# Northern Theatre.



## tangerinedream (Aug 30, 2005)

I don't know if there are any other theatre appreciating types in the wonderful Northern Forum, but I likes a bit of avante garde wierdness and me Ibsen and Brecht and what have you. 

Could we use this thread to say if we've been to see something dead good up North, I often miss stuff, cos I've no idea it's on.


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## Firky (Aug 31, 2005)

I saw the madness of king george with nigel hawthorn years ago in toon, was class.


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## CyberRose (Aug 31, 2005)

Did you know Sheffield has the biggest theatre complex outside of London?

Just one more thing on an endless list that Sheffield is better than Leeds for!


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## tangerinedream (Aug 31, 2005)

CyberRose said:
			
		

> Did you know Sheffield has the biggest theatre complex outside of London?
> 
> Just one more thing on an endless list that Sheffield is better than Leeds for!



Yes. 

But I have seen better theatre in Leeds than Sheffield in my life. So what does that tell us?


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## CyberRose (Aug 31, 2005)

tangerinedream said:
			
		

> Yes.
> 
> But I have seen better theatre in Leeds than Sheffield in my life. So what does that tell us?


No idea! If you rearrange the words or add some extra words I might be able to find out!!


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## mrkikiet (Aug 31, 2005)

CyberRose said:
			
		

> Did you know Sheffield has the biggest theatre complex outside of London?
> 
> Just one more thing on an endless list that Sheffield is better than Leeds for!


yeah, biggest theatre complex, but not the most theatres. It's just that they're based all round that square. Isn't it. Sheffield theatres did have some really good stuff though, provincial theatres getting big stars in compelling productions shock. Shame the guy who did them ahs ended up in london, i can't remember his name, sorry.

Newcastle is being all refurbished, when the playhouse and gulbenkian re-opens Northern Stage will have a cracking new home by all accounts.


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## CyberRose (Aug 31, 2005)

Oh yea of course when I say complex I mean two next door to each other, but still, one of them gets the snooker every year!


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## dessiato (Aug 31, 2005)

There's theatre in the North?


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## Epico (Aug 31, 2005)

I'd be interested to know if anyone had any recommendations too. I do like my theatre and arts - but Preston isn't really the best place to live. 

So, I can't say i've seen too much here - even though I did drama at uni.


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## Error Gorilla (Sep 1, 2005)

Its been an exciting few years for the theatre in Sheffield; Kenneth Branagh, Josheph Fiennes and Sir Derek Jacobi have all been in recent productions at the Crucible. Director Michael Grandage has moved to the Donmar Warehouse now and the actor Sam West has taken over as director at the Crucible.

Sheffield Theatres Website


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## tangerinedream (Sep 1, 2005)

Epico said:
			
		

> I'd be interested to know if anyone had any recommendations too. I do like my theatre and arts - but Preston isn't really the best place to live.
> 
> So, I can't say i've seen too much here - even though I did drama at uni.



No, the theatre in Preston is generally crap mores the pity. - there is a production of The School for Scandal at the grand in Blackpool later this year, and there was a brilliant Seagull (appropriate in a way!) directed by Tom Stoppard in spring. Every now and again we get something 'proper' in amongst the light 'entertainment' 

Where did you do drama if you don't mind me asking? I did it too you see. (In huddersfield, that well known mecca of actor training  )


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## tangerinedream (Sep 1, 2005)

From looking arround all the theatres (NW), the best stuff is on at the Unity in Liverpool, my mate has done some work for them and really rates it as an organisation. I've not been yet though. Sort of like contact, but without the emphasis on 'da yoof'


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## mancboy (Sep 18, 2005)

Agree on the Unity. Cool venue. Great people. Great food too. Saw a show about a group of asylum seekers who busk Beatles tunes there. The Kindness of Strangers. Ace.

Just saw the first preview of Twelfth Night at the Playhouse in Leeds last night. Let it get a run in for a few days and then give it a look. Well worth it. Some cracking performances and ensemble stuuf. OK, it suffers from that whole Shakespearean comedy thing of the first half being all one long winded set up for the gags in the second, but it more than pays off after the interval. Or maybe that was the bottle of wine I snuck in there with me.

If you do go to the Playhouse, cautionary note - don't go into the Wardrobe bar across the way after the show and get so pissed that the bouncers have to chuck you out. Me arse still hurts.


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## _angel_ (Sep 18, 2005)

Yes the Unity is a great theatre. Just a pity I'm a bit too far away now to go there for a night out.

Some nice venues in Bradford also. Leeds lacks smaller venues but the Playhouse is actively doing things with new writers which is nice.


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## belboid (Sep 19, 2005)

tangerinedream said:
			
		

> Yes.
> 
> But I have seen better theatre in Leeds than Sheffield in my life. So what does that tell us?


It means you dont get out enough lad!

Sheffield has had the better productions for a good few years now, I think. brandage has put some superb stuff on that's got me going to the theatre more regularly than for, well, ever.

The coming season looks pretty good too - I've already got tickets for The Romans in Britain, and will get them for Dario Fo's Mistero Buffo, tho I may not do that, but get a season ticket that allows me to see all 9 plays for half price


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## Bomber (Oct 6, 2005)

Quick shout for what is still the best theatre in the round that I know of, particularly up North, The New Vic in Stoke on Trent. Not particularly 'Avant garde' productions. The recent excellent version of 'As you Like it' won 4 stars in the Guardian. Oh and the place is just a stones throw away from The Little Vic pub that has one of the best Thai chefs you will find anywhere !


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## belboid (Oct 6, 2005)

Bomber said:
			
		

> Oh and the place is just a stones throw away from The Little Vic pub that has one of the best Thai chefs you will find anywhere !


now _that_ is an important factor!  Sheffield theatres would do a hell of a lot better (still!) if there was somewhere decent to go and eat before a show.


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## chio (Oct 10, 2005)

Bomber said:
			
		

> Quick shout for what is still the best theatre in the round that I know of, particularly up North, The New Vic in Stoke on Trent. Not particularly 'Avant garde' productions. The recent excellent version of 'As you Like it' won 4 stars in the Guardian. Oh and the place is just a stones throw away from The Little Vic pub that has one of the best Thai chefs you will find anywhere !



I was just about to mention the same place. It's fab - the stage is round and you sit around it in a full circle, and if you end up on the front row, your feet are on the stage!

However, there are some strange people here who don't think the Potteries is northern!


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## Bomber (Oct 10, 2005)

chio said:
			
		

> However, there are some strange people here who don't think the Potteries is northern!



 Well I certainly ain't no Southerner !


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## Bomber (Oct 11, 2005)

A little further North of where I am at and well worth a look in light of this seasons playbill, is Buxton Opera House. Particularly worth looking out for early next year will be the Music Festival. It's a very intimate venue , beautifully decorated and cozily old fashioned. Excellent access for disabled visitors as well, which is unusual in a theatre so old !


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## tangerinedream (Oct 24, 2005)

Went to see "Under Milkwood" at the Dukes in Lancaster - which wasn't too hot to be honest. I believe it's on tour for the next few months. I quite like the play, how unfashionable it may be to say that. Really this production suffered from a complete lack of decisiveness, possibly on the directors behalf. I really got the sense in some sections, the actors were just standing on stage reading their lines and the distinction between the the different characters was woeful at times. 
Having said that, the little sections within the play such as the childs games really shone and there was some lovely choral singing involved. I think this could have been due to the way these sections could be dealt with as a seperate entity and thus the director could deal with them without considering the overall aesthetic of the piece. 

A summary would be - some really nice inventive ideas within a weak framework.


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## Bomber (Oct 24, 2005)

*New Vic ~ Stoke on Trent*

After the excellent production of 'As you like it' we are off to the Vic again this week to catch "Sizwe Banzi Is Dead" .......... 

* Blurb reads:*
_A Play devised by Athol Fugard,
JOHN KANI and WINSTON NTSHONA  
Memorable, moving, funny and deeply human, award-winning Sizwe Banzi Is Dead is, quite simply, one of the classic plays of the 20th century. 

In apartheid-era South Africa, migrant worker Sizwe Banzi is getting desperate. To survive and to support his wife and family he needs a job. But to get a job he needs a valid pass. And that’s when his problems really start. Because the only way he can get a pass is to be officially ‘dead’!

Tickets from £6.50!_


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## chio (Oct 26, 2005)

That's odd. I saw that last night. Won't give anything away.


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## Bomber (Oct 31, 2005)

chio said:
			
		

> That's odd. I saw that last night. Won't give anything away.



 Small World !     I quite enjoyed it although there were sections that felt a little drawn out, quite nicely staged though. Next up is 'Of Mice & Men' which is by the touring company 'Mind the Gap' , tickets selling fast apparently !


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## belboid (Nov 2, 2005)

just got back from seeing Much Ado About Nothing at the Crucible.

Ooh, that Shakeys a lewd old bugger!  And in front of all those schholchildren too....

Did 'come over me' mean the same thing back then??!!

Nathan Barley was playing Claudio - he was pretty darned good too.  Looked like Sam West had nicked the guards from Discworld for the watchpeople...except they were women

Jolly good stuff, standbys are available for the remaining performances - which I'd thoroughly recommned availing oneself of.


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## tangerinedream (Mar 23, 2006)

Went to watch the Theatre Royal Bath's version of 'The Rivals' yesterday at the Lyric (lowry centre) - t'was good, Jack was beautifully realised by a lively young fellow with comic timing to die for and a tremendously agile and confident physical performance. I'm afraid I have forgot his name. Stephanie Cole was an intimidating Mrs Maloprop and absolutely deadpan in her mispronunciations, she certainly elicited a sense of sympathy from me as well for the old battle axe left single and rejected by all. 
Edward Hardwicke was a huge disapointment as Sir anthony, failing to muster a single rage and throwing away some of his lines as if he was world weary, he was good in the subtler moments of the character. As always, most funny of all was poor Faukland. 

It's decent enough if you get the chance to see it.


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## chio (Mar 23, 2006)

Is the Lowry still ridiculously pricey? It was last time I looked at seeing something there.


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## tangerinedream (Mar 23, 2006)

chio said:
			
		

> Is the Lowry still ridiculously pricey? It was last time I looked at seeing something there.



Yeah, but tickets were going for a tenner on the day because it wasn't sold out. I went for free as I was supervising a class. Not too bad for students at £8.50 a pop.


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## moose (Mar 25, 2006)

I used to like the Octagon in Bolton, but they seem to be favouring comedy nights and music these days, rather than plays. 

I'm going to the Brecht (Furcht und ellend des dritten reiches) at Contact next week with my German class - I'll report back.


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## kakuma (Mar 25, 2006)

the big newcastle theatre people are really good

can't remember wht theyre called tho.....

my mate does amateur stuff, it's quite good but not worth a trip from preston for tbh


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## tangerinedream (Mar 25, 2006)

moose said:
			
		

> I used to like the Octagon in Bolton, but they seem to be favouring comedy nights and music these days, rather than plays.
> 
> I'm going to the Brecht (Furcht und ellend des dritten reiches) at Contact next week with my German class - I'll report back.



I've seen that advertised, the german language is a slight barrier to me! I'm going to see the Caucasian Chalk circle in leicester next month (not really norf but it is brecht)

There is some Arthur Miller coming up at the octagon soon. Can't remember which one though. It nearly closed a few years back, I presume thats the reason for the switch in direction. It was very good.


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## tangerinedream (Mar 25, 2006)

Ninjaboy said:
			
		

> the big newcastle theatre people are really good
> 
> can't remember wht theyre called tho.....
> 
> my mate does amateur stuff, it's quite good but not worth a trip from preston for tbh



preston eh?


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## mancboy (Mar 25, 2006)

Ninjaboy said:
			
		

> the big newcastle theatre people are really good
> 
> can't remember wht theyre called tho.....
> 
> my mate does amateur stuff, it's quite good but not worth a trip from preston for tbh



Do you mean Northern Stage? They've done some good stuff. Bit heavy on the adaptation of 'classic' novels though.

Last great thing I saw was Romans in Britain at the Crucible in Sheffield. Long overdue production of a really interesting show. Everyone else seems to have hated it.


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## belboid (Mar 25, 2006)

I saw that too. Interesting, but far from great imo.  _Very_ eighties.  Very good staging, looked superb, but i didn't think the second half worked entirely.  Good idea's that didn't quite come off.

Pissed off that Mystero Buffo has been cancelled by them for no given reason.  Got tickets for Nights at the Circus instead tho.


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## moose (Mar 25, 2006)

tangerinedream said:
			
		

> I've seen that advertised, the german language is a slight barrier to me!


Unless it contains beginner's German phrases like "My Aunt Heidi has new shoes" I'm buggered too.


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## tangerinedream (Mar 25, 2006)

moose said:
			
		

> Unless it contains beginner's German phrases like "My Aunt Heidi has new shoes" I'm buggered too.



 

All I can remember from german is (apoligies for the spelling!) 'wo ist die bahnhof?' and 'Schnell, schnell, mein krankenwagan ist kapput!' The latter phrase caused me no end of amusement in the mid 90's for no apparant reason.


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## Bomber (Mar 28, 2006)

*One Flew Over ....................*

Coming soon to The New Vic Theatre in Stoke is production of 'One Flew over the Cuckoo's nest', which promises to be quite good if the reviews are anything to go by? 

Fri 28 April - Sat 20 May 2006 

New Vic


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## tangerinedream (Apr 25, 2006)

Only on till Friday, Bolton Octagon's 'Accidental death of an Anarchist' was excellent tonight. I'll write more when I have time, but if you have the chance I would recomend it. I've seen it twice before and this far outclassed those times. Genuinelly inventive and pretty manic.


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## tangerinedream (Feb 7, 2008)

I just saw Metamorphosis at the Playhouse in Liverpool. Go and see it if it is near you. It's awesome!


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## Geoff Collier (Feb 8, 2008)

Bomber said:


> Well I certainly ain't no Southerner !



Unfortunately the north begins at Crewe. That's according to both myself (who grew up there) and Stuart Maconie so it must be true. Stoke is in the Midlands.

Anyway, does Crewe still have the Lyceum Theatre? I used to go there a few times in the 1970s. Later on I moved to Hull where they have the Hull Truck theatre which was very well regarded. Actually it's probably been demolished by now and replaced with something soulless. But I moved a couple of years ago so I'm not sure about that.


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## Frampton (Feb 11, 2008)

We're off to see "Waiting for Godot" at Manchester's Library Theatre this Thursday. Two weeks ago a seminar on the Psychoanalytical aspects of the Leeds Opera production: Pinnochio. A brilliant couple of hours. A brilliant opera.


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## Roadkill (Feb 11, 2008)

Geoff Collier said:


> Later on I moved to Hull where they have the Hull Truck theatre which was very well regarded. Actually it's probably been demolished by now and replaced with something soulless. But I moved a couple of years ago so I'm not sure about that.



Hull Truck is still going strong.  I've not been for years but I remember seeing some very good productions there when I was younger, and friends who go now tell me that it's still good.

Hull New Theatre has its moments as well.


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## belboid (Feb 11, 2008)

the old building is gone, but is has a lovely new one now doesn't it?


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## lang rabbie (Feb 24, 2008)

Geoff Collier said:


> Anyway, does Crewe still have the Lyceum Theatre? I used to go there a few times in the 1970s. Later on I moved to Hull where they have the Hull Truck theatre which was very well regarded.



Oddly enough, the Hull Truck Company were performing Jon Godber's _Our House_ at the Crewe Lyceum last week.   Most of the rest of the time it only seems to put on touring rep of the sort I though had died out years ago.


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## Lisarocket (Feb 24, 2008)

My hometown (Scarborough) has the Stephen Joseph Theatre- northern home of Alan Aykebourn 

http://www.sjt.uk.com/

It used to be called the theatre in the round (as it is 'in the round') when it was based in another building. It's in a lovely art deco building now, which used to be the Odeon cinema. The place got fully restored when the SJT took over 

Nice to see the kids drama group 'Rounders' is still going strong. I spent many a happy Saturday at Rounders when i was a young 'un


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