Comedy

Oldham Coliseum Announces its Spring-Summer 2017 Season

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Oldham Coliseum Theatre has announced its Spring-Summer 2017 season and it looks like there’s lots to look forward to! From new takes on old classics to side-splitting comedies, and a glittering Bollywood musical to top it all off.

The season kicks off in March with a brand new look into Oldham’s past from writers Cathy Crabb and Lindsay Williams and composer Carol Donaldson. Meat Pie, Sausage Roll is a heart-warming new musical about family and loyalty set against the backdrop of Oldham Athletics’ memorable 1990/1991 season. For Mick, nothing matters more than Latics’ promotion to the top flight, but when his daughter’s wedding falls on the last day of the season, it all starts to go wrong.

 From Thursday 13 – Saturday 29 April the Coliseum presents Bill Naughton’s Lancastrian comedy Spring and Port Wine. Rafe Crompton is a strict father who struggles to control his rebellious children as they swing into the sixties. His wife, Daisy, uses all her wiles to keep the family together but secrets are coming out of the woodwork fast and furious.

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It’s Charles Dickens as you’ve never seen him before from Friday 19 May – Saturday 3 June, with Stephen Jeffreys’ fast-moving adaptation of Hard Times.  Set in a northern mill town, Hard Times follows fact-obsessed schoolmaster Thomas Gradgrind, greedy mill owner Josiah Bounderby and their families, friends and employees.

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Actor, director and two-time former Coliseum Artistic Director, Kenneth Alan Taylor, returns to the Coliseum stage from Friday 16 June – Saturday 1 July to star in The Father. Written by Florian Zeller and translated by Christopher Hampton, the play portrays the devastating impact of dementia on one man and the people in his life. Andre once had a wonderful career as a tap dancer and now lives in Paris with his daughter and her husband. Or was he an engineer whose daughter now lives in London? The trouble is, he can’t quite remember.

Elsewhere in the season London Classic Theatre return with their tour of Hysteria, a farce in which Sigmund Freud meets Salvador Dali, from Tuesday 2 – Saturday 6 May, and the Coliseum welcomes contemporary company, Phyzzical, with their romantic comedy Bring on The Bollywood from Tuesday 18 – Saturday 22 July.  From Wednesday 10 – Saturday 13 May the Coliseum will also once again be joining forces with London’s Southbank Centre, Black Country Touring and Cast in Doncaster to present the second tour of Alchemy, a festival which celebrates South Asian arts, music and performance from international artists alongside local and regional British Asian talents.

The Coliseum will also host a fantastic array of special one night events including: local folk heroes The Houghton Weavers (Friday 24 February); comedians Justin Moorhouse (25 February) and Dave Spikey (7 April); contemporary dance from Phoenix Dance Theatre (4 April) and the return of award-winning singer and BBC Radio 2 presenter Clare Teal with a jazz infused evening celebrating the First Ladies of Swing: Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Doris Day and many more (8 April).

For more information got to www.coliseum.org.uk

 

 

Kill The Beast – Don’t Wake The Damp

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After delighting audiences (me included) with previews earlier this year before heading up to the Edinburgh Fridge and receiving 4 and 5* reviews like they were going out of fashion, not to mention the small matter of wining The Stage Edinburgh Award, glorious comedy quintet and Lowry Associate Artists Kill The Beast, return to The Lowry with their revamped and rebooted Don’t Wake The Damp.

Set in a crumbling concrete tower block, doomed for destruction by the almighty Council planning department due to the rising of some devilishly dangerous damp we find our heroin June (Natasha Hodgson). Former Science-Fiction screen siren now more at home cradling a casserole June is determined neither the Damp nor the Council will take her down. After kidnapping Council worker Terry Brambles (needs must….we’ve all been tempted right?) June is unwillingly thrust into the company of her nerdy and narcissistic neighbours to tackle the deadly damp that’s rising all around them.

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Directed by Clem Garritty who also co-writes with performers David Cumming, Oliver Jones, Zoe Roberts and Natasha Hodgson, Don’t Wake the Damp it a riotous jape full of glorious gags, bonkersly brilliant songs and electric performances. The team are fantastic, playing weirdly wonderful characters to perfection; their strong characterisation makes even the most deliciously daft totally lovable. The writing is brilliant; the speed at which the gags come is seriously quick, you’ve barely stifled your snorts from one joke and you’re laughing your socks off at the next. The use of projected animations designed by Alex Purcell displayed on three large moveable screens behind the performers allow this quick paced piece to move from scene to scene effortlessly and adds perfectly to the unique charm of this retro sci-fi comedy mash-up.

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There isn’t a more marvellous way to while away an evening than in the company of Kill The Beast, an absolute treat from start to finish, get yourself to The Lowry before the Damp overcomes us all! On until Saturday 29th October, tickets available below!

http://www.thelowry.com/event/dont-wake-the-damp1

Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show

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Heading into the Opera House on a cold Monday night surrounded by burly boys in stockings and suspenders and gorgeous girls in teeny tiny French maid’s outfits can only mean one thing; the fabulous Rocky Horror Show is back in town!

An unbelievable 43 years old now, Rocky Horror shows no signs of ageing as this bright, bold and brilliant production burst into life. There is a buzz in the air from the many audience members dressed up for the occasion and the cheers and whoops begin as soon as the curtain rises. If you don’t know the story…(Really?! Where have you been!) then here’s a brief overview; conservative kid Brad (Richard Meek) and his straight-laced fiancé Janet (Hayley Flaherty) are on their way to visit their old science teacher Dr Scott (Paul Cattermole). Their car breaks down on a dark windy road in the middle of nowhere; the only thing in sight is a creepy looking castle, of course they decide to knock on the door and ask for help, and so the fun begins as we meet Frank-N-Furter and his debauched gaggle of a gang.

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Taking on the part of Narrator is Charlie Condou, well known for his recent role in Corrie, Charlie makes for a witty and cheeky narrator, he gives as good as he gets with the notoriously quick audience heckling and is immediately likeable with his relaxed and fun approach to telling the tale. Before you know it you’re up on your feet doing the Time Warp much to the delight of the audience and screaming with pleasure as Frank-N-Furter (Liam Tamne) makes his entrance. Tamne makes for a delicious Frank, sassy, strutting and completely debauched, exactly as he should be!

Director Christopher Luscombe has done a fine job of making this production an absolute must-see, the whole cast are exceptional. Both Hayley Flaherty (Janet) and Richard Meek (Brad) are superb, their transformation from prim and proper to debauched and dirty is fabulous. Paul Cattermole takes on two roles Eddie and Dr Scott and does a fine job with each. Special mention also must go to Kristian Lavercombe Riff Raff, Kay Murphy Magenta and the brilliant Sophi Linder-Lee Columbia flirty and frivolous, complementing our leads perfectly.

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Added to the superb cast, the creative team have delivered a visually stunning show, costumer designer Sue Blame has kept things traditional which is exactly what the audience want to see, whilst set designer Hugh Durrant wraps the stage in a giant celluloid movie reel perfectly lit by Nick Richings tremendous lightening design.

The show is sharp and without doubt the most fun you can have on a Monday night in Manchester, fun, filthy and totally fabulous! On at the Opera House until Monday, tickets available here!

http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-rocky-horror-show-2/opera-house-manchester/

Relatively Speaking

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Relatively Speaking copyright: Nobby Clark

Alan Ayckbourn delivers a rip roaring comedy of errors in one of his early plays, Relatively Speaking. Currently on tour around the UK, the King of Farces work is a genius piece of writing that doesn’t fail to amuse almost 50 years after it first took to the stage.

The latest production stars famous faces Robert Powell and Liza Goddard as middle-class husband and wife Phillip and Sheila whose leisurely Sunday afternoon gets interrupted by a young man with a huge case of mistaken identity.

Set in the 60s the play opens to reveal a cramped bedsit where we find new lovebirds Ginny (Lindsey Campbell) and Greg (Anthony Eden).  Ginny is busy getting ready to visit her parents, whilst boyfriend Greg becomes increasingly annoying as he quizzes her over mysterious phone calls she has been getting, along with deliveries of flowers and chocolates.

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Ginny and Greg copyright: Nobby Clark

Lindsey Campbell and Anthony Eden are superb as the young couple both creating well rounded characters and delivering huge dualogues with ease. It’s often hard to keep the audience’s attention when there are only two actors onstage for such a lengthy time but Campbell and Eden manage to keep you transfixed and eager to find out what is going to happen next.

Peter McKintosh does a great job of the set design, capturing the period with garish yellow print wallpaper that wouldn’t look out of place on a sixties record sleeve and posters highlighting the popular films of the time like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and A Hard Day’s Night. There is an awkward scene change when we move from crammed city bedsit to the picturesque countryside involving a full curtain closure and music for at least a couple of minutes, so much so you feel it might be an early interval. It’s quite a dramatic move for director Robin Herford to make and does jar the action. However, as the curtains eventually re open, you can appreciate why this is necessary as there’s an impressive backdrop of a detached house complete with French doors, patio, and garden furniture.

This signals the action moving to the upmarket home of Philip and Sheila who are enjoying reading the Sunday papers in the garden.

On press night Liza Goddard was unable to play the role of Sheila so understudy Sarah Simpkins stood in for her, doing a sterling job. It’s not often nowadays to see productions that have understudies for every role but Relatively Speaking does just that with a full set of actors available should the need arise. Simpkins facial expressions are priceless as she tries her best to fathom why young Greg has turned up on their doorstep and even more so when Ginny follows soon after. The laughter from the audience is constant, especially as you move into the second half of the play and the farcically action reaches its heights. Robert Powell demonstrates his acting prowess playing the ageing businessman who delights in winding up both his wife and those around him with dry wit and amusing frustration. There’s a moment when it looks as if Powell will corpse at the hilarious antics on display but the Salford born actor shows his professionalism and manages to hold it together.

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copyright: Nobby Clark

Watching Relatively Speaking was the most fun I have had at the theatre in ages. Prepare to leave with sore sides from all the laughing you do during the two hours it is on stage. Thoroughly enjoyable, the play runs at The Lowry until Saturday 22nd October.

www.thelowry.com

 

Interview with Kill the Beast’s Natasha Hodgson

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Ahead of Multi-award winning Kill The Beast’s (no doubt) triumphant return to the Lowry with the deliciously dark and brilliantly balmy Don’t Wake The Damp, we spoke to Natasha Hodgson, 1 fifth of the team and all round comedy genius, about competitive pumpkin carving, comedic inspirations and the sheer terror of the Silent Singer.

–          Your return to The Lowry around Halloween seems perfect timing for the show, are you a fan of Halloween? If so how will you be marking the occasion?

I’ve always been a massive Halloween fan – it’s essentially an international competition to see who can look the stupidest and who can eat the most teeth-meltingly terrible sweets. There’s nothing not to love about it. Pumpkin carving is probably on the cards this year – Lidl do an absolutely barnstorming deal on pumpkins, and I get very competitive about creating a pleasing design. I’ll probably do a couple of practice pumpkins, just so that when I get to Pumpkin 2.0, I don’t embarrass myself. Or Lidl.

–          How did your partnership with The Lowry come about?

We first approached The Lowry back in ye olde 2011, with a small, horrible children’s book called The Boy Who Kicked Pigs. We explained that we wanted to adapt it, as it ended with a small boy being impaled by spikes and then getting eaten to death by rats. Naturally, they had to have it. They offered us a position on their amazing ‘Developed With’ programme, and the rest, as they say, is getting eaten to death by rats.

–          As well established performers at the Fringe how did you find the transition to performing in theatres?

Actually our first ever performance as a group was on The Lowry theatre stage – so we’ve been very spoilt from the off! It’s ruined us, really. The strangest place we’ve ever performed was probably underneath a railway tunnel – you had to try and time your lines so that they didn’t get drowned out by the (extremely) regular trains overhead. It really added an interesting atmosphere (the atmosphere being that of many, many trains). 

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–          You’re sometimes labelled as one of the darker comedy collections, who would you say were your key influences?

All five of us grew up adoring dark comedy, and it probably still makes up about 95% of our conversation (the other 5% is The Apprentice, which thinking about it is just another type of dark comedy) – we grew up devouring The League Of Gentlemen, Garth Merenghi’s Darkplace, Nighty Night, The Mighty Boosh, I Am Not An Animal, Monkey Dust, The Office – all wonderful food for our dreadful little souls. The films of people like Ben Wheatley, Alice Lowe and Richard Ayoade are also massive inspirations – long may they reign.

–          As huge fans of The League of Gentleman and Psychoville, your work is right up our street, if you could beam any comedy character into your work which would you chose?

For me, personally, it would be the Silent Singer from Pyschoville – never has a character with absolutely no lines filled me with both pure terror and pure joy. You wouldn’t even need to do anything else to the scene. Just a couple of people having a normal conversation about trams or gout or chess or something, whilst in the background, Silent Singer writhes. What a creation. What dreadful people they are.

–          Following on from this, would you ever consider inviting guest performers? If so who would be your dream person to work with?

We’re far too insecure to allow anyone else on-stage with us. Please don’t try. If I absolutely had to, I’d say probably Julia Davis, creator of Nighty Night and Hunderby, among other things. She has a dark, genius brain and I would take any opportunity to see it up close.

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–          Do you write collectively as a group?

We do, it’s both highly enjoyable and extremely inefficient. We all go off and write first drafts of scenes on our own, bring em to the group, read them out and then we let battle commence. The good lines stay – there is usually about 3 good lines in any given draft, unless they’re written by me in which case every line is absolute gold – and everything else gets tossed out. We talk and talk and endlessly argue. And then the process begins again. You’d think there’d only be so much conversation you could have about the word ‘pamphlet’ and whether it is comically superior to the word ‘leaflet’. You’d be wrong. And it is.

–          Do you consider yourself primarily as an actor or comedienne?

I think I’d consider myself primarily a writer, who for financial reasons has to read out her own lines on-stage whilst wearing an imposing wig. I think that’s the technical situation we’re in. I enjoy creating comedy more than any other type of performance, though whether that enjoyment makes you a comedian or an actor I’m not sure. I think there’s an in-between space somewhere that we’re all happy to wriggle stickily into.

Only one of us trained formally as an actor (I’ll let you guys guess, answers on a fairly hurtful postcard please), the rest of us just really enjoy messing around, bellowing and creating horrid stories about dreadful people. 

–          As performing as a group works so well for you all do any of you ever perform alone?

Kill the Beast is getting really busy, which is lovely, but means we don’t have loads of time for other performancy commitments. Dave performs solo as his amazing drag character/beat poet Cheryl Dole (who you should check out, she’s incred) and I also perform as a backing singer in a theatre/rock band called Felix Hagan And The Family –we’re actually about to go on tour with Frank Turner, come along! Ollie and Clem also performed a duo show at the Edinburgh fringe last year, a series of comedy poems called The Tale Of The Twiddly Widdlies – in fact, what am I talking about, we do loads of stuff outside Kill the Beast, am I even in Kill the Beast?

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–          After a great 2016, what can we expect to see from you all in 2017?

 We’re hoping to do a bigger run of our new show Don’t Wake The Damp (though not sure we’ll bring it back to Manchester, so this Halloween is your last chance!) and we’re looking forward to starting a couple of new projects – a podcast, and a theatre project that DOESN’T involved projection screens (we can’t wait to leave the projector at home for a while). I don’t want to say too much, but currently Kill the Beast’s 2017 will involve detectives, bananas, lifeguards, estate agents and an inevitably high body count. We can’t wait.

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Kill The Beast will be performing Don’t Wake The Damp at The Lowry, Wednesday 26th-Saturday 29th October, if you haven’t seen them before then what the hell is wrong with you? If you have you’ll already have your tickets and be feeling delightfully smug about it.

Tickets are selling fast so be quick, available from the link below…

http://www.thelowry.com/event/dont-wake-the-damp1

 

Pride and Prejudice

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First published back in 1813, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice marks the return of Regent’s Park Theatre to The Lowry for a third time following their hugely popular visiting productions of To Kill a Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies.

Austen’s classic comedy tells the much-loved story of the Bennett family and their five unmarried daughters. Mr and Mrs Bennett soon see an opportunity to rise through the ranks of society when the wealthy and devastatingly handsome Mr. Bingley and his friend, fellow eligible bachelor, (and even more wealthy) Mr. Darcy arrive in the area. The Bennet’s eldest daughter Jane soon catches the eye of Mr Bingley while the brooding Mr Darcy clashes with the Bennet’s feisty second daughter, Elizabeth, despite this, their paths are destined to repeatedly meet.

Adapted for the stage by Simon Reade and Directed by Deborah Bruce, the creative team have worked their magic on this production, delivering a bright and joyful reworking of Austen’s wonderful comedy. Set Designer Max Jones has created a remarkably effective revolving structure which works wonderfully well and allows the cast to glide with ease from the Bennett’s parlour at Longbourn to the grandeur of the ballroom at Netherfield Park.

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Both opening and closing this production is the delightfully dramatic Mrs Bennett announcing “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” Played by Felicity Montagu, this role couldn’t have been better cast; she is everything you’d wish for in a ‘Mrs Bennett’, brash, attention-seeking, uncouth and ridiculously excitable. Her shameless attempts to get her daughters married off are hilarious; Montagu was made for this role and carries it off to perfection. In contrast to Mrs Bennett is the reserved, thoughtful and long suffering Mr Bennett, played wonderfully by Matthew Kelly, he is the calm to Mrs Bennett’s storm, the pairing of the two actors is a delight to watch.

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The five actresses playing the Bennett girls each offer something different and ensure that each sister has their own strong identity and characterisation, amazingly several of the girls are making their professional debuts. Tafline Steen who takes on the tough role of Elizabeth does so with ease, she is sublime. Feisty and passionate, and just as headstrong and determined as Austen wrote her. Steen’s performance is outstanding, an actress no doubt headed for big things, she is truly exceptional.

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Her clashes with Mr Darcy, played by the broodingly handsome Benjamin Dilloway are realistic and believable; the change in her emotions is moving to watch. Mr Darcy is another hard role to deliver, a fine balance to get right, by Act II we see Dilloway convey the warmer side of Darcy that Austen’s reader adore and yearn for and the side ultimately we knew was there all along . Special mention must go to Steven Meo with his riotous interpretation of Mr Collins the clergyman, irritating, try hard and totally nauseating, the last person you’d ever want around, he is hilarious, utterly brilliant to watch. Also praise for Leigh Quinn who takes on two roles, Mary Bennett and Annabel De Bough, although smaller roles she absolutely shines in each.

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Pride and Prejudice is a classy production, accessible and fresh. An complete joy for Austen’s fans, it’s also is the perfect introduction to those dipping their toe for the first time. Delightfully entertaining with laugh out loud moments and a superb cast, an absolute must see!

On at The Lowry until Saturday 15th October

http://www.thelowry.com/event/pride-and-prejudice

Little Shop of Horrors – Cast Interviews

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Cult classic and audience favourite, Little Shop of Horrors is heading to the Palace Theatre in October as part of a new UK tour. Set in 1950’s New York, well, Skid Row, to be more precise, Little Shop of Horrors is a hilarious tale of, love and laughter, with a little bit of murder, mayhem and of course a mean green mother from outta space thrown in for good measure!

Geeky but loveable Seymour discovers an exotic new plant which soon turns around the fortunes of the failing Mushnik’s Flower Shop where he works as an assistant in downtrodden Skid Row. He christens the plant ‘Audrey II’ in honour of his fellow assistant Audrey whom he is secretly besotted with. Sadly Audrey is stuck in the clutches of the sinister (if not a little bit sexy) Dentist, Orin Scrivello, who has a rather unhealthy passion for pain. Add to this the fact that Audrey II is quickly developing into a demanding, ill-tempered, obscenity loving carnivore that’s attracting more and more attention by the second and you’ve got one hell of an entertaining production.

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We sat down with cast members Rhydian (The Dentist), Sam Lupton (Seymour) and Stephanie Clift (Audrey) to hear what this revamped production has in store for Manchester audiences.

Taking on the devilish role of the Prince of plaque, is X Factor finalist and recording artist Rhydian, who has been a huge fan of the show for many years so jumped at the chance to join the cast. Experienced in musical theatre having appeared in Grease, We Will Rock You, Jesus Christ Superstar and Rocky Horror to name but a few, Rhydian loves the fact he can be completely outrageous on stage and have so much fun with the role.

“With this show you feel every single emotion, you’ll be crying, you’ll be laughing, you’ll be wincing, you’ll become absorbed with the relationships the characters have with each other. The energy is fantastic, we have the best director, lighting designer, choreographer, cast, it’s a winning combination and a great night out”.

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“I do musicals if I really like the show, and I really, really like this show, I love big show stoppers, everyone knows the music from Little Shop even if they don’t at first realise, the audience reactions have been incredible, we’ve even got the rights to perform Mean Green Mother live which we’ve never had before and the audience totally love every single minute of it as do we as a cast performing it”.

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Joining Rhydian as unlucky in love, Seymour is Sam Lupton, a graduate of Manchester School Of Theatre and experienced West End performer who has appeared as Boq in Wicked as well as in the touring production of Avenue Q amongst many other great shows. Having studied in Manchester for three years Sam is really looking forward to returning to the city, Sam loved living in Manchester and misses his time here, he used to frequent the Palace Theatre weekly so his return is made even more special by the fact that this is his dream role in a theatre that he loves.

“I saw an article around April time announcing the tour would be happening and have been a huge fan of the show since I was 6 or 7, I’ve always wanted to play Seymour professionally even more so after appearing in an amateur production when I was 15 where I played the voice of Audrey II, I rang my agent straight away and said ‘That’s mine, I want it’, after four or five rounds of auditions where I auditioned with several different Audrey’s, officially getting the part was fantastic”.

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Stephanie Clift who appeared in Mamma Mia in the West End straight after graduating from Arts Education Schools London in 2013 completes our leading line up and is totally thrilled to have bagged the role of Audrey, finding out about the show in a more unusual way;

“My baby niece is taught dance by the associate musical director Mark’s partner Suzie in Devon when I’m from, I was home one day and went to see my nice at her dance class where I got chatting to Suzie who asked me what my dream role was, I immediately answered Audrey from Little Shop and Suzie told me then that it was due to be going on tour, I knew straight away I had to be in it”.

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Both Sam and Stephanie agree that one of the highlights of the show for both them is when they sing Suddenly Seymour together, they feel the buzz of the audience anticipation of the song followed by their enjoyment once the music begins, for Stephanie it holds some really special nostalgic memories;

For me as a little girl, falling in love with the show, with Audrey and now getting to do that, remembering my reaction as a little girl and now being involved in creating that reaction for our audiences, it really is a dream come true”

Directed by Tara Wilkinson for Sell a Door Theatre Company and Damien Tracey Productions, Little Shop of Horrors is already proving to be an almighty hit, with rave reviews from each stop on the tour so far. With only one week to catch this riotous and hugely entertaining show act fast and book your tickets, with a strong cast, awesome staging, and catchy tunes you’ll be humming for days this really is one not to be missed!

Little Shop Of Horrors – Palace Theatre, Manchester,
Mon 31st Oct-Sat 5th Nov
Perf Times: Mon-Sat eves 7.30pm, Sat mat 2.30pm
0844 871 3019

http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/little-shop-of-horrors/palace-theatre-manchester/

 

 

The Community Centre

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Engine House Theatre, International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester

Written by Nicola Gardner (who also takes on two roles in this new production) Directed by John Klark and Produced by Darren Adams, The Community Centre gives us a hilarious account of a day in the life of a local Community Centre and all the madness that comes with it. With diverse characters and lots of laugh out loud moments, The Community Centre is a riot of the familiar ridiculousness of day to day life down at the local Community hub.

Receptionist and self-declared Manager Precious played by writer Nicola Gardner, rules the Centre like an old school mistress with threats to bar anyone misbehaving as she ‘Has the power, you know’ I absolutely adored Precious, such a brilliant character and so well acted by Nicola, she perfectly recreated that ‘power gone to their head’ type character we’ve all no doubt come into contact with at some point in our lives, the audience lapped up her ‘service with a (sinister) smile’ such a great character I’d love to see more of.

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The play is performed in the thrust formation, meaning that the audience sit on two opposing sides of the theatre with a runway style stage running through the centre, with action taking place both in the centre and at either end of the ‘runway’. At one end we have Bev and Anisha, played by Lynne Payne and Sayera Haque, employed by the Community Centre to look after the Community Farm animals, both however are much, much better at taking extended tea breaks and having a good old gossip about their love lives than they are at actually doing any work. Their conversations were brilliantly written, many a giggle of recognition rippled through the audience as they reflected on their disastrous love lives from speed dating to borderline stalking of clearly uninterested men who they hilariously assumed were just playing hard to get.

At the other end of the Community Centre we have Sister Johnson (Linda Hargreaves), Sister Richards (Nicola Gardner, Brother Leroy (Tony McPherson) and Brother Myers (Declan Wilson) four friends who while away their days making use of the centres gas and electric whilst sharing a tot of rum and the playful banter only true friends can have. All four actors excelled in their roles, witty, entertaining and totally loveable. Moving between the two groups, broom in hand is hopeless Caretaker Robbie, (Mike Coombes)  white as snow yet desperately trying to convince both himself and those around him that he’s black, frequently asking his spirit guide Bob (Marley) whom he has a shrine to, for guidance and clarity. Despite his ridiculous swagger and Bob Marley hat complete with dreadlocks, you can’t help but love the hapless Robbie and will him to succeed.

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The Community Centre succeeds in demonstrating to us all that despite our differences and quirks we are basically all the same; we are all seeking out comfort and happiness through our meaningful connections with others. A real fun piece of theatre, with many laugh out loud moments, the production will leave you feeling smiley and thoroughly entertained, as the late great Bob Marley would say, ‘Let’s get together and feel alright’

Tickets are £10/£8 for concessions and the show runs until Saturday 24th September.

Schools/BSL Interpreter: Friday 23 September 2016, 14:00

http://www.communitycentre.org.uk/

 

George Egg: Anarchist Cook

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One Man, One Hotel Room, Three Courses – The Lowry, Thursday 22nd September, 8pm

“Utterly charming, imagination nudging… George Egg is hugely inventive” 

     The Times

George Egg is a stand-up comedian and a passionate cook with an anarchic approach to making meals. Dissatisfied with the quality of room service food while touring the UK’s comedy clubs George embarks on a project to take matters into his own hands. What results is a surreal mix of stand-up, striking innovation and extreme multitasking. Whilst performing an hour of comedy George prepares a three course meal using just the equipment you’ll find in a hotel room. And if you want to, you can even taste it at the end.

As a professional and sought-after comedian for the last two decades George has performed internationally taking his absurd brand of far-reaching humour all over the world, and after a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe both this year and last George brings his show to the Lowry for one night only on Thursday 22nd September.

The loaf of bread used during the show which we are assured is produced in a rather amusing is being baked and generously donated by 2014 Great British Bake Off finalist Luis Troyano who has very recently opened his first bakery ‘The Hive Bakery’ in Poynton. Luis will be bringing the bread along and also coming to see the show.

Tickets are available now!

http://www.thelowry.com/event/george-egg-anarchist-cook