The Medusa Fora

Here's a little article about the refurbishment of the Royal Court, Liverpool with some photos to show how they're getting along.

I go into town once a week to shop and I've watched it come together over the last couple of months since I last went to the theatre there and posted a review.

It started off a bit slow but all of a sudden the outer wall of the extension appeared followed a couple of weeks later by the framework for the roof and new electronic bill board.

The last couple of weeks they've been felting the roof of the extension and the glass front has started to go in. The bill board is apparently working but I haven't observed this yet.

It's going to be really beautiful when it's finished. I wonder what Philip would think of it. The Pogues played at this theatre when it was a concert venue back in the 1980's and Philip seemed pleased by the look of the refurbished auditorium complete with seating when I shared photos on the original thread I started about the refurbishment.

That was about 4 years ago now and the thread is now gone because not much refurbishment was done due to lack of funding.


http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on ... ar_twitter

On The Verge 1:1,
Victoria Art Gallery and Museum, Liverpool
Saturday 24th October 2015, 3pm.

On The Verge is a 5 day festival of theatre performances run by Liverpool company Hope Street Limited and On The Verge 1:1 (or 1 on 1) is a series of interactive performances for one audience member only.

There are three 15 minute long plays by three different companies, all with different themes. Audience participation is a big thing and the outcome of each play is based around the responses of the one and only member of the audience.

Shows are hourly from 12pm - 9pm each day except Sunday when they are hourly between 12pm and 3pm. Three people are allowed to see them each hour (so that there is one watching each show during that time). Each person has a guide who takes them to the place where the next performance is, mine was Dan.

These are the three plays in the order I saw them:

Drive By by Bethany Sproston

The single audience member is taken from the main entrance of the gallery into a car park behind the university where are car is waiting for them. Inside the car is a woman called Sophie who asks the audience member to get in.

After getting to know the audience member a bit, she takes them on a car journey (not literally as the car never leaves the car park). While she is driving, she asks the audience member to read out a text message off her mobile phone. It is from her boyfriend who wants to break up with her. She becomes upset and pulls the car over.

It is apparent that she has come to a crossroads in her life and after a cup of tea and a bit of sympathy she asks the question 'when you get to a crossroads in your life, do you stop or do you accelerate?' To which the audience member is invited to provide the answer.


UandInal by Spectrum Collective.

A one to one piece exploring relationships.

The individual is taken back into the gallery and upstairs to a small room in a corner.

There is a notice on the door which reads 'Please knock twice'.

They knock and the door opens slightly. A piece of toilet tissue is passed out with a message on it and the words 'If you agree, please knock twice'.

They knock again and the door opens slightly. Another piece of toilet tissue is passed out with another message with the words 'If you want to find out, please knock twice'.

A third time, the audience member knocks and a third bit of toilet tissue is passed out with a pair of glasses that has been painted so that they can't be seen through. The advice is to put them on and knock again. This time, they are let into the room.

This was a very strange piece of theatre best left undescribed. It makes the individual feel uneasy and was specifically written in response to repeals in the law surrounding same-sex marriages. It explores the journey from the public toilets of the 1950's to the current state of freedom to marry.


Forgiveness From The Arts by Lewis Sherlock.

The audience member is lead out to the square just under the university clock where there is a makeshift shed

It's a confessional box where artists and the like go to confess their artistic sins. The audience member is invited into the process of expunging their artistic burdens, the ones they are bad at or have always thought they were bad at.


Some people don't like these types of interactive shows either they're too shy and they don't know how to react to what's going on or they might feel they're a bit pretentious, but it has to be done at least once in a lifetime even if just for the experience.

It was a very interesting and thought-provoking theatre experience and one that remains in the head long after the show has finished and the individual has returned home.

Pharaoh 'Cross The Mersey.
Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool
Saturday 28th November 2015, 2pm

It's almost Christmas and that means only one thing, Fred Lawless is back at the Royal Court, Liverpool with another one of his legendary shows which he has been writing for them for the last 7 years.

This year's play Pharaoh 'Cross The Mersey is set in Egypt amongst the sand dunes and pyramids. A young couple on holiday stumble across some ancient hieroglyphics, one of which resembles the liver bird that the young man has given to his fiancee as an engagement present.

The young man takes the liver bird from her and holds it up against the hieroglyph. It starts flashing and they are thrown back in time to when Nefertiti and King Tutt ruled over Ancient Egypt.

The show stars Michael Fletcher, Lindzi Germain, Michael Starke (Sinbad from Brookside), Hayley Hampson, Danny O'Brien, Andrew Schofield (Sid and Nancy, Scully, Boys from The Blackstuff to name quite a few) and for the first time ever, members of the Royal Court Liverpool Youth Theatre.

Pharaoh 'Cross The Mersey is without doubt one of the best Christmas shows that Fred Lawless has written to date. It is the one with the corniest jokes and is hilariously funny from beginning to end. The whole show has the feel of a night at a Victorian Music Hall but with modern tunes.

Over the last few years, Christmas shows at the Royal Court, Liverpool have lacked something - the presence of Mr Schofield. Not that there's anything wrong with the other actors, they are all good entertainers and very professional however there is something about Schofield, he has a very prominent stage presence and is easily the sexiest actor on the Liverpool stage.

This is a show well worth seeing and as it's only just started there's plenty of time to catch it, even if it's just to see Drew Schofield's underwear.

Runs until 16th January 2016.

Dick Whittington.
Empire Theatre, Liverpool.
Thursday 31st December 2015, 1pm.

Pantomime is a 300-year-old British tradition which is performed in theatre's all over Britain at Christmas time.

A typical pantomime is usually a fairy story or adaptation of a true story which always keeps up with the times and is adapted to the town or city where it is being performed.

There's always a hero, a pretty girl and a villain. The hero falls in love with the girl, the villain tries to destroy every chance of their happiness and everyone else's around them, he is never successful though and there is always a happy ending.

Although traditionally thought of as being more for children, pantomime is actually suitable for both adults and children alike with songs, corny jokes, slapstick routines, double entendres and garish costumes. It is quite usual to see whole families at these shows.

Dick Whittington is based on a true story.

The real life Richard Whittington was a wealthy merchant who became Lord Mayor of London (although in this adapted modern version he becomes Lord Mayor of Liverpool). More information about the story of Dick Whittington can be found here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Whit ... nd_His_Cat.

The show today starred Kurtis Stacey (Emmerdale) as Dick Whittington, Sally Lindsay (Coronation Street) as Fairy Fazakerley, Leanne Campbell (Radio City, Liverpool) as Alice Fitzwarren, Eric Potts as Sarah The Cook, Pete Price (Radio City Talk, Liverpool) as Alderman Fitzwarren, Warren Donnelly (Shameless) as King Rat, Liam Mellor as Idle Jack and Hayley Goold as Tommy the Cat.

Although it started a little slow, it picked up and became a really funny, entertaining show that captivated the audience both young and old.

A fun afternoon for all the family.

Runs until 3rd January 2016.

Top 10 shows of 2015 (in no particular order):

1. Educating Rita, Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool, Saturday 14th February.

2. Calamity Jane, Empire Theatre, Liverpool, Saturday 9th May.

3. Night Collar, Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, Saturday 16th May.

4. The Producers, Empire Theatre, Liverpool, Saturday 6th June.

5. Closing Time, The Caledonia Public House, Liverpool, Saturday 27th June.

6. The Sound of Music, Empire Theatre, Liverpool, Saturday 19th September.

7. Pharaoh 'Cross The Mersey, Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, Saturday 28th November.

8. Anything Goes, Empire Theatre, Liverpool, Saturday 21st March.

9. Canoeing for Beginner's, Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, Saturday 31st January.

10. The Play That Goes Wrong, Duchess Theatre, London, Wednesday 10th June.

The Haunting of Hill House,
Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.
Saturday 2nd January 2016, 2pm.

The Haunting of Hill House is a stage adaptation of the Hammer House of Horror film of the same name, written by Anthony Neilson and based on a novel by Shirley Jackson.

Three strangers, Eleanor (Emily Bevan), Theodora (Chipo Chung) and Luke (Joseph May) are invited to stay at Hill House, an eerie old mansion, by Dr Montague (Martin Turner), an investigator of the supernatural.

Dr Montague hopes to find evidence of the supernatural and has rented Hill House for the summer. He has invited the three strangers to help him with his investigations because he has heard of their past experiences with paranormal events.

On arrival, the guests are greeted by Mrs Dudley (Jane Guernier), who is one of the caretakers of Hill House along with her husband. The couple refuse to stay anywhere near the house at night.

All four guests experience strange events and ghostly happenings while they are staying at the house, although at first Luke, who is a sceptic journalist, tries to write them off as something else.

Things get even stranger and the hauntings become more frequent when Celia Markway (Angela Clerkin), a psychic, is invited to the house by Dr Montague and Eleanor finds that she becomes more involved in the supernatural activities than she ever could imagine, which lead to tragedy.

It is an interesting story that captivates the audience although the sound and visual effects are a little disappointing and make the show less scary than might be expected.

Runs until 16th January 2016.

http://www.everymanplayhouse.com/whats- ... hill-house

Frances wrote:

What .............?

Bill& Ben

Was just looking at Hamilton tickets for two family members. Holy shit.
They can take their own damn selves.
Talk about pricey. Wow.
http://www.hamiltonbroadway.com/

Brick Up The Mersey Tunnels,
Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.
Saturday 13th February 2016, 2pm.

This is the 10th anniversary run of Brick Up and the third time that I have seen the show.

The first time was Liverpool's Capital of Culture year in 2008 when I first started going to the theatre again after many years, the second a couple of years later.

It is a Liverpool classic, a musical comedy, the story three Liverpudlian men, Dickie Lewis (Andrew Schofield), Gerard Gardner (Paul Duckworth) and Nick Walton (Carl Chase), who get fed up with people from the Wirral Peninsula coming to work in the Liverpool and then going home at night and complaining about the place and its people.

It all comes about when Dickie is building a conservatory for a lady from Heswall called Anne Twacky (Eithne Browne) and her line dancing cowboy loving husband Dennis (Roy Brandon). He (Dickie) gets a load of abuse off her when she finds out he's from Liverpool.

Meanwhile Gerard Gardner has also had a run in with Anne Twanky because he works for Royal Mail and had a phone call from her ringing up to complain that the postcode was wrong on all her letters.

In a greasy spoon cafe on Liverpool's Dock Road (which in real life isn't really called Dock Road, it's just known as it) they meet and along with Nick Walton, who works as a tunnel engineer and is always drunk, they hatch a plan to brick up the Mersey Tunnels.

Maggie (Suzanne Collins) runs the cafe and Gerard fancies her, however she's more interested in Elliot Neston (Adam Keast), a seafood salesman from the Wirral. She's only really after him though for his money and his porche. On the night before they brick up the tunnels she travels over to the Wirral with him leaving Gerard heartbroken, which for him is the final nail in the coffin.

Helped out by Dennis Twacky and 46 Kosovan refugees, the three men, now known as The Kingsway Three (the Kingsway Tunnel is the name of the newest of the two Mersey Tunnels, the older one is called The Queensway Tunnel), they brick up the tunnels cutting off Liverpool and The Wirral Peninsula and generally causing all kinds of havoc as everyone now has to come into Liverpool via the Runcorn/Widnes bridge, until Gerard (who is an ex army explosives officer) blows it up in a fit of rage.

Nothing is mentioned in the whole play about the rail tunnel link from Liverpool to the Wirral so we just have to assume for the sake of argument that they bricked that up too.

Every character's name is a spoof. Dickie Lewis is the nickname of the statue on the side of (what used to be) Lewis's department store, nicknamed that because he has a big p****, there used to be an estate called Gerard Gardens, hence Gerard Gardner, Anne Twacky is obvious, Nick Walton, Walton Nick, the name used locally for Liverpool Prison because it's in the Walton suburb of Liverpool. Even Anne Twacky's two friends have spoof names, Liz Card (played by Liverpool pantomime dame Francis Tucker) is a place on the Wirral and Dee Estuary (played by Andrew Schofield, the only person to have two parts in the show) is the name of the estuary that meets with the Irish Sea on the other side of the river.

Out of the three shows I've seen, today's was easily the funniest. Obviously it is the same show I've seen twice before and because it was written so long ago they can't update it much although they have managed to a little bit this time round.

I think what made it more funny today was that Eithne Browne kept laughing and the audience got in on that making her laugh more. She handled it very well though and at one point dealt brilliantly with a heckler.

The idea for the show came about in a trade union bar on Hope Street called The Casa and I think that Dave Kirby and Nicky Allt actually wrote it there too.

Brick Up was directed by Bob Eaton and the musical director was Howard Gray.

Runs until 5th March 2016 at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

Forest Whitaker in a Eugene O'Neill play... OMFG, yes.

http://hughiebroadway.com/

For anyone considering seeing Hughie, Time Out New York has a $25.00 side orchestra seat special. I had to call Telecharge (via the Hughie website), couldn't pull up the special on my phone. There are 25 $25 tixs for each performance. No code required.

$37.25 in total is amazing.

The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary.
Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.
Saturday 27th February 2016, 2pm.

This adaptation of Gustave Flaubert’s ninteenth century novel, performed by Peepolykus and directed by Gemma Bodinetz, Artistic Director of the Everymanplayhouse and Twitter acquaintance, starts a five week run of Saturday shows for me, four matinees, one evening.

Set in Northern France, it's the story of a young lady who marries a doctor, has numerous affairs and lives beyond her means to escape the mundaneness and desolation of everyday life, eventually she gets herself into debt and tragically takes her own life.

Starring Emma Fielding as Madame Bovary and John Nicholson as Charles Bovary, with other cast parts played by Javier Marzan and Jonathan Holmes, this modification is a little odd.

It's got Gemma Bodinetz's directing style stamped all over it, which is always compelling and engaging, but rather than being solemn and dismal, like you would expect a story like this one to be, she has made it into a comedy with extra bits added.

For example, at several points during the show the characters return to their 'real' selves, ie Madame Bovary becomes Emma Fielding or Charles Bovary becomes John Nicholson, then they explain how their going to change the story slightly and have disagreements with each other about this.

Despite being a touch irregular however, it is extremely entertaining and amusing, Peepolykus thrive on these type of shows and Gemma Bodinetz loves directing them, they bring out her style exceptionally well.

Finishes tonight.

Hughie is shuttering early.
So pissed.



Saying that a Eugene O'Neill play is a "hard sell" and that Forest Whitaker's box office draw was "overestimated" is ridiculous.
People are idiots and actually choose go see schlock like Spider-Man.



Fucking Bono Vox.