The Pitmen Painters
April 10, 2008
The Pitmen Painters
Venue: Live Theatre, Newcastle
Date Reviewed: 9th April, 2008
Newcastle’s Live Theatre has revived the Pitmen Painters (which was the play commissioned to reopen the theatre after a massive rebuild) and I am pleased to see it remains a five star production, which rightly sets off on tour to the National Theatre with its original cast after a short run at the Live.
Writer Lee Hall may immediately make people think of Billy Elliott but his new play is equally as warm and funny and this time set in the Northumberland town of Ashington.
Based on the true life story of a group of Ashington miners who learn to paint we are introduced to the characters, as they await their art tutor, who turns out not to be a Professor as expected. At first the characters do appear to be the typical stereotypes but as the play develops we learn more about the men and actually care about their future.
Max Roberts’ direction is straight forward and well balanced and during the scene changes we are constantly reminded of the collieries as we hear the sirens and the rattle of the cages as they go up and down the pit. The staging is simple and effective with the actual pitmen paintings being projected on three large screens at the back of the stage, which are also used to project the names of where scenes are taking place. The action moves from Ashington to London, with Newcastle Central Station, The Laing Art Gallery and Edinburgh all playing a vital part in the story.
This is truly an ensemble piece of work and the cast work like a well oiled machine, each having noticeably grown in to their role since the play was first presented. They ensure that every word and scene of this play is beautifully drawn and they make the most of Hall’s excellent play, making us laugh out loud one moment before tugging at the heart strings the next.
This revival allows Live Theatre to take a first class production to the National Theatre and I have no doubt it will become a TV play or feature film in the not too distant future and deservedly so.
The Doubtful Guest
April 8, 2008
The Doubtful Guest
Venue: Northern Stage
Date Reviewed: 8th April, 2008
The Doubtful Guest was my first introduction to both the works of Edward Gorey and Hoipolloi who presented the play in association with the Theatre Royal Plymouth, English Touring Theatre and Watford Palace Theatre.
Due to the generosity of Northern Stage, when they are presenting family shows I am able to be accompanied by my daughters, one aged six and a half and the other eight years old. Therefore I am able to give a review based on the views of two children and that of their parents and how very different they are.
The concept of the play is simple; a group of five mis-fit family members (grandson, mum, dad and grandparents) live in a mansion and spend their days doing very little. That all changes when one day an unexpected guest (who resembles a large brown penguin) arrives and refuses to leave. Their unwanted guest blocks rooms, makes a mess, throws out their belongings and generally makes a nuisance of himself over many years. Why they just did not lock him out when he went to the lake was beyond me.
Told by a cast of five, the production takes time to get going with the cast of Stefanie Muller (who is also the designer), Andrew Pembrooke, Ben Frimstone, Jill Norman and Trond-Erik Vassdal spending time explaining, with the use of a blackboard, where the audience are in relation to the stage. After this we are presented with a collection of short scenes showing how their lives changed when the guest arrived.
Designer Stefanie Muller sets the action on a bare set that is surrounded by pulleys, so scenery can be lowered in to place, with the words projected on a screen above. This gives Director Shon Dale-Jones the opportunity to let the cast appear to improvise, but the concept works so much better in other plays, such as The 39 Steps (currently touring).
Michael Harrison and Robinson Crusoe
April 8, 2008
Whatsonstage North East caught up with Michael Harrison, Managing Director of Qdos Pantomimes for the first of our monthly updates on his 2008 pantomime Robinson Crusoe and the Caribbean Pirates. During our discussion it soon became clear that even though there is still eight months to go before the pantomime opens, at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle, pre- production is well under way.
Michael has written, produced and directed the last three pantomimes at the Theatre Royal all starring father and son comedy team Clive Webb and Danny Adams. Cinderella, also starring Jill Halfpenny, started the run of hit shows, followed by Jack and the Beanstalk, when Craig Conway (now Jill’s husband) joined the established leads in the show. Last year, Craig returned with Clive and Danny in Aladdin, with Faye Tozer replacing Jill as the leading lady. Read more
The 39 Steps
April 8, 2008
The 39 Steps
Venue: Theatre Royal, Newcastle
Date Reviewed: 7th April 2008
Depending on your age, the John Buchan story The 39 Steps will bring back memories of the either the 1935 or 1978 film versions, where the hero Richard Hannay was played by Robert Donat and Robert Powell respectively. Although neither version actually stuck to the original novel, Buchan himself thought the Alfred Hitchcock version was a better story than the one he had originally written. There is another 1959 version starring Kenneth More which was not well received and seems to have slipped from everyone’s minds.
Now we have an award winning stage version that is still running in London, while embarking on an extensive tour as well as preparing to open on Broadway. The London production won not only a Laurence Olivier Award for best comedy, but our own Whatsonstage.com Award as well.
With a running time of under two hours, including the interval, the story moves at a cracking pace from the off and the cast of four deserve all the rapturous applause they received at the curtain call.
Our hero is determined to find the secret of the 39 Steps, even though he is placed in extreme danger when doing so. Through a mixture of map cap humour, brilliantly timed sound effects, mist and excellent comedy timing we travel from Hannays flat to the highlands of Scotland and back to the London Palladium. The scene where Hannay climbs along the train roof is a delight to behold, as it is so simple yet comes across as very funny. Read more
Dolls House Winner
April 2, 2008
We had 2 tickets to be won for the Northern Stage production of a Dolls House and the first out of the hat was:
Dorothy Eyes of Whickham
This competition had the most entries of all those we have done and can I say thank you to everyone who entered. It is appreciated that so many people who view the site take the time to enter our competitions
Hopefully we will have more tickets to give away in the near future so keep an eye on our website.
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