Wake Me Up When September Ends....

Erm, I last blogged here at the start of September apparently? Oh.  Doesn't time fly when you're having fun? And before you know it, it's nearly Christmas!

So, what on earth have I been up to, in a "world of theatre and musical theatre" kind of way? Oh my goodness, quite an awful lot. 

And I haven't got time, unfortunately, to review every single show I've seen in great depth, because I've been so rubbish and not found the time to blog......but don't despair! I have decided to give you a quick mini-review of everything instead! All in one blog post! Like a megamix! Yay!

Here goes....

September:
Little Women by Centenary Theatre Company at The Brindley, Runcorn

I have to admit, I have not seen as many plays as I would have liked. But this was a good place to start! A lovely ensemble with some believable characters and this classic story was portrayed in a charming way.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Footloose by Encore Productions at The Brindley, Runcorn

I can barely remember watching the movie Footloose ...I am that old and it was so long ago that I had mostly forgotten it. But this musical brought the story to life in a fabulous way. With a fantastic leading man and woman and brilliant supporting cast down to the excellent music and choreography this was a first class production that had us all dancing in the aisles.

Matilda, touring production, Palace Theatre, Manchester

This was my second time seeing Matilda, having seen it in the West End. And it was just as good second time round. Craig Els excelled as Miss Trunchbull and the child cast were outstanding. The only downside was that my seat was a little far over to one side so I missed a little of the action on stage which was slightly disappointing.. I think I will go for circle seats next time.. I am sure I will see it again at some point!

October:
The Railway Children, Encore Productions, The Pyramid, Warrington

This classic story was brought to life in a touching and humorous way by this local theatre group. I was lucky enough to see both casts (the child roles were all double cast) and each of these young actors were fantastic. The role of Mr Perks was played by Seb Farrell and he was fantastic, in character from the moment I walked into the theatre and he stamped my railway ticket. The supporting cast were brilliant and it was a real ensemble piece. A great play from Josh Hankey on his directorial debut.

November:
Kinky Boots, touring production, Opera House, Manchester

This was always going to be a special musical for me. Cyndi Lauper wrote the songs for a musical about MY HOME TOWN! Little old Northampton. Wow. And I can't find anything to fault about it. Fantastic leads in Charlie and Lola (thought that was a Cbeebies show haha),  the Angels were amazing and even though I was convinced the Northampton accent would be rubbish I have to admit they had a good go at it! A show that will definitely raise you up.

The Wedding Singer, Centenary Theatre Company, The Brindley, Runcorn

As a self-confessed "child of the 80s" (yes I'm that old) I have to admit I was looking forward to seeing a musical of one of my favourite films from the 90s set in the 80s....and it exceeded all expectations.  Fun from start to finish, a very very funny show with some amazing vocalists and stunning choreography.  A great night's entertainment, well done Centenary.

December:
Six The Musical, The Lowry, Salford

Now, I am a history buff and the Tudors is probably my favourite period of history.  So when I learned there was now a musical based on Henry VIII's wives and their stories I was beside myself.  Tickets were booked.  And OMG am I glad they were! Six was incredible.  Half rock concert/half musical, this 75 minute long show is just amazing from start to finish.  With songs based on the styles of Katy Perry, Adele, Ariana the wives were brought to live with amazing vocals and such an incredible bond between the actresses playing them.  I especially loved all the modern cultural inserts - very clever.  If you've not seen Six then make sure you do.  Absolutely stunning.

So that's my last few months. Busy busy but some brilliant shows that made me very happy.

So what's next? Shows to come in 2019:
Winnie The Pooh/Honk The Musical
Les Miserables (touring)
Joseph
Wind In The Willows
Our Day Out
Animal Farm
Book of Mormon

That's whats booked so far! Some of these may include my kids, I'll be honest. Haha..There will be a review of the year at the end of December and I promise I'll be a better blogger next year.   As Alexander Hamilton once said, just you wait...

REVIEW: THE JURY - THE BRINDLEY THEATRE

When I heard about The Jury, a brand new musical, which had its world premiere at The Brindley Theatre this week, I was intrigued.  After all, I love crime shows on the telly! And I studied a bit of law at uni....  And I (obviously) love musicals!!!  Perfect for me!  That was it, I had to go...

And I wasn't disappointed.  This musical was written by Ashley MA Walsh (music and lyrics) and Amy Fletcher (book) and directed by Joseph Meighan and tells the story of the members of a jury called to a murder trial.  It follows their lives and thought processes and events as the trial goes on and by the end all their lives have been changed forever.

The case is about Jason Schofield who has been charged with the murder of his wife Emily - but he is claiming self-defence.  It's up to our jury members to listen to the evidence and come to a majority verdict - guilty or not guilty?

The cast all seemed to understand their characters well and were very believable.  I really can't choose a favourite as the jury members were all such different people with different tales to tell - but they worked together so well as an ensemble.  

The music (all played magnificently on piano by composer Walsh visible to the audience at the back of the stage) was beautiful.  There were no big showstoppers to speak of  - but a wonderful musical narrative (with some to-die-for-harmonies) intertwined with a mixture of memorable songs - "Let's Play A Game" by Debbie the am dram fan (a wonderful Bethany Grace) was extremely funny at the outset, as she got other jurors to try and role play the crime -  but ended in one of the characters (Darren the work-obsessed CEO played brilliantly by Ben Cupit). questioning their own actions and unexpected responses to the situation ("That Wasn't Me").

As the trial continued and the jurors got to know each other, the audience too got to learn about their lives.  A song by the quietly religious "Hannah from Marketing" (Laura Meaton) about the loss of her child reduced me to tears.  The young and chavvy Jodie (Alexandra Wood) eventually befriended the retired Alma (Elizabeth Brooks) (and introduced her to the phrase WTF...!)  Family man and builder Andy (Jake Hankey) found a new career through his friendship with Carol (Janice Fryett) the building surveyor, who had finally found one man in the world that she could rely on.  Tim Sanderson played Simon the university lecturer who kept a firm hold on proceedings and you knew that he really wanted to be the foreperson all along.  Harry Turner was played so well by John Thacker - he did a fabulous job as the youngest juror with a secret past.  Charlie Culkin played Laura, the stay at home mum who almost jeopardises the trial, and another juror that almost does that is Tom the Media Graduate played brilliantly by Josh Hankey - it's fair to say these jurors broke a few rules but it provided us, the audience, with a fantastic story to follow and become caught up in.

The musical tackled difficult issues and was incredibly thought provoking.  Issues that haven't really been dealt with before in theatre, such as female and male domestic violence, child loss, gender identity, the care system....these were difficult subject matters but important ones nonetheless.  The musical highlighted the importance of talking....

 I really liked all the modern references - references to blogging (of course!) and Snapchat and so on...

But the best thing for me about this musical is that the audience were taken on the journey WITH the members of the jury - by the end of the show we were all just desperate to know what the verdict would be, we had invested ourselves thoroughly into the story and all had our own views on whether our accused had done the crime or not....

.....and we were left with the biggest cliffhanger ever...! 

But it got people talking.  In the theatre foyer the discussion was all about "guilty or not guilty" - whose side were you on? 

And we were all left with the message that "we must talk" - which can only be a good thing.

I think that The Jury is a fantastic concept, which was well directed, gripping, thought provoking and gritty ...and a musical which deserves to be seen and heard.

www.facebook.com/TheJuryUK
www.twitter.com/TheJuryUK
www.thebrindley.org.uk

REVIEW: DNA BY DENNIS KELLY AT THE BRINDLEY THEATRE

I was lucky enough to visit The Brindley to see First Act's performance of the play DNA by Dennis Kelly.  First Act are a Warrington based drama company providing acting lessons for children and adults as well as working with local schools.  This production was the result of six months of rehearsal by the Advanced Class for those aged 15-17.

The play itself, if you're not familiar with it tells the dark story of a group of teenagers who believe they have killed someone (Adam) by accident and their attempts to cover up what has happened.  It follows the characters of Leah and Phil, Mark and Jan, Lou, Brian, Cathy, Richard and John and their behaviours in the aftermath of this accident and how each of them reacts to the situation they find themselves in.

Director Kit Phillips used a clever blend of live action alongside pre-filmed sequences which were projected behind the stage.  The use of film I thought really helped to enhance what was going on in front of me and didn't detract from the action at all.  It helped with understanding the thoughts inside the heads of these mixed up teens.

The set was very simple, just some trees and foliage scattered around which meant that the focus was on the intense performances on the stage.

There were nine young actors in this cast and I honestly can't fault any of them.  Such a fantastic ensemble.  Their reading of Dennis Kelly's difficult-to-read dialogue - the sentences are almost staccato like in places - was brilliant throughout.

Issy played Leah - she had so many complicated speeches as she talked away to the almost-silent-but-well-fed Phil (played by Ethan) - and she conveyed greater and greater emotion as the play went on and as her character got more and more frustrated...Ethan delivered his lines believably and gave Phil's calm and considered instructions to the rest of the group in the callous manner required.

Mark and Jan were played by Ed and Erin.  They worked so well together as a team and the part of the play where they explained what had happened to Adam that went so wrong - was extremely moving.  Very powerful stuff.

Connor had the duel roles of John Tate and Adam (kind of giving the plot away a little bit here!) - John starts off as controlling and bullying and Connor played this very well.  We later learn that the character of John Tate becomes reclusive as a result of the group's actions. Connor then reappeared as Adam and delivered an incredible portrayal of the injured and suffering victim of bullying.

Gemma played Lou, a young character who spoke in mostly simple sentences ultimately due to her fear - Gemma managed to convey that fear and sense of doom for the future so incredibly well,

Ellie played the role of Cathy - the "psycho" character who loved what was happening just a little bit too much.  Cathy showed no remorse and found the situation "exciting" - and Ellie seemed to relish this role and played it fantastically.

Richard was played by Tom. Richard starts off as quite a strong character but gets put in his place by John Tate early on, ruling out his chance to be a leader.  He delivered a fantastic monologue at the end letting the audience know what had happened to most of the characters.

Finally Brian was played by Jamie.  Brian is the "weakest link" whose character unravelled before the audiences eyes as he was bullied by the others into their plan.  He brilliantly demonstrated a range of emotions from upset to terrified to completely losing the plot by the end of the play.

I felt that particularly well done were the reactions of the other characters while the main action or particular monologue was going on - the characterisation was fantastic throughout.

If I can find a negative it would be that there wasn't a proper length bow at the end! It's great that the actors stayed in character for their applause but it was hard for the audience to properly show their appreciation!!

Overall Kit and this young cast produced a gripping "edge-of-your-seat" play tackling the difficult theme of bullying in a unique way.  It left me emotionally drained but extremely impressed.

Can't wait to see First Act's next production!

MP

www.firstactdrama.co.uk
www.thebrindley.org.uk