Review-The Sponge Who Could Fly
April 23, 2009
Date April 22nd 2009
Venue: Sunderland Empire
Taking a TV cartoon and transplanting it on to stage will never be easy, but can be done successfully, as shown with Scooby Doo, which is currently undertaking a second national tour with a new stage adventure.
On this occasion we have Nickelodeon’s Spongebod Squarepants in The Sponge Who Could Fly, a new musical adventure and I had to rely on my youngest daughter to vouch for the quality of screen to stage success. She gave the production full marks even though she spotted the changes in the story from the TV version it was taken from But she was less than impressed that Spongebob appeared to have used the wrong part of his hairdryer to blow up his trousers, which if effect gave him the ability to fly. Read more
Review- Waiting for Godot
April 21, 2009
Date Reviewed: 20th April, 2009
Venue: Theatre Royal, Newcastle
While we are used to seeing star names on tour, we need to look back towards Jack Lemmon and Michael Gambon in Veterans Day or even further to Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson heading a tour of Uncle Vanya, for a more stellar cast than in this version of Waiting for Godot.
In supporting roles we have Ronald Pickup (recently in Newcastle with Uncle Vanya) and Simon Callow (who headed the recent the tour of Equus) with stage and screen legends Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart leading the company. Both actors are familiar faces at the Theatre Royal having separately played Shakespeare to packed houses, but this time they are appearing together, so we have the force of the X-Men meeting Star Trek and Lord of the Rings (as well as Coronation Street) and therefore it is little wonder there are house full signs up for the week. Read more
Playhouse Uncovered
April 19, 2009
The hordings are down and the new frontage of the Whitley Bay Playhouse can been seen after its multi million pound revamp. Aiming to be the 3rd most important theatre North of the Tyne there is still a lot of work to be done but the new glass exterior is now standing there for all to see and it is hard to remember the old building that once stood on the site
Look Back in Anger again
April 16, 2009
Look back in Anger runs from Tuesday 28th April until Saturday 2nd May. If you missed it at Northern Stage the first time round, it is a chance to catch it as it returns to the North East. For more information or to book tickets contact the Gala Box Office on 0191 332 4041 or visit the website at www.galadurham.co.uk
Reviews-Spyski
April 16, 2009
Reviewed: April 15th, 2009
Venue: Northern Stage, Newcastle
The announcement across the theatre asks us to take our seats for The Importance of Being Earnest and when the curtain rises for the first few minutes we are watch a rather frantic version of Wilde’s play.
Then, when a voice from portable walkie-talkie booms out and a man, dressed in black and wearing a balaclava jumps up waving a gun from the front row, all sense flies out of the window and the fun begins.
This is the first visit by Peeploykus to Newcastle and judging from the reaction of the audience it will not be the last. The production is actually a joint venture between Peepolykus and the Lyric Hammersmith in association with the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Read more
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