Review

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.

Electric Dreams

★★★★☆

After really enjoying Saving Shakespeare: Murder, Magic & Mayhem by A Place For Us CIC (you can read our review here), we were excited to see what they would do with an 80’s music filled performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, titled Electric Dreams. Held amongst the ruins at Norton Priory, and featuring classic 80’s tracks such as Tainted Love, Sweet Child o’ Mine, and Total Eclipse of the Heart, this show kicked off the Halton Pride celebrations with a bang!

Alice in Wonderland

★★★★☆

Based on Lewis Carroll’s classic novel, this modern retelling of Alice in Wonderland is a fantastic musical romp across different genres to produce a heartfelt, family-friendly musical, with just a hint of panto.

In this production, Wonderland is a broken stereo. A mix tape produced by Alice’s (Paislie Reid) recently deceased Father has become stuck in the stereo, but luckily Alice is able to fix anything, so she quickly gets to work repairing the stereo. Unfortunately, her attempts don’t quite go to plan and she finds herself trapped inside the stereo. Her only way out is to save the stereo from the evil plans of sisters the Queen of Clubz (with a z) and the Queen of Charts. Along the way, Alice meets a variety of different stereo buttons, and with the support of her brother Lewis (Zweyla Mitchell dos Santos) discovers the importance of empathy and learns how to cope with the loss of her Dad.

Heathers The Musical

★★★☆☆

Heathers is not your standard high school musical. Based on the 1989 film which was intended to be an anti-John Hughes portrayal of teen life, the musical version of Heathers retains all the dark comedy that makes the original film a cult classic, whilst mixing in catchy group numbers and hard hitting solo pieces.

The plot of Heathers is in someways what you would expect from a high school based musical; there’s a clique of girls all named Heather who rule the school, and the nerdy Veronica Sawyer wants to fit in with the popular girls. She ultimately gets her wish, but realises true friendship is more important than popularity. Along the way, Veronica falls for the mysterious bad boy JD who also happens to be a sociopathic vigilante, hell bent on blowing up the school. With Veronica’s involuntary support (a shift away from the source material), JD even manages to murder three students and gets away with it.

Saving Shakespeare: Murder, Magic & Mayhem

★★★★☆

Developed by A Place For Us CIC in 2022, Saving Shakespeare is an energetic frolic through some of Shakespeare’s most iconic works.

The premise of the show is William Shakespeare, or Will I Am as he refers to himself, has arrived at court to perform his latest production. Unfortunately, Will has forgotten the script, and none of the actors have turned up. His only hope are two women who aren’t even legally allowed to act. Over the course of an hour, the trio cobble together a show to perform for Elizabeth I using the scenes they can remember from other works. Covering Macbeth, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, and Twelfth Night the production is a joy from start to finish.

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical

★★★★★

Most musical theatre writers spend years perfecting their work, testing out with audiences, and undoubtedly scrapping a fair few drafts along the way. Showstopper The Improvised Musical does away with all that, and instead produces a brand new musical at every performance using suggestions from the audience. They’re not just good at this, they’re Olivier award-winning good, so when we saw that they were performing at The Lowry there was no question that we had to go.

Douze Points

★★★★★

As huge Eurovision fans, we could have easily written an entire website of reviews covering all the different Eurovision events we have been to over the previous week (turquoise carpet, two semi final rehearsals, two live shows including the final, copious amounts of concerts within the Eurovision village and around the city). Eurovision has undoubtedly been one of the best weeks of our lives, but rather than review every single thing we have done, we’ve decided to focus on the one that best fits in with this website’s content; Douze Points at the Liverpool Philharmonic.

Icelandic Symphony Orchestra

★★★★★

Making their Manchester debut as part of The Bridgewater Hall’s International Concert Series, the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra brought a mesmerising performance to the stage. Conducted by Eva Ollikainen, the orchestra combined the spectacular Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Metacosmos with the works of Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky.

The evening started with Metacosmos. Composed by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, the piece is a symphonic poem meant to take you on a journey through a black hole and out the other side. Without a doubt this was one of the most beautiful, powerful, and at times harrowing, pieces of music we have ever seen performed. Lasting roughly 13 minutes, the vacuum of space seemed to be laid bare as a magnificent living tapestry. Sound may not travel in the vacuum of space, but it certainly travelled throughout The Bridgewater Hall and left us with goosebumps.

Lights On Lights Off

★★★★★

As part of their programme to celebrate The Bard’s birthday, Shakespeare North Playhouse’s production of Lights On / Lights Off is a remarkable exploration of The First Folio. Utilising Elizabethan style rehearsals, local actors, and improvisation, Lights On / Lights Off is a production made up of a scene from each of the 36 plays that make up The First Folio; 18 of them with the theatre lights on, and 18 of them by candlelight with the theatre lights off.