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The Crown Jewels

★☆☆☆☆

Based on the true story of 17th Century Irish Rebel Thomas Blood (Aiden McArdle), and his attempt to steal The Crown Jewels from King Charles II (Al Murray), a play written by the person behind Men Behaving Badly and featuring some of Britain’s most critically acclaimed comedy performers should, in theory, result in an outstanding stage show full of satire and humour. In reality, this production is the antithesis of this.

Jesus Christ Superstar

★★★★★

Jesus Christ Superstar is arguable the original rock musical. Telling the story of the final days of Jesus, the sung through musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice hasn’t toured for a number of years, but seems to go through a revival every decade. This revival was directed by Timothy Sheader in his capacity as Artistic Director of Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre where this production originated, and where it won an Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival in 2017.

Cuckoo

★★★★★

Birkenhead born playwright Michael Wynne has a Midas Touch when it comes to creating thought provoking plays that perfectly encapsulate Merseyside family life. His latest offering Cuckoo is absolutely no exception.

Created in partnership with the Royal Court Theatre London, BAFTA and Olivier Award winner Wynne has created a dark comedy that showcases multi-generational family dynamics, the different ways of coping in an unpredictable world, and the different responses people have to societal issues.

42nd Street

★★★★☆

Tapping it’s way into Liverpool for a limited time, the UK and Ireland tour of 42nd Street brought Depression-era Broadway glamour in a way that only this classical musical within a musical can.

Based on a 1933 film, which itself is based on an earlier novel, 42nd Street as a stage show originated in the 1980’s and features well-known musical numbers such as We’re In The Money, Keep Young And Beautiful, and the eponymous 42nd Street. There have been numerous revivals over the years, with this latest tour choreographed and designed by Olivier Award winners Bill Deamer and Robert Jones, and directed by Jonathan Church.

Old Dock Tour

★★★★★

If you have ever been shopping at Liverpool One, you may have noticed that in between the Starbucks and John Lewis is a viewpoint down into the old dock that the entire shopping centre is built on. But did you know that you can go on a full tour of the remaining dock with Liverpool Maritime Museum?

The tour tells the story of the world’s first commercial enclosed wet dock, and the impact that this had on the development of the city of Liverpool. Starting at the Maritime Museum with a brief history of Liverpool and what an enclosed wet dock is, the majority of the tour is spent under Liverpool One in the remains of the old dock which are accessed via the Liverpool One car park.

Macbeth

★★★★★

Co-produced by English Touring Theatre, Northern Stage, Shakespeare North Playhouse and Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, this contemporary production of Shakespeare’s classic Macbeth is not only unafraid to provocatively subvert the genre of the play, but to also rearrange the scenes to create a powerful stage show that mirrors the political landscape of modern Britain. This fresh perspective of is a commendable modernisation, which director Richard Twyman has ensured still honours the Scottish roots of the original play.

Locomotive For Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit

★★★★☆

Ahead of taking their show to the Edinburgh Fringe, Pinch Punch improv group’s Locomotive For Murder pulled up in Liverpool as part of the annual Liverpool Theatre Festival.

Performing on one of the wettest July night’s ever, in the very much open air space of St. Luke’s Bombed Out Church, Pinch Punch transported the audience back to a world of Agatha Christie for an hour of quick-witted, unexpected and surreal comedy, mixed in with solving a murder.

Improvised Rubbish Shakespeare

★★★★★

Improvised Rubbish Shakespeare isn’t quite as the name suggests. Yes, there is improvisation with a Shakespearean twist, but this is far from rubbish. The Rubbish Shakespeare Company have created an engaging format that is a creative introduction to the language and style of Shakespeare, whilst also being an hilarious comedy.

The premise of the show is William Shakespeare has failed to turn up for a performance meaning the cast have no scripts. With the King in the audience, they can’t let him down. Instead, they decide to improvise a show using audience suggestions of a time period, a situation and a location. Over the course of an hour, the cast create a 5 act play fit for a King.

Midsummer Mechanicals

★★★★★

The Olivier Award nominated Midsummer Mechanicals is back for Summer 2023 at The Globe, but before opening in London the show has completed a very limited run at Shakespeare North Playhouse.

Set one year after the mechanicals performed Pyramus and Thisbe, Nick Bottom (Kerry Frampton) and Peter Quince (Jamal Frankin) are trying to get the group back together to perform a new show. Unfortunately, the script isn’t complete, Francis Flute (Sam Glen) has gone through puberty which poses a problem for him to play the female roles, and Tom Snout isn’t available so his wife Patience (Melody Brown) has decided to take his place, but as a female she legally can’t perform. With just 45 minutes until the Duke and Duchess arrive for the premiere of “The Adventures of the Weaver and the Fairy Queen”, the quartet have no choice but to try and make it work.

Buffy Revamped

★★★★★

Buffy Revamped is a one man show by Brendon Murphy that covers all 7 seasons of the cult classic Buffy The Vampire Slayer in just 70 minutes. With Murphy taking on the role of Spike, the exploits of The Slayer, the Scooby Gang, plus various bad guys are re-told.

We had no idea what to expect ahead of the show, but I (Jo) am a massive Buffy fan and re-watch the entire 7 seasons (The Body episode aside!) at least once a year. So wearing my finest Sunnydale High t-shirt, we went to The Lowry with a mix of trepidation and excitement. Andy isn’t the biggest Buffy fan, and definitely falls into the casual viewer category, so there was a fear that he wouldn’t enjoy it. We didn’t need to worry though, as this show was spectacular.