Tag: Palace Theatre Manchester

Entertainment

REVIEW: Billy Elliot @ The Palace, Manchester

'
Pic: Alastair Muir

The Palace Theatre, Manchester sees the long awaited arrival of the hit musical Billy Elliot for the festive season and brings dance, drama, tears, laughter and politics in abundance.

 

Anyone who loved the film will not be disappointed by the stage adaptation of the story of a boy, with dreams of becoming a ballet dancer, from a Durham mining village gripped by the bitter 1984-85 miners’ strike.

The show is in many ways better than the film, amplifying each glorious element. The dancing is more integral to the experience and Elton John’s music is both poignant and wonderfully entertaining. Continue reading “REVIEW: Billy Elliot @ The Palace, Manchester” →

Entertainment

REVIEW: Little Shop of Horrors @ The Palace Theatre, Manchester

little-shop-seymour-audreyLast night’s Halloween performance of Little Shop of Horrors revived the B-movie spirit on stage at The Palace Theatre, Manchester.

Little Shop of Horrors has bounced from screen to stage to screen to stage since the gory story’s first appearance in 1960s B-movie, then bereft of the Motown inspired choruses many of us now could not imagine the show without. It was only after this movie was turned into an off-Broadway musical that it found life as an all singing all dancing sci-fi horror flick in 1986, starring a then unknown Steve Martin and the voice of Levi Stubbs from the Four Tops.

What is essentially a simple love story about a hapless goof, a girl with a ‘past’, and a giant man eating alien plant, found itself back on the stage at Manchester’s Palace Theatre last night. Sell A Door Theatre Company took us back to Skid Row, New York, where life’s ‘a joke’, but the music keeps spirits unusually high, and Crystal, Chiffon and Ronnette (played by Sasha Latoya, Venessa Fisher and Cassie Clare) led us through the story with impressive vocals and high energy.

Stephanie Clift delivered a solid performance as the damsel in a tight dress Audrey, melting hearts with her rendition of ‘Somewhere That’s Green’, proving that even the most mundanely suburban dream can look like heaven from Skid Row – especially when expressed in a song by Alan Menken, who would go on to write music for Disney princesses.

lsoh-act-1-rhydianX Factor’s Rydian Roberts’ operatic portrayal of Audrey’s abusive boyfriend and sadistic dentist, Orin, went down well with the audience until his untimely demise in Act I, and was welcomed back in Act II in a number of comedic bit parts.

As expected it was Audrey II that the crowd really went wild for (who couldn’t love a Mean Green Mother from Outta Space?). The ever expanding alien plant was brought to life by puppeteer Josh Wilmott and voiced by Neil Nicholas. The delivery of darkly delightful numbers such as ‘Git It’ and ‘Suppertime’ successfully lightened the mood for any squeamish members of the audience when it came time for the feeding of dismembered dentists to the bloodthirsty botanical.

Though the true horrors present in this show are a little closer to home – domestic abuse, exploitation and hopeless systemic poverty all play out on Skid Row. And whilst the gory exuberance of cast, set and sound do as good a job as the film to place us a comfortable distance away from the real meat of the story, the production managed to, in true B-movie style, provide the audience with a simultaneous sense of merriment and unease as these sinister themes were (literally) danced around.

Runs till Saturday November 5

Alice McAlpine

 

Entertainment

REVIEW: Ghost the Musical @ The Palace, Manchester

ghost-the-musical-jacqui-dubois-and-company-cmatt-martinThe film, Ghost was one of the most talked about popular films of the 1980s.

Who can forget that iconic scene with Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze at the potters wheel?

So it was a brave move to bring the story to the stage as a musical. But if the production currently running at the Palace in Manchester is anything to go by, it was a risk worth taking.

The songs by the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart provide a good musical accompaniment to the well known story which is rendered on stage well with some clever effects.

Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding (the one who can sing) plays Molly the heartbroken widow separated from her husband Sam by a gunman’s bullet.  Harding is not the best actor in the world but her undeniable singing ability makes for a more than competent performance.

Andy Moss performs well as husband Sam who remains on earth after death to help solve the mystery of his own murder.

But the stand-out star of the show is without doubt, Jacqui Dubois as Oda May Brown, the reluctant medium who Sam contacts to get through to Molly.

Dubois is hilarious and delivers a performance worthy of Whoopi Goldberg herself who took on the role in the film.

Runs till Saturday October 29

Dave Toomer

Entertainment

REVIEW: Keep Dancing @ The Palace Theatre, Manchester

_mg_1575I have to say that anything connected with Strictly Come Dancing is fairly unlikely to get me bubbling with enthusiasm. It’s not really my cup of tea.

So it was a big surprise to find this show, celebrating the glitzy world of ballroom and Latin dance, so entertaining.

And I suspect fans of the hit BBC show which is back on our screens on Saturday will love Keep Dancing, featuring one of its  former champions – Olympic gymnast, Louis Smith as a special guest.

Getting applause for an Olympian fresh from success at Rio is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, but the silver medalist certainly earned his adulation showing some fantastic moves in his routines.

But what is so impressive about this show is that it is obvious that everyone involved is giving their absolute all, with an attention to detail, energy and enthusiasm which can’t help but be infectious.

_mg_1354

Strictly favourite Robin Windsor, delivered some excellent stand-out performance in a fast paced, high intensity production. With dazzling costumes and breathtaking choreography, the routines were accompanied by some show-stopping performances by extremely talented singers and musicians.

So, what ever you might think of ballroom or Strictly Come Dancing, there can be no doubt this is a great night out.

Dave Toomer

Runs till Saturday October 8

Entertainment

REVIEW: Sister Act@ The Palace, Manchester

Sister Act-30-07-16-Leicester Curve-1651The hit musical, Sister Act, returns to Manchester this week by popular demand, with X-Factor star Alexandra Burke reprising her role as the nun on the run.

The plot is largely the same as the film, made famous by Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith – a night club singer witnesses a murder and is forced to flee and seek refuge in a convent where she ends up attempting to whip a tortuously inept choir into shape.

With the injection of some new songs, dance routines choreographed by Craig Revell Horwood, this should be a recipe for a top notch show.

Maybe the half hour delay due to a technical problem, affected the performers, because I couldn’t help feeling there was something missing in the first half. All the ingredients seemed to be there but they didn’t quite gel. The start was a bit flat, and some of the jokes didn’t quite work – especially in the interplay between the three gangster characters.

That said, the show certainly picked up after the interval when the energy levels were ramped up; and there is still much to praise in this production. Alexandra Burke is a class act, showing her aptitude for comic acting as well as an undeniable ability to belt out a tune.

The solos where superb, particularly from Karen Mann as the mother superior and John Robyns’ lovelorn cop “sweaty Eddie”.

So a mixed bag, but there no problems that can’t be ironed out in subsequent performances.