Aladdin: Birmingham Royal Ballet, Sunderland Empire
THE first-night performance of David Bintley’s new ballet ended in repeated curtain calls, thunderous applause and cheers.
View ArticleThe Thrill Of Love, Scarborough Stephen Joseph Theatre
RUTH ELLIS shot her lover and achieved a dubious sort of fame as the last woman to be hanged in Britain in 1955.
View ArticleRefugee Boy Quarry Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse
BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH’S novel, first published in 2001, has been adapted for the stage by another poet and playwright, Lemn Sissay. The result is fast-paced, funny, moving, dramatic 80-minutes of theatre.
View ArticleThe Ladykillers Newcastle Theatre Royal
IT was a classic 1950s Ealing comedy and one of the studio’s great British films.
View ArticleCricket’s not out
And there’s more ... Jimmy Cricket will muddle through in his usual style when he appears in pantomime in Billingham this Christmas. Steve Pratt hears his thoughts about contemporary comedy and...
View ArticleTheatre Review: The Winter’s Tale: Royal Shakespeare Company, York Grand...
THE trouble with so-called “problem plays” is that directors feel obliged to solve the problem, with sometimes awkward results.
View ArticleTheatre Review: Cadfael: The Virgin in the Ice Darlington Civic Theatre
PRESENTED by the Middle Ground Theatre Company, this medieval murder mystery is a bit like an Agatha Christie with a Benedictine monk in the Poirot slot.
View ArticleDame Edna heads for North-East
NORTH-EAST fans of Dame Edna Everage will get the chance to say goodbye to the legendary entertainer, who is the alter ego of Australian Barry Humphries, at Newcastle Theatre Royal, in January next...
View ArticleCentre stage
Steve Pratt talks to Heather Dutton, who is taking part in Dark Horse Theatre’s first national tour with a production of Sing Something Simple.
View ArticleKeeping up with The Beatles beat
JAMES JORDAN grew up listening to The Beatles when his grandparents played cassettes of their songs in the car driving on long road trips on holiday. Now the Middlesbrough-born musician makes a living...
View ArticleHigh Society, Newcastle Theatre Royal
OH, for the balmy nights of Oyster Bay. More champagne needed, methinks.
View ArticleThe 39 Steps, York Theatre Royal
WHAT an absolutely ripping yarn, spiffingly performed by an energetic and literally dashing cast of four.
View ArticleGavin’s the high flier of humour
A new TV acting role on Sky Atlantic show Starlings has recently occupied the time of Geordie comic Gavin Webster... and he admits he’d love to do more.
View ArticleFrom Superstar to prince
Pantomime is just perfect for North-East Jesus Christ Superstar TV competitor Jon Moses, he tells Steve Pratt. The singer follows a starring role in Sleeping Beauty with a North-East panto-style...
View ArticleTick of the light
Jason Donovan sets the record straight with Steve Pratt about his return to Priscilla Queen Of The Desert as drag artist Tick, but doesn’t think his future lies in more musicals
View ArticleDavid Ford, Jarrod Dickenson and Emily Grove, Cluny, Newcastle
ALTHOUGH I’d primarily gone to see Texas singer-songwriter Jarrod Dickenson, it was another aspiring act who set the standard with her opening slot.
View ArticleDistant Light: The Northern Sinfonia, The Sage, Gateshead
LATVIAN composer Peteris Vasks’ Violin Concerto Distant Light was given its first outing at The Sage, with Northern Sinfonia leader Bradley Creswick presenting a scorching reading of the stirring work.
View ArticleSave The Last Dance For Me, York Grand Opera House
BEFORE the show begins, the voice of producer-director Bill Kenwright tells the audience not to feel shy about singing along with the songs.
View ArticleRocky Horror Rox
The Rocky Horror Show is renowned as the musical where the performers have to deal with shouted insults. Roxanne Pallett tells Steve Pratt she doesn’t mind in the least. The actress playing virginal...
View Article‘Miranda meets Smack the Pony’
Toyah Wilcox, pictured below, reveals to Steve Pratt how she found her hormonal side in spite of living the kind of life that doesn’t lend itself to motherhood and being a housewife.
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