Ray Bradbury on Something Wicked
October 8, 2008
Born in Waukegan, Illinois in 1920, Ray Bradbury is one of America’s greatest and most popular writers. Author of hundreds of short stories, scripts, poems and essays, many of his books have been successfully adapted for film, television and the stage, including Fahrenheit 451, Dandelion Wine and The Martian Chronicles.
Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of Bradbury’s best loved works and follows the adventures of two boys, Will and Jim, who come across a mysterious carnival which appears in their town one dark autumn evening. . .
How much of Ray Bradbury is there in the characters of Will and Jim in Something Wicked This Way Comes?
I’m completely in those two characters; they’re half of me. Read more
Five Reasons To See…A Song For The Lovers
October 6, 2008
Martin Gibbons is about to tread the boards at the Lowry in A Song For The Lovers.
Monkeywood Theatre present their 24:7 Theatre Festival hit, from Thu 9 – Sat 11 October. The play has been redeveloped and redirected since its 24:7 outing in 2006 especially for The Lowry’s first ever Studio Season.
Cofounders, Sarah McDonald Hughes, from Flixton, and Francesca Waite, from Didsbury, met as Theatre A level students at Xaverian 6th Form College in Rusholme and formed Monkeywood Theatre Company with fellow actor Martin Gibbons, from Teesside, in 2003. Their previous work includes Closer, by Patrick Marber, and Coach G, which received rave reviews.
A Song For The Lovers is a funny, compelling story about an unlikely friendship and an impossible evening. Over the course of one night in a deserted club in Manchester, three desperate characters search for an escape route that is drifting further and further away from them. Read more
Five Reasons To See…West Side Story
September 25, 2008
Australian actor Daniel Koek arrives in Salford next week to star as Tony in the evergreen musical, West Side Story at the Lowry. He recently performed as part of the West End Chorus in Tim Rice’s own version of Chess in concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Josh Groban, Idina Menzel and Kerry Ellis were but a few of the names that made this production particularly spectacular.
Dan also recently starred in the International tour of Saturday Night Fever, where he played Father Frank Junior and understudied DJ Monty. He is delighted to be a part of West Side Story and has described it as “a dream come true to be playing a lead role in such an iconic piece of theatre!”
We caught up with him this week, to find out five reasons why you should go and see him strut his stuff as Tony in Leonard Bernstein’s musical masterpiece. Read more
Katie Mitchell on making Waves
September 23, 2008
On embarking on her multimedia version of Virginia Woolf’s The Waves director Katie Mitchell was warned that she was committing career suicide. After garnering rave reviews and a sell-out run at the National Theatre, Mitchell can rest assured that her gamble has paid off.
Waves was the first foray into the multimedia techniques which she has since explored in productions such as …some trace of her and Attempts on Her Life at the National. There is no safety net; all the footage is live, as are the music and sound effects. A simple story lies at the heart of Waves, that of six friends brought up together in a nursery in St Ives who forge friendships that last their entire lives.
Mitchell’s admiration for Woolf is evident: “Woolf can appear like a frightening writer but she’s very insightful and tender about human experience and perception, she’s very precise and careful.” The novel, and consequently the production focus on internal experiences. Read more
Jenny Platt …from Corrie to Venice
September 15, 2008
Jenny Platt was last seen on our TV screens, driving off into the distance with her on and off screen beau, Rupert Hill (Jamie). It was the end for the much-loved Coronation Street bar-maid, Violet Wilson, but just the beginning for the young, Ipswich born actress. Like many actors, free from the gruelling schedules of soapland, Jenny is about to tread the boards.
But instead of running to the bright lights of the West End, Platt is heading somewhere closer to home, Bolton at the Octagon Theatre, in Mark Babych’s first play of the new season, The Merchant Of Venice; William Shakespeare’s classic tale of bigotry, desire and greed which opens on Thursday, 18th September until 11th October.
Jenny’s partner Rupert had a hit at the Octagon recently with Once Upon A Time In Wigan Live! and she hopes to enjoy her Bolton experience as much as he did. Read more
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