Theatre company fix+foxy arrive at Aviva Studios with Dark Noon, a dark, critical, but at times humorous exploration of the most American of myths – the Wild West. This production captures the violent, free-for-all nature of life on the frontier, and demonstrates the inherent injustice in colonial violence without ever coming across as preachy.
As you’d expect from a piece dealing with such brutal source material, there is a huge amount of violence and savagery here. This is necessary to challenge the established narrative of savage natives and civilised white settlers, but it is never played for shock value. Instead, the matter-of-fact presentation renders the violence all the more shocking, especially when the cast drag clueless and innocent audience members on stage to experience the brutality.
Tue Biering’s direction imbues the text with changes in tone that are so fast and frequent that they will give you whiplash, but they’re masterfully handled. Biering achieves an incredible amount with a cast of only seven performers. They flit between roles frequently, often dragging audience members onto the stage to bolster their number. This could so easily become gimmicky or awkward, but the balance of care and discomfort is perfectly achieved. This technique comes into its own as it communicates the horror and vulnerability of those on the receiving end of the violence inherent in the Wild West.
The production has a constant, live-filmed backdrop that calls to mind the conscious framing of historical narratives while also focusing the audience’s attention on an increasingly busy thrust stage. This makes it difficult, if not impossible to look away from the most difficult content – Dark Noon is not for the faint-hearted.
You’ll spend two hours not quite knowing what you’ve just seen or where to look next, but Dark Noon will likely be one of the most impressive yet challenging things you’ll ever see on a stage.
– Daniel Shipman
Dark Noon runs at Factory International’s Aviva Studios until Sunday 10 March.
Chris Thorpe has a well-established reputation for making affecting, issues-driven theatre. In A Family Business, he turns his attention to nuclear weapons, warning us of the danger but also pointing out some potential glimmers of hope in the form of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Unfortunately, the effect here is basically just a man ranting on stage for 105 minutes. It’s like your mate has read a few too many Guardian articles at once and is now telling you about how bad nuclear weapons are over a few pints at the pub. There was very little theatricality about these sections and, whilst Thorpe is a gifted and compelling orator, I’m not sure that this skill carries him through such extended periods of talking about something that most right-minded people – and certainly the vast majority of people who would buy tickets to a show like this – would already be aware of and would agree with him on.
There are a couple of occasions where Thorpe uses some interesting rhetorical techniques to bring home the scale of destruction that would be caused by nuclear war. A projected map with coloured rings shows the area of differing types of carnage that would result from even a small bomb being dropped on HOME’s theatre, which was chilling yet effective. A different segment footage of the 2020 explosion in Beirut, and uses this to illustrate how many times more destructive a modern nuke would be.
This production does raise the opposing viewpoint that nuclear weapons are actually essential for our safety as mutually assured destruction is the only effective deterrent. It does this via a series of scenes set around the UN, as a character works to get enough signatories to the TPNW so that it can be passed into international law. The three characters in these scenes are mainly broad-brush constructs designed to represent the global south, the European elite, and the 9 states that currently have active nuclear arsenals. The scenes are mostly slightly baffling, with some accent work on display which is questionable to the point of being distracting. The characters are also given a hint of a backstory, which felt entirely unnecessary. They added nothing to the story, and muddied the idea that they are more concepts than three-dimensional characters.
There are the beginnings of some interesting ideas here – Thorpe alludes to non-state actors potentially creating their own nukes, or the threat of nuclear warning systems being hacked and manipulated. None of these are pursued though, with far too much time being spent on the minutiae of diplomacy and the scale of devastation just a button away. Mostly though, I just felt that I was being told what I already knew – nukes are bad, and if one gets dropped on us then we’re all stuffed.
– Daniel Shipman
A Family Business runs at HOME Manchester until Saturday 2 March 2024.
The mischievous and multi-talented Figs in Wigs return to HOME with their new performance, Big Finish. Packed with silliness and the troupe’s usual outlandish uniformed style, their latest show leads with a sense of impending doom – exploring a rational fear of the end of the world and the death of theatre.
For those who aren’t familiar with the company, Figs in Wigs are a quintet of identically dressed female performers whose genre-bending portfolio spans 15 years. Experimental and energetic, their work sits somewhere outside main-stream theatre – it’s joyous, anarchic and deliriously satisfying.
Big Finish is the company’s tenth original show. The whole performance – segmented into a colourful collage of chapters – is a rewarding, ridiculous and surreal mash-up of theatre, dance, clowning, music and a Q&A session, topped off with a foam party. One thing’s for sure, there’s never a dull moment in the performance’s 80-minute running time.
Disciplined, synchronised and off-the-wall, complete with latex lizard masks, a golf buggy, matching bee-keeper outfits (or were they hazmat suits?), violins and a signature array of wigs, Figs in Wigs manage to open a debate around some current hot topics in the art world. Amongst chaotic comedy and bewildering aesthetic choices, Big Finish comments on the predicament of theatre in terms of funding cuts, and the loss of audiences to television. And if we dive in even further – the whole show raises questions around consumerism and environmental damage, and even teeters on the brink of imminent apocalypse.
Big Finish is a tightly choreographed, perfectly timed performance. And littering my review with the fine details of the performance, removes the element of strangeness and surprise that this show thrives on. Through their art, Figs in Wigs offer a parallel performative world, a shelter from the grim reality of rising costs, lack of funding and associated narcissism. Glorious, radical and defiant.
Taking inspiration from Cornelia Parker’s art installation, Cold Dark Matter: Exploded View – a never-ending silent explosion of a potting shed, its wooden shards perpetually frozen in mid-air – Shed: Exploded View is Phoebe Eclair-Powell’s 2019 Bruntwood Prize winner. It’s a hard-hitting, beautifully fragmented work exploring violence and relationships, female trauma and the language we use.
Performed by an incredible cast of six, the narrative centres around three interlinked couples of different ages: a young university student, Abi and her new boyfriend Mark; Abi’s out-of-sync parents Naomi and Frank, and an older couple, Lil, whose job as a nurse is increasingly under pressure as she struggles to care for her husband Tony, who has dementia.
Image credit: Johan Persson
Throughout the play’s 1 hour 40 minutes, we witness the lives of the three interlinked couples over three decades. Screens on the theatre’s balconies display the current year, helping us to navigate the narrative. Under Atri Banerjee’s slick, though sensitive directorial hand, the disciplined cast of six deliver a tricky (though I imagine extremely rewarding) text perfectly; overlapping dialogue occurs frequently as two different conversations are presented at the same time – it’s a complex structure, but one that kept me gripped.
Naomi Dawson’s stripped-back, intelligent design anchors around a shed, which is dismantled at the very beginning of the play. The frame, accompanied with a large spherical light, remains visible throughout the performance. Cast members chalk out key phrases from the play onto a triple revolve chalkboard stage. The words slowly smudge, leaving marks on the character’s clothes – suggestive of the passive of time and the imprints our life experiences leave on us.
Image credit: Johan Persson
This performance stays with you long after the clapping ends and the theatre lights go down. Phoebe Eclair Powell’s writing is truly profound; appealing to the head, in its structure, and also the heart, in terms of the tragic subject matter. Shed: Exploded View leaves audiences with a lot to reflect on following the performance – but also, very cleverly, asks the audience to remain active in searching for their own meaning/ narrative throughout the performance.
– Kristy Stott
Shed: Exploded View runs at the Royal Exchange Theatre until Saturday 2 March 2024.
Emma Rice’s company Wise Children returns to HOME with their fresh and fiery take on the fairy tale of Blue Beard. As with the original story, the plot follows a young woman who is seduced by the titular Blue Beard, marries him, and leaves her family to live in his castle. Blue Beard leaves the castle and tells the woman – called Lucky – that she may do as she pleases in his castle, but that she must never use one key, to enter one particular room. She does, of course, and discovers a room full of the remains of his previous wives. Blue Beard returns, realises that Lucky has disobeyed him and attempts to murder her, but Lucky’s mother and sister arrive just in time to defend her and kill Blue Beard.
Image credit: Steve Tanner
Rice’s version is narrated by a Mother Superior character (Katy Owen) at the order of the three Fs. (The three Fs are probably exactly what you expect them to be.) The Mother Superior relates the tale to a young male visitor, who in turn intersperses her story with his own. The young man tells of his older sister, a gigging musician and guiding presence in his life, who also falls victim to gender-based violence, but who does not have the fairy tale ‘happy’ ending of the main plot.
This subplot is touching throughout, and the ending is gut-wrenchingly awful, but despite the tears it may elicit, it does feel slightly crow-barred in to make the contemporary relevance of the classic tale absolutely explicit. The production may have benefitted from a slightly softer touch, allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions.
The performances are uniformly strong, but I particularly enjoyed Katy Owen’s foul-mouthed narrator nun – I’d quite like that character to follow me around and pass comment on my choices in real life I think.
Image credit: Steve Tanner
The songs themselves are excellent too. I saw plenty of tapping toes around me, and I’d have gladly parted with a tenner or so to buy a soundtrack album.
The musicianship of the cast as a whole is to be applauded – you could be forgiven for forgetting that you’re not watching a high-budget musical, or listening to a pre-recorded backing track at times, such is the quality of the music. The songs themselves are excellent too. I saw plenty of tapping toes around me, and I’d have gladly parted with a tenner or so to buy a soundtrack album, which is a rarity for plays-with-songs. There wasn’t a moment I didn’t feel entertained by Blue Beard. The cast are hugely talented and, as you’d expect from a Wise Children production, there is plenty to keep you enthralled. However, the end does feel as though it is pointing out the obvious to some extent: gender-based violence is still prevalent, it ruins lives, and it is heartbreaking. I suspect very few people who end up in a metropolitan theatre audience need a play to tell them that.
– Daniel Shipman
Blue Beard runs at HOME Manchester until Saturday 24 February 2024.
Adapted for the stage by Anne-Marie Casey, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women takes to the stage at HOME this Christmas with a sincere and touching performance of the beloved classic. For those unfamiliar with Alcott’s novel, Little Women is a coming-of-age story that centres around the disgruntled March sisters, who find themselves newly poor in the midst of the American Civil War. As they transform from girls to women over the years, their dearly loved mother – affectionately referred to as Marmee – tries to gently steer them in the right direction as they overcome tragedies, heartbreaks, and disappointment in their bids for independence and achieving their dreams.
Rachael McAllister stars as the headstrong and driven Jo March, a writer inherently opposed to the prospect of marriage and even more so opposed to the idea that her sisters may marry instead. McAllister is the absolute embodiment of Jo, the way in which she builds scenes into a frenzy and yet allows Jo to soften in those gentler moments is flawless. As our window into this wonderful world, McAllister carries us with grace and emotion throughout. Watching her build Jo from stubborn teenager to strong and inspiring woman is a joy, and McAllister is a force to be reckoned with.
Image credit: Chris Payne
The same can be said for Julia Brown in the role of naïve and selfish younger sister Amy March, a young girl with an eye for art and a sharp tongue. A character that is often disliked by fans of the story, Brown brings a delightful humour and heart to Amy that softens her edges yet leaves her ambition and self-assuredness intact. Having the difficult task of playing the youngest sister and portraying the transition from childhood to young adulthood, Brown handles this superbly. It is as though we are watching Amy grow in front of our eyes, and Brown is both believable and genuine in her performance.
The most touching performance is delivered by Meg Chaplin in the role of the endlessly empathetic Beth March. As talented on the piano as her character, although Beth doesn’t feature as much in the story as the other sisters, Chaplin more than makes up for this with her moving singing and piano playing. The way that she harmonises with her cast members and accompanies the scenes with her pianist skills is effortless. And her portrayal of Beth is beautiful, delivering the most heartbreaking scene alongside McAllister with sensitivity and soul, bringing tears to the audience’s eyes in the process.
Image credit: Chris Payne
There is truly no weak link amongst this cast. Jessica Brydges dazzles as the materialistic Meg, who is romantic to a fault. The way that Brydges unfurls the romance between Meg and John Brooke (played by Tom Richardson) is a joy to watch, especially the way in which she is able to build this in such a short space of time. Tom Richardson displays some outstanding character acting, first starring as the gentle John Brooke but later as the forthright and eccentric Professor Bhaer. These characters could not feel more separate, and it is a credit to Richardson that they do, he having created such distinct and authentic portrayals of these characters that are the perfect accompaniment to the March sisters. And that is not to mention the outstanding Susan Twist as the formidable Aunt March. Twist is a delight, with a wicked sense of humour and a twinkle in her eye, she has the audience laughing every time, whether it’s a raise of her eyebrow or a quick quip.
At the centre of it all is Kacey Ainsworth as Marmee March, the reluctant matriarch and doting mother to the March girls. Ainsworth is effortless in the way in which she switches from Marmee’s controlled, contrite manner to giving us a glimpse of the thinly veiled thunder that Jo gets from her mother. The way that Ainsworth switches so seamlessly is outstanding.
And of course, who could forget the endearing and captivating Daniel Francis-Swaby as the March sisters’ childhood friend, Laurie. Francis-Swaby relaxes into this role with ease and amusement, and he wins our hearts in doing so. His portrayal of Laurie is equally joyous and sympathetic, bringing a fantastic energy and sincerity that matches McAllister’s fiery portrayal of Jo perfectly.
Image credit: Chris Payne
Anne-Marie Casey’s adaptation is perfection, and alongside director Brigid Lamour, they have created something truly special that honours Alcott’s novel and transforms it into a stunning piece of theatre. To see Alcott’s beloved characters living and breathing in front of us is a treat, and set and costume designer Ruari Murchison is also to thank for this. Murchison’s use of costume to portray the passage of time and maturity tells Alcott’s story beautifully, and the innovative way that his set interacts with Kate Bonney’s lighting design is nothing short of magical. Together, Murchison and Bonney have created a world that is every bit as familiar, warm, and welcoming as Alcott’s novel, and makes for a piece that is as visually stunning as it is touching. Murchison has truly outdone himself with this set, striking the perfect balance between simplicity and intricacy to create a set that is as vast as it is cosy. Drawing upon Alcott’s winter scenes, Murchison has brought the Christmas feel out of the piece and into the forefront ready for December.
Whether you are familiar with Alcott’s novel, the various film adaptations of the same name, or entirely new to the world of the March sisters, this adaptation of Little Women is bound to strike a chord. A beautiful adaptation for which the casting could not have been more perfect, this is a piece that will stay with you long after the lights come back up. For a story that at its heart is so simple and everyday in nature, this adaptation proves that Alcott’s work continues to stand the test of time and touch audiences even now, over 150 years on.
-Megan Hyland
Little Women runs at HOME Manchester until Saturday 23 December 2023.
This year, eight-freestyle and Contact present a new production of the pantomime classic, Cinderella. This production manages to balance the familiarity of the original rags-to-riches story alongside a few modern twists. There is the absence of an Evil Stepmother and Cinderella dreams of a career as a dancer rather than marrying into the monarchy, and the production is littered with modern-day cultural references and contemporary pop songs.
Image credit: Shay Rowan
Retaining most of the features of the traditional storyline, the script also incorporates some important messages around sustainability, fast fashion and consumerism – all pitched in a simple, non-preachy and accessible way for young people. This is something that Contact does very well, as seen earlier this summer in the Contact Young Company’s show, Hand Me Down, and through its intermittent clothes swap events.
With a four-piece band live on stage and movement from a small dance troupe of five talented performers, accompanied by a super-cute group of dynamic young dancers, the musical numbers are the dazzling highlight of this production. Musical theatre starlet Rebecca Crookson balances sweetness with girl-power as Cinderella and Ella-Maria Danson gives a strong vocal performance as Dandini.
Image credit: Shay Rowan
The interaction between audience and performer is one of the key characteristics of pantomime – however, the opportunity for this felt very limited throughout this production. Running at around two and a half hours, the show would benefit from a little tightening – especially to ensure those younger members of the audience feel part of the action too.
With magical video projection to set the scene, a banging soundtrack and an abundance of super-talented young dancers, Cinderella brings elements of joy and community alongside important messages of environmental awareness.
-Kristy Stott
Cinderella runs at Contact until Sunday 31 December 2023.
It’s panto season again! (Oh no it isn’t, etcetera…) The Opera House panto returns this year with its take on Jack and the Beanstalk, and I’m glad to report that it’s an absolute blast.
Jason Manford returns for a second year in the starring role, and I was once again blown away not only by the comic excellence that one would expect from a comedian of his calibre, but by that cracking singing voice and his easy camaraderie with the rest of the cast, especially Ben Nickless.
Image credit: Phil Tragen
Nickless, meanwhile, is returning for his fifth (!) consecutive year in Manchester pantomime, and it’s easy to see why he keeps being asked back. His rapport with the audience is a consistent highlight of the evening, blending plenty of energy for the kids with that cheeky humour that keeps the grown-ups in the room engaged and laughing.
Adults will have just as much fun as kids, and surely that’s what Christmas is all about.
Nickless has an established set of routines that are easily recognisable from year to year. You don’t mind the familiarity though – just like a fine (mulled) wine, they only seem to get better with age. His starring moment is surely his rendition of a classic Christmas song, using more impressions than you can shake a flashing plastic wand at. (Admittedly, these vary wildly in quality, but Nickless’s commitment to even the naff-est of jokes is all part of the charm.)
Image credit: Phil Tragen
I am more familiar with Myra Dubois from her late-night drag escapades in the village, where her stage presence is fearsome and side-splitting in equal measure, so I was keen to see how this translated to the family-friendly(ish) world of panto. Happily, her years of experience in Christmas productions up and down the country pay off handsomely. As the wife of the evil giant and the villain of the piece, Myra may be booed constantly throughout the evening, but I suspect everyone in the room would happily admit that her scenes are the highlight of the show. This is no easy feat when up against the standard of talent gracing the Opera House stage in this production.
Jack and the Beanstalk is everything you could want from a big-budget pantomime.
Jack and the Beanstalk is everything you could want from a big-budget pantomime – star casting, quick-fire jokes you can’t believe are uttered in front of children, and as camp as a field of tents. Adults will have just as much fun as kids, and surely that’s what Christmas is all about.
Life of Pi, adapted from Yann Martel’s novel, follows the titular Pi as she attempts to migrate away from the political unrest of 1970s India, alongside her family and the animals of their zoo, to start a new life in Canada. En route, their ship encounters a vicious storm and everyone but Pi perishes. Despite this, Pi manages to survive through impossible conditions and tells the story to diplomats eager to hear what happened to their vessel.
Image credit: Johan Persson
There has been a huge vogue for lush, puppetry-heavy productions in British theatre over the past decade or so – you could call this the Warhorse effect. Life of Pi is undeniably an excellent entry into that canon, but this production suffers from being ‘nearly perfect’. In most other genres this would be a compliment, but this particular style demands flawlessness and it isn’t quite achieved here. The animal puppetry is breathtakingly immersive for the majority of the runtime, but there are occasional moments that do take you out of the illusion. An orangutan swings from branches that aren’t there, and a few wheeled-on props wander around the stage after not being locked into place.
At a time of year when people might be expecting the traditional pantomime, Life of Pi is an admirably bold choice of Christmas production from The Lowry. There are some particularly bleak, almost gory moments to be aware of if you’re planning to bring the family, but the kids around me seemed to be unfazed by this and to be absolutely spellbound by the animal puppetry.
Image credit: Johan Persson
As with the film (which I admittedly haven’t seen for years) I spent much of the duration searching for a meaning in the plot beyond ‘triumph over adversity’. The way that the subtle, overarching allegory is realised in the closing minutes of the play is masterful. I’ll try not to give away anymore, but it casts the preceding two hours in an entirely different light, raising questions of why we tell stories and why parables and fables are some of the oldest forms of storytelling.
While this production could stand a bit more polish, it is heartening to see yet another northern-born stage success story. The play of Life of Pi was created in 2019 over in Sheffield and has since run at London’s National Theatre and made its way over to Broadway. Whatever small quibbles I may have, it has earned its place on the world stage, and you’d be well advised to take the opportunity to witness the spectacle for yourself.
-Daniel Shipman
Life of Pi runs at The Lowry until Sunday 7 January 2024.
Hamilton is a masterpiece of musical theatre. It’s won ALL the awards – 11 Tony Awards including Best Musical, 7 Olivier Awards, the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album. Now, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s politically charged and much-celebrated musical storms into Manchester with an outstanding new cast.
Revolutionary, flawless and blazingly brilliant, this production of Hamilton smashes all my expectations to smithereens. It’s just so lyrically smart, intelligently designed and powerfully performed, that I’d watch it all over again. And again.
Image credit: Danny Kaan
Hamilton tells the story of US founding father (and first Treasury Secretary) Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington’s right-hand man during the American Revolutionary War – helping to shape the country’s financial, political and legal systems – and build the America we know today.
It’s a huge subject to tackle – the birth of America and the first constitution told through the eyes of the first Treasury Secretary – but don’t let that put you off. The narrative – of over 20,000 sung-through words – swings through soulful harmonies, hip-hop beats and rap battles to present an important moment in America’s history, performed by modern-day voices.
Image credit: Danny Kaan
In Thomas Kail’s production, co-directed with choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, the poetry on stage is perfectly complemented by David Korins’ smooth stage design, consisting of an ingenious revolving stage, and an industrial setting of exposed brickwork and wood.
Dynamic and assured, Shaq Taylor breathes the ambition and legacy, and the triumphs and tragedies of Alexander Hamilton. Sam Oladeinde (who, incidentally, is also a qualified solicitor), gives a smooth and nuanced performance as Aaron Burr. Charles Simmons brings a formidable, soulful George Washington and KM Drew Boateng perfectly embodies Hamilton’s close friend Hercules Mulligan and later, James Madison. With impeccable timing and charisma, Billy Nevers takes on the role of Lafayette before returning with boundless swagger as Thomas Jefferson.
Image credit: Danny Kaan
In stunning robe à l’anglaise, courtesy of Paul Tazewell’s sharp costume design, the Schuyler sisters’ entrance brings fresh ’90s RnB vibes. With elegance and emotion, Maya Britto as Eliza builds momentum as Hamilton’s adoring wife and Aisha Jawando packs a punch as Angelica, beat-perfect in the perfectly fast-paced and heartbreaking rendition of ‘Satisfied’. Gabriela Benedetti completes the top-notch harmonious trio as Peggy Schuyler, appearing later as Maria Reynolds. With impeccable timing and playful petulance, Daniel Boys’ King George brings a whole alternative comedic level to the performance.
Sensational. Irresistible. Unmissable. Propelling the audience through history, from the first beat to the last, if there’s one ticket you splurge on this year – let Hamilton be it.
-Kristy Stott
Hamilton runs at the Palace Theatre Manchester until Saturday 24 February 2024.
