Heaton! - Review - People's Theatre

Heaton!

The People's Theatre
17th July 2018

Heaton! The Peoples Theatre 17^th July 2018 presented in association with Shoe Tree Arts.

Heaton! Is a play inspired by local area of Heaton and the Great Exhibition of the North and is an original production for The People’s Theatre. Upon my arrival my ears were greeted with a full band playing, which was nice, the band was also featured in the play and performed at the end. The play itself was a cornucopia of ideas mixing several genres, including musical aspects, live film action, a blend of real and fictitious characters and stories, set against a backdrop of footage on a giant screen (which wouldn’t look out of place in a cinema).

There was a boatload (quite literally at one point) of cast, not all in speaking rolls, some just for the musical elements, which did make it feel like a musical in places, aside from the fact it actually had some plots to it (sorry I’m not a fan of musicals) The quality of the music was actually quite high too. Some of the characters included from Heaton’s illustrious past included: Lord Armstrong, engineer and original owner of Armstrong Park; Sir Ove Arup the engineer of the Sydney opera house; Sir Charles Parsons the inventor of the steam turbine; Lady Katharine Parsons, the founder of women’s engineering society; Colin Veitch, Heaton’s footballing wonder kid who played in a successful Newcastle United side in the 1800s and early 1900s, who was also co founder The People's Theatre and later a journalist with the Evening Chronicle; prominent feminist and suffragist activist Florence Nightingale Harrison Bell; Rachel Parsons, engineer and advocate for women's employment rights; Edith Stoney, mathematician who helped Charles Parsons in his gas turbine calculations.; Jorn Oberg Utzon a Danish architect notable for designing the Sydney Opera House, and finally George Stanley a historian who narrates much of the action.  

What was very nice was the brilliant original music compositions created specifically for this production by Ken Patterson and Richard Scott. The acting was good and in one of the most enjoyable moments the narrator said Newcastle Upon Tyne instead of Newcastle council, (I guess you had to be there!).  One of the reviews from a guy in the audience made me laugh he said “I thought I was going to fall asleep, but I didn’t it was good”. Praise indeed.

There were so many different stories going on in it, too many to mention, but all weaved into a nice overall narrative capturing the early 1900s in Heaton very well. It was also funny in places, - it seemed to have everything mixing the various genres seamlessly. A whole year's work went into the production and it’s evident, you can see the love that’s gone into it - this is people who are clearly proud of their local heritage. The place was packed out like I’ve rarely seen it, I had a blast and learned a lot and you will too. Get down and share in some local pride! 

Frank Cromartie Murphy

The Vagina Monologues - Review - Royalty Theatre

The Vagina Monologues
Royalty Theatre
27th April 2016

Cast:
Amy Herdman-Burns
Emma McLeary
Beth McAneny
Jude Nelson
Julie Chisholm


The Royalty is staging The Vagina Monologues as its second studio production this season. It's a bold choice but perfectly suited to the intimacy of the studio venue.

The scene is set with a red brick wall as backdrop, no stage and the performance area is incredibly close to the audience making for a close and intimate experience. As the play starts the women are actually seated in the front rows and each stands and joins the others in a conversation about the most intimate part of their anatomy, explaining what the monologues are, how and why they they came about before introducing the first one.

It's brash, it's forward, it's funny. There is much laughter as they list the many names given to vaginas around the country. The women declare their love and loathing, their interest and indifference about this magical, mysterious and monstrous part of their bodies. It is part of us, but it is never spoken about, never touched by us and heaven forbid that we should ever LOOK at it! The monologues, we are told, are a mixture of individual and collective stories. Most are a humorous look at our - and others - attitudes to our vaginas, but some are serious and sad and horrifying. Vaginas, it seems are rarely seen as belonging to the woman whose body it is a part of and the monologues are about us reclaiming, and coming to love what is ours. I was expecting some rank feminism and there certainly is an element of it, but what comes across most is the sadness and confusion that women have felt about their bodies and their lives. The monologues are about finding our identy, and sometimes losing it.

The writing is colourful and frank, and incredibly sensitive and beautiful. The cast do it full justice. presenting the monlogues with such a sense of fun but with seriousness and calm when the script demands it.

I came to this with misgivings, I have been disappointed in the last two productions at the Royalty and was totally unsure that the team here would be able to deliver on this one. But deliver they do - slick production, excellent lighting and sound, and the closeness of the actors to the audience is perfect for the subject matter - providing intimacy and just enough discomfort when eye contact is made! The five women give strong and varied performances. And if on the first night the proximity of the audience and first night nerves got the better of them at times it was barely noticed and expertly dealt with. Nikki Briggs has done a great job directing her cast of women and they have produced an entertaining and thought provoking show.

If the performances in all their productions were as assured and professional as this the theatre would be full every time.
Wednesday was a full house - I recommend booking your ticket in advance - it's worth the booking fee to guarantee you get a seat for this. The Vagina Monologues runs until Sat 30th.

Denise Sparrowhawk