeds. Perhaps it can be argued that only Cabaret manages to do both at the same time.

Cabaret, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(601 words, estimated 2:24 mins reading time)

Grease, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Stage Experiance, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Callum Cavanagh, Bridie Flanagan, Michael Twigg, Grace Galloway, Katie Furlong, Hannah Pitt, Kay Nicholson, Peter Meall, Jonathan Marsh, Annie Howarth, Tom Nolan, Eleanor Cooke, Daniel Greenwood, Sarah Dickson.

When the Liverpool Empire Theatre puts on a show that gives the young blossoming talent of Liverpool and its surrounding areas, it really does put on a show. A kaleidoscope of colour catching the very best that was on stage, whether through dancing, singing or acting in this year’s production, the timeless classic Grease. Every single young actor gave their absolute best and gave the audience who turned out in their droves to catch the performance, a taste of what is to come and to reflect that the future of theatre in the city will be in very good hands for a long time to come.

Grease, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Stage Experiance, Liverpool. full post

(551 words, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)

Soul Sister, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Jenny Fitzpatrick, Chris Tummings, Msimisi Dlamini, Helena Dowling, Katy Lye, Maria Omakinwa, Tamara McKoy-Patterson, Rob Eckland, Amaziah Davis, Michael Paver, Kenton Noel, Tony Qunta, Justin Shaw, Adam Nash.

When it comes to the life of global superstar Tina Turner, the truth is so much more interesting than fiction could ever be. In the latest production to come to the Liverpool Empire Theatre, that life comes to full sparkling fruition in the stunning and outrageously brilliant and musically divine Soul Sister.

Soul Sister, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(531 words, estimated 2:07 mins reading time)

9 To 5, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Jackie Clune, Amy Lennox, Natalie Casey, Ben Richards, Anita Louise Combe, Mark Willshire, Marlon Moore, Tom Andrew Hargreaves, Philip Bertioli, Lori Haley Fox, Gemma Maclean, Lisa Bridge, Andrew Waldron, Lauren Stroud.

It seems strange that after 30 years, some of the issues raised in 9 To 5 have yet to be tackled head on and the change in attitude promised by so many has yet to actually come to fruition. However, quite rightly, the musical has become a national favourite, with audiences joining in the fun in a similar way to when The Rocky Horror Show or The Sound of Music is in town and dressing up as their favourite characters from this amazing production.

9 To 5, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

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

The Rocky Horror Show, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Oliver Thornton, Ben Foster, Roxanne Pallett, Rhydian, Philip Franks, Kristian Lavercombe, Abigail Jaye, Ceris Hyne, Joel Montague, Maria Coyne, Chrsitos Dante, David Gale, Rachel Grundy.

For 40 years Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show has thrilled audiences all over the globe. It’s songs of debauchery, sensational and brilliant depravity such Timewarp, Sweet Transvestite, I Can Make You a Man and The Sword of Damocles get audiences laughing, dancing and enjoying every time they get performed, for all that it is no wonder that crowds flock to watch it in their abundance.

The Rocky Horror Show, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(342 words, estimated 1:22 mins reading time)