Review - All My Sons - People's Theatre

All My Sons 

People's Theatre

4th June, 2024

Written by Arthur Miller 

Presented by People's Theatre

Directed by Eileen Davidson

Joe Keller is a successful man. He has built up his manufacturing business since the war, providing a beautiful home for his wife Kate, and a thriving company to leave to his son, Chris. He is popular with his neighbours, and the neighbourhood kids. It all seems ideal but beneath the smiles and success are dark secrets. Their youngest son Larry never returned from the war, lost in action, his plane and body never found. Kate lives in hope that one day he will return like so many other sons and husbands she reads of in the news. Chris their eldest son returned from war and slipped into the expected life at his father's firm, but he is not content. He wants more than a life of appeasing his parents for the loss of his brother. This comfortable post-war success does not sit well with him when so many of his comrades did not come back.  

Into all this he has invited Ann. Ann and he have been corresponding for several years, and Chris has invited her back to her home town to ask her to marry him. Kate will not like this, and they have to find a way to break the news to her.  Ann was Larry's girl, and is the daughter of Joe's former partner, Steve. Steve is currently in prison, convicted of supplying faulty aircraft parts in the war - a crime for which Joe was exonerated.  Ann has not been back to her home town since the trial. 

As the play progresses it becomes clear that there is more to the story than first appears. Though he has worked hard to rebuild his reputation, there are underlying doubts about his involvement. Tension builds as Chris tries to assert his wishes for a different life with Ann, against his mother's assertion that Ann is Larry's girl, and that Larry will be coming home one day, while his father tries to maintain the status quo. 

Then come revelations from Sue Bayliss, the Doctor's wife - a bitter and unhappy woman, and the call from Ann's brother with more hints that things are not what they seem. The Keller's carefully constructed life is about to come crashing down. 

There are so many layers to this play - everyone of the characters is hiding their true selves. They all have secrets. Dreams that are unfulfilled, different lives they could have lived. The life that we see them living on stage is carefully but precariously balanced on a single truth - or untruth - and when that is revealed the balance is lost, with catastrophic results. 

The stage is set as the Keller's back yard, in front of their beautiful house, with the garden swing and Larry's tree - which is felled by a storm at the start of the play - a telling symbol of what is about to befall the Kellers.  the house is almost a character in itself - holding the memory of Larry in his room, and lighting up from to cast shadows of the characters when they are inside - most notably when Ann takes the call from her brother. The lighting gives a sense of the life lived in the house, but the shadows also give an ominous sense of foreboding - again, there is the feeling that not all is right in this world. 

There is a brittleness about the characters in their determination to be seen to be happy, to be living their lives, making choices, and yet you do feel that any one of them might break at any moment. And all it takes is that one truth to surface for the breaking to happen. 

Jonathan Goodman is superb, fronting it out as the all American success story, while Ann Zunder plays a blinder as his apparently emotionally distraught wife - and yet, was she not actually the strength behind the whole family? Her assertion that Larry is not dead is what has kept chaos at bay. She knows the truth of it - a father cannot kill his own son! 

Each actor in this production gives such a convincing portrayal - you feel their frustrations, their joys, their disappointments and their doubts! Each one reveals little by little the cracks and faults in their story - until the final reveal, and all is lost. It was fascinating to watch, as each character revealed themselves, like a slowly pulled thread, and eventually the whole fabric of their lives unravelled.

It's a complicated tragedy - a story of love and loyalty, guilt and innocence, of truth and patriotism, of family, and of the tarnished American Dream. This is the kind of production that reminds me why I love theatre so much. It is compelling. 

All My Sons plays until June 8th. I highly recommend it. 

*images by Paul Hood

Denise Sparrowhawk

  

The Importance of Being Earnest - Review - People's Theatre

The Importance of Being Earnest 

People's Theatre
2nd April 2019 


What's in a name? Does it define your character? Or does your character define your name?
Would the right name make a man more attractive? Would the wrong name make him less so? Is it fickle of a girl to profess her love for a man simply because he has a name that she has decided is a worthy one? Is this any less fickle than the rejection of a man as suitor to a daughter because he lacks a worthy name? Is family and heritage and reputation more important than individual character? All of these questions and about a hundred others are posed and, to some extent, answered in Oscar Wilde's witty social comedy.

It is a play of deceptions and misconceptions, double identities and double standards. Gwendolen, Algernon's cousin is in love with Earnest, but Earnest is really Jack. Jack is in love Gwendolen, but can't reveal his deception to her without losing her affection. Algernon discovers the deception and is intrigued by the discovery that his friend is the guardian to eighteen year old Cecily. Cecily, fancies herself in love with Earnest though she has never actually met him - tales of his high living have been recounted to her by Jack. Earnest proposes to Gwendolen - who accepts, but her mother, Lady Bracknell objects.  Algernon uses the excuse that his (imaginary) friend is ill and he must go to him immediately. He escapes to the country to meet the mysterious ward Cicely and pretends to be Earnest.

And that is the easy part of the plot! It all gets a whole lot more complicated, and hilarious, as the two friends try to extricate themselves from the deceptions they have created while still trying to achieve their objectives and win the hearts of their ladies!  Have you followed all of that? 

Photo: Paula Smart

It is a gem of a production with sparkling performances by the cast - particularly Kitty Parkins as Cecily Cardew, and Rachel Scott as the Honourable Gwendolen Fairfax  -  who have the audience laughing out loud. Colin Jeffrey and Richard Jack bounce off each off each as the begrudging friends, while John MacDonald and Reg White provide perfect foils to their nonsense, as the long suffering servants. 

The brilliant script by Wilde is bursting with searing one-liners that are delivered impeccably. 

This witty, fun and perfectly put together production is well worth seeing. It runs until Sat 6th April.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Arcadia - Review - People's Theatre

Arcadia

Peoples Theatre
12th Feb, 2019

Tom Stoppard's Arcadia is a complex play. It examines ideas of time, truth, preordination, advances in scientific thinking, nature and artifice, truth and beauty. Complex mathematical and scientific formulae are juxtaposed against philosophy and religion in an attempt to explain life. There are layers upon layers in this play and at times the ideas and theories fall so thick and fast that the audience struggles to keep up.

In the 19th Century Septimius Hodge is a tutor to Thomasina, a child prodigy. Her intellect is vast and she sees the world differently to everyone else. Her mother, unable to understand her leaves her education to the tutor. The tutor seduces his way around the women in the household - including Thomasina's mother.

In the present day a group of researchers try to make sense of events from the past - they have some information, but not all, and are left to interpret the clues left to them to recreate the past. Naturally, since they do not have all the information, their interpretations are a little wide of the mark.

The friction between the characters, and between the actual events of which the audience is aware,  and the inaccurate perception of the present day characters, makes this a very funny and clever, yet poignant play.

The complicated plot is served very well by a simple set - a table and chairs, a basket containing dress-up costumes, and a backdrop of opaque screens representing the windows and doors leading to the garden. Though the garden is key to the play, it never seen. Subtle lighting and music signal the changes between past and present.

The cast give impressive performances, citing theories and explaining algorithms with confidence. You would swear they understood it all exactly as they are saying the words. The chemistry on stage is tangible as they fight and bicker and flirt with each other.

This is a very clever play, skilfully produced and performed. It will make you laugh, but it may also make you scratch your head in consternation as you try to follow the mathematical and scientific arguments - unless of course science and mathematics are your thing. Fortunately for me - neither one being my thing - you can just enjoy the humour of the social situation and appreciate some great acting.

Arcadia plays until 16th March.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Blackadder Goes Forth - Review - People's Theatre

Blackadder Goes Forth

The People’s Theatre
30th October 31, 2018


Richard Curtis and Ben Elton’s classic sitcom comes to The People’s Theatre in all its glory. All the wit and dry humour is here and delivered with great comic timing. It’s been put together very much like the series, in four chunks of unrelated stories. The script seems almost untouched from the original series, though there are a one or two changes and additions, such as borrowing Bob from another Blackadder series.
The sound is great with the Blackadder score used throughout. In the intro we are given a warning by the Baron about switching off our phones which is hilariously delivered. It’s great they are commemorating the end of the First World War with this performance.

The premise, in case you didn’t know, is that Blackadder and his faithful band of soldiers are in the trenches waiting to battle the bosh, the mighty Germans and company. Except not very much battling is actually going on, and neither side is making much progress. The sounds are powerful in places really bringing you into the war. I actually jumped at one point.

The cast are well chosen: Captain Blackadder played by Sam Hinton (who was in last year's Season's  Greetings) is very commanding and his wit really hits the mark. George is played by Ben Ostell (seen recently in Heaton!) and he plays the goofy part well. Baldrick, played by Tony Sehgal, is spot on with his mannerisms and looks the spitting image of the original Baldrick. As General Melchett, Steven Robertson - also recently in Heaton! - pulls off a bold impression of Stephen Fry's original characterisation. Captain Darling - the joke that keeps on giving - is played by Oli Pages. Other notable performances are Bob, the Baron and Captain Bosh Bosh Flashheart.

The director Matthew Hope has done a great job with the scripts, placement and general pacing. The sets are beautifully made. The ladders to no man's land were quite haunting. All the costumes were excellent and it all really adds to the feeling of the piece. Three main locations on stage are outside the barracks, inside the barracks and Melchett's office.

This is a great production and really brings Blackadder back to life on stage. Some of the jokes are not exactly pc now, but are very much of their time. I enjoyed this a lot. Watch out for the nice surprise at the end, very touching.

Blackadder goes forth is playing at the people's theatre every night from 7.30pm until and including Saturday the 3rd of November.

Frank Cromartie Murphy

The 39 Steps - Review - People's Theatre

The 39 Steps

Peoples Theatre
22nd May 2018

I have to admit straight off that my heart sank a little when I saw the cast list of 30 people in the programme for this! How would I keep track of so many characters? From this you will know that I have not seen Patrick Barlow's adaptation of The 39 Steps before! I was in for a real treat! Of course not all the actors mentioned were able to make the show and so the characters are played by just four actors. Jake Wilson Craw plays the debonair Richard Hannay, and Roger Liddle, Richard Gardner and Anna Dobson - People's Theatre stalwarts - play everyone else!

From the moment the spotlight comes on in the wrong spot you know that you are going to be well entertained. The scenery changes, the arch looks towards the audience and to the absent stagehands, the ludicrous wigs, and even worse accents, will have you laughing till your sides hurt. The timing throughout is perfection, and the comedy rolls on - barely giving you time to recover from one chuckle before the next guffaw is upon you!

This is a tale of espionage, murder and betrayal. It is a tale of derring-do - with a difference. And it is The People's Theatre at their very best. One of the funniest shows I have seen so far this year and yet another example of the versatility of the team at the People's. A breath of light-hearted fresh air, pure escapism and great entertainment.

It plays until Saturday and you'd be advised to book in advance to be sure of a seat!

Denise Sparrowhawk

When We Are married - People's Theatre - Review

When We Are Married 

The People's Theatre 

May 1st 2018

It’s not often you are exposed to cigar smoke in public these days. This play from J.B Priestley (who once actually visited the People's Theatre and is obviously a fond favourite here) is one of those times. Set in the early 1930s, the play is so old everyone from the original production is long dead. This production is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French LTD, with music from Scarborough Spa Orchestra.

The play has quite a large cast  and reminded me of a similar play with married couples which The People's Theatre had put on at the end of 2017. The set was very much of the period as was the cast's attire. Set in Yorkshire, some of the language used I didn’t understand, and especially the references to the old currency. I thought the play might have been updated when it was adapted, but it seems very much intact and so, for me, it felt very dated for a comedy. The older audience seemed to enjoy it, but laughter was not as frequent as their more modern comedies.

The acting was good, everyone thoroughly committed to their roles. The humour was quite repetitive and all stemmed from the fact that the three couples who thought they were married, were not actually married. The class system is at the heart of the play, with the servants being talked down to, but also holding their own.  Infidelity is brushed off, like a tantrum, instead of a relationship deal breaker.

Overall this was a nostalgic trip back to a simpler time, when status was everything and smoking cigars was considered healthy and la-de-dar wasn’t a reference to a foo fighters song.

The People's Theatre are currently going through a refurbishment, and have just won an award from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors North East Awards. Donations for the final £90,000 needed to complete the renovations are most welcome and a trip to this lovely theatre is a worthwhile one.  

When We Are Married is playing until May 5^th.  

Frank Cromartie Murphy

Aladdin – People’s Theatre Newcastle - Review

Aladdin - People’s Theatre, Newcastle - 13th December 2017

Now having gone to see Jack and the Beanstalk last year at the same theatre and not being overly impressed,  I was hoping for a better experience with Aladdin.

I will always think of Robin William’s portrayal of Genie in the Disney version and ‘A Whole New World’ but this is panto and I admit I’m a pantophobe but I decided to come and see if this was any good.

Let’s start with the positives; Leon Gill (the guy’s an absolute legend) played Genie, He doesn’t have too much to do in the show but he is great and his singing is excellent. The other great singer that I went “wow” to is the princess, played by Madeline Carter. I have never seen her perform before but I do think that musical theatre is what she should go into.

The Princess is aptly named for this panto written by a Geordie - Philip Meeks - and performed in a Heaton theatre, and who could that be? Why Cheryl, of course!

Wishee Washee is played by Joe Robson - I think he’s found a role that suits him well - alongside the beautiful Widow Twanky, played by Steve Robertson. I think these two are great comedians and their comedic talent balances out their singing!

PC Tickle and PC Slap were played Nathan Hussain and Emma Cockburn. I would have liked to hear and see more of them as I couldn’t really see what the point of them is, and so I wasn’t really invested in their characters. 

Empress Ezmeanie played Sara Jo Harrison. She plays an evil person well (she must have needed lots of acting lessons as I’ve heard she’s actually really nice). Her on stage husband Emperor Jor-di who really only came to life in the 2nd half of the show has a great voice, and when Steve and Stephen sing a duet it is the latter who carries the song.

The real baddy in the story is Abanazar. Paul Gaitskell is absolutely fantastic. He plays to the crowd and his comedy timing is just on point. He is great even though sometimes the techie guys let him down, (more on that soon).

In the scene where they sing a song and someone disappears each time, the Mummy was played briefly by James Lane.

Have I missed anyone out?? Oh Yes I have!

The lead was played by Laurence Hussain and unfortunately I’m not 100% sure that he is one, in most of his songs he is overshadowed by more accomplished singers.

There is a large ensemble made up of many different people from the Chorus, Tap Dancers, Dancers from Newcastle High School and lots of little people who all did well.

The Lighting was amazing especially the final scene of the first act which you need to go and see for yourself. Designed by Scott Sweeting and crewed by Martin Collins, Dave Harvey and Amy Hardman.

The Choreography was fantastic and praise needs to go to Julie Bowman, Jill Taylor and Ruth Gibson and Joe Butcher for this.

But - here goes nothing!! As someone who is hard of hearing and a sound engineer, I have to say at times it sounded terrible. As last year, the music is played through a computer and it would be so much better live!

Directed by Emma Jane Richards and Assisted by Craig Fairbairn. 

The production is okay. Some things are amazing but there are some parts of it that let it down so much unfortunately, hopefully they will get better.

On until 17th of December 2017.  

Reuben Hiles

Animal Farm - People's Theatre - Review

Animal Farm

People's Theatre
12th Sept 2017


As we enter the auditorium the stage is set - backlit with a low light silhouetting the shapes of a doorway and blocks of buildings, music plays in the background. There is a vaguely menacing feel to it all. The lights go down and the stage lights come up to reveal a run down farm yard - Manor Farm. The cast enter, dressed in black with gold buttons on epaulettes, giving a hint of military uniform. Each one carries a helmet with features to denote which animal they are - cows, chickens, sheep, horses, pigs...And then from the back of the auditorium Old Major speaks. He speaks of change that will come, a revolution, of a time when man will fall, and he warns them to avoid becoming like Man at all costs. The animals respond to his words with baas, moos, clucking. They are then scattered by Mr Jones the farmer.
Jones, played by Patrick Robertson, is a cruel, drunken man who has let his farm go to seed neglecting the crops and mistreating the animals. On day he goes too far and the animals, left unfed rise up against him and chase him from the farm. Old Major's revolution has come!

This production is a collaboration between the People's youth and adult theatres. It is cleverly done with minimal props and costumes, reflecting the austerity of the farm. The stage is full of animals at the start of the play and gradually the numbers reduce until at the end, only a handful are left as those who question the pigs are removed - even the young pigs who are tricked into a confession of guilt are not spared. The young actors take on their animal personas well - adopting the mannerisms of each animal. I think they have had a lot of fun preparing for this play and their preparation has paid off with dividends. There are some lovely performances - I especially liked the chickens and the sheep!

Orwell wrote Animal Farm in 1945 to expose the soviet myth - communism was meant to be about equality but what is revealed here is that no matter what the ideals of man - or beast - might be, human nature takes over and all leaders become self-serving in the end. No-one is truly equal. Someone is always more equal than the others. Standing up for what is right means different things to different animals and voicing a differing opinion is dangerous, but sometimes must be done. When the animals were working together they were happy and successful, but easily mislead. The message of the play is - we must all strive to recognise the truth and stand together to uphold it - otherwise we will end up like the poor animals of Animal Farm.

Animal Farm plays until Sat 16th Sept. It is a lovely production - go see it.

Denise Sparrowhawk

The Tempest - Review - People's Theatre

The Tempest

People's Theatre
7th March 2017


The Tempest is one of Shakespeare's most lyrical plays. it is filled with music, strange airs, mysterious spirits and magic. But there is a darkness to it. It is essentially a play of ambition, treachery and revenge and redemption.

Prospero's brother has usurped his throne, influencing the King to ride against him. Rather than kill Prospero, he and his daughter are banished by the King and due to the duplicity of his brother who sends them away on an unseaworthy ship, they end up marooned on a remote magical island. In the twelve years that follow Prospero masters the art of magic helped by two unfortunate souls on the island - Caliban and Ariel. Ariel is a sprite who has been imprisoned in a tree by the witch Sycorax, Caliban is her son, a strange neglected creature. Both serve Prospero initially out of gratitude, but as his bitterness against his brother and the King grows he becomes cruel and rules them by force. His daughter Miranda is his only comfort, her beauty, grace and innocence a foil for the bitterness of her father.
When fate brings his enemies close to the island, Prospero conjures up a storm in order to exact his revenge. However, Miranda and Ferdinand fall in love and Prosperos heart is eventually softened towards his enemies, but not before he inflicts some retribution on them.

Anna Dobson's direction gives an interesting take on the play. The stage is set in a circle, books scattered around like the flotsam of a wreck, pages hang above the stage and are plastered onto the backdrop. The lighting is subdued, filtered through mists it changes subtly as the weather changes and as the day progresses. The cast enter from the sides of the stage and from the rear of the auditorium throughout, giving an inclusive feel, as characters pass close by and address their lines to the audience as they pass. The sprites act as props, and scenery, they observe and interact with the other characters to produce the sense of enchantment on the island. They are by turns fun, mischievous and sinister. They, the lighting and the music all help create a magical atmosphere.

There are excellent individual performances by Emma Jayne Richards, Sam Hinton, Pete McAndrew, as well as the double acts of Jim Simpson and Jake Wilson-Craw, and Richard Gardner and Steve Hewitt.  Mark Burden is a rather solid choice for Ariel - a contrast to the usual ethereal image of the air sprite but it
worked. He is a rather intimidating sprite.

The Tempest is a strange mix of pastoral, love story, vengeance and supernatural. At times it feels disjointed and as often happens in Shakespeare's plays he does shoehorn in the moral. The People's production is an interesting and intriguing interpretation with much humour in the telling of a dark tale, backed up with beautifully performed music. While it perhaps lacks the impact of previous Shakespeare productions here, this capricious play certainly deserves a viewing.

The Tempest plays until 11th March.
Photographs by Paula Smart

Denise Sparrowhawk

Jumpy - People's Theatre - Review

Jumpy by April de Angelis  

People's Theatre Newcastle  

14th June 2016

So…  I just saw this funny comedy which reminded me of my youth and reminded me about the future all in one show.
12 years ago I was 16 the same age as Tilly (Amy Herdman)  in 12 years I'll be 40 which is the age of Hilary (played by the brilliant Rye Mattick). The relationship between these characters is a lot like my mother's and my sister's when they were younger - I remember incidents like this between them.
Hilary is married to Mark they are going "through the motions" as Hilary would say, staying together for Tilly, Mark is played by the talented Mark Burden.
What do most young people fight about with their parents? Who they are dating!! Tilly is dating Josh, played to perfection by Joe Robson as a 16 year old who thinks with his dick. Hilary catches the two of them bunking off school and she isn’t very pleased. She goes to see Josh’s parents (#whatdidyoudothatfor) and we are introduced to Roland (Colin Jeffery) and Bea (Sharon Lamont) whose relationship is practically finished. Roland talks about the adventures he wanted to take his son on (which sounds something my dad would have said to me) and Bea is just enjoying her life.

Why is Hilary is a tad scared about Tilly and Josh, you ask? Answer: Lyndsey (Rhiannon Wilson) who is 16 and pregnant. Hilary doesn’t want Tilly to go down that road. Throw into the mix Frances, Hilary’s best friend and confidant who I have to say is a very attractive older lady.

Roland is freed from his hell of a relationship and starts to have feelings for Hilary. Hilary tries to fight similar feelings for Roland #fighthilary.  Roland, Hilary, Mark, Tilly, Josh and Frances all go on holiday together to and are having a great time until it inevitably it all blows up. 

In the 2nd half we find out some important news about Tilly and Josh - it seems like good news at first but after a while it becomes clear that it was not so good.
Roland and Hilary are now free to be together but both are still trying to fight the feelings. By the middle of the second act Josh is no more and we meet Cam (Nathan Hussain) who also falls for Hilary. The feeling is mutual...but what will happen? For that you will have to come and see the play! Suffice to say there is a  bouquet of flowers and it does not end well...Now all men know that if women don’t talk its hell, if it’s a mother and daughter it's even worse (just ask my father) but thankfully, this story does have a happy ending and that’s all I’m saying!

The set changes were amazing and the crew need as much credit as anyone, I’m not going to spoil it but its Wheelie good !! (I crack myself up sometimes!)
The songs that they use are funny as well with songs like Shake it Off, Let it Go and for you old people out there Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye which I was miming along to.

If you’re a parent bring your (teenage) kids along so they can see your point of view and if you’re a youngster bring your parents so they can see it through your eyes if your neither just come for the fun and laughter that you will get from this amazing play!! 

Reuben Hiles

When our reviewer says parents bring your kids he means your teenage offspring - we wouldn't recommend this for littlies! (Duly edited!) DS

Sense and Sensibility - Review - People's Theatre

Sense and Sensibility

The People's Theatre
24th May 2016



Sense and Sensibility at the People's Theatre this week is a welcome diversion from the frenzy of brexit and the unpredictability of the English climate! But there are some similarities to be drawn - a family who find themselves in straightened circumstances through no fault of their own, and some pretty sudden and drastic changes in the weather. However, while we have no idea where austerity and society will take us, or what the unpredictable weather will bring, for the Dashwoods these things bring joy and sadness, heartbreak and eventually happiness ( I don’t think I am giving away too much with that statement!)

Forced to downsize after the death of their father, by the acidically grasping  Fanny Dashwood. Promised £1500 a year each, their half brother John is swayed by his wife and allows them a mere £500 in total. They must leave Sussex and the home they love to move to a small cottage, offered to them by a distant relative Sir John Middleton. They must survive with only one servant and no horses or carriage and with little hope of any place in society.

However they are soon taken under the wing of the local gentry and busy body Mrs Jennings. A force to be reckoned with, she is adept at finding out husbands for young ladies, and wheedling out secrets for her entertainment. And of course, if she cannot wheedle then she may well concoct a version of her own invention in order to entertain herself.
The Dashwoods are taken into the social whirl of Devonshire limited though it is, and the warm welcome they receive from relative strangers is in stark contrast to the cold and calculating treatment they received at the hands of Fanny and John Dashwood.

Of course beautiful young ladies will attract attention, but penniless and beautiful young ladies present problems for ambitious mothers and Aunts. The Dashwood girls soon gain admirers, but as ever, the course of true love does not run smooth. Fate and imperious Aunts intervene and some admirers falter under the pressure.


Thus it is that Mr Willoughby, the knight in shining army proves a little less shiny than he at first appears, and the vivacious and beautiful Marianne is left heartbroken and humiliated. Her sister Elinor has to endure heartache because the object of her heart is steadfast and honours his promise to another, made in the flush of youth.

Fortunately for the girls, situations are reversed and what causes heartbreak for one provides solace from another. After much drama, and many comedic attempts by Mrs Jennings to matchmake, all is eventually well.

The play presents some challenges – Austen’s settings are grand houses and sweeping countryside – difficult to recreate on stage. And there are many locations – and many characters, meaning that some actors had to double up. This can cause problems – especially when some of the minor characters have quite similar characteristics. However the cast manage to make their characters sufficiently distinct so as to avoid this. Quick changes of props, clever use of lighting create the essence of the different locations, and dramatic sound effects recreate a great atmosphere for the storms which are so crucial for the story.

Lovely performances by the two female leads - Sara Jo Harrison and Geffen Yoeli Rimmer, but my favourite characters are Alison Carr as Fanny who conveys so much with the disdainful curl of a lip, and Helga McNeil as Mrs Jennings who is just such an over the top gossip and yet wonderfully kind.

If I had to find fault, it would be that the men do not quite meet my expectations of Austen heroes, Willoughby is not quite ardent enough, and Capt Brandon not sufficiently wounded. The gradual affection that grows between Marianne and the Captain is rushed over and all is swept into a conveniently tidy happy ending with a little too much haste.
However this is still a beautifully acted and produced piece of theatre with some heartwrenching scenes and a great deal of humour and is a worthy candidiate in the list of many great productions at the People’s Theatre.



The theatre is in the process of a grand redevelopment project to extend and improve their facilities, They are currently fundraising for this work and your help would be appreciated by voting for them in the Jewson Building Better Communities Fund. Click on the link to give your support – every vote brings them nearer to their goal!

https://www.buildingbettercommunities.co.uk/submission/peoples-theatre-redevelopment-project/ 

Sense and Sensibility plays until Sat 28th May and tickets are available online or at the box office before the show.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Iris - Review - Live Theatre

Iris
Live Theatre
7th April 2016

Iris is a compelling piece of drama which tackles some huge issues. Motherhood, sisterhood, grief, guilt and legacy. It explores the relationship between two sisters and their mother, and the lasting influence a parent can have on her children.

The central character is the elder of the two sisters, Julie (Katy Cavanagh), and the play essentially follows her discovery of herself as she battles through her own internal conflicts and finally comes to terms with the legacy of her relationship with her mother, Iris. She has returned home after many years away, and minimal contact with her mother or sister Ruby (Sam Neale), for Iris's funeral. There is friction between the two sisters fuelled by Julie's guilt and Ruby's resentment. At first it seems that Julie's guilt is purely due to her abandonment of her sister, but as the play progresses more and more of the circumstances of Julie's life with Iris are revealed and it becomes clear that the mother daughter relationship was hugely flawed.

Ruby is much younger - it was hard to put an age on her but the "whatever" attitude suggested teenage. Certainly she is immature, having been overly protected by Iris after a childhood accident.

As the play opens Julie is returning to the house, drunk, with a man in tow. The remains of a buffet and drinks are left on the coffee table and dining table, but the notion that there has been a party is quickly dismissed when Gerry (Joe Caffrey) draws attention to the debris. It is not until later that we discover it is the day of Iris's funeral and Julie has abandoned her sister and the few friends who turned out, at the wake.

Alison Carr has written Iris with humour and compassion. There is much that could be disliked in the two women, but the audience never feels it. The themes of self awareness and self discovery run through the play - symbolised by the many mirrors that adorn the walls of Iris's home and echoed in the repetition of Iris' mantra to "always be able to look ourselves in the eye".

The set of the play is the front room of the house - ordinary, except for the mirrors - but as the second act begins the walls are suddenly transparent for a moment to show the cracks beneath the surface, before the scenes begin and the cracks are covered.

This play unfolds like a puzzle - it is clear from the start that there are unresolved issues between the sisters, and within Julie herself. Iris, their mother, although dead, is a constant presence within the play - a malevolent one for Julie, but a more ambivalent presence for Ruby. Into the middle of all this is drawn the unsuspecting Gerry - one of life's helpers. He acts as the catalyst which draws out the truth for both women. slowly revealing clues for the audience as well as the sisters, so that we piece together the history of the family bit by bit. Like one of Gerry's puzzles the answers gradually fit together until almost all the pieces are in place and the truth is revealed. It's a hard truth and it could easily break any or all of the characters, but Alison Carr ends the play on a note of hope.

Excellent production, clever writing and sympathetic acting by the three members of the cast. Brilliant.

Iris plays until the end of April.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Richard III - Review - People's Theatre

Richard III
People's Theatre
8th March 2016

I'm not sure what I was expecting of Richard III. The little I knew about it before tonight was a vague knowledge that Richard was the tyrannical hunchback king, who had murdered (allegedly) his nephews in the Tower in order to become king, and was recently found buried under a car park in the Midlands. Not a very nice man. I was expecting a lot of politics and military to-ing and fro-ing.

However what I got at the People's Theatre was so much more than this. I got a well produced, brilliantly directed political thriller with a sprinkling of dark humour.

The stage set is minimalistic. A backdrop screen onto which images would be projected (woe betide you if your picture appears on the screen - you are not long for this world!), several suspended trellis screens, and some very dramatic lighting - blood red. Just enough to to add to the drama, but not distract in any way from the words. The costumes are modern and mostly monochrome - the men in suits, the women in black dresses with splashes of colour. It works incredibly well.

As we take our seats, Richard sits on the stage. He waits and when we are all settled and ready, he launches into his first speech - it's conversational. conspiratorial, he talks to us, includes us from the start in his plans. We, the audience, get to see hear what he is thinking and planning while the other characters only see what he chooses to show them.  He is intelligent, quick witted, yet rejected and ridiculed. At best dismissed as a cripple by the court, at worst abhorred and shunned by his mother.  And this rejection is the spur to his ambition. He seeks to prove his true worth, and take revenge against those who have slighted him by becoming King himself and having power over them all. Naturally to do this he must remove the obstacles of the current king, his sons and his wife and anyone else who gets in his way. Colin Jeffrey plays Richard with humour and humanity. I was expecting a tyrant, a power seeking murderer. I did not expect a likable, sympathetic character.

The play unfolds to show the treachery of all the courtiers. Each one is deceitful, and self serving. Is Richard any worse than the others? He may have a black soul, but they have helped to blacken it as the play progresses the body count rises and Richard descends slowly into the darkness of paranoia and distrust. No-one is safe from his knife.

So much is said with a glance or a gesture - dissemblance, plotting, conniving and treachery. Excellent performances from all of the cast but particularly, in his first leading role, from Colin Jeffrey and Kevin Gibson as the Duke of Buckingham - who had me convinced he was one of the good guys at the start! (you quickly discover there are no good guys in this play!)

A great production. Richard III runs till Sat 12th March.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Eclipse - review - People's Theatre

Eclipse

People's Theatre
Feb 25th 2016


National Theatre Connections - a national festival which aims to connect the best new writing for theatre with young actors. Now in it's 21st year NT Connections has gone to its back catalogue and chosen 12 plays to be performed again. Eclipse, the play chosen by the People's Youth Theatre, was written by Simon Armitage back in 1996, and is inspired by the real life disappearance of a young girl, and the solar eclipse which lured people in their droves to Cornwall. These two separate and unconnected events are combined in Armitage's play as a vehicle to explore themes of change and relationships within a group.

The plot is simple - a group of friends meet for the solar eclipse, a stranger joins them and then subsequently disappears at the exact moment the eclipse takes place. The friends are interviewed by the police as part of the investigation. The play however is not simple. It is not told as a linear story with a traditional start, middle and end. It is told in flashbacks from the day interspersed with the police interviews. The audience however only hears the young person's side of the interview - never the police questions. It provides the audience with information which may or may not be what actually happened on the day. As the play starts the group of friends appear to be colluding to get their stories straight. This could be nothing more than the natural uncertainty of youth, seeking support and reassurance from their peers, or it may be more sinister. Do they know more than they are telling?

Photos by Paula Smart

Each of the characters portrayed are individuals in themselves and all very different, and yet there is a clear bond within the group. Klondike (Russ Muscroft) is the leader - they turn to him for direction. Tulip (Anna Chidlow) is self reliant, aggressive, and yet still looks to Klondyke for affirmation. Polly and Jane, (Polly Chedgzoy and Aphra Holland Bonnett) the twins, are fused together in their love of fashion, desperate to be accepted for themselves but hiding behind a shared style. Midnight, (Lewis Gammer) is blind and finds comfort in religion, and clings to the friendships despite the sometimes cruel tricks played on him. Finally  Glue Boy (Tom Hall), part of the group, yet more than any, separate from it. He lives in his own world, seeing everything differently in his glue induced high.  Their differences are acknowledged and accepted. They are all strong within the group. Lucy Lime (Rheanne Boothroyd) is different. She arrives and appears to be accepted but there is suspicion and jealousy. She is too different, they don't seem to understand her and she undermines their confidence - with themselves and with each other. her difference is symbolised by the appearance of two additional voices for Lucy - The Limettes (Abi Featherstone and Rhian Usher) who add to the mystery and other-worldliness of Lucy's character.

This play is a strange mix of the mystical and the real. it is difficult to know what is real, and what is imagined. What does come across is the sense that these young people are hiding something - whether that be the truth about what happened to Lucy Lime, or their own demons and secrets, who knows?  It's quite a challenge for the audience. It must have been a daunting one for the young actors involved as they set out to present this play. They do so brilliantly.

I confess I left the theatre amazed and somewhat bemused. I was not at all sure what to make of the play yet I was quite sure I had just seen a young cast perform something enigmatic and difficult with a huge amount of skill and maturity. For the first time in a long while, I came home and looked up a play to find out what had already been said on the subject. And I find that it is all about the uncertainty, the not knowing, or the maybe knowing. Change affects everyone in different ways, reality is perceived by everyone in different ways. Maybe Lucy Lime existed and something terrible happened to her, or maybe none of it was real after all.

Go see this startling production, and decide for yourselves.

Eclipse plays until 27th Feb in the Studio Upstairs.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Eight - Review - People's Theatre

Eight
People's Theatre
9th February 2016

The People's Theatre's first studio production of 2016 is a challenging one - both in terms of the content and the production process, eight actors, three directors, eight monologues, one play.
Eight, by Ella Hickson, was first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe back in 2008 and the monologues are of that time - they deal with the bombings of 7.7, the post Thatcher demise of the Conservatives, the War on Terror. But almost ten years on they still have an impact because they are also about the people, young people, struggling to fit into a world that seems increasingly alien to them. We have injured squaddies, broken homes, criminals, financial whizz kids, single mothers, teenagers learning about life in the adult world. Each one of them a misfit, just trying to find their place in a world that doesn't seem to want them, into which they have to justify their place.

The stage setting is simple - a black background, with eight shutters and in the first act, a black block. Characters appear from behind the shutters to tell their tales. The block serves as a bed - in a mortuary, in a French Riviera guest house, in an adulteress's bedroom. At times other people - or bodies - occupy the bed to illustrate aspects of the tales. As each tale is told a shutter is turned to reveal an illustration representing their story. The only spots of colour in the blackness, though they are not necessarily bright. In the second act the bed has gone and more props are introduced - a table and chair, or nothing at all in the case of Miles and Buttons who simply pace back and forth on the blank stage, with this shutters turned to show the graphs and figures of a business high flyer, and the  cell door of a criminal about to be released.

The direction is seemless, despite there being three different directors. The play comes together as a whole and there is a symmetry in the way the stories unfold.

The performances by the young actors are powerful and moving. Their characters are complex and their situations difficult. It would be easy to dislike them, and yet there is a redeeming fragility about each one - sometimes only a glimpse, but there. There is humour - black, black humour - and passion, and horror. Innocence is lost, and guilt is hidden. There are arguments, dishonesty and self-delusion, and honesty and openness and fear. 

These are dark tales. They will make your flesh creep, and your heart ache and by the break for the interval you will wonder if there is any hope at all for these young people and their world - every moment of joy or hope is countered with even greater bleakness. But you will also laugh out loud, and you may possibly leave on a note - faint and tremulous - of hope.

Powerful, engaging and brilliantly performed and produced.


Eight plays until Saturday 13th Feb. There are still tickets available. Buy one.

Photo by Paula Smart

Denise Sparrowhawk

Murder on the Nile - Review - People's Theatre

Murder on the Nile
The People's Theatre
19th Jan 2016

Agatha Christie is without the doubt the Queen of the Whodunnit. In Murder on the Nile she sets up the perfect scenario. She combines a confined space, no opportunity of escape, hot sultry weather, and an unlikely collection of people - supposedly random - with a surprising number of connections which Christie drip feeds to us as the play progresses. Social class, politics, religion, clash with jealousy, betrayal and money producing an explosive and fatal mixture for two fo the characters.
Right from the start we know that someone will end up dead by the hand of another on the ill-fated cruise down the Nile. But which character will die at whose hand? And will the audience and the rest of the cast manage to solve the mystery?

We have the rich spoilt socialite Kay (Sara Jo Harris) on honeymoon with her socially inferior husband Simon (Ian Willis), the cynical socialist Mr Smith, (Jake Wilson Craw) who seems to be a complete misfit amongst the rest of the monied and socially self-conscious passengers, Mrs Ffoliot-Ffoulkes (Karen Elliot), excruciatingly aware of her own worth, and her niece Christina (Rachel Scott) - the only genuinely nice person on the boat! Dr Bessner, (Steve Strouzer) a foreigner who we discover has a grudge against Kay's father, and Jacqueline (Alison Carr), the former best friend of Kay and jilted fiance of Simon. Are you following so far? Each one has a possible motive for murder.

As the play progresses and the tension and temperatures rise, it is left to Canon Pennefather to seek out the clues and uncover the truth. But he is not free of suspicion himself - how did he come to be on the boat on the Nile? Was it pure coincidence or is there more to his presence?

The cast act their parts convincingly - the audience is drawn in to the mystery, weighing up the characters and assessing which has the greater motive and opportunity for murder, guided by the good Canon and, of course, in the end all is revealed! Good performances from Alison Carr (who does play the emotional, overwrought female so well), and Jake Wilson Craw as the intriguing Mr Smith. David Downing holds the plot together nicely as the sympathetic and supportive clergyman with an investigator's mind!

The first act sets up the scenario so that the audience are au fait with all the characters and as such was a little drawn out, but the second act has much more action and humour as the plot unfolds and individuals' foibles are revealed and elaborated on.  There are a couple of strange anomalies - the steward (Steve Hewitt) is conspicuous by his absence in the second act and the boat's Captain appears from nowhere after the shootings as if his role is entirely there to justify Canon Pennefather as the lead investigator.
The set and costumes are sumptuous as to be expected, and the atmosphere and setting are enhanced with Egyptian music and sultry jazz throughout.


A fair production for Sean Burnside and Matthew Hope in their first foray into directing, Murder on the Nile plays until Saturday 23rd Jan.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Beauty and the Beast - Review - People's Theatre

Beauty and the Beast
People's Theatre
15th Dec 2015


What do you get if you cross a bit of magic, a good witch, a beautiful girl, and a handsome prince, with a wicked wizard and a terrible curse? Answer...a Tale as Old as Time!  And if you cross that tale with some brilliant actors, beautiful dancers, fabulous costumes and some really terrible jokes - you get this year's Panto at the People's Theatre! In their press release they say that the People's panto has become something of an institution in Newcastle and they are not wrong. The auditoruim was filled with people of all ages.

This year's panto has tradition with a capital T. It takes a traditional tale and gives it that special Newcastle pantomine twist - with all the local jokes, poking fun at the neighbours, and so of course my home town gets a bit of stick, along with with the posh (and not so posh) bits of Newcastle itself! Greggs the Bakers and the Co-op are all fair game. In fact, if you're a northern institution and you don't get a mention you might want to ask yourself why not?

You know exactly where you are with Beauty and the Beast from the excellent backdrops and stage set, to the goodies and baddies there are no surprises - well apart from the bangs and flashes of magic - we ought to have been ready for those but somehow they did catch us out and had us jumping with shock and surprise! Those bangs are LOUD! We booed and hissed at at the devilish Diablo (played with a truly awful french(??) accent by Roger Liddle, and the hideously evil, Camilla Parker-Bike (Sarah Scott plays the self-serving mayoress with rather worrying assurance, keep an eye on her - she'll be nabbing all the best leading roles!) and her odious brother Claude ( James Beresford Simpson - Ding Dong, Belle! He does make your flesh creep!).
Of course we Oui-Ouied with Bertie (nous sommes, indeed, votre amis Joe Robson!)
We laughed at jokes that we'd heard before and a few that we hadn't and we cheered and screamed when required! The monster was always behind them and they never believed us. We played along and sang along and we were happy and we knew it!

Dancers from Jill Errington's School of Dance and Newcastle High School for Girls provided the Awwh! factor, and Clann Na Nagel Irish Dance Academy provided elegance, glamour and fancy footwork (to even the balance for Dame Fifi - her glamour is just a tad less subtle, being All about the Bass as she is!)


The costumes are fantastic - Belle (Emma Jane Richards) has beautiful gowns, As, of course, does Dame Fifi Latrine (Steve Robertson) but best of all is the Beast - Craig Fairbairn is hidden for under a magnificent fabulously "fluffy" mask complete with flowing mane and ferocious teeth!
The music was excellent with numbers such as C'est la Vie, Somebody to Love, and All About the Bass as well as Be our Guest and the signature Beauty and the Beast, Tale as Old as Time.
A good Panto keeps the audience engaged throughout, and the cast certainly did that on Tuesday evening - solid performances from everyone including Anne Cater as Bon Bon, Kevin Gibson as Professor Baguette and either Minnie Dobson or Lottie Glover-Stewart who both play Millie who is the foil to Bertie and provides a lot of the incidental humour (if it is possible to have incidental humour in a panto...?)
Was there anything not to like in this? Well the sound wasn't quite right - mics weren't working as well as they should so some of the terrible punchlines were almost missed if you weren't paying attention, but I'm sure that glitch will be sorted. Other than that it was hard to tell (as usual for the People's Theatre), that this was an amateur production. A brilliant set, fantastic dancers, terrible jokes and a happy ending (oh yes, there is!) Great family entertainment and possibly their best panto yet!

It plays until 20th December and is a snap at £14 a ticket - why pay more?

Denise Sparrowhawk

Double Bill - The People's Theatre - Review

Double Bill
The People's Theatre
28th Oct 2015

Five Kinds of Silence by Shelagh Stephenson  The Zoo Story by Edward Albee

The People's Theatre have chosen two hard hitting, uncompromising short plays for their Studio productions this month. Tackling themes of abuse, isolation, loneliness, and the nature of love, loyalty and justice, these plays are once again choices that will make you uncomfortable, make you think and almost certainly make you count your own blessings.

Five Kinds of Silence  is the story of Billy, the product of an abused and chaotic childhood. He has grown into a man who needs control and order. But he achieves this through violence and intimidation, physical and mental. On the surface he is a fine family man - he has a beautiful wife and two beautiful daughters. Everything he has ever wanted, and he plans to keep them safe - from everyone, and everything but himself. They live in fear of him and yet both they and he himself talk of love. As the play progresses the sense of isolation grows, flashbacks to his childhood, and early adulthood reveal the horror he has lived and is perpetuating - but there are flashes of hope when he meets Mary which are sadly dashed and which lead to his death. (this is not a spoiler - he is shot in the opening scene).
Five Kinds of Silence was originally written as a radio play and this shows in the visual quality of the language - the characters conjure images with their words that make the horror of the situation all the more telling.
The cast led by Gordon Russell as Billy give a astounding performances. He is larger than life, expressive, he dominates the stage whenever he is on it. Whereas his wife Mary (Val Russell) and daughters Susan (Anna Dobson) and Janet (Nicky White) are cowed, but no less compelling as they deal with his violence and the array of professionals who they subsequently come into contact with.
It is a harsh, ugly existence yet we are left feeling a great deal of sympathy not only for the women but for Billy too - for how was he ever to escape the violence that was imprinted in his psyche from childhood?

The Zoo Story is a much quieter and yet somehow even more perturbing story of two strangers who meet in the park. Peter, ( is minding his own business reading on the park bench as he has done every day when he is greeted by a passer by (Stuart Douglas) and reluctantly enters into his erratic conversation.  Again the themes of exclusion and isolation, social acceptability are explored in what is essentially a monologue by Jerry punctuated with occasional comments and questions by Peter. What starts as a friendly, if somewhat random conversation soon begins to take an ominous turn and it becomes clear that jerry is leading up to something - taking the long way, to go a short distance. Something has happened at the zoo, but before we find out what we must hear all of jerry's stories about the dog, about the place he lives, about his landlady, and we must watch Peter's growing discomfort as he is constantly wrong-footed by Jerry. It is a tense and unrelenting play and builds to a sudden and shocking climax!
Stuart Douglas gives an unnerving performance in the role of the edgy, erratic stranger against Sean Burnside's  polite, apologetic victim.

These are two strong plays, and both make emotional demands on the audience. They work well as a double bill in so far as they cover such similar themes and issues, and both illustrated with a dog metaphor. Hard hitting plays, powerfully performed.

Denise Sparrowhawk

The Fifteen Streets - Review - People's Theatre

The Fifteen Streets
The People's Theatre
14th July 2015

Catherine Cookson is an iconic author in the North East. Working in libraries even as late as the 1990s I saw first hand the popularity of her writing. We would have waiting lists that ran well into double figures, sometimes into trebles when the new title was due out. She writes about the harshness of life for the working classes in the north, where just surviving could be a struggle, and where the slightest change in circumstance could be the difference between life and death. She writes of families and communities - of loyalty and betrayal, identity and conformity, of justice and injustice. Her books have been read by many, labelled as 'light fiction' because they are romances and family sagas, but actually they are full of powerful social commentry. Catherine Cookson never preaches, and she does not romanticise the lives of her characters. She pulls no punches in her depiction of the harshness of life for those living on the edge of poverty.  The Fifteen Streets is no exception and it makes for a powerful and emotionally charged stage play. There are many strands to the story, religion, social mobility, class division, domestic violence, prejudice. It would be easy to be overwhelmed by the diversity and the intensity of the themes, or for the play to become something of a charicature, but under the direction of Maggie Childs and John Gray the People's Theatre production manages to cover it all convincingly and realistically.

The play opens with an off-stage tribal drumbeat and chant which seems out of place at first, but it quickly becomes clear that this is indicative of the tribal nature of the communities and their inhabitants, not just the workers in the Streets, but in the church and the other social classes.
The cast is substantial, not only in numbers but in quality - there are many familiar names in the cast list and there was not a bad performance among them. The Fifteen Streets is a story of hardship and love - acted with passion, whether in the love scenes between John O'Brien ( Craig Fairbairn) and 'Miss Llewellen' (Rachel Scott) or in the ferrocious fight scenes between brothers, fathers, sons, and neighbours.  The O'Briens are a notorious family, known for their in-fighting and drinking, held together by the mother Mary Ellen (Sarah McLane) and terrorised by the father (Sands Dobson). Two of the family though, are determined to rise above life in the Streets and better themselves, their strength of character evident from the first - John O'Brien - a good man - and his sister Katie ( Rhiannon Wilson) 'a clever girl', they shine forth, different from their siblings and neighbours. But tragedy strikes and more than one family is torn apart by the repercussions. Will goodness win out and a dream be realised - or will the environment win out and pull them all back down into the darkness?

There are some great performances, notably the scenes between John O'Brien and Mary Llewellyn, which are beautifully acted, and bitter sweet, and the relationship between John and Katie O'Brien, which shows the affinity between a brother and sister who are both so different from their other family members.  I also loved the performance by Helga McNiel of Beatrice Llewellyn, the aggreived mother, clearly jealous of the relationship between Mary and her father, too conscious of her social standing, and too quick to forget her own husband's lowly beginnings.

The People's Theatre have produced another excellent piece of drama. It is much, much more than the tale of the school teacher and the docker.

It runs until Saturday 18th July.

Denise Sparrowhawk