Theatre Review – Hull Truck’s ‘Ladies’ day’, Lyceum
Sheffield
Coming from Hull
and living in Sheffield it was a rare treat to watch ladies’ day at Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre.
This Hull Truck production,
is set at first in a fish factory on Hessle
Road, Hull (A place
I worked in my youth and lasted 3 days!) and revolves around the banter of four
fish packers and their boss Joe, played by veteran Hull Truck Actor Mark Barrass.
Mark probably taught the
female cast, who are not from Hull,
how to pronounce Tote as ‘Turt’. The Hull accents were
faultless and brought as smile as they swapped their hairnets for fancy hats
and decide to go to Ladies’ day at Royal Ascot, York.
The factory workers; shy
Linda, secretive Pearl, Greedy Jan and Eastenders’
star Jemma Walker as larger than life Shelley (She
played Sasha perkins on the
square) don’t have the cash to match their ambitions but when they find a
purse containing tickets and money the fun starts.
Just like an episode of Lost,
we hear the backstory of each of the women –
often with heartbreaking emotion and pathos.
The laughs elsewhere are
genuine, however, and Martin Barrass is excellent in
his multi-role playing characters as diverse as a lecherous John McCrurick type character to a cheating ghost!
Needless to say the women
return to their factory jobs on Hessle
Road but has their ‘Turt’
bet paid off?
Well worth a punt!
Rotherham Colourscape Festival
Friday, 16 to Sunday, 25 June
What did I do before the England
v Equador game on Sunday 25th June?
Judging by this
photograph, you’d be forgiven for thinking I was at a drug-fuelled
psychedelic rave but closer inspection will show that this massive structure in Clifton Park,
Rotherham is aimed at children.
This is the world's largest Colourscape – A colourful structure
that hosted a nine-day festival of
music, workshops and events.
The structure played host
to Sheffield-based improvising musicians Mick Beck (bassoon) and Martin Archer
(saxophone) and were joined by locally-based ensembles featuring
music and dance from Zimbabwe
and Kashmir, courtesy of Open Minds Theatre
group.
Children and adults alike
enjoyed having their senses bombarded on this gorgeous summer day.
Interestingly enough, Colourscape has now moved to Cologne for its next event.
By MaggieThatcher.com
Theatre
Review, Much Ado
about nothing
Botanical
Gardens, Sheffield
By
MaggieThatcher.com
At the end of June, the weather in Sheffield
was glorious. What better entertainment than sitting in The Botanical gardens,
glass of wine in one hand, pork pie in the other and an open air production of
the Bard’s ‘Much ado about nothing’ by Heartbreak
Productions.
However, On June 29th, the heavens opened and the pork pie
was discarded for an umbrella.
Sat on the soggy grass, the set was immediately impressive, invoking VE
day celebrations with colourful bunting.
Director Peter Mimmack has produced an
innovative and often hilarious interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedy set
at the end of World War 2, a time when women where freed from social
limitations, hopes were high and possibilities were endless.
Essentially
a classic battle of the sexes and although a comedy, the
play does explore more serious issues of conflicting roles of men and women in
the ‘mating’ game; from the independent Beatrice to the more
compliant Hero – Both eventually finding ‘true love’.
Director
Mimmack says; “Much Ado is
essentially about the exhilarating emotions of first love and the romantic
games we play.”
Keeping the damp audience
amused with excellent costumes, Period music and popular songs, the cast
involved the audience, especially Benedick, played by
Laurence Aldridge whose facial expressions and comical asides raised a few
laughs.
Benedick thinks he hates Beatrice, but
really loves her, and Beatrice feels the same way.
The whole cast, often doubling up to play two or three parts
were energetic, professional and used the Botanical gardens to full effect.
I was rather concerned about the electrics in the rain
though!
Rhapsody
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Lala
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Amie Street
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