UK Tour

WICKED is Ready to Cast a Spell over The Lowry

kristobel
Emily Tierney as Glinda & Ashleigh Gray as Elphaba. ©Matt Crockett
Emily Tierney as Glinda & Ashleigh Gray as Elphaba. ©Matt Crockett
WICKED FLIES INTO THE LOWRY FROM 3 JUNE 2015 FOR FINAL DATE OF MULTI RECORD-BREAKING, TWO-YEAR UK AND IRELAND TOUR

Wicked, the West End and Broadway musical phenomenon that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz has won the This Morning Audience Award, the only Olivier Award which is voted for by the public. It was presented by the Olivier Awards 2015 at The Royal Opera House earlier this month.

The critically acclaimed, multi record-breaking UK & Ireland Tour will conclude its incredible two-year journey at The Lowry in Salford from 3 June 2015.

Wicked tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two sorcery students. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
With music by Academy Award® winner Stephen Schwartz, Wicked is based on the international best-selling novel, ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West’ by Gregory Maguire.

Wicked is at The Lowry, Salford from 3rd June 2015. 

REVIEW – One Man Breaking Bad – UK Tour (The Lowry)

kristobel
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Date: 01 March 2015
Upstaged Rating: 

Remember that feeling of loss when you reached the end of the final episode of season five of Breaking Bad? One show which had taken on a permanent place of residence in our hearts – we loved the characters, we felt like we actually knew them and we had taken them into our lives. I don’t know about you, but I really struggled when I reached the end of Breaking Bad. I tried to replace Walt with Dexter but it just wasn’t the same – I was attached to Heisenberg and Jesse Pinkman.

Well there is good news for anyone still suffering with withdrawal symptoms from the Emmy award-winning TV drama – Miles Allen, has brought his One Man Breaking Bad parody show to the UK for a full tour. Throughout the performance time of 80 minutes, Allen manages to condense all five seasons of Breaking Bad and take on the challenge of impersonating all of the lead characters,

Talented impersonator Allen uses our favourite meth head Jesse Pinkman as a narrator for the story, sticking closely to the original narrative, he manages to put his own spin on the action, using relevant cultural references to the NHS and the UK government as well as squeezing in some hilarious impressions of Peter Griffin, Homer Simpson and Gollum.

Miles Allen’s impression of Skyler is particularly entertaining – as he throws the blond synthetic wig haphazardly on to his head and dulls his voice to her low patronising tone. Allen really is a skilled performer, taking on pretty much every character in the series convincingly, as well as performing Breaking Bad dance moves (Better Call Saul and Die like Jane) and fashioning Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball as a strange parody with Walt Jr taking the limelight.

The show is interactive and high energy and Allen encourages the audience to join in wherever possible – whether it be chanting key lines from the show or picking participants from the audience to re-enact the ‘pizza on the roof’ scene.

One Man Breaking Bad is a light hearted and skilled stand up show which taps into a shared love of one of the best TV shows ever made. What did confuse me, however, was the number of people who raised their hands, at the top of the show, when Miles Allen asked, “Who hasn’t watched Breaking Bad?” Aside from the mass plot spoilers, I was puzzled they they had even bought a ticket.

This show is for those people who watched, lived and loved Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad and in Allen’s own words it is “a love letter for all of the fans who lived through the blood, meth and tears of the greatest TV show ever made”. If this review has whet your appetite and you fancy revisiting the world of Walter White and co, One Man Breaking Bad will definitely get you your fix.

-Kristy Stott

One Man Breaking Bad continues its UK tour at The Severn Arts Centre in Shrewsbury tonight.

Further tour dates can be found here.