Reviews

Venue: The Lowry
Date Reviewed: 2nd July, 2008

The auditorium fills and the noise levels rise as children and adults arrive for a performance of the Terrible Tudors. The lights dim and the theatre reverberates with a scream of excitement as we strap in for a roller-coaster ride through the horrible side of history.

Originally conceived as a way of getting younger children excited by history, Terry Deary’s Horrible Histories books use a combination of cartoons, jokes and the more gruesome historical facts to bring the past to life in new and interesting ways. Building on the huge popularity of the books, these touring adaptations (the Vile Victorians alternates with the Terrible Tudors) aim to recreate this mixture of learning and fun on stage.

The cast of four - Benedict Martin, Alison Fitzjohn, Zara Plessard and Timothy Speyer - perform a minor miracle with their range of characters and the speed of the dialogue and physical interaction. The broad humour of many of the jokes wouldn’t work if delivery and timing were not perfectly honed and it is testament to their abilities that it never slips throughout the two hour show. Read more »

Venue: The Sabai Pavillion, Sackville Street
Date Reviewed: 1st July, 2008

Take sixteen exotic ‘Kathoey,’ the so-called third sex, add hundreds of outrageous Vegas-style costumes, shake and stir and place inside an exotic pavilion, and what do you get? A total transformation of a Manchester city centre car park, and one of the best nights out you could ever hope to have!

Full credit to creators, Carol and Phillip Gandey, for the beautiful attention to detail in the realisation of their concept. From the moment you enter the Sabai Pavilion, you’re transported to a relaxed Bangkok-style floor show environment. With first-class hospitality throughout the evening, this is a total entertainment experience. Read more »

News

The Royal Exchange Theatre invite you to fun-filled Friday nights of comedy, belly dancing and jazz, all for nowt! These are some of the highlights of Special FX- the hugely popular programme of free entertainment staged every Friday in the foyer of Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre.

There is free entertainment from 6pm - 7pm, cheap drinks from 5.30pm- 7pm and huge savings in the craft shop from 5.30pm- 7pm.

Guitar-toting funny man Duncan Oakley headlines another bill of stand-up when the new SFX season kicks off tonight. Guest compere Des Sharples takes the helm for a line-up which also includes lug-eared Super Hans look-alike John Goodfellow and laid-back gagster Mike Newall.

A unique fusion of Turkish and Kurdish music fills the Great Hall when Paula Darwish and the Country and Eastern Band make an appearance on Friday 11 July. The seven-piece band present a special semi- acoustic set, fusing the spirit of rock with eastern rhythms and melodies. Read more »

Shiver me timbers! Crazy pirates are heading for The Lowry in a zany follow-up to their hilarious parody of the Harry Potter books, Potted Potter.

Potted Pirates is another cracking, compressed caper from the delightful double act Dan and Jeff.

In search of talking parrots and mysterious buried treasure, they’re swapping wizards for walking the plank and trading Hogwarts for the high seas.

On the way they’ll be collecting pieces of eight by recounting everyone’s favourite pirate legends, from Long John Silver to Jack Sparrow. But, as ever with this duo, there may be a bit of a fuss about who gets to play Johnny Depp, and who draws the short straw to be lumbered with the supporting role of ‘wooden leg’.

Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner are best known for their storytelling appearances on Blue Peter. They have also played two sell-out Edinburgh and London seasons with Potted Potter and have toured extensively in the UK. Read more »

Interviews

Rupert Hill has traded life on the cobbled streets of Coronation Street for the Wigan Casino, as he takes on the role of Eugene in the hugely popular exploration of the Northern Soul scene; Once Upon A Time In Wigan at The Octagon. Re-worked by Nick Martin, the show now features live music, as opposed to the sound of the famous long players.

As Jamie Baldwin, Rupert garnered quite a following, but he clearly enjoys performing on stage, juggling his acting career with his passion for music, via his band.

We caught up with Rupert and he talks about the challenges of performing in such a well loved piece as Wigan. He also talks about life on the street, his band Yellow Dog and Stephen Fry.

Place Of Birth
Southampton

Lives now in
Manchester

When did you first realise that you wanted to act?
When I was 3 I acted in my first play, I was a Inn Keeper (one of the great 3 year old keepers). Apparently I told my mum, there and then, that I wanted to keep doing it (act).

What would you have done professionally if you weren’t acting or performing in your band?
I don’t know. I’d probably try writing novels and scripts, or directing. I don’t have an academic bone in my body and I’ve only ever excelled in the arts, so it would have to be creative.

Is there anyone you would still like to meet and why?
I have many heroes like Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese etc…but I don’t believe meeting them would do their legend any favours. So I suppose I’d have to say Stephen Fry (who I have actually met). Read more »

Jonathan Best (pictured) is the artistic director for Queer Up North. Following the Arts Council’s U-turn, the festival will go ahead, as planned from 9th -25th May.

This year’s programme includes Tough Time, Nice Time, by radical theatre troupe Ridiculusmus and The Fairy Godfather of Hollywood, avant-garde performer Bette Bourne’s show about the life and times of Hollywood screen icon Rock Hudson.

Opening the festival is controversial comedienne, Sandra Bernhard, who we will be interviewing shortly.

In the meantine, we caught up with Jonathan recently and he talks about the organising the festival, his love of Kneehigh’s Brief Encounter, the funding crisis and what you can look forward to at Queer Up North. This is Best’s second year as artistic director and he is confident that the programme is the best yet. Read more »