September
A Streetcar Named Desire at the Royal Exchange was another
star vehicle for Maxine Peake in her portrayal of the complex but fragile Blanche
Dubois on a very minimalist set. I wrote about it here.
Later in the month I had to go down to London for a work
trip so extended the stay by a night so I could shoehorn in some theatre. On
the Friday on a whim I decided to go and see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
before it closed. Not my normal type of thing for a solo visit, but I did enjoy
it and my hearing has just about recovered from the over amplification. I wrote
a post about it here.
Then the next day, I was walking past the Theatre Royal and
noticed that they did tours. They were very cheap; I think it was about £10,
and excellent value. An actor took us round many areas of the theatre, gave us
loads of history, folklore and backstage secrets – a fascinating and thoroughly
enjoyable hour.
Before I travelled home that day I managed to fit in a
second visit to The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre. I saw this in
2015 originally, just before it won all its awards and before Mischief theatre
embarked on their world domination plan (currently three shows in the west end,
one on Broadway, one due to tour next year and Christmas shows on Radio 2 and
BBC1!) It was just as funny second tie round with a different cast, even
knowing what disasters were about to befall the ‘amateur production’.
October
I don’t appear to have gone to the theatre in October – how unexpected!
November
Another trip to Hope Mill Theatre in November to see writer
/ performer Laura Lindsay’s latest work Parallel. Superb three hander that I discussed in full here. I Would have loved to have seen that show more than once.
I also experienced an excellent work in central Manchester
that was put on in conjunction with the Contact Theatre, Lookout. Such an
interesting and thought provoking concept that is hard to describe but I had a go here.
Breaking the Code at the Royal Exchange theatre was seen
that same afternoon. Focussing on elements of the life of Professor Alan Turing
this was an interesting show. Daniel Rigby was excellent in the role of Alan,
with a strong supporting cast. The set was very inventive and worked well to
keep the pace engaging. The narrative was structured as a number of snapshots
of Turing’s life; his introduction to Bletchley, his relationship with his
mother and colleagues, elements of his post Bletchley life and the impact of
his death on his mother. But each just felt like a fleeting glimpse and I
longed for it to explore one or more of the themes in more depth.
Finally in November a new play from two first time
playwrights Jackie Thompson and Anna Wood, Fallout, at the Anthony Burgess
Foundation. This was an interesting, moving, funny but at times unsettling play
about the relationships between a group of women who have gathered for the hen
night of one of them. The first half covers a drunken night of partying,
revelations and resentments, the second half deals with the fallout from the
night before, and then a threat of a very different kind that draws them all
together. It was a really strong cast and an interesting premise, which had
been devised and delivered by an all Northern, all female cast, crew and
creative team.
December
I rounded off the year with a trip over to Sheffield to see
this year’s offering at the Crucible, Annie Get Your Gun. Sheffield always put on a great Christmas
musical and this year was no exception. The fantastic sets, wonderful music and
talented, hard working cast combined to deliver a barnstormer of a show telling
the tale of sharp shooter Annie Oakley’s rise to stardom and her rivalry and
romance with showman Frank Butler. It’s one of those musicals that, even if you’ve
never seen it, like me, you know most of the songs. Anna Jane Casey was
wonderful in the role of the gunslinger Annie, playing nicely off the somewhat pompous
Frank (Ben Lewis). A true festive treat that rounded off my theatre year nicely.
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