Northeast Music Guide

Trio Bring Sexy Back to Comedy! Well, that may not be the intention, but 3 guys dancing around clad only in Y fronts is not only funny but also oddly appealing to a middle aged heterosexual woman. A great start to a show that showcased many of the characters featured on the BBC2 series. This was also, apparently the boys' last ever show as GGG. Graham Rooney, Paul Charlton and Kevin O' Loughlin all have  respectable pedigree in TV comedy and drama and a talented team behind them to create a very funny and engaging live show. If you haven't seen the TV show, it's a collection of sketches exploring the "what ifs" in life. For example, what if the CEO of a company was a big tortoise and the fire alarm went off mid meeting? What if  football refs, instead of giving out red and yellow cards for misdemeanors, put player over their knees for a short sharp spank? Such important possibilities are explored and expressed by the three very expressive comic a...

The Suggestibles Christmas Pantso Northern Stage 12/12/13 A panto, with a charming prince, a king, a helpful character that narrates the story, woodland animals, ugly sisters and an oppressed beautiful girl looking for love. Add to this a troupe of improvisational comics and an audience all too willing to provide material to make the story much less traditional, and you’re in for a good night out. The prince and the lonely girl had hands for feet, for example, the woodland creatures had varying levels of Tourette’s and the story took place in the magical land of Gonnoria . The thing about these productions is that the story, whilst having the familiar framework, is never going to be the same twice. The songs are made up on the spot, and range from the daft to the ridiculous. The sudden pressure to create a song from a silly situation caused many a funny moment. The ability of these actors to think on their feet (or imaginary second set of hands) is remarkable, as is t...

Dark Woods, Deep Snow – A Grimm Tale For Christmas Northern Stage 7 th December 2013. Once Upon A Time…the woods were dark and the snow was deep. There lived a pig (Rebecca Wilkie) who said no lines but got the bulk of the laugh out loud moments. The annual Christmas production for the over 7s, directed by the Northern Stage’s Artistic Director Lorne Campbell, takes full advantage of the very wide stage. The set is filled with trees and the Harmoniser, which pulls stories together. As the audience enter a number of crows move slowly around as the Old Woman (Joanna Holden) entertains using a walkway which extends the stage to the rear of the auditorium. Luka (Assad Zaman) kicks off proceedings with a monologue about his story and how he was once lost in the dark woods. Eventually we are joined by Mila (Helen Goalen) and Lily (Abbi Greenland, both of Rash Dash fame) who are trying to piece together stories when Johann (Gary Kitching) lands in the harmoniser. The harmoni...

Radikal Words at Northern Stage   Maxwell Golden A spoken word night was a new experience to us as a family. We believe in exposing our son to inspiring individuals even if there is the occasional adult word. After all, the playground banter he hears is much worse…and not at all rhythmic or poetic. Hosted by Jeff Price, Radikal Words curator, the night was a largely performance poetry night with musical interludes from folkstress Ditte Elly. Ditte has the most wonderful warm vocal style and accompanies herself on guitar. Her songs mull over relationships and feelings in a way that is touching, not cloying. Local poet Ann Porro read her Mum of Four and a Letter from an Unknown Dog , poems ranging from gently humourous to a bit indignant. Her book was duly acquired. Miles Salter, poetic, writer, musician, performed a selection of pieces from his Animals book which is kid-friendly and funny. Sometimes seeing things from an animal’s viewpoint, wh...

Nobulus Fill the Stage With All Kinds of Life This was dance as I had never seen before, from the bursting of life from the primordial soup, the evolution of creatures and then Man, and the evolution of human society to its eventual destruction. Nobulus are a troupe of dancers variously skilled in the disciplines of ballet,breaking,hip hop, Bboying, popping, tutting (?) and gymnastics. Out of the Shadow was created by dancer and choreographer Alex "V-Cell" Wengler, a very clever fella who has not only worked with hip-hop choreographers all over the world, but also managed to fit in studies in Mechanical Engineering and Environmental Technologies, oh and Digital Film. Nobulus come from Austria, the magic of dance is that it can work anywhere. There is no language barrier and these dancers do it so well. The varied skillsets and the inclusion of two women bringing in their own styles, stopped this show having the homogeneity some dance shows have. The story was tol...

Russell Kane “Smallness”  Northern Stage  06/11/13     Stage One was packed full of a variety of comedy and theatre fans as support act Steve Bugeja took to the stage. Here described the life of a 23 year old from Manchester who still goes with his Mum for the ‘big shop’. He ran off a big list of why he was special – including how he went on a lads holiday to Magaluf and managed to finish 8 books. A significant part of the routine explored the linguistic usefulness of swear words.   Russell Kane burst onto the stage to a loud fanfare and continued to bounce around the wide stage for nearly 90 minutes with his amusing blend of observations and stories.  Initially he waxed lyrically about the North East,  their accent and the usual Northern Stage audience. After warming the large crowd up he reflected upon how the British love smallness, from avoiding the glance of other people to avoiding meeting people more than once on holiday. This trait...

If you go down to the woods today…  Northern Stage presents  Tallest Tales from the Furthest Forest,  16 Nov – 4 Jan  From the team who created The Little Detective Agency and the Case of the Festive Thief, Shhh… A Christmas Story and more comes Tallest Tales from the Furthest Forest – Northern Stage’s Christmas show especially for under 6s and their families.   Puppets, live music, audience interaction and a wonderfully inventive set all help to bring the story alive, but at the heart of it all is the love of a good yarn.    Tallest Tales is the story of a little girl who gets lost in a magical forest. She meets 'Leshies' (an old Slavic term for wood spirits) who involve her in their weird and wonderful tales to help her find her way. Northern Stage has a reputation for offering audiences original family entertainment at Christmas - a refreshing alternative to panto - and Susan describes the show this year as “exciting, funny and just a ...

The Ugly Sisters  Northern Stage  22 nd  October 2013-10-22 Cinderella was the poor down trodden girl who was bullied by her evil ugly sisters. Or was she? Have they been misrepresented? It’s time to settle that score! Rash Dash are the hugely engaging Abi Greenland and Helen Gaolen and they start the show as the poor ugly sisters who have been in rehab. Quickly the story moves back to the blissful experience of life as 8 year old non-identical twins living in a squat. Marking their territory and letting people take shelter from the rain in a car that no longer works for 50p. Their Mum, Ruby, meets a man and they all move in with him and his daughter, Arabella. In their quest to marry the prince they go on TV and things start to go very wrong. This musical is driven by three members of Not Bernard Now who not only have to swap instruments but they have to make cameo appearances as Ruby, the Prince and Cinders herself. The pumping music oscillates between j...

Particle Velocity   Northern Stage 10 th October 2013. A Phoenix Dance Theatre Production       Particle Velocity is a production of four energetic dance pieces that weave music and dance together with a sense of purpose.   The show opens with ‘All Alight’ in which 7 dancers move with subtle grace and poise to the often energetic strains of Ravel’s ‘Sonata for Violin and Cello’. Richard Alston’s choreography is the first indication that the Phoenix Dance Theatre intend to use the full extent of the wide stage that Stage 1 at this venue offers.   Jose Agudo’s ‘Ki’ starts in one corner and as the score by Vinz starts to pulsate the action increasing spreads across the stage.  This is a tale of a boy that will become legend. Even from the beginning when we only see the back of the dancer the raw physical nature of the piece is broadcast to the audience.   An eclectic musical compilation follows the turbulent relationshi...

An Experiment in Sound and Intrigue from Unlimited Theatre    The isolation of a small island community is not the only thing affecting the mentality of its members. A constant, changing noise has been there as long as the islanders remember, and it seems to be getting worse. The arrival of an imposing iceberg is followed by the discovery of a body washed up on the shore. There is something about the island that isn't quite right. Charlie Rachel Gay), a 17 year old girl and her curious scientist friend Harry (Jerry Killick) are about to investigate, when it all kicks off.     The performance, unbroken by an interval, kept us on the edge of our seats as the mystery unravelled along with the minds of some of the islanders. An alcohol fuelled threat from sheep farmer Paul (Scott Turnbull) puts him in the frame for the murder, although there are serious doubts as to his guilt. The cast build up the tension wonderfully and the "sci-conspiracy" plot develops to ...

Jumpers fer Gurlpursts   I'm originally a Hull lass. The cast would probably not expect a native Hullite to be there scrutinising the accent when they come to Newcastle, but I was. The accents varied in authenticity and at the beginning were a little incomprehensible. One thing I will point out though is: there is no "H" in 'Ull, 'Essle or 'Olderness. Be turld. This was not a story about football as such. The characters were members of a 5-a-side football team in a Hull gay football league consisting of only 4 teams. The team comrades Luke, Viv, Geoff, Danny and Joe battle through the season with varying levels of failure whilst dealing with their personal problems. Each scene begins with an announcement of the results for Barely Athletic, Lesbian Rovers, Man City and Tranny United by James Alexander Gordon no less. The descriptions of the spectacles on the pitch were a source of mirth for the audience as were the exchanges on the stage. Characters a...

The Crick Crack Club return to Northern Stage  with the story of Arthur's legendary big sister.     The stage was set with a giant chess board, a set of draughts, a harp and a number of other props and instruments when Nick Hennessey started a gentle lullaby.  Xanthe Gresham then walks on stage wearing an extremely long blonde wig. The show has begun.   Over the next hour and a quarter we a given a real storytelling treat. The playful interaction between the two storytellers adds to the irreverent nature of a tale of old. We are all aware of the tales of King Arthur but we now find the spotlight turns to Morgana Le Fey. Xanthe muses on her status in the legend. Was she a goddess or simply a fairy who deserved a better billing?   The talented Nick weaves lush music around the story that Xanthe lays down with crystal clarity. A greater understanding develops of the lead character through a poignant narrative. Rewriting the rules becomes nec...

The Noise 4 – 12 October at Northern Stage    A body washes up and a massive iceberg appears in the harbour of a remote island near Antarctica where a strange, ever present sound makes the small community of islanders somehow ‘different’...    This intriguing scene could be taken from the latest Danish hit crime thriller. Like The Bridge and The Killing, or BBC’s Top of the Lake, The Noise is unsettling; a combination of gripping storytelling with an unfamiliar edge and a mysterious undertone which draws you in and keeps you guessing.   Written by an award-winning creative team – Claire Duffy, Jon Spooner and Chris Thorpe - this brand new Unlimited/Northern Stage co-production follows in the footsteps of successful shows like Mission to Mars, Tangle and The Ethics of Progress, using theatre to explore leading research into contemporary science. "Working with scientists has played a big part in making the stories we tell for a few years now. We'v...

NORTH HIT THE ROAD   Northern Stage’s new associate theatre company, NORTH, are branching out and gearing up for an exciting programme of events this summer.  In November 2012 Northern Stage recruited seven recent graduates, emerging artists and actors to form a fresh new company. Led by Northern Stage’s Creative Associate, Mark Calvert, NORTH was a three month opportunity to create work, develop skills and meet some of the regions most important creative minds.  This resulted in a brand new piece: “The Man Who Thought the Moon Would Fall Out of the Sky”. Inspired by a 19 th Century Scrapbook the show “Unearthed the curious tale of a mans life… A riotous evening filled with laughter, live music, and a magical story that may or may not be true.”  Following the success of their debut performance at the end of March the seven young theatre makers have formed their own independent theatre company, and are taking the show on the road.  Their “Summer Festiva...

    Your Childhood Revisited       Blue Remembered Hills at the Northern Stage   Fri 19 APR - Sat 11 May 2013 7.30PM  (excluding Mon & Sun) Wed 1 & Sat 11 MAY 2PM A Northern Stage Production Written by Dennis Potter Directed by Psyche Stott   The latest production from Northern Stage takes one back to life as a seven year old. Life was usually simple. Relationships seemed complex with constantly changing rules and protocols. Adult norms had yet to be established.   The set consists of the blue hill in the play’s title. At the start the cast of seven appear on stage in their carefree egocentric worlds – skipping, pretending to be a plane or simply running around. Willie (David Nellist) pretends to be both a bomber and then the dead victim rolling in the hill after being hit. For him the idea of World War 2 is an exciting adventure. Later we will be introduced to Donald (Adrian Gr...

Steptoe and Son Northern Stage 15/3/12   Adapted & Directed by Emma Rice A Co-production between Kneehigh and West Yorkshire Playhouse   Picture: http://www.northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/steptoe-and-son   Ray Galton & Alan Simpson’s scripts have been adapted for the stage to create a loving play about a father and his son who both fought in different world wars. The pair wrote 8 tv series over 12 years and 5 radio series which are firmly etched in British entertainment history. What makes this production work, though, is that they have not tried to recreate the television programmes. Albert ( Mike Shepherd ) is still a dirty old man who will feign death when Harold ( Dean Nolan ) has another plan to fly the family nest. There is no attempt to play the role as Wilfrid Brambell would have done.   We find the useful addition of a female role played by Kirsty Woodward , who alternates between being the unseen guardian angel...