The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 in New York killed about 150 people, mainly young women workers, though it might be more accurate to say they were killed by ruthless employers alongside other complacent, dysfunctional institutions. Julia Thurston’s play imagines five women workers caught up in that fire. We hear something of their migrant… Continue reading Paved with Gold and Ashes
Month: August 2023
Meet super sleuth Aki Browne
She’s got the time, the curiosity, the resources—and a thirst for true crime. Meet Aki Browne—online sleuth like no other… A one-act play, Being Purple Aki, featuring the hunt for a real-life bogeyman / racist caricature, this is an absurd journey into the obsessive world of a digital detective. It’s at the White Hotel, Dickinson Street, Salford… Continue reading Meet super sleuth Aki Browne
Lucky Pigeons
This is a curiosity of a piece. The narrative involves a young person, Sam, who seems to want to play football, but has been told not to kick the ball until everyone is ready. Then comes a blowing of the whistle, a game that was almost played, friends who don’t seem to want to play… Continue reading Lucky Pigeons
Chester & London for Traces through Time
Fallen Angel Dance Theatre, the dance theatre company for people in recovery from addiction, presents its latest work Traces through Time at Storyhouse Chester (November 1) and The Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre (November 4). A collaboration with New Note Orchestra, this production has been devised to bring life experiences and stories to the stage. Fusing dance,… Continue reading Chester & London for Traces through Time
Matthew Kelly making Noises Off
Michael Frayn’s celebrated comedy Noises Off makes a stop at Blackpool Grand Theatre this October starring Liza Goddard, Matthew Kelly and Simon Shepherd. Frayn’s play-within-a-play hurtles at breakneck speed as it follows the on and off stage antics of a hapless touring theatre company as they stumble their way through the fictional farce, Nothing On. Liza Goddard’s extensive… Continue reading Matthew Kelly making Noises Off
Il signor Bruschino
Whilst watching Rossini’s farce for the very first time and in a modern update by Kurtheatre in Wildbad, I wished I was watching a more traditional production in its correct period. So, I went online and discovered Michael Hampe’s production for Theatre Schwetzingen had been filmed in 1989 and Is both available on DVD and… Continue reading Il signor Bruschino
Ton up for Chesterfield’s Winding Wheel
Events and activities are planned to celebrate a century of entertainment at Chesterfield’s Winding Wheel Theatre. Nine theatre schools, performing arts groups and theatre companies will take part in a centenary gala on Sunday 10 September to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the building. It will be compèred by Britain’s Got Talent… Continue reading Ton up for Chesterfield’s Winding Wheel
Dumbledore Is So Gay
It isn’t always easy to grow up gay and especially wasn’t in the ago of AIDS and when Margaret Thatcher’s Section 28 made teachers afraid to mention (let alone discuss) it at school. That is when dramatist Robert Holtom and protagonist Jack were teenagers, and that is what the play is about. It feels painfully… Continue reading Dumbledore Is So Gay
Playing The Game of Love again
The Game of Love at Liverpool’s Casa Theatre September 28–30 stars Beth McShane as Carol and Sab Muthusamy as Tony. It’s directed by Phil Halfpenny. Set in the late ’60s, it’s a drama about the night a sex worker and her client reveal more about their lives than they intended and both look back at the… Continue reading Playing The Game of Love again
Best Man
Best Man is a solo show that fits snuggly between stand-up and theatre, perhaps leaning a little more towards the ad lib style of performance. There is always one person at wedding that, embarrassingly, stands out for not fitting in. Too often, it is the Best Man. What would a wedding be without the Best… Continue reading Best Man