Tag Archives: Theatre Review. Empire Theatre

Avenue Q, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Stephen Arden, Sarah Harlington, Arina II, Richard Lowe, Richard Morse, Jessica Parker, Etisyai Philip, Rhiane Drummond, Gracie Lai, Cameron Sharp, Josh Tevendale.

Life is complicated, life is not always a bed of roses, neither is it a series of petals that cover up a piece of human anatomy at a time; life, like Time, is brutal, funny, sarcastic and sometimes downright terrifying, we have no way to control it, we have no way to subject it to our own whims; when you share a planet with seven billion other souls, getting everything you want is impossible and for that life is so much more interesting than ever.

Avenue Q, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(416 words, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Dick Whittington, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Sally Lindsay, Leanne Campbell, Eric Potts, Liam Mellor, Kurtis Stacey, Warren Donnelly, Pete Price, Hayley Goold

“Big” is the first thing that springs to mind when taking a seat at The Liverpool Empire for this year’s Pantomime, Dick Whittington, and that’s exactly what the show delivers: Big laughs, Big fun, Big songs, Big costumes and – above all – some Big performances that will have everybody cheering from start to finish.

Dick Whittington, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(379 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Shrek: The Musical, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Dean Chisnall, Bronte Barbe, Gerard Carey, Idris Kargbo.

Here’s a statement: Shrek: The Musical is every bit as colourful, huge and – above all – funny as anything ever staged at the Liverpool Empire Theatre, with sets to die for, costumes that glitter brighter than the Christmas lights on Castle Street, choreography to make Len Goodman weep tears of joy and a cast that is quite simply sensational.

Shrek: The Musical, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(478 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

Dreamboats And Miniskirts, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Cast:  Alex Beaumont, Alan Howell, Elizabeth Carter, Laura Sillett, David Luke, Anna Campkin, Will Tierney, Michael Kantola, Sheridan Lloyd, Mike Slander, Daniel O’ Flanagan, Joseph Hardy, Josh Tye, Chloe Edwards-Wood.

 

The music world can be a cruel mistress, especially when you have had one hit record and the path is opened up before you as if the parting of the Red Sea has happened before your eyes and Moses is on the other side showing you this week’s sales and a mouthing over the crashing tumbling waves around you that Sir Paul McCartney has expressed an interest in doing a duet, with the fickle nature that comes in the form of a scratched record, dreams can be broken and dashed upon a cruel sea.

Dreamboats And Miniskirts, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(552 words, estimated 2:12 mins reading time)

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Michael Praed, Mark Benton, Noel Sullivan, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Phoebe Coupe, Carley Stenson, Emma Caffrey, Andy Conaghan, Soophia Foroughi, Johnny Godbold, Orla Gormley, Patrick Harper, Jordan Livesey, Regan Shepherd, Kevin Stephen-Jones, Katie Warsop, Jenny Wickham, Justin-Lee Jones, Andy Rees, Freya Rowley.

 

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(434 words, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

Jersey Boys, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Tim Driesen, Sam Ferriday, Lewis Griffiths, Stephen Webb, Amelia Adams-Pearce, Charlie Allen, Damien Buhagiar, Henry Davis, Leanne Garretty, Matt Gillett, Dayle Hodge, Sean Kingsley, Dan Krikler, Sinead Long, Nathaniel Morrison, Luke Morton, Dominic Smith.

 

Truth is always stranger than fiction, especially it seems when it comes out of the state of New Jersey. From the shores of Cape May, through to the boulevards and gambling houses of Atlantic City to the alter ego and sometimes expensive reminder of American life in Newark. Truth is what keeps you out of harm’s way, talent, talent gets you noticed and when you have the ability to combine both truth and talent, that’s when you have a sure fire hit in Jersey Boys.

Jersey Boys, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(532 words, estimated 2:08 mins reading time)

Judy, The Judy Garland Songbook, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Even now there are few female stars that could hold a candle to the extraordinary all-round performer Judy Garland. A woman who was possibly the epitome of the saying of being born into show business as a famous old trunk in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, could attest if it could talk. She would become the ultimate star of screen as she made hearts melt in film roles such Love Finds Andy Hardy, Strike Up The Band, For Me and My Gal, Meet Me in St. Louis and of course as the young Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz.

Judy, The Judy Garland Songbook, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(562 words, estimated 2:15 mins reading time)

The Producers, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Corey English, Jason Manford, Ross Noble, David Bedalla, Tiffany Graves, Stephane Anelli, Abigail Brodie, Jaye Elster, Rebecca Fennelly, Olivia Fines, Andrew Gordon-Watkins, Aimee Hoonett, Paul Hutton, Nia Jermin, Marjorie McAvoy, Joel Montague, Genevieve Nicole, Tosh Wanogho-Maud, Jay Webb, Russell Wilcox, Aron Wild.

Satire isn’t dead, despite the stamp of modern life and politics trying its upmost to make it the saintly reserve of those who don’t get the joke, it lives hard and fast, it just takes the right mix of intelligent crowd and knowing performer in which to bring it out fully so that it can breathe and stir more than laughter out of the brain.

The Producers, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(511 words, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

Barnum, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Brian Conley, Linzi Hateley, Kimberley Blake, Landi Oshinowo, Mikey Jay-Heath, John Stacey, Georgie Ashford, Greg Bernstein, David Birch, Courtney-Mae Briggs, Nick Butcher, Alison Connell, Stefan Dopazo, Lewis Easter, Chris Gage, Joanna Goodwin, Pascal Haering, Rebecca Hawkins, Erin Jameson, Jennifer Robinson, Louis Stockil, Lucy Thatcher, Edward Wade.

Barnum, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(592 words, estimated 2:22 mins reading time)

Monty Python’ Spamalot, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Jamie Tyler, Sarah Earnshaw, Joe Tracini, Will Hawsworth, Richard Kent, Richard Meek, Josh Wilmott, Michael Palin, Daniel Crane, Abigail Climer, Matthew Dale, Holly Eaterbrook, Richard Astbury, Ste Clough, Inez Mackenzie.

It’s no wonder that the chroniclers of Middle and Old English History have very little to go on, save the odd Anglo Saxon lord and a few scattered bones of cows that have been forcibly flown through the air and the legends of dire and almost indestructible rabbits who would tear a man’s head off given half a chance. Nothing of note seems to have happened until King Arthur and his loyal, if utterly bewildered, Knights of the Round Table went in search of the Holy Grail and under strict instructions by Michael Palin, as played by God.

Monty Python’ Spamalot, Theatre Review. Empire Theatre, Liverpool. full post

(376 words, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)