Review - Twelfth Night - People's Theatre

Twelfth Night  

People's Theatre

March 28th, 2023

If Music be the Food of Love...

If you've always thought Shakespeare a bit old fashioned, out-dated and only for those rather literary personages of a certain age then you need to see Twelfth Night at The People's Theatre... The ingenius team at People's have come up trumps once again with an inventive interpretation of the Bard. Twelfth Night is brought fully up to date with the setting transferred to a music festival, complete with sound checks, rain, portable toilets and some of the most creative costumes ever to grace a stage (or festival!) 

This is an hilarious production. I have rarely heard people laugh absolute belly laughs at a performance of Shakespeare - there were belly laugh, loud ones, and an abundance of chuckling throughout this original and creative performance. 

In keeping with the confusing plot line - we had women playing men, and men playing men, and women playing women pretending to be men....and of course they are all in love with the wrong man or woman, or man who is really a woman....Do try to keep up! 

It would be unfair and frankly impossible to pick out favourites amongst the characters. Every single member of the cast performed their socks off - and their yellow stockings! 

It is bawdy, boisterous and and has some banging tunes to boot! 

I would implore you to grab a wristband for the final two days of the Illyria Festival, but sadly it is sold out! So you will just have to take my word for it when I say you have missed a cracking show and you're not likely to see anything like it elsewhere! 

Bravo, People's Theatre! Bravo! 

*images by Paul Hood 

Denise Sparrowhawk

Voltemand and Cornelius are Joyfully Returned - People's Theatre - Review

Voltemand and Cornelius are Joyfully Returned

Picture courtesy of People's Theatre

People's Theatre
8th May 2019

I didn't know much about this play when I came but it's surprisingly good.

I have always said I hate Shakespeare and I do; his plays are boring, not that good and something that I wouldn't make my worst enemy to go to see!

But Paul Vates is doing some good stuff, this Leeds born writer who beat nearly 100 entries in the People's Play competition.

So who are the 2 main characters??

Voltemand, played by Stephen Sharkey though small in stature he makes up for it in acting ability.
Cornelius, played by the all singing and dancing Robbie Close was amazing and probably the star performer of the night for me.

It's a little and large combination which works really well.

The play is set in World War 1 but for most of the play I'm sure the language was Shakespearean.

The two find Sleeper (played by Laura Brown - who's friends were sitting in front of me).
They don't know how they got there and believe they are ambassadors of the King (Claudius, Hamlet's Uncle).

We don't know if they are insane or if everyone else is?? How can you tell???

This play gives you an insight into what it was like in the First World War and there aren't many people alive that can tell those stories, and to think a second war happened less than 30 years later.

This play brings the war to life in a new and different way.


The Second half starts with them in a bombed out church in France where the doctor (played by Pete McAndrew) delves into what they are doing as they may have taken a bit of a wrong turn (Norway to Denmark via France is a big detour if you ask me!)

We do find out what one of them is there for, but the other one has to go and find himself.

In a world where people are dying left right and centre, it would be easier for them to simply die  as too, but as they struggle on through life they learn that they can cope.

The War broke many people's minds especially those who went out to fight and this play shows how it affected people in a way like never before.

The play has some great jokes that are used really well, for example there is a joke about one of them being a shite actor!

Everyone who is involved in this whether it's the cast or crew should be proud of themselves.

Director Chris Heckels should definitely get some praise for the show as he kinda made Shakespeare good again for me, assisted by Evelyn Ryan.

Voltemand and Cornelius play until 11th of May 2019

Rubes Hiles

Noughts and Crosses - Review - Northern Stage

Noughts and Crosses

Northern Stage
7th May 2019

Arriving at the Northern Stage was a shock: the place was heaving with teenagers. I have never seen so many young people at a theatre production. Aha! of course, Malorie Blackman!

Noughts and Crosses is based on the book series of the same name by award-winning Young Adult writer, Malorie Blackman, who as Children’s Laureate initiated the Young Adult Literary Convention, which takes place at London ComiCon. She saw a way of bringing books to where her young audience was already. More recently, she wrote the Doctor Who episode concerning Rosa Parks. You may begin to detect a theme here. What Malorie Blackman excels at is taking highly political themes, of oppression and resistance, racism and direct action, and examining them through the lens of young lovers and fighters, in a speculative world that resembles but whose difference sheds light on our own.

Noughts and Crosses is set in a world divided between the privileged (black) Crosses and the exploited (white) Noughts, who are derogatorily referred to a ‘Blankers’, a term which has the same hateful power as the N-word in our world. It features two young people, Sephy and Callum, who fall in love across this divide. So, as my friend put it, just Romeo and Juliet then? In a sense, yes. But its dilemmas seem very modern, with echoes not just of Apartheid South Africa and the US Civil rights Movement, but also of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, whose spectre has been re-raised by the murder of Lyra McKee by the New IRA.

The young lovers are: Sephy (Persephone), daughter of the Cross Home Secretary, Kamal and alcoholic mother, Jasmine; and Callum McGregor, the Nought son of their sacked servant, Maggie. Sephy and Callum are childhood friends who, as they grow, are forced to keep their friendship secret. Under external political pressure, Kamal is forced to begin desegregation, allowing the first Nought pupils into previously exclusively Cross schools. Callum is one of the first of this experimental intake.
The violent reaction of the Crosses to this is reminiscent of the racist violence against the US Civil Rights Movement. Sephy is ostracised and later assaulted by her Cross friends, for attempting to bridge this violent divide. Callum is forced to publicly deny his friendship with Sephy, a betrayal he attempts to justify by saying it was for her own protection.

As the political tension increases, Callum’s brother Jude and his father Ryan are drawn to the Resistance Militia. Callum and his mother Meggie maintain that resistance must be non-violent. The divide is not just between communities but is causing a rift within families. We learn that Callum’s sister has been the victim of violence from within their Nought community for having a Cross boyfriend, and the internal conflict has driven her mad. She refuses to leave her room and labours under the delusion that she is not a Nought but a Cross.
When the Resistance Militia set a bomb in a crowded shopping centre, Jude and Ryan are forced to flee in the ensuing anti-terrorist crackdown. Ryan is caught but, refuses to betray his son’s whereabouts. He is prepared to die for the cause. He is tried and sentenced.

Sephy finds the whole situation unbearable and resolves to escape: either to boarding school or to run away with Callum, who she asks, in a smuggled letter, to meet her.
Thus ends Act One.

Act Two opens, three years later.
Sephy is back from boarding school; Callum is on a brief visit home from the Militia which he has joined following his father’s death. It is only now that he receives Sephy’s letter. They meet, but in a shocking twist Sephy is taken hostage.
Callum is left alone to guard Sephy, while the others go to pick up the ransom. She angrily confronts him and they are reconciled.

The kidnappers are betrayed and the plot darkens further; options are offered and choices made leading to a horrifying finale.  However thehearbreaking final scene offers a slither of hope for the future, in an echo of the opening scene.

The play packs a huge amount of action into its two hours. It felt Shakespearean in its weight and complexity, but also startlingly modern. The staging, set design, video, sound and lighting design, all added heft and drama to the powerfully adapted script by Sabrina Mahfouz. Stark black and rusty red walls, minimalist set, banks of tv screens, the discordant soundscape created a pressing sense of drama. The surreal slo-mo physicality of the fight and bombing scenes used the minimal props to extreme effect. The massive steps up to the gallows and the eerily lit noose, dwarfing the onlookers, added dramatic tension and shocking power to the climax of each act.
I was weeping at the final scene and praying for a reprieve. But this is a modern Romeo and Juliet.

My only quibble: in compressing such a vast story, summarising the 3-year gap when Sephy is at boarding school and Callum in the Militia, felt a bit feeble, and the device of the undelivered letter strained credulity – but I’m not sure how you would do it otherwise.
Malorie Blackman is quoted as saying that she is sorry that the themes are still as relevant as when she wrote the book 20 years ago. Which is sadly true on a societal level, but as drama it gives added grip. And that teens could still be talking animatedly and identifying so intensely with a book written before they were born, is a tribute to both Malorie Blackman and the production team, from the writer, director, designers and cast, who played their roles flawlessly.

It sent me back wanting to read the whole series from the start to the latest book, Crossfire, due out this summer.

Gerry Byrne

Jack Lear - Review - Northern Stage

Jack Lear 

Northern Stage 
12th Feb 2019

 A modern take on Lear. Set in Hull in the fishing industry. You might expect guttural language and working class grit. You almost certainly don't expect an ethereal stage set and Shakespearean verse. And it's Lear, so you might not expect too deaths but not too many laughs. You might be surprised.

Jack Lear written by Ben Benison and resented by Hull Truck Theatre is a force to be reckoned with. It is a modern reimagining of the Lear tale. Set in Hull, in the fishing industry, it tells the tale of Jack Lear. A self made man. A hard man. he wanted sons but was cursed with daughters. Undaunted he raises the girls to be men, teaches them to survive in the harsh world of fishermen, making no allowance for girlish softness, nor pubescent angst. The girls learn to stand firm on a rolling deck. The survive harsh, rough life at sea and they survive their father's moods, his violence, his tough love. And they wait for their dues, learning when to speak and when not to, knowing how this hard man work, they bide their time and watch their mouths and eventually are rewarded.

Jack divides up his kingdom, boats and houses between his daughters - all they have to do is give him the assurance that he has a place to live with them. They dissemble, not actually answering his question, but not denying him the right as their father to a place at their hearth. all except the youngest. Victoria cannot give the assurance, she names him for the difficult, drunken disruptive man that he is and refuses to give false assurances. She plans to marry and cannot speak for their future family. For her honesty and forthrightness, she is cut off and banished from the family, her share of the business divided between her older sisters. Before long the sisters' true colours show and a drunken Jack finds himself cast off. He throws himself on the mercy of the sea that has been his life hoping to die in the mighty storm that rages. But he is discovered half dead and placed in a nursing home, a shadow of the man he was.

The themes of madness, family, loyalty, sibling rivalry, the nature of woman, are all evident with a
modern twist. All five of the cast give outstanding performances. Sarah Naughton and Nicola Sanderson as Freda and Morgana, sisters set against each other by their father - forged in rivalry strike the perfect balance of self-preserving collaboration and mistrust. Olivia Onyehara as Victoria - the favoured child, is separated from her sisters by her father's favour and her own

honesty. She transforms from forthright, angry honesty to compassionate forgiveness. Barrie Rutter's Lear swaggers and blusters and bombasts his way through life, bullying and abusing his daughters. He ably transforms from Jack the lad, legendary big man, to fragile lonely old man, creating a sympathetic reaction in the audience. In the end we see through Victoria we see the man he could have been rather than the bully he actually was. The performance which steals the show however is Andy Cryer's Edmund. Sleazy, self serving, a womanising charmer, he slithers and oozes across the stage, addressing the audience directly to reveal his plans. I'm happy to report he gets his just desserts in the end.

A fabulous set is made up of a sail and a tangle of fishing nets suspended from the rafters, with atmospheric lighting and sound - drum rolls, cymbals, thunder and lightning, and a brilliant disco with Edmund throwing some "night fever" shapes on the dance floor, all enhanced with brilliant music by Eliza Carthy.

This is a moving, thoughtful, funny and hugely entertaining production. The juxtaposition of Shakespearean language and the Hull accent is surprising and funny, but absolutely works. Ben Benison's play, under the direction of Barrie Rutter, is a visual and aural delight.

It runs until 16th February.

Denise Sparrowhawk

*pictures by Nobby Clark

Preview - Jack Lear - Northern Stage

A modern day re-working of Shakespeare's King Lear comes to Northern Stage in February. 

 Lear is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays - with more layers than an onion - so I will be interested to see how this modern interpretation of the story works when it comes to Northern Stage next moth. 

DS

 Barrie Rutter OBE leads cast for Jack Lear at Hull Truck Theatre 

With music composed by folk icon Eliza Carthy MBE 

Hull Truck Theatre are donning their oilskin overalls and fishing boots in January, as they step into 2019 with Jack Lear, an exciting new production written by Ben Benison, set on the banks of the river Humber. Jack Lear will showcase a cappella folk music composed by Yorkshire-born folk icon Eliza Carthy MBE, daughter of musicians Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson. 

The title role of Jack Lear will be played by Hull-born Barrie Rutter OBE. Winner of numerous awards, including the "Creative Briton Award" in 2000, Rutter continues his Shakespearean adventures in this gritty re-working of King Lear. Rutter gives life to the eponymous central character and uses his directing talent to tell an intense, complex, and unique story.  

Nicola Sanderson (Somewhere, National Theatre, Henry V, Northern Broadsides, The Merry Wives, Northern Broadsides/ West Yorkshire Playhouse) will star as Morgana, Jack Lear’s eldest daughter. Sarah Naughton (Euphoria, Ensemble 52, Fruit, Hull, Hamlet, East Riding Theatre, Dark Winter, Ensemble 52, Hull Truck Theatre) will be Jack’s middle daughter, Freda. Olivia Onyehara (All our Daughters?, New Vic Theatre, Pride and Prejudice, Nottingham Playhouse/York Theatre Royal,  A Midsummer Night’s Dream/ Macbeth, Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre York) will join the cast as Victoria, the trawlerman's youngest daughter. 

Andy Cryer (The Comedy Of Errors, Northern Broadsides, Othello, Whitehall Theatre, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Shakespeare’s Globe) will take on the role of Edmund, the solicitor who adds an extra touch of drama to this stormy family affair.  

The creative team includes Kate Unwin (Set Designer), Aideen Malone (Lighting Designer), and Mathew Clowes (Sound and Digital).  

Jack Lear opened at Hull Truck Theatre on Thursday 17 January and the production transfers to Northern Stage in Newcastle from 12th to 16th February.

Age recommendation: 14+ 

Tickets start from £10 for Jack Lear at Northern Stage. To book online visit www.northernstage.co.uk or call the Box Office on 0191 230 5151.  

Photo credit: Nobby Clark

Romeo and Juliet - Review - People's Theatre

Romeo and Juliet

People's Theatre
2nd Oct 2018

Romeo and Juliet is my least favourite Shakespeare play. I confess to disappointment that this was the People's Theatre choice this year.  I am in a minority. It's a crowd pleaser, everyone loves Romeo and Juliet except me. I think my dislike must stem from a bad production seen some time ago. And possibly Leonardo Di Caprio can shoulder some of the blame. I am always impatient with the fickleness of the characters, and the unreasonable feud. Do any of them even know why the two families don't like each other?

So it takes something special to get me on side for this one. Would People's Theatre be able to sway me from my prejudiced outlook?


Director Anna Dobson took her inspiration from the BBC's Peaky Blinders, bringing the play into post war 20th Century. This gives plenty of reasons for unrest and dissatisfaction in life to account for the many grudges and battles between opposing factions, and gives the wardrobe and set builders the opportunity to be a little more creative. No doublets and pantaloons here, and no rose covered balcony. The set is industrial, with barrels, packing cases and chains in place of the streets of Verona and rosy arbours. The cast are dressed in Tweeds and flat caps, swords replaced with flick knives and cudgels. The women dressed beautifully in furs and lace.
And in the background haunting Nick Cave tunes.

You know the plot - The Montagues and Capulets create fear and mayhem in the streets of Verona, violence erupting whenever the two factions meet. But two meet and fall in love - Romeo, a Montagu, and Juliet a Capulet. They enlist the help of Friar Laurence who marries them in secret. Meanwhile Juliet's father has brokered a marriage agreement with Paris.
I won't be spoiling the plot if I tell you it doesn't end well.

Craig Fairbairn and Emma Jayne Richards sizzle on stage with barely controlled passion in their scenes, capturing and conveying to all around, the immediacy of their attraction to each other and the all-consuming nature of their love.

Richard Jack gives an exceptional performance as the hot tempered and lewd Mercutio- the friend whose temper and loyalty contribute to the tragedy.

It is a fast paced, visually stunning and beautifully executed production. Did the team succeed in impressing me with their Romeo And Juliet? They did. They played a peaky blinder.

It runs until Saturday 6th October.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Hamlet - Northern Stage - Review

Hamlet

RSC at Northern Stage
20th Feb 2018

Simon Godwin's Hamlet is a revelation. No sign here of any stuffy classical Shakespeare, the play bursts  onto the stage in a riot of noise and colour - drums, chanting, singing, clapping, dancing...costumes that are exquisitely shaped and coloured, bright prints for the queen, bold suits and ties for the king and the courtiers, camouflage fatigues for the soldiers.

Lorna Brown plays the beautiful Queen Gertrude with elegance and grace, while Clarence Smith struts and swaggers as the new King Claudius, preening like a peacock and exhibiting all the lustful inclinations which so disgust his nephew. In contrast to their peacock feathered preening, Hamlet appears in black and grey, hands shoved into pockets of a hoodie, still mourning his father he stands apart from the court, the only one not rejoicing at his mother and uncle's marriage. Paapa Essiedu fills the role of Hamlet with such grace and presence, from his righteous anger at the unseemly speed of the marriage, to his antics feigning madness, his performance is captivating.

This is a play of contrasts -  from the colourful revelry of the court, and the travelling players, to Hamlet's dark brooding anger. From the sweetness of Ophelia's relationship with her father Polonious (Joseph Mydell) and brother Laertes (Buom Tihngang) and the beauty of her love for Hamlet set against his own distrust, and the lustful relationship between the king and queen. After her father's death, Ophelia's madness is absolute and real, and could not be further from Hamlet's controlled mimicry of madness. Mimi Ndiweni's depiction is utterly convincing, as she veers from childlike singing, to wretched wailing - a million miles from the happy, carefree girl she was in the earlier scenes.

Throughout the production the performances are outstanding, even down to the scene changes which seem almost choreographed. The whole production is dynamic and energetic. It's a masterpiece and a privilege to watch.

Hamlet plays until 24th February and is quite rightly sold out!

Denise Sparrowhawk

Much Ado About Nothing - Barnes Park - Review

Much Ado About Nothing
Theatre Space NE in Barnes Park
18th Aug 2017

Theatre Space NE's Plays in the Park have become the theatrical highlight of the summer in Sunderland, drawing crowds of intrepid adventurers out into the sunshine - and sometimes the rain - to experience the theatre in a different, more inclusive way. They traditionally stage three plays in three parks across the city - two Shakespeare and a family play, the latter usually written or adapted by a local writer. This year they offered Henry IV in Roker Park, Robin Hood in Mowbray Park and finally this week Much Ado About Nothing in Barnes Park. Sadly I couldn't make it to the first two productions, but survived the A19 trip from Hartlepool to Sunderland in time to catch their second performance of Much Ado.

Due to start at 6pm, the heavens naturally opened and poured out the contents of a large black cloud at 5.45pm. By the time we gathered at the Coach House Café for "curtain up" the clouds were departing and the last few drops of rain were giving way to sunshine. Clearly this was entirely due to the Gods taking pity on the actors as they sang a forlornly hopeful rendition of "Rain, rain go away".

The proceedings begin with the usual health and safety announcements - done in the style of a BBC announcer from the "magic black box", and then we are off. Transported to Italy after the end of a campaign of war (Italy was full of warring factions in the day - all the noble lords trying to pinch each others lands). Don Pedro (Steven Blackshaw) plays host to the returning heroes and his own brother Don John (Dale Jewitt) (nasty piece of work he is - full of scheming and sibling envy). Benedick (David McCarthy) wants to talk of war and daring deeds, but much to his disgust his friend Claudio (Luke Maddison) has seen the beautiful Hero (Eilidh Talman) and wants only to talk of love and marriage. Benedick thinks marriage is folly and swears he will die before he is wed. While Hero's cousin Beatrice (Corinne Kilvington) is scathing of men - and in particular Benedick - saying there is no man worth giving up her freedom for. She swears she would rather stay single as she is than marry an unworthy suitor.

Claudio, happy in love, plots with his friends to make Beatrice and Benedick fall in love, while Don John plots to undermine his brother Don Pedro by breaking up the marriage of  Claudio and Hero (it's all very devious and complicated!) From this ensues a wealth of comic and tragic misunderstandings. Lives are and happiness are threatened, fools and knaves are revealed, and well, if you want to know how it all turns out you shall have to get along to the park and join the adventurers!

As always it is difficult not to end up listing everyone when it comes to performances of note - but mention has to be made of Dale Jewitt who excels as both the superciliously conniving Don John and the self-important yet asinine Dogberry; David McCarthy is glorious as Benedick, and is surely the audience's favourite. David John Hopper as Leonato is transformed from a foppish sycophant in the first acts to a resolute, determined statesman in the final act, both persona's perfectly believable. Samantha Bell morphs from the tipsy maid, Margaret, to the jobsworth watchman Secole, and finally to an almost Julie Waltersesque performance as the elderly Friar.  She gets full marks for character hopping. Eilidh Talman is a beautiful and graceful heroine.

The best thing about Theatre Space NE's productions is that they don't take their Shakespeare too seriously - they are actively trying to make it accessible to everyone, so there is none of the grandiose pontification that in the past has been the mark of Shakespearean acting. Any pontificating is done very much tongue in cheek. They are not afraid to add in elements to make the play relevant and accessible to a modern audience, but do this without sacrificing the essence of the original. They add music and song. They interact with the audience, asides are generally addressed toward particular audience members. Eye contact is key - this is not an audience watching a play, this is an audience experiencing a play. There is no better way to experience Shakespeare in Sunderland!

Don't miss the last two chances to experience Plays in the Park this summer - Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th August, 6pm at Barnes Park. 

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

West Side Story – Newcastle Musical Theatre Company, Theatre Royal - Review

https://www.theatreroyal.co.uk/whats-on/westsidestory

West Side Story

Newcastle Musical Theatre Company

Theatre Royal

19th Jul 2016

 

 

 

 

After seeing their last production Sister Act I was very much looking forward to seeing West Side Story and it didn't disappoint.

West Side Story is a tale of love and gangs  which is gripping from start to finish.  The Jets and The Sharks., led by two great leaders Riff played fantastically by Dan Dickinson and Bernardo, Ty Roach Thompson. These two seem to be like ghosts in the second half of the show but their presence is still felt.

The Jets and The Sharks and have a dance this is where our two star crossed lovers meet; Maria who is Bernardo's sister played by the amazingly talented lady, Nikki Cunningham, falls head over heels in love with Tony played by Jamie Douglass.

I would love to take a minute to talk about The Jets because these guys were great and they really made you believe that they could be a gang, we have spoken already about Riff but in every team you need the engine and in the Jets you have Action played amazingly by Simon Pinkney. A-Rab played really well by Jack Hindmarsh, Baby John (Curtis Appleby), Diesel (James Mitchinson), Big Deal (Martin Hampton Matthews), Tiger (Daniel Thomas), Mouthpiece Nathan Denton), Aisling Vallely and Carl Luke who plays Snowball.  The star of the Jets is a girl called Anybodys (It couldn't have been Anybody else) played to perfection by the amazingly talent Beth Johnson who was full of energy throughout the show (and her hair grows back really fast!)

The Sharks comprised of Bernardo,  Anita played by Lauren Gordon, Rosalia played by Helen Cash who brings great comedy to the role, Ellen Crake who plays Velma, JoJo Hatfield who plays Consuela, Kara Ferguson plays Somewhere Girl and Savanna,  and finally the star of the Sharks, Chino played extremely well by Andrew Ewart.

Keeping the two gangs from fighting are four brilliantly actors  Dan Greener as Lt Shrank (and you should have seen the crowd of girls that flocked to him at the stage door after the show)) and the wonderfully talented Joe Costigan playing the delightful Officer Krupke, Noel Harris as Glad Hand and finally Ken Allen is brilliant and deserves great praise for the work he does for the company leading the Junior Section of NMTC.

Taking over as MD this year was Malcolm Moffat who does a great job with the baton with his 18 person band (yes it is that many).

The Crew deserve a mention because a lot of the great work they do goes unnoticed unless there are hiccups! The sound and lighting are great - a few little technical glitches but not enoughto spoil the show.

The Ending! Now some people would say that I have a heart of stone but jeez guys the ending nearly had me in tears (Don't believe anybody who says I was crying, they were tears of joy). I'm not going to ruin the ending but it will make you shed tear or two…

Before I finish I just have to give a shout out and an amazing well done to one lady who has worked on this show and the last 2 shows the NMTC have done - the amazingly talented Sandra Laidler. She has done a brilliant job with all the shows that she has worked on and I wish her all success with Copacabana in 2017. The  NTMC will have their work cut out finding a replacement, although of course she couldn't do it without her amazing production team - Chantal Riley ( Dance Captain), Philip Stockley ( Production Manager) Malcolm Moffat (MD) and Julie Macnaughton ( Accompanist).

Once again I would say that this is one show that will make you laugh and cry and take you on a journey and you will come out feeling better and having seen a great show performed by a great theatre company. This show is amazing and I do want to see it again and I definitely think that you should go down to the Theatre Royal box office and get your tickets before they run out.

It Plays until Sat 23^rd July. 

Reuben Hiles

Lords and Ladies - Review - People's Theatre

Lords and Ladies

People's Theatre
19th July 2016

Based on the book by Terry Pratchett, adapted for the stage by Irana Brown, Lords and Ladies is a mad tale of magic, folklore and politics...

Disc World has become complacent. Years of peace have worn away the knowledge of what life was like before the elves (whisper it, they come out when they are called) were banished. Those days have sunk into folklore - tales to scare the children, not real.  But the elves have been plotting and they want to claim back their land. The old Witches' powers have waned and there are few of them left. The young people are dabbling in magic and setting themselves up as New Witches with new magic, and they are drawn to the tales of the Elves, seduced by the glamour. The Elves are waiting their chance and preying on the weak to inveigle their way back into the world they once ruled.

The People's Theatre have once again taken on the challenge of a big cast production with over 25 characters. And that's before you even consider the legacy of Terry Pratchett hovering over the whole proceeding! But as usual the People's team have taken on the challenge and presented a blinding production. Magnificent costumes, spectacular sound and lighting, a few clever special effects and some almost perfect comic timing make this an incredible show. We have morris dancers, wizards, witches - old and new. You have to love the teenage emo witches with their carefully ragged outfits and their self-consciously co-ordinated black lace handkerchiefs). An unexpected king and his queen to be, chosen from his subjects ( like all good fairy tales). Wicked elves, a glamourous bad queen and of course, an Orang-utan.
Pratchett tips the wink to all manner of art and literature from Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream to modern film ( yes, Arnie gets in there too). If you were thinking it's all sounding a bit panto-ish, you'd not be far wrong, and of course, there is nothing the People's theatre do better than panto and Shakespeare.
The characters are colourful, larger than life, the humour is witty and bawdy, and at times cuttingly sharp. The tale is one of good versus evil, and the dangers of lessons not learned, or possibly forgotten. There's a lot going on in this play - and if you aren't familiar with Pratchett you have to pay attention to keep up with the plot! If you do then you will be rewarded with romance, fight scenes, lots of silliness and much laughter!

Standout performances from Sarah Scott as Magrat Garlick, Kath Frazer as Granny Witherwack, and Val Russell as nanny Og, who btween them save the day! Aided and abetted by the Rude Mechanicals and Sean Og (David Robson). One last round of applause to Count Casanunda - the world's second best lover, played fabulously by John MacDonaold. he deserves an Oscar for coping with that wig!

All in all this is a marvellous feel good production with a serious message about society if you'd care to look for it, or you could just enjoy the spectacle of a well put together hilarious show!

Lords and Ladies plays till 23rd July.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Romeo and Juliet - Review - Theatre Space NE

Romeo and Juliet
Theatre Space NE in Roker Park
16th July 2016

On Saturday evening I joined a bunch of people in Roker Park, Sunderland for an out door performance of Romeo and Juliet. I have a love hate relationship with this play. I think it has some of the most beautiful lyrical writing from Mr Shakespeare but also the most annoying characters, added to this the plot device of the undelivered letter and the unfortunate timing by mere minutes in the final scene and my irritation is complete. I'm quite sure that Thomas Hardy's plots were all inspired by this device of Shakespeare! But enough of that - I was here to review this particular production of Shakespeare's tragedy of the star-crossed lovers not the writing of Shakespeare himself. But you may want to take that into account in the review - it was probably going to be a tough call to get me waxing as lyrical as The Bard himself...

Plays in the Park, it has to be said are a great way to introduce people to theatre - particularly people who maybe would find the idea of going to the theatre a bit daunting. For these, all you do is turn up at the designated entrance of the park and join the crowd. No worrying about finding your seat, or feeling out of place. As we arrive orange behoodied helpers ask for postcodes, and offer advice on where the best place to stand for the start would be. It is all very relaxed, but it is quietly efficient in its organisation. As we wait, watching the rest of the audience gather, the actors also begin to arrive and set up for the first scene.  Drums, guitars, and other percussion instruments are brought on, actors stand in little clusters chatting. We are given instructions from "Adventure Central" on protocols and safety issues during the performance....and then the action begins! Of course Romeo and Juliet starts with a fight scene - those Montagues and Capulets can't pass in the street without a situation developing. Tension builds with single drum beats and the call of "Star Crossed Lovers" and the opposing groups line up, the drum beats burst out and the fight kicks off - fists and feet fly, but no swords yet. The swords and bloodshed will come later - for now the fight is stopped by the arrival of the law and the leaders of the warring families are charged to keep their houses in order. It's a dynamic start - and sets the background and the pace for the play. Against this backdrop of fury and violence we have the contrast of a lovelorn Romeo. Pining for his love who has resolved to remain chaste and will not succumb to his advances. His friends, Benvolio (Steven Blackshaw) and Mercutio (Dale Jewitt), despair of him and he becomes the butt of their many bawdy jokes as they try to cajole him from his despondency. These two are the perfect foil for the seriousness of the warring families - they provide lighthearted relief and bring much humour to the play, reminding us that they are actually mostly just boys and girls, in their teens and full of the rebelliousness and restlessness that such an age brings.

And so, of course, Romeo's broken heart is quickly mended and Rosalyn forgotten once he sees the beauteous Juliet, only for it to be beset with a whole new set of problems when he discovers whose daughter she is! Am not going to spoil it and tell you the whole story - but you know it's not going to end well!

This production is fast paced, full of emotion and humour - surprising for a tragedy! The individual performances are great, the fight scenes beautifully choreographed and the anger and anguish realistic. If accents are a little more north-east England than north-east Italy, I think that can be forgiven.

Stand out performances for me were Romeo - William Davies brought such a mix of youthful enthusiasm and wretchedness to the role, he reminded me of an over-enthusiastic puppy! And Friar Lawrence - played by David John Hopper, again played with such humour yet his character displayed so much empathy with the plight of the young lovers.

I enjoyed the performance immensely - and the characters were not so annoying as I feared! Perhaps the recent anger and recrimination that has been witnessed since the EU referendum resonated with the themes of the play, where the characters all behave irrationally in their anger. Or perhaps the quality of this production won me over?

The last performance is tonight (Sunday 17th) at 7pm, if you can't get there tonight you can see the next productions from Theatre Space NE in parks in Sunderland over the summer - watch for George and the Dragon in Mowbray Park, and then more Shakespeare in Barnes Park with the Taming of the Shrew!

Cast
Lady Montague - Natasha-Sofia Goulden
The Prince - Steven Charles Stobbs
Benvolio - Steven Blackshaw
Paris - David McCarthy
Lord Capulet - Rob Reed
Juliet - Natasha Haws
Romeo - William Wyn Davies
Nurse - Corinne Kilvington
Tybalt - Jacob Ernie Anderton
Lady Capulet - Eilidh Talman
Friar Lawrence - David John Hopper
Mercutio - Dale Jewitt

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

Much Ado About Nothing - Review - People's Theatre

Much Ado About Nothing
 People's Theatre
10th March 2015

People think it's a new thing this idea that two people who don't like each other much could fall in love and live happily ever after. Before Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks got mail, and before Mills and Boon had even thought of the plot line, Shakespeare had already made a killing in the Romantic Comedy genre!
Much Ado About Nothing is one the best of Shakespeare's comedies.  It has all the elements to keep an audience intrigued and interested - handsome heroes, beautiful heroines, sparring couples and Machiavellian siblings, and a beautiful Italian setting. What more could you want in a romantic comedy? Not much - some witty one liners, some heartbreak and and some happiness at the ending. All the boxes ticked so far.

All that's left then would be for a cast and performance to do justice to the story and the team at the People's Theatre as usual does not disappoint. The set is a little more ornate than usual, depicting an Italian garden with enclosed within a stone wall with terrace and garden seat and a well (for young lovers and friends to meet at, to sit upon to plot and carry out mischievous schemes to capture the hearts of their embittered and unsuspecting cousins). All the action takes place within the garden, on the few occasions a different scene is required this is achieved with lighting changes and the introduction of an extra prop or two. The cast are dressed in retro 1960s style which works well - it's chic and simple, the ladies in bright dresses and capri pants, and the gents in sharp suits and trilbies.

The story - set in italy at the end of a military campaign sees soldiers returning to the home of Leonates, full of the tales of battles won and enemies routed. A tentative peace has been met. And the soldiers attentions turn from fighting to love. much to the disgust of Benedick (Craig Fairbairn), he finds his friend Claudio (Alex Blenkey) is more interested in the beautiful and modest Hero (Emma Jane Richards) than in tales of soldiering and heroism. He himself declares he will never marry for there is no on woman who embodies all the fair traits of character he would desire and mocks his friend for his lovesick air. His friend and lord Don Pedro decide to amuse themselves by finding him a wife - and see the chance to match him with Beatrice (Sara Jo Harrison), the woman he has declared to be unfit for any man's wife.

Naturally things do not all go to plan - Claudio's marriage to Hero is prevented by he machinations of Don Pedro's illegitimate brother and it seems all will be lost. Perhaps this is a tragedy after all?
Of course, Shakespeare finds a devious method to reveal the false knaves who have tried to undo the fragile peace, but not before much anguish and unhappiness has fallen on the house of Leonates.

There are some excellent performances - Craig Fairbairn is swaggers across the stage as Benedick in the first half convincingly learns some humility as he realises the true nature love in the darker second act. Beatrice is one of Shakespeare's strongest female characters. Sara Jo Harrison gives a great performance as the bright, witty, scathing, loyal and fiery cousin to the modest and quiet Hero.
By far the best scenes are those when Benedick and Beatrice eavesdrop on their friends - two well directed comic scenes. And then the emotionally taut scene when Beatrice grieves for her cousin and tests Benedick's new found love by demanding he kill his friend, who is the cause of the grief.

This is well produced and directed, and skillfully performed (even allowing for one or two stumbles over the Shakespearean dialogue!). Well done to all involved. And if you want to know how it all resolves itself into a happy ever after ...you'll have to go see it!

Much Ado About Nothing plays until 14th March.

Denise Sparrowhawk