In 2012 Grin Theatre Productions produced their ultimate piece of work so far, three short plays centred on women and the very different lives they can take. The three pieces starred Donna Lesley Price, Jennifer Bea and Kayla Keatley as the main focus of the stories and all three actors, writers and Grin Theatre themselves received, quite rightly, much acclaim for what they produced.
Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With James Hodkinson Of Shadowlight.
James Hodkinson grew up on Merseyside from the late 1970s through to the early 90s. The sound track of his early life was the music of the heavy, progressive and so-called space rock genres, which drifted in through his bedroom window from older kids’ houses and mingled with the more indigenous sounds of his family home. This collision saw King Crimson, Hawkwind, Caravan, Pink Floyd and Marillion blend with Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, Elton John and the Carpenters and Crosby, Stills and Nash, as well as the classical symphonies played on old vinyl records by his grandfather.
Liverpool Sound And Vision: The Saturday Supplement, An Interview With Stephen Fletcher. (2013).
Sat across the table from Stephen Fletcher at the café in the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall listening to the young actor/producer talk enthusiastically and with a vast knowledge of the theatre at his disposal is something everybody should experience in their life at least once, if they are fortunate then it is something the gracious actor will always afford you. In the last year Stephen has been very busy, he has put together one of the great plays of the last festive period in the critically acclaimed play Mam! I’m ere! and been a part of some of the most challenging and enjoyable productions to have taken part in Liverpool.
Linda And Sue, Queertet. Theatre Review, Lantern Theatre, Liverpool.
Originally published on L. S. Media. July 28th 2012.
L.S. Media Rating * * * *
Cast: Annie Edwards, Rxanne Male, Jonathon Roberts, Jasmin Pritchard, Monique Bouley.
Love and jealousy, as intrinsically entwined together as almost any other human emotion; especially when the two lovers have a difference in age and one has a grown up son from a previous relationship and the other one has younger friends. All of this can lead to bitterness if not handled with sensitivity and care, on both parts.
Such is the premise of Chris Christou’s play for the Queertet Festival of plays at The Lantern Theatre, Linda and Sue.
Half A Bottle Gone, Queertet. Theatre Review. Lantern Theatre, Liverpool.
Originally published on L. S. Media. 8th July 2012.
Cast: Ben Hallworth, Dale Grant, Nuala Maguire.
Perhaps the idea of admission of guilt or even worry is one step too far to cope with after a bottle of wine or two. Even the Half A Bottle Gone may be too much for some to comprehend the seriousness of a life that has been turned upside down by one moment’s indiscretion.
Half A Bottle Gone by Ian Walker deals with before and after, the moments where you blurt out a secret that has been tearing away at your soul and the moment when you first saw the life you lead turn dramatically inside out.
The Last Five Years, Theatre Review. The Actors Studio, Liverpool.
Originally published on L.S. Media. 24th July 2012.
L.S. Media Rating * * * *
Cast: Helen Carter, Stephen Fletcher, Nick Phillips.
The course of true love never did run smooth, even less so when told over the period of five years and from two different perspectives and times. This is the premise of Jason Robert Brown’s enormously well written musical The Last Five Years.
If The Shoe Fits. Floral Pavilion, New Brighton. Theatre Review.
Originally published on L.S. Media. 2nd August 2012.
Cast: Charlie Griffiths, Jodie Nesbitt, Angela Simms, Donna Lesley Price, Richie Grice, Al T. Kossy, Lesley Hughes, Trevor Fleming, James William-Watts, Michael Swift.
When a play is as terrific, expansive and well observed as If The Shoe Fits, then no matter what theatre it is put on at, it is sure to draw the crowds in their numbers and be enjoyed for what it is, a play that really draws on the underbelly of city life, its laughter, its dreams and also its seedier side which is just as much a part of humanity as the bright lights and shopping malls.
The Final Test, Theatre Review. Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton.
Originally published on L.S. Media. July 22nd 2012.
L.S. Media rating * * * *
Aside from the sound of leather crashing into the sturdy form of willow, there can be no better sound to a fan of cricket than Radio Four’s signature tune to Test Match Special – Booker T. and the M.G.s’ Soul Limbo. There can be no better play for a student of the sport and those that live with them than Chris Paling’s play The Final Test.
Totally Ninja-David Alnwick. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool.
Originally published on L.S. Media. July 17th 2012.
L.S. Media Rating * * * * *
Think you know magic? Until you have seen the spectacle of Gateshead born magician extraordinaire Totally Ninja-David Alnwick on stage, you haven’t seen anything.
Saving Grace, Theatre Review. The Lantern Theatre.
Originally published by L.S. Media. July 17th 2012
L.S. Media Rating ****
Cast: Nicolle Caine, Kayla Keatley, Josie Sedgewick-Davies, Jay Podmore.
Ever wondered what it’s like to be left with an overactive imagination, a hen night that takes all the delights of your sitting room and the worry of a mate who hasn’t had a date in years? Saving Grace by Dave Griffiths packs all of these elements into one of the shows that’s a part of the Shiny New Festival going on all this week at the Lantern Theatre, Liverpool.