Sunday, March 17, 2024

Preview - Out Of Sight...Out Of Murder - Little Theatre

The next production from the Progressive Players at the Little Theatre, Gateshead is Out Of Sight...Out of Murder, by American playwright Fred Carmichael.  Carmichael was a prolific writer, penning over 50 plays during his career. His works are noted for their many twists and turns and Out of Sight...Out of Murder promises to more than deliver on that score! 

Peter Knight, a crime author, takes himself away into seclusion to a house where a crime author was murdered to try and break his writer’s block and finish his latest novel. When his characters appear before him, Peter is thrown into the action as his characters take his story to a truly dramatic ending. Will Peter make it to the end of his own story? A supernatural crime comedy – a real twist of genres guaranteed to delight and keep you guessing!

Tickets can be booked online from Ticketsource or from the box office:

0191 4781499 (Box Office answerphone)

Box Office opening hours

Monday to Saturday 6.30pm to 9pm. 

The play runs from 18th-23rd March, doors are open from 6.30pm giving you plenty of time for a drink in the bar before curtain up at 7.15!

Friday, March 15, 2024

North East Playwriting Awards - Live Theatre

EMILIE ROBSON AND CONNOR DORRIAN WIN THE INAUGURAL NORTH EAST PLAYWRITING AWARD AT LIVE THEATRE


Winners of Live Theatre’s inaugural North East Playwriting Award were announced at a ceremony last night (Thursday 14 March) at Live Theatre. Newcastle writer Emilie Robson won the main prize for her play Dogs On The Metro with Sunderland writer Connor Dorrian winning the Under 26 Award for his play A Moving Still. Both will receive a commission fee for their plays with the intention of a full staging at Live Theatre. 

Laurie Ward also received a Research Award supported by Northumbria University for her play Real Mad World about the joys, heartbreaks and absurdities of trans life. 

Pauline Trotry’s Shards was named runner up for the main award with Wambui Hardcastle’s Up And Down The Tap Line named as runner up for the Under 26 award. 

The main award winning play, Dogs On The Metro, follows plucky teenagers Jen and Dean, over months, years and even alternate realities, as they travel back and forth on the Tyne and Wear Metro line, as what seems to begin as a coming of age tale slowly twists into a painful meditation on consent, toxic masculinity and conflicting ‘truths’ as they unpack their differing versions of the same, pivotal event that changes their lives forever. 

One of the play’s judges was playwright Shelagh Stephenson who said of it: “Half down page one I knew we’d found a new voice. Sharp, funny, true and precise. I’m thrilled it has won”.

The winning writer Emilie Robson said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have won the Live Theatre North East Playwriting Award. I feel very privileged to be from the North East and to reflect the region in my work. I’m a huge admirer of Live Theatre and its commitment to great storytelling (I genuinely wrote Dogs On The Metro with them in mind!) and so any nod of approval from them is truly humbling.”

The Under 26 winning play A Moving Still is a North East coming of age story. With troubled young lad ‘Lucas’, trapped in a life of drug dealing at its centre. After his brother’s arrest he starts to explore his youth as newly presented options open up. One of the award judges Robson Green, himself a former Live Youth Theatre member, presented the Under 26 Award. He said that the play offered “a message of resilience, the potential for change, a story about the importance of supporting one another in the face of adversity.”

The 22 year old winner Connor Dorrian said: “I can’t believe I won! I’m so thankful to Live Theatre for this opportunity and those who read my play and chose it to win. This will help me so much and project my career to a height I didn’t know was possible at this stage. It’s amazing we have the playwright awards to champion new writing in the region.

Especially for early career artists such as myself. My play ‘A Moving Still’ means so much to me as a working class creative and I can’t wait to share it!”

The ceremony was attended by many special guests including David Byrne, the new Artistic Director of the Royal Court, who gave the ceremony’s opening address about the importance of having a thriving new writing scene. This first Award is supported by the Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust and aims to be a biannual event for the region.


*Photography by Mark Savage 

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Preview - Entertaining Mr Sloane - People's Theatre

Carry On meets The League of Gentlemen next week at the People’s Theatre in Heaton!

Joe Orton’s bitingly funny black comedy ENTERTAINING MR SLOANE sees the titular sly and handsome conman rent a room from lonely widow Kath.

As Kath and her controlling brother Ed vie for the shady young lodger’s attention, he thinks he has them wrapped around his little finger.

But soon Mr Sloane finds himself entangled in a dangerous game of sex, desire, blackmail and violence.

When it premiered in 1964, this provocative satire on social and sexual hypocrisy stirred up much controversy. And this wickedly sharp and hilarious black comedy still has the power to shock!

ENTERTAINING MR SLOANE runs from Tuesday 19 to Saturday 23 March on the Main Stage.

Tickets are available from the People’s Theatre Box Office on 0191 265 5020 (option 2) and online at www.peoplestheatre.co.uk
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Thursday, March 7, 2024

Review - Blue Stockings - People's Theatre

Blue Stockings 
People's Theatre
5th March, 2023

Written by Jessica Swale
Directed by Sam Hinton 

It has been quite a while since I have left a theatre with such a mix of emotions. The People's Theatre's production of Blue Stockings left in me awe - it s a tour de force. All the elements come together in an almost perfect production to tell this astonishing story. 


It's the story of the women of Girton College - fighting against the odds to be recognised for their intellect and yet constantly patronised by their male peers.  The only possible goal for any decent woman is to marry, bear children and tend to her husband and family. An educated woman is unladylike, unnatural, and as such un-marriable. Despite constantly proving their intellectual abilities by matching, and even out-matching their male counterparts, the patriarchal society refuses to recognise them. The reaction to their success is shocking, they are ridiculed, vilified, diminished. And yet they carry on, their determination, occasionally dented, is never undone. 

We begin with incredulous amusement at the ridiculous notions so called intelligent men voice about affect of education on a woman's anatomy, but as the play progresses it becomes clear that these attitudes present not only a hindrance, but a very real danger to the women, and our amusement is tempered. By the climax of the second act we are no longer amused. We are furious! 

Brilliantly staged and directed,  with an ingenious set - even the props at times have attitude. Each member of the cast performs with such integrity, there is not one character that is not entirely credible, from the disdainful Cambridge professors, to the eager and enthusiastic Girton girls, to the indomitable chaperone, Ms Bott. 

Friday is International Women's Day. If you have ever wondered why such a day is necessary, you need to see this play. It's set in 1896 and we are still fighting some of these battles over a hundred years later. 


At the end of this play I was elated, and furious, and proud to be an educated woman, but prouder still of the women who went before me and made my college graduation possible. 

Blue Stockings plays at the People's Theatre till Saturday. Book a seat. 

*Images by Paul Hood

Denise Sparrowhawk 

Monday, February 19, 2024

Dancing at Lughnasa - The Little Theatre

Dancing at Lughnasa  
Little Theatre 
19-24th February, 2024

Following on from POD, this week the Progressive Players present Dancing at Lughnasa at the Little Theatre, Gateshead. 
Set in the fictional village of Ballybeg, the story follows the fate of five sisters who are struggling to survive as change comes to the village. The eldest sister Kate is a school teacher, and the only permanent wage earner in the family, Agnes and Rose knit gloves to sell in the town - these are the only sources of income for the girls. Their father is a travelling salesman who appears rarely and randomly, leaving his daughters to fend for themselves and raise their younger brother, as well as look after their elder brother Jack. Jack is a priest who has returned from a leper colony in Uganda. He suffers from malaria and has difficulty remembering many things, including his sisters' names. 

Set against all of this is the Festival of Lughnasa - the celebration of the harvest  - where Christian and Pagan beliefs meet and clash - there is tension, and conflict but this is the highlight of the year in the village so there is also dancing and singing! 

Told from the view point of the brother, Michael, as he looks back on his life and remembers, this pastoral drama is bound to bring smiles and tears. It plays until Saturday 24th February. Tickets are available from the box office on 0191 4781499  or online here - prices start at just £10. 


Thursday, February 8, 2024

Review - Breath of Spring - Royalty Theatre

Breath of Spring
Royalty Theatre
6th February, 2023 

Written by Peter Coke
Directed by Corinne Kilvington 

Cast 
Liz Henderson
Jacob Hughes
Emma Thompson
Emma McGhee
Lynn Huntley
Caroline Chapman
Matthew Mason
Julie Carney



You might expect A Breath of Spring to be a springtime romance full of sunshine and snowdrops, but in actual fact it is a very funny comedy about fur coats, and a group of people in the "teatime" of their lives. The breath of spring in question is actually a beautiful fur, and is the a life changing catalyst for this gaggle of unlikely acquaintances.  

The fur in question is "acquired" by Lily as a thank you to her employer - Dame Beatrice Appleby - who took on Lily despite her recent stay in Holloway.  Not wanting to get Lily into trouble, Dame Beatrice, her friend Alice Lady Miller, and three lodgers (guests) come up with an ingenious plan to return the fur to its rightful owner. The plan is a huge success and the gang are thrilled by the experience. They realise that they could spice up their rather mundane lives by using their newly discovered skills to acquire things rather than return them. And so begins their adventure... 

The action takes place in Dame Beatrice's living room over the course of a year. The gang have developed their skills and use their ill gotten gains to help people less fortunate - much like Robin Hood. All is going well until the call from Scotland Yard! How will they manage to hide the truth from the inspector? 

A fabulously funny play with lots of twists along the way as these characters find a way to liven up their twilight years. The cast are brilliant - from the regimental Brigadier (Jacob Hughes) to the streetwise and savvy Lily (Emma Thompson) their timing is perfect, and body language and facial expressions say so much more than words at times. All the cast are excellent but special mention has to go to Lynn Huntley as Dame Beatrice who brings such an energy to the role, as she concocts her daring schemes and sells them to the rest of the gang. Just brilliant.  

Of course on the opening night the props had to have their moment too, and the cast did their utmost to cope with the recalcitrant painting and unexpected step! It's a credit to them that they dealt with it so professionally and gave the audience some extra laughs - mind the step, Inspector!


This is such a feel good play - silly and funny but with some serious themes behind the humour. We can all grow old a little disgracefully, but perhaps not take up burglary! 

Well worth going to see, tickets are available from www.royaltytheatre.co.uk or on the door. Curtain up is at 7.30pm - get there early and have a drink in the bar first, for a great night out on your doorstep! 

Denise Sparrowhawk

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Review - Pod - Little Theatre

POD
The Little Theatre
22nd January 2023



Written by Arabella Arnott
Presented by Progressive Players
Directed by Louise Wright 

Cast 
Cathy Williams
Jim McGrath
Laura Boxleitner
Val Neal




Set in a glamping pod over the course of one weekend, this play by local writer Arabella Arnott explores the themes of grief, family, truth and honesty (which I think are not always the same thing). It is a gentle, humorous look at how families interact with each other, how we deal with grief, and how everything we do impacts the other members - even unintentionally. We develop ideas and beliefs based on our own perceptions, and these may not be accurate, or even true at all. 

Rose and Dan have arranged a family weekend away to commemorate and celebrate the life of their father on his birthday.  From their conversation we can glean that relationships within the family may be a little strained, so by the time the mother Iris, and sister Daisy arrive we are already anticipating some friction. As the play progresses some of the source of the friction becomes clear - sibling rivalry, the attitude of the youngest to ageing and growing old. All of which leads to tensions, but also much gentle humour. Added to this the reason for the weekend - a deceased father - and the tensions are heightened even more. 

Secrets are hinted at, and some are voiced - not all are welcome! I can't say much more than that without spoiling the plot - so you will have to go along to the Little Theatre this week to find out the whos, wheres and whys! 

The set for this play is astounding - the pod, complete with fire pit and outdoor dining set is almost a character in itself. The backdrop of pastel trees changes subtly to signify the time of day from pale orange to a deeper mauve, and scenes are separated with lighting and music - Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon, We are Family,  and Morning Has Broken - and the Piece de Resistance at the end - Zorba's Song. All very fitting for the story. 

The cast do an excellent job portraying this grieving family but I especially liked Val Neal as Iris - "Wait till you hear this one!" - her mantra throughout the play. Her timing is spot on, and she is constantly reacting to the other characters even when the focus is not on her - never not acting her part. 

This is a funny, poignant play, well presented and directed. It is definitely worth going to see - and it gives a bit of summer sunshine in January - what could be better?  I defy anyone not to do the dance up the aisle on the way out...

Denise Sparrowhawk 

*images courtesy of Progressive Players