Author: kristobel

Summertime Theatre – What’s on for Families in Manchester through August

kristobel

Looking for things to do, plays to see and creative activities for the family over the summer?

Look no further – I’ve compiled a comprehensive and diverse list of the best plays, music and arty stuff happening for children through the wonderful month of August and as always many are FREE…

The Lowry

The King of Tiny Things
The King of Tiny Things

Recommended for those aged over 3, The King of Tiny Things is set on a magical midsummer’s night. Two sisters huddle together, fearful of what the darkness holds, when a mysterious winged creature appears and leads them on a moonlit adventure. Together they rescue juggling slugs, contortionist worms, and a trio of acrobatic baby bats. But while the girls are busy being brave they overlook their winged friend, the King of Tiny Things, who needs their help most of all. Can they save him in time…

Starring four of the world’s most exciting circus artists Metta Theatre bring Jeanne Willis and Gwen Millward’s enchanting story spectacularly to life with circus, puppetry and song. Fun for all the family.

The King of Tiny Things somersaults into The Lowry in Salford on the 6th August 2015, with 2 showings at 2:00pm and 4:30pm.

Running alongside the main art exhibition at The Lowry, ExtraORDINARY -Everyday objects & actions in contemporary art, is ExtraORDINARY at The Lookout. The Lookout is a family activity space with different activities taking place throughout the summer on Wednesdays and Saturdays between 11:00am and 12:30pm. Activities include puppet making, junk modelling and paper patchwork and the best part about these activities are that they are completely FREE. Hurrah!

ExtraORDINARY at The Lookout in The Lowry runs through until 18th October 2015 and you can find activity listings here.

Waterside Arts Centre

Forensic Science in Action is back at Waterside Arts from 3rd August until 5th August 2015 so put on your white suit, gloves and mask, grab a scene kit and learn some of the essential skills needed – fingerprinting, DNA profiling and footwear marks – to be a forensic scientist.  It’s a one day workshop and it costs £20.00 per child – the Monday and the Tuesday are for for 7-11 year olds and the Wednesday is for older children aged 12-16 years.

For those aged 10 and up there are ComedySportz Summer Workshops happening on the 26th and 27th August from 11:00am until 4:00pm. The fun costs £40.00 for the full 2 days and kids will learn the basics of comedy improvisation, creating characters and scenes in a fun and friendly environment before showcasing their talents at 5.30pm on the 27th.

Artful Playground’s Musical Theatre course runs from Monday 24 – Friday 28 August from 10am – 4pm each day at Waterside Arts Centre in Sale. It’s suitable for children aged 7–16 and costs £80 per child. Children will have sessions in acting, singing, dance/ movement and have lots of fun putting together a production which will be a performed for friends and family. To book your place, call Artful Playground on 0161 438 2021.

In addition to this, Waterside Arts Centre are also having film screenings of Shaun the Sheep (2015) (U) and Cinderella (2015) (U) on 31st August 2015. Visit their website for times and prices.

The Edge Theatre and Arts Centre, Chorlton

A couple of summer dance courses are taking place at The Edge in Chorlton from 10th August until 14th August. Jungle Jumpers runs from 9:00am-10:00am and is suitable for ages 6-9 years old. Dance Explosion runs from 10:30am until 12 noon and caters for children aged from 9-12 years old. Sessions are led by resident professional dancer Genevieve Estevez-Baker and cost £25.00 per child for the week. For more information and to book, click here.

Z- Arts

Z-Arts in Hulme has a series of OneLoveDance Holiday Clubs available over the summer. The clubs run from 10:00am to 5:00pm (with an early drop off/ late pick up available at an extra cost) and themes these are Annie (10th – 14th August) and Frozen (17th – 21st August). The week is spent learning songs, dances and the script from the popular musicals. Throughout the week they are provided with professional singing, dance and drama tuition from highly experienced tutors. This includes activities that work on their confidence and team building skills. These holiday schools are really good value at £75 for the week – making them just £15 per day.

Annie_large

Bolton Octagon

Bolton Octagon have a super Stage It Summer 2015 performance project running for 2 weeks from 17th August – 28th August (omitting weekends) from 10:00am to 4:00pm each day. The project is suitable for ages 11-18 year olds and gives young people the chance to work with professional theatre directors on a production to be performed in the Octagon main auditorium. The 2 week course costs £100 and culminates in 2 performances, taking place on Thursday 27th August and Friday 28th August at 7:30pm in the main house.

There are a couple of arts events taking place as part of the Bolton Food and Drink Festival 2015:

From 28th-31st August 2015 there are Fairy Tales on Foot, an interactive storytelling playground, with fairy tale adventures popping up where you’d least expect them across Bolton town centre. Meet Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Beauty and the Beast and many more. You’ll experience all of the best moments of these beloved stories portrayed by actors and musicians. There’ll be live music, singing and even some dancing.
This event is completely FREE and we love that.

Fairy_Tale_on_Foot___swapper_5540e634ca2ee

Katy_Ashworth_557ecb87c979eKaty Ashworth, a favourite from CBeebies is also performing in her live show as part of the Bolton Food and Drink Festival. The children’s television favourite will be performing in 2 live shows at 10:30am and 2:30pm from the Friday 28th- Sunday 30th August 2015. The shows are taking place at the Children’s Marquee, Le Mans Crescent and cost just £1.00.

The Manchester Opera House

benandholly

Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom LIVE skips into Manchester’s Opera House for the 1st and 2nd August 2015. Join Ben and Holly, and their friends on this exciting musical adventure packed full of games, songs and laughter on an enchanting journey through the Magical Kingdom. With actors, masks and colourful costumes.

And you can get your tickets here.

Open-air Productions in Trafford

Heartbreak-Logo-209

Our favourite open-air theatre makers Heartbreak Productions are back with their version of the popular David Walliams book, Mr Stink.

mr stink

On a perfectly average afternoon, two restless souls unite on a bench in an average English town – one of them the lonely 12 year old Chloe and the other an incredibly smelly homeless man. Oh, and let’s not forget his loyal dog, the Duchess. Watch the colourful characters from the celebrated novel by David Walliams come to life in Heartbreak Productions’ adaptation of Mr. Stink for the open air. This show takes place in Longford Park, Stretford at 5:00pm on 16th August and Dunham Massey, Altrincham at 6:30pm on the 21st August 2015.  For full listings and other venues click here. Tickets are £10.00 with under 5’s free of charge.

Imperial War Museum North

What a Performance runs at the Imperial War Museum in Trafford throughout August on the 5th, 24th, 25th and 27th with four performances on each date (11.15am, 12.15pm, 1.15pm, 2.15pm). 

Each session brings real experiences from wartime – you can hear stories from the Second World War, both at home and abroad, including the bravery of an undercover agent dropped into France and the hard work of a factory worker in Trafford Park. Suitable for all ages and is entirely FREE.

Black-Out! is another super free event recommended for ages 7 and over, taking place between 12pm and 3pm (just drop in!) on 20th August. Your children can take part in a treasure hunt exploring the new special exhibition Horrible Histories®: Blitzed Brits. A must for inquisitive young minds and I hear that there are a few prizes up for grabs too.

Blitzed Brits at the Imperial War Museum North
Blitzed Brits at the Imperial War Museum North

Storytelling sessions

There is also FREE daily storytelling sessions happening throughout the whole of August at 1:30pm. Discover the blitz through the eyes of 10 year old Dotty in Dotty’s Daring Blitz Adventure. Follow Dotty as she goes on a daring rescue mission and get your hands on with ARP artefacts and unique pieces of shrapnel collected by children over 70 years ago.

Intu Trafford Centre

Intu Trafford Centre is home to In the Night Garden LIVE until 22nd August. The popular CBeebies favourite takes place in its own all-weather, purpose-built inflatable showdome with many family-friendly facilities. This site-specific structure is a huge hit with children and parents and its immersive theatrical experience makes audiences feel they are actually entering the magical world of the TV show In the Night Garden.

My children are past being interested in In the Night Garden now but it’s sure to be a certain hit with many of the younger children. This show sold out very quickly down at the O2 in London so if you don’t want to disappoint your little one – I’d probably get your tickets while you can.

MediaCityUK

CBB

CBBC is bringing the magic of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Athletics Championships to MediaCityUK in Salford on the 22nd and 23rd August from 10:00am to 5:00pm with the CBBC Summer Sportarama. This exciting event is FREE to attend and will give children the chance to take part in athletics events and other activities designed to give them a flavour of the championships taking place in Beijing. There are too many activities to list really – the opportunity to compete on a running track, football freestyling and a chance to have a go at being a presenter as well as hands on craft activities with CBBC Art Ninja Ricky Martin and a CBeebies sport area for the younger children too.

Have a creative, active and crafty summer everyone and tweet me with your events and adventures @upstagedMCR

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REVIEW – Health Under Fire- Greater Manchester Fringe Festival (Joshua Brooks)

kristobel1 Comment
health under fire
Date: 23 july 2015
Upstaged Rating: 

Health Under Fire is a fast paced comedy, it could be described as Monty Python meets An Inspector Calls or somewhere in the realm of the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker spoof comedy films of the 1980’s, think Airplane and The Naked Gun and you’re almost there.

Written by Nathan Smith, Health Under Fire is set in the dawn of the NHS, in 1950’s Manchester. Detective Arnold Grace (Scott Hodgson) has been sent to The Manchester Royal Infirmary to uncover the mystery surrounding the regular disappearance of pharmaceutical products.

Donning a trenchcoat like a hardboiled detective, Scott Hodgson gives a brilliantly cartoonish performance as Grace, frequently breaking the fourth wall and delivering each random, odd but hilarious one-liner. Most of the cast play multiple roles, writer and performer Nathan Smith demonstrates comic prowess playing creepy and booming Sir Rothschild and Gus, the often overlooked representative of manual labour. Andrew Knowles and Róisín McCusker give realised comedic performances in a variety of roles and James Beglin and Daniel Blake get a lot of laughs from their partnership as conjoined twins. Amidst this 60 minute rapid fire comedy there is also a serious message to ponder over – the current state of our NHS and the reason that our healthcare system first came into being.

Death by Pie adapt the space in the basement cellar of Joshua Brooks to satirise the film noir genre – clinical privacy screens, cardboard frames and doors, all succeed in deconstructing the genre much to the amusement of the Mancunian audience. The voiceovers and incidental music add further depth to this laugh-a-minute Zucker-esque parody.

Judging by the applause and laughter from the crowd on the opening night, Health Under Fire certainly hit and ricocheted off most of the audiences funny bones. This new production by Death by Pie has to be a highlight at the Greater Manchester Fringe this year and if you’re checking out Manchester or Edinburgh Fringe, you ought to get your slice of the ‘Health Under Fire’ pie too.

-Kristy Stott

Health Under Fire is premiering at Joshua Brooks, part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival from 23rd – 25th July 2015 (tickets are £8.00) ahead of Edinburgh Fringe, where it is being performed at the Cafe Camino from the 8th – 29th August 2015 (FREE).

The #MIF2015 is so last week…Everyone is talking about the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival

kristobel

gmfringe

Greater Manchester Fringe Festival is taking place across 19 different venues in Greater Manchester throughout the month of July. There really is something for everyone – comedy, revivals, new writing, spoken word , dance and exhibitions.

Phone-Whore-croppedthe stars are made of concrete

I managed to talk to Cameryn Moore (Phone Whore) and Michelle Ashton  (The Stars are Made of Concrete) ahead of opening at The King’s Arms in Salford.
We had a good natter about intimate theatre spaces, sex chat lines and Manchester…

For full festival listings please visit The Greater Manchester Fringe Festival website.

traffordsound

-Kristy Stott

REVIEW – The Mercury Complex – Greater Manchester Fringe Festival (The King’s Arms)

kristobel
Lindsay Bennett in The Mercury Complex
Lindsay Bennett in The Mercury Complex
Date: 20 july 2015
Upstaged Rating: 

When you were young and somebody asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up, how did you answer? The Mercury Complex takes just that as a starting point – the basis of Lindsay Bennett’s one woman show is that when she was five years of age she was so amazed by Queen’s performance at Live Aid on her 21” Hitachi television, she declared ‘When I grow up, I want to be Freddie Mercury’.

The Mercury Complex follows Lindsay Bennett’s journey to emulate the Queen frontman – strapping her hair brush tightly to a lamp base and using a plastic tennis racket as a guitar, her performance is energetic, riveting and friendly. In the intimate space in studio 1 at The Kings Arms in Salford, the audience are encouraged to get involved from the start as Bennett locks eyes to interact jovially or passes the bottle of bourbon around the room for the audience to share. By the end of the 30 minute show we are all belting out the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody and it all feels quite cathartic and uplifting.

Following the death of Freddie Mercury, Bennett invests her interests in Kurt Kobain and Janis Joplin and we continue to follow and understand Bennett’s life through her musical heroes. Flanked by cardboard boxes, a brightly coloured keyboard and a plastic tea set – Bennett manages to perform 3 smooth costume changes in the half hour show, depicting different eras in her life.

Lindsay Bennett gives an energetic performance throughout this short but well executed show, demonstrating that she is a skilled physical performer and a sharp perceptive writer. The Mercury Complex is a positive and spirited show which manages to skip through life and death in such a charming way – it leaves you feeling as though you could sing your way through almost anything.

-Kristy Stott

 The Mercury Complex is on at The King’s Arms, Bloom Street, Salford on 21st July 2015.

Check out the full listings for Greater Manchester Fringe Festival, which runs until 31st July 2015 at 19 venues across Greater Manchester.

REVIEW – STUFF (The Lowry)

kristobel1 Comment
MG_4134
Date: 4 july 2015
Upstaged Rating: 

Toby and Jess are a successful young couple, deeply in love with each other and with the world at their feet, they appear to have everything. Well almost everything. The couple really want to start a family of their own, however early on in the play it is established Toby is unable to father a child. One night their zany, charismatic and terminally ill friend Xav arranges to visit and offers the couple first refusal on his ‘stuff’, which he has had frozen earlier in the day. This sounds like it could be quite a distressing storyline, doesn’t it? Fortunately for us, witty writer Mick Cooper approaches this potentially difficult scenario with insight, a good dollop of humour and likeable, well rounded characters.

Cooper’s script is fully realised by director Alice Bartlett and the wonderful cast of three. Peter Ash gives a fantastic performance as Toby; having just recently returned from army service, he looks bewildered at times, deeply in love with Jess and happy to comply with her fertility spreadsheets and ovulation charts. Eve Burley, as Jess, puts in a subtle and highly believable performance – playing the supportive partner to Toby and life-long friend to Xav.

Xav, exceptionally well acted by Karl Greenwood sweeps into Jess and Toby’s living room and scoops them both along with his humour and craziness. Despite being diagnosed with a brain tumour and the possibility of only having months to live, he is a perceptive character – giving and positive and also the main source of humour in the play.

It is no wonder that Stuff won the hearts of its audiences when it was first performed in 2014 at Manchester 24:7 Theatre Festival. Winning the Audience Favourite accolade, the beautifully balanced script is littered with familiar cultural references and a fair helping of  hilarious synonyms for the ‘stuff’ that Xav wants to give to the couple. The Northern crowd chortle when Xav describes the process of IVF using tubs of humous, taramasalata and a bread stick. Perhaps most importantly, the humour is balanced by a deeper insight into the position of the three characters. Cooper has fine tuned the subtle details of the script – our attention is drawn to Toby when he reveals his feelings around all of the infertility leaflets being pink and when we witness Xav and Toby thrashing out their differences, it is evident that this is a play driven by friendship.

-Kristy Stott

STUFF is being performed at The Etcetera Theatre in Camden as part of the Camden Fringe Festival  from 20th to 23rd August 2015.

You can visit My Beating Heart Theatre Company website for more information.

REVIEW – Aliens Love Underpants Live (The Lowry)

kristobel
© sjsphoto
© sjsphoto
Date: 2 july 2015

THINGSTARS: 

This best-selling children’s book Aliens Love Underpants, written by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort, is pretty much staple bedtime reading in our house. Now the hilarious family favourite, presented by Big Wooden Horse and Nick Brooke Limited, has been adapted for the stage by Adam Bampton-Smith.

Apparently, aliens love underpants of every size, shape and colour but they can’t get their extraterrestrial fingers on any underpants in space so they have to obtain them by other means…

Most children find absolutely anything to do with underpants funny so the show is an immediate hit with Thing 2 (5 years old) and when he is asked by a member of the cast about his favourite pants – he promptly and proudly replies, “Dinosaur pants!”. This introduction acts as a frame story for the original tale and engages many of the children in the audience. The cast inform us that the original show has been cancelled (boo) but to avoid disappointment they will make up their own show (yay).

The talented cast of four, Mark Collier, Abigail Carter-Simpson, Eve Pearson-Wright and Alex James Ellison, take us through the well-loved tale which features original music, a highlight being the country and western line dancing pant shop owner. The audience is also treated to some real footage of Neil Armstrong on the moon, alien puppetry by Isla Shaw and lighting effects by Will Evans.

© sjsphoto
© sjsphoto

When our underpant hero Timmy (Alex James Ellison) comes around to solving the ancient riddle of the washing symbols, I did see that some children became quite restless – though, I have no doubt that many of the parents, including myself, saw it as an education. However, there was plenty of martian mischief and humorous interaction between the cast and the audience which kept most of the children gripped for the duration.

With a running time of 55 minutes and no interval, Aliens Love Underpants is a ‘laugh your pants off’ treat for those families with children aged from 3-8 years old.

-Kristy Stott

Aliens Love Underpants is at The Lowry, Salford until 5th July 2015. It continues its tour at Theatre Royal, Wakefield on the 7th and 8th July 2015. For more tour dates and venues click here.

REVIEW – 4 x 4: Ephemeral Architectures (The Lowry, Salford)

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Kate Byrne & Owen Reynolds from Gandini Juggling 4x4 Ephemeral Architectures - ©Arnaud Stephenson
Kate Byrne & Owen Reynolds from Gandini Juggling 4×4 Ephemeral Architectures – ©Arnaud Stephenson
 Date: 1 JUly 2015
Upstaged Rating: 

4 x 4 Ephemeral Architectures invites two beautiful, but integrally different, art forms to share a stage for the first time. Directed by internationally renowned juggler Sean Gandini and with choreography by Royal Ballet dancer Ludovic Ondiviela, Gandini Juggling return to The Lowry to collaborate with classical ballet dancers.

The result is truly beautiful – a simple exposed stage gives the 4 jugglers and 4 ballet dancers a chance to explore the beauty of these two very different age old practices. At times it is hard to separate the jugglers from the dancers and the fluidity is praiseworthy – a fusion of dancers extended limbs and skittles suspended mid flight.

4 x 4 is like rhythmic perfection, as pure patterns and mathematics collide – the jugglers move like dancers frequently and the dancers mimic the timing and movement of juggling with their voices, breathing and the soft pad of their feet on the bare stage. ‘Is it possible to dance when the ball is in the air?’ The jugglers and dancers trusting one another on stage – we realise that the two share similar skills – balance, timing, control and elegance.

This is a show with astounding synchronicity – as I struggle to keep my eyes on the balls, green, yellow and white; filled with mathematical complexity – flying clubs and throwing hoops to land like ruffs around the dancers. There are a few rogue clubs that hit the deck but they are hard pushed to dent this astonishing performance.

The fascinating and witty dialogue between the two respected crafts is supported by music from Camerata Alma Viva, a chamber ensemble of five (double bass, cello, viola and two violins) who perform Nimrod Borenstein’s original composition, ‘Suspended Opus 69’. Guy Hoare’s lighting design, with wonderful exposed lighting rigs, fully complements all of the movement on stage adding a further dimension to this striking cross-art amalgamation.

Running at around 60 minutes 4 x 4 is a surreal, assured and laugh-out-loud funny (my 9 year old thought so too) display of beauty and intelligence which certainly delighted the Salford audience.

-Kristy Stott

 

REVIEW – Wonder.land (The Palace Theatre, Manchester)

kristobel
Wonderland_poster_notitle
Date: 2 July 2015
Upstaged Rating: 

Wonder.land is a brand new musical, directed by Rufus Norris,  that is being performed as part of the Manchester International Festival. Taking its inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s classic novel Alice in Wonderland, the new musical tells the story of Aly, a young teen who battles with bullies at school and struggles to find happiness at home with her mother and baby brother ‘cabbage pants’ Charlie. Aly is unable to look to her father for support either, as although he loves her dearly, he is addicted to online gambling.

Aly finds her solace in Wonder.land, an immersive, technicolour online world where “you can be exactly who you want to be”, which in Aly’s case is a brave and beautiful avatar named Alice, a blue-eyed blond who looks like she has just stepped out of the looking glass.

Damon Albarn has created the weird and wonderful soundtrack for this musical – combining the familiar feel of signature Albarn with a wondrous dose of otherworldliness. Furthermore, the lyrics by Moira Buffini feel natural and unforced, full of wit – littered with references to the Lewis Carroll’s classic novel but still made relevant and accessible to a contemporary audience.

Rae Smith’s design is a highlight – capturing the grey and mundane urban grit of the city and the chaos and vibrancy of wonder.land and aided by projections by 59 Productions and lighting by Paule Constable, the transition between the two worlds is remarkably smooth. As hard as Aly, charmingly played by Lois Chimimba, tries to keep the two worlds separate, the boundaries between real life and wonder.land seem to ‘blur’ into one.

With mischievous and intricate costume design by Katrina Lindsay, the show is well cast with all members giving strong performances. Rosalie Craig as Alice has a wonderful singing voice and moves convincingly as an avatar; Golda Rosheuvel as single mother Bianca and Paul Hilton as online gambler Matt, also impress as parents at odds with each other. Anna Francolini gives an outstanding and highly comical performance as Ms Manxome, a vibrato singing, technophobe high school teacher who can’t abide ‘bad odours, weird artwork and phones’.

Just like Aly, sometimes when the real world gets all too mundane and we need to escape, we can all find our own wonder.land on our smartphone screen, leading us down a rabbit hole into an extraordinary new world. Wonder.land is a brilliant, relevant and modern take on Lewis Carroll’s classic novel and an enveloping experience for your senses.

-Kristy Stott

Wonder.land is at the Palace Theatre in Manchester until 19th July. Following its premiere in Manchester, it will visit the National Theatre’s Olivier Theatre in November before travelling to the Théatre du Chatalet in Paris in 2016.

Flicker and the Flying Books soars at the Manchester Children’s Book Festival

kristobel

Flicker and the Flying Books

THingstars: 

Although younger audiences are often the harshest critics, enjoyable and engaging children’s theatre does not need lavish sets, costumes or gimmicks. Flicker and the Flying Books, a new production presented by the Royal Exchange, with props made out of paper, had all of the young, curious theatre-goers joining in with the performers, following simple movements, laughing and clapping. All going to prove that interaction, music and familiarity are key when trying to put on a show for 3 – 8 year olds.

Flicker and the Flying Books is being presented by the Royal Exchange Theatre Young Company, a scheme for young people aged 14-21, together with the Elders’ Company, a practical drama and theatre making project for anyone over 60. This wonderfully imaginative theatrical caper is also produced in partnership with Manchester Children’s Book Festival, which runs until the 5th July 2015.

Everybody is very busy and Benji (Jake Mainwaring) is bored and the last thing that he wants to do is read a book, “ A book? Boring! Books are boring!”…That is until the marvellous Flicker (Judith Wood) starts throwing books from the shelves and  flicking through pages revealing a magical world that Benji never knew existed.

Directed by Andrew Barry, Flicker and the Flying Books has been developed by the whole company together with Matt Hassall and Josie Hepplewhite and features original music by talented Young Company member Abigayle Bartley. The soundscape is enriched by the companies voices, notably Matt Boylan, who collaboratively manage to create a bustling environment, an underwater paradise and a prehistoric dinosaur plain.

The simple but effective set design by Meriel Pym sees the ensemble make a dinosaur, Rapunzel’s golden hair and the Little Mermaid purely out of paper – it is all that the young audience need to trigger their vivid imaginations.

Flicker and the Flying Books is a refreshing, lively and positive new piece of theatre for a young audience; it is wonderful to see the Elders’ Company and the Young Company working together, listening and sharing each others ideas. Running at around 30 minutes, I would recommend Flicker and the Flying Books suitable for ages 3-6 years old. The production is completely free to watch but you must book in advance by calling the Royal Exchange box office on 0161 833 9833.

Flicker and the Flying Books is being performed on 4th July 2015 at 11:00am and 2:30pm at Manchester Central Library. Tickets are FREE but you must book in advance. Please call 0161 833 9833.      

Flicker and the Flying Books is also showing at New Vic Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent on 11th July 2015.

REVIEW – Shadow Boxing (The Lowry, Salford)

kristobel
shadow-boxingDate: 20 june 2015
Upstaged Rating: 

Shadow Boxing is a vivid and intense hour long monologue by boxer Flynn (Jonny Collis-Scurll). Determined not to end up like his father, who was also a boxer only not as successful, Flynn puts himself through gruelling training regimes showing complete dedication to his sport. However, amidst Flynn’s theatrical show of strength we learn that this play is not wholly about his boxing career but runs a lot deeper and explores his experience of coming out as a gay man.

Jonny Collis-Scurll gives a brave, intensive and athletic performance as Flynn, with only a punch bag for company, he must do in the region of fifty press-ups, pummell about eight invisible opponents and perform numerous jabs and rapid boxing combinations during the one-man show. Written by James Gaddas, the language is striking and often poetic, Flynn describes his boxing gloves as ‘lances of scarlet on rods of steel’; at the same time I can feel the vibrations of the punch bag reverberate through my body as I’m sat in the audience. It makes arresting viewing and I feel unnerved by this volatile and vulnerable man with red rimmed eyes staring out towards the crowd.

Directed by Donald Pulford, the stage is set sparsely with matting, a punch bag and a bench to give the impression of a gritty boxing gym. Pulford’s clever lighting design aids Collis-Scurll’s expressive story telling by neatly suggesting other settings and supporting the dramatic build-up as Flynn turns to face his toughest opponents, his personal demons.

Shadow Boxing is a very intense hour long experience, with Jonny Collis-Scurll giving a high energy and charismatic performance, presenting the inner turmoil that Flynn faces while also demonstrating his physicality as a boxer. By the shattering conclusion we are left doubting whether Flynn will ever resolve the battle within himself and feel comfortable with his sexuality.

-Kristy Stott

Visit Cross Cut Theatre’s website by clicking here.