Review - The Son - People's Theatre

The Son

People's Theatre

8th Sept, 2025

Written by Florian Zeller

(translated by Christopher Hampton)

Directed by Brian Green, Karen Elliot

The Son is the third in a trilogy of plays by French writer Florian Zeller.  I have not seen either of the other plays, and though I feel there would be some value in having seen all three; it may give some insight into the characters to have seen the other two plays but it is not essential - the The Son stands up on its own account. 

Nikolas, struggling with the disintegration of his family after his parents divorce, has been absent from school for months, he is withdrawn, moody, and uncommunicative. His mother, Anne, is at the end of her tether and seeks help from his estranged father, Pierre. Nikolas moves to live with Pierre and Sofia and their new baby. Sofia is wary of Nikolas, but both she and Pierre believe he is nothing more than a moody teenager. At first things seem to be going well, but it soon becomes clear that Nikolas' problems go much deeper. His mood swings increase and he clashes with his father and Sofia with catastrophic results.

Staged in the studio with a minimal set, this creates a very immediate experience for the audience - at times almost claustrophobic, we don't just witness the trauma that envelops this family, we live it, breathe it in. We are no more able to escape it than the characters themselves.  

The set mirrors the emotional state of the characters. Pierre and Sofia's home is bright, colourful, warm - everything that Nikolas' life is not. When Anne, comes to speak to Pierre about their son, the conversation takes place to the left of the stage where there are just two plain, grey chairs. Similarly when Nikolas goes to his mother after the argument with his father, these chairs represent Anne's home, and later the waiting room of the hospital is represented by these chairs. The contrast between this and Pierre and Sofia's home is stark. Their home represents everything that Nikolas feels he has lost - his home, his, family, and his sanity. 

The subject matter is painful, uncomfortable, unsettling, and yet compulsive. Jack Stuart's performance as Nikolas is painfully convincing, a brooding presence on the the stage throughout, with his glowering countenance and anxious ticks and twitches, as he struggles to communicate. Craig Fairbairn gives an equally telling performance as the father struggling to understand his son, desperate to help and crushed by his own inability to do so, haunted by the memory of his own father's neglect. Brooke Milburn as Anne, and Annie Cairns as Sofia give admirable supporting performances but I did feel that their characters lacked the depth given to the father and son.  

The is a difficult play to watch but the directors and cast have delivered a compelling, heartbreaking production.  

The Son plays until 13th September. 

                                    *Images: Paul Hood

Denise Sparrowhawk

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

  

Iris - Review - The People's Theatre

Iris

People's Theatre
10th Sept 2019

I saw Iris when it was first performed at Live Theatre and I remember it as a darkly funny, emotional and tragic piece of theatre. Going along to see it again this week, I did wonder if it would have the same impact - after all, I already knew the plot with all its twists and turns, so there would be no surprises. But, written by Alison Carr one of the stalwarts of  The People's Theatre, this is a play that was coming home. It was bound to be something special.

A play that explores family and relationships, the nature of motherhood, love and hate, responsibility, abandonment, guilt, success and failure, it covers a huge spectrum. And performed in the studio, with a cast of just three, and with some of the action taking place within arm's length of the audience it was always going to be intense.

Two sisters have just buried their mother - Iris. Julie the elder has been away for many years, and had a difficult relationship with Iris, while Ruby, the youngest has been very close to Iris; perhaps too close. On the day of the funeral Julie disappears from the wake and returns later, drunk, with a man in tow.

Emma Weetch plays the older sister Julie - a mess of contradictions, desperate for some human contact yet rejecting any show of affection or sense of connection when it is offered. She is scratchy and awkward and at times downright abusive. But there are cracks in her armour that begin to spread and widen as the play progresses.

Stephen Sharkey gives a deceptively understated performance as Gerry, the unfortunate man caught up in the middle as the two sisters fight and spit a each other like cats. Equally desperate for human contact but in a completely different way to Julie, he hides behind an array of bad jokes and astonishing facts on almost any subject - like a walking encyclopaedia. He offers advice for every situation sounding as Ruby puts it "like a self help book". Of the three characters, he is the most likable and yet also the saddest and perhaps most tragic with his doggedly optimistic veneer hiding a lonely and sorrowful life.

Sarah Mulgrew plays the younger, damaged teenager, Ruby. Like Julie , she is damaged emotionally and psychologically, but Ruby is also physically damaged - having lost an eye in a childhood accident. From her first appearance on stage Sarah Mulgrew exudes a mix of angst and apathy and teenage antipathy. Though all three actors gave brilliant performances, Sarah was the outstanding performance of the night for me - she was completely convincing in her role.

Though I knew what was coming I was still entirely engaged throughout the play - anticipating some of the events and recognising and remembering others as they happened. The second act almost had me in tears as the truth of the sisters situation began to be revealed. it was a highly charged, emotional experience.

An excellent start to the new season, Iris plays until Saturday, and is sold out.  If you have a ticket, you are in for a rare treat - take your tissues. If you don't have a ticket, get your name down on the waiting list and hope someone else cancels!

Denise Sparrowhawk

The Gambling Man - Review - People's Theatre

The Gambling Man

People's Theatre
16th July 2019

The People's Theatre close their season with a crowd-pleasing Cookson adaptation.
The Gambling Man, set in South Shields, follows the fortunes of Rory Connor (Stephen Sharkey) a rent collector with ambition. A gambler, he plans to use his skills at the tables to win enough money to lift himself and his brother out of poverty. His plan to buy a derelict boat yard, however, brings him into conflict with the Pitty brothers (Steve Hewitt and Steve Strouzer) and their employer Alfred Nickle (Tony Seghal). If Rory and his brother set up in the boat yard, their own shady business will be under threat and they won't allow it.  Rory's ambition and arrogance is greater than their threats and he and his brother eventually do set up their boatyard in opposition to the Pittie brothers but not without a cost. Rory gambles to win the money for the yard, and almost dies after a beating by the brothers.  He "borrowed" his gambling stake from  his best friend's rent account and because of the beating is unable to repay the money before it is discovered missing. His friend is jailed for the theft. The guilt of this will haunt Rory and ultimately destroys his relationship with Janie (Emma jane Richards), his childhood sweetheart.

It's a tale of harship, ambition, fate and fortune. Rory is essentially a good man but he has a flawed character. He is a man who wants to control his own destiny, but finds other people and circumstance have a hand in his fate, sometimes for the better, but ultimately or the worse and he pays dearly for his mistakes. In many ways it is a very hardy-esque tale with fate intervening to interfere with the chosen path of the characters and the weather (unremittingly stormy and brilliantly conveyed by the sound crew) mirroring the relentless difficulty and hardship and portent of what is come.

The experienced People's cast and crew do a grand job of presenting this adaptation of Catherine Cookson's work. Their affection for the local writer is clear in the portrayal of the characters and their stories.  Though a tragic tale, it is saved from being overbearingly dark by the honest observation of the characters and the snatches of humour in their dealings with each other. You might not like all these characters but will feel for their situation.

You can bet fans of Cookson will love this production, while fans of the theatre will appreciate the staging and performances.

The Gambling Man will be playing until Saturday 20th July. Raise your stake and take your place at the tables with him.

Denise Sparrowhawk

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

Equus - Review - Northern Stage

Equus

Northern Stage
30th April 2019

I didn't know much about Equus before I opted to review it at Northern stage. I knew it was about a young man who committed heinous crime, I knew it involved nudity and eroticism. I knew this because of the furore that followed the announcement that Daniel Radcliffe was to take the lead role shortly after finishing his stint as the saviour of the world in Harry Potter. I suspect that most people - none theatre people, I mean -  if they are aware of this play at all, are aware of it because of this. I admit that it was partly Potter-induced curiosity that led me to raise my hand when the offer of reviewing Equus came up. I was curious to see what all that fuss had been about, had it been justified or was it all just media fuelled hysteria with little substance. I wondered if the cast of this production felt pressured by the play's recent history. And so I arrived not knowing much, not certain that the little I did know was accurate, and feeling just a little trepidatious. I really was not sure what to expect.

The stage as we entered the auditorium was clear - pale grey curtains, around the three sides, a grey
floor with the appearance of velvety texture - a dappled horse hide, perhaps? And in the corner a small brown clad figure. Martin Dysart, child psychiatrist. The best in the field and, as it turns out, a man on the edge. Martin, already over stretched, takes on the case of Alan Strang, a boy who has committed a terrible crime and it is through his eyes that we learn the truth, as he gently, patiently uses his psychiatrist's tricks to draw Alan out. He talks to the boy, to the parents, to his friend the magistrate who brought the boy to him and gradually secrets are revealed. Not just Alan's secret, but those of his parents and of Dysart himself. this story is as much about the doctor as it is the patient. As he unravels the mystery of the boy's actions, we see that he himself is unravelling, questioning the very core of his being, the validity of his skill, of his profession. The doctor is as chained as the horses, as much a prisoner in a world of his own making as the boy is. Both are trapped, and as the boy gradually breaks free from his prison, Dysart seems pulled deeper into his own.

The play is full of religious imagery and symbolism. The jealous, vengeful gods, demanding worship
and sacrifice and yet capable of  bestowing the most agonising joy, a spiritual and physical ecstasy. It shows how the extremes and contradictions of life, and love and devotion can influence an impressionable mind, and how imagination and fantasy can blur reality, with tragic consequences.

The performances are superb, throughout. Ethan Kai is a brooding presence on the stage, glowering with anger one minute, and painfully vulnerable the next. Zubin Varla's storytelling skills are matchless as he chain-smokes his way through Alan's strange and disturbing tale. And this tale is told as much through body language as words - most notably through the horses. They are noble and beautiful creatures - played by the actors without props, they stand, regally flanks quivering and nostrils flaring and at no point do you think that this is a man pretending to be a horse. They simply are the horse. Ira Mandela Siobhan as Nugget creates the most beautiful, regal creature.

The play is compelling, and disturbing, unutterably beautiful and unsettling, painful and sensual. I have rarely been so entranced by a performance, so completely absorbed by it - I realised as the first act drew to a close that I had been actually holding my breath and sitting so still for so long that the movement and noise of the audience as the curtain came down felt almost intrusive.

Was my trepidation justified? Not at all. There is no shocking sensationalism. There is a painful and sad story, an horrific act by a desperate boy, and a powerful and moving portrayal of the events and characters involved. Powerful, moving, compelling, beautiful. None of these words adequately describe the experience that Ned Bennett has created for this English Touring Theatre production. It is sensational for all the right reasons.

Equus runs until Sat 4th May.

Denise Sparrowhawk

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

Preview - Five Kinds of Silence - Royalty Theatre

ROYALTY THEATRE TO OPEN 2018 WITH FIVE KINDS OF SILENCE

The Royalty Theatre will begin 2018 with hard-hitting drama, Five Kinds of Silence.

Written by north-east writer Shelagh Stephenson, whose plays include The Memory of Water and An Experiment with an Air Pump, the play portrays a family living in fear of abusive husband and father Billy.  His wife Mary, and daughters Susan and Janet, have suffered his abuse for years, but have remained silent – until events take a tragic turn.

Director James Errington says, “I fell in love with this show the first time I read it; it’s dark, gritty and very powerful.  It's a pleasure to be able to direct such a play”.

Originally a radio play, the production will take place in the Royalty’s studio theatre, their first studio production since the sell-out The Vagina Monologues in 2015.

A strong cast includes Lorna Breeze, Helen Bowie and newcomer Becky Watson as the women of the family, and Andrew Barella as Billy.  Emma McLeary and Sean Landless, another Royalty debutante, also star.

Due to the play’s candid discussion of sexual abuse, the Royalty do not recommend the play for anybody 16 or under, though this is purely advisory and not a strict limit.

Five Kinds of Silence runs from 24-27th Jan. Tickets can be booked via www.ticketsource.co.uk/royaltytheatre or on 0333 666 3366, and are priced at £6.50 plus booking fee.   

Plays remaining this season are Rabbit Hole (19-24 Feb), Jeeves and Wooster in ‘Perfect Nonsense’ (19-24 Mar), Temple (25-28 April), Move Over Mrs Markham (21-26 May) and The Wind in the Willows (25-30 June). Tickets for these shows are £8 (£6.50 conc) plus booking fee. 

The Lady in the Van - People's Theatre - Review

The Lady in the Van
People's Theatre
16th Nov 2016

Alan Bennett's Yorkshire humour is typically dour, his writing superb. In The Lady in the Van he observes and retells an episode from his life with a self deprecating modesty, and some (self confessed) fabrication. He did indeed invite an old lady to live on his drive in her van. He expected her to be there for a couple of months, she stayed for fifteen years.

Anne Cater is Miss Shepherd, the lady of the title. She looks every inch the part in her grubby mac and ludicrous hats and she plays the part to perfection. Turning on a sixpence from the irrascible, opinionated, immoveable enigma to the suddenly vulnerable, lost old lady and back again. She is a thorn in the side of Mr Bennett - an unwanted responsibility, yet one that he cannot shirk. Alan Bennett is played by two actors - the part calls for him to intereact with himself. As the timid and insecure Bennett (Sean Burnside) deals with his life, he talks to himself - his alter ego (Ian Willis) expresses the bold opinions that Alan is afraid to voice - the things he might think but is too polite, or too afraid, to say.

Miss Shepherd is a troubled lady, as Bennett is a troubled man. They each have their demons to deal with, as the play progresses snippets of Miss Shepherd's life are revealed, and we learn of the tragic events that have led to her current lifestyle and her fragile mental state. Bennett we see struggling with his own lack of confidence, and his troubled relationship with his mother.

The humour is undeniable - the situation only an englishman, and possibly only a yorkshireman could have written - but it is also a poignant commentry on society and religion, that a life so full of talent and intelligence could be so tragically changed.

Under the direction of Clive Hilton the People's Theatre have once again produced a great show. Great acting by an accomplished cast, a wonderful set (how did they get that van on stage?). I think Mr Bennett would approve.

The Lady in the Van runs till 19th Nov. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Denise Sparrowhawk

Waiting for Godot - People's Theatre - Review

Waiting for Godot
People's Theatre 

1st Nov 2016

The stage is set - the now familiar scene - a dusty road, a rock, a tree. Apparently lifeless. Enter a character, shabby, who sits and tries to remove his boot. He cannot. Enter another character, equally shabby. They greet each other. Vladimir (Steve Robertson) examines his hat and talks while Estragon (Gordon Russell) continues to try to remove his boot, appealing to his friend for help. Vladimir seems oblivious to his friend's predicament. Once aware he berates him for not airing his feet daily. The two men bicker. Estragon wants to leave, but Vladimir says they cannot because they are waiting for Godot. They aren't sure if they are in the right place - by the tree, but is the tree a tree or is it merely a bush, or a shrub? Perhaps they are in the wrong place. Perhaps they should wait by a different tree? There are no other trees. They contemplate hanging themselves.

Godot is a play about waiting, waiting for people to come, waiting for something to happen, waiting for time to pass, and about filling the time while we wait. Life is futile, and time is filled with inconsequential things, absurd things. Things that make no sense, and yet make every sense.
The friends wait for Godot, and while they wait they amuse themselves with stories and jokes that they have clearly told before. Their day drags on, until the monotony is broken by the arrival of a stranger, Pozzo (Kevin Gibson) and his slave, Lucky (Roger Liddle). The slave is exhausted but Pozzo shows him no mercy, ordering him about relentlessly. He is being taken to market to be sold, for he was once a good slave who worked hard and entertained his master, but now he is useless, lazy, no good. The four talk and argue and tell tales, Lucky dances and thinks for their entertainment, and eventually Pozzo and Lucky leave. Shortly after a boy (Lewis Gammer) arrives and tells Vladimir that Godot will not come today but surely he will come tomorrow and they must wait for him... And so the futility continues into another day.


This is such a good production - Steve Robertson and Gordon Russell are the archetypal duo, bouncing lines off one another - best friends, bickering one moment and joking the next, constantly at odds with but clearly affectionately attached to each other like a macabre Laurel and Hardy. In comparison to the bizarre Pozzo and Lucky however, they seem almost sensible. Kevin Gibson plays the rather pompous, boastful Pozzo with ease, swinging from Forced gentility to hysterical grief, to abject cruelty in the blink of an eye, while Liddle's still, silent slave is unnerving - until or perhaps especially when he dances his strange avant-garde dance.

The interaction between these characters is both hysterically funny and immeasurably sad. They are destined to repeat the same actions as their lives crumble away, senses are lost, memories are lost, and yet at the end, their friendship endures.
Bleak? Yes. But not without hope if you know where to look for it.

A stunning set, beautifully and dramatically lit.
Waiting for Godot runs until Sat 5th Nov.

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

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

Preview - Jekyll and Hyde - Gala Theatre

Jekyll and Hyde
Gala Threatre, Durham

The Gala Theatre Stage School (GTSS) is bringing the gripping thriller "Jekyll & Hyde - The Musical", to the Theatre from Sat July 9 to Wed July 13 with daily performances at 7:30pm and a 2:30pm matinee performance on Wednesday. 

Based on the classic story by Robert Louis Stevenson, the show features a score by the multi-Grammy and Tony nominated Frank Wildhorn and double Oscar and Grammy-winning Leslie Bricusse. "Jekyll & Hyde - The Musical" is described by Director Kate Sorahan as "spine tingling". It is an evocative tale of the epic battle between good and evil. The classic story follows a brilliant doctor whose experiments with human personality create a murderous counterpart. Convinced the cure for his father's mental illness lies in the separation of man's evil nature, Dr Henry Jekyll unwittingly unleashes his own dark side, wreaking havoc in the streets of late 19th century London as the savage and maniacal Mr Edward Hyde. madness, tragic romance, and gruesome murder are on the cards, along with fabulous music and songs.

Members of the Cast were out in Durham on Saturday morning singing songs from the production to promote the show - and they were sounding impressive! This show looks set to be as great a success as last year's production of Phantom of the Opera! 

Tickets are just £16.50 (£15 comcession) and available online at http://www.galadurham.co.uk/theatre/index.php

Denise Sparrowhawk