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Tuesday 4 December 2018

Striking 12, Union Theatre | Review

Striking 12

Union Theatre

Reviewed on Monday 3rd December 2018 by Olivia Mitchell

★★★★

Now we've entered December, the festive shows on offer are really stepping up, with the Union Theatre's Striking 12 providing a festive but not in-your-face-Christmas 90 minute story to warm hearts and have toes tapping.

With an eclectic score by Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda's this re-telling of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Match Girl, switches between a contemporary New Year's Eve and the 1840s New Years Eve where the Anderson tale is set.

Declan Bennett plays Brendan, a man who dislikes NYE as he's haunted by memories of his ex-fiancé; whilst home alone, he reads the Anderson tale and is reminded of the importance of giving and sharing. Bennett is vocally powerful and gives an admirable performance despite some sound issues, especially towards the start, which made him hard to hear.

In the 1840s setting, Bronté Barbé plays the Little Match Girl with a sweetness and sincerity that the audience can't help but be drawn to, and in the modern setting, she plays an equally kind and appealing character as a girl selling seasonal lightbulbs. Barbé's effortless vocal performance is utterly mesmerising to watch and, helped by Alex Lewer's lighting, really evokes the warm feeling we all desire at Christmas.

The rest of the cast are made up by Andrew Linnie on piano, with Danielle Kassaraté, Kate Robson-Stuart and Leon Scott acting as narrators, secondary characters and musicians in a series of seamless turns and twists. The trio do an outstanding and humourous job of moving the story forward and work extremely well together in the small space of the Union.

Whilst the cast are very strong and the story is sweet, there are a few faults with this production, mainly that the overarching story, doesn't have much oomph as it lacks emotional depth. Our leading man spends the entirety of the show reading about the struggles of the Little Match Girl so that he eventually becomes a 'new man'. However, he wasn't bad to start with, at least, from what we see. Other than turning away the young girl selling light bulbs, there isn't a scrooge-like aspect to him so his transition doesn't feel overly effective. There's also a number of mentions of his ex-fiancé which aren't explored, so again, have little impact.

However, even with these issues, the story is super sweet and with a couple of tweaks could be a real hit. To combat those winter blues, and get a fuzzy feeling inside, be sure to take a trip to the Union Theatre and spend 90 minutes with Striking 12.

Striking 12 runs at the Union Theatre until 23rd December 2018

photo credit: Tom Grace

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Thursday 5 November 2020

Hiba Elchikhe Brings Together West End Performers For A New Musical Theatre Series

In collaboration with Nimax and The Theatre Café, West End performer Hiba Elchikhe is thrilled to announce a brand-new musical theatre based web series: Out Of The Darkness, Into The Spotlight.

Bringing a little bit of glitter to the grey, this three-episode series hopes to not only entertain, but shine a light on the performers who are keeping the West End alive, even during lockdown.

Hiba, who is currently starring in the West End hit Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and who has created the series says “In a time of such uncertainty I am so excited to be able to bring together a spectacular group of freelance artists, that are representative of the UK.”

Featuring a line up of stellar creatives, each episode shines a “spotlight” on something different: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Musical Theatre and Christmas. The first episode is set to premiere on November 18th, with the next two going live on November 25th and December 9th. Each episode will feature a different line-up of star performers, running at approximately 45 minutes and including a mixture of songs. Performers include: Danny Becker (Prince of Egypt, Aladdin), Courtney Bowman (Six, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie), Danielle Steers (Six, Bat Out of Hell), Hiba Elchikhe (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Brooklyn), Carrie Hope Fletcher (Les Misérables, Heathers), Sejal Keshwala (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie), Tim Mahendran (& Juliet, Spring Awakening), Grace Mouat (& Juliet, Six), Trevor Dion Nicholas (Hamilton, Aladdin), Liam Tamne (Prince of Egypt) and Noah Thomas (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie).

As well as Maisey Bawden, Paul Bradshaw, Rhiane Drummond, James Gillan, Shanay Holmes, Rob Houchen, Melissa Jacques, Emma Kingston, Carl Man, Frances McCann, Scott Paige, Sharun Phull, Amy Trigg and Andrew Patrick Walker, with more to be announced.

Tickets are available from: https://www.thetheatrecafe.co.uk/2020/11/news-out-of-the-darkness-into-the-spotlight/

#IntoTheSpotlightConcert

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Wednesday 7 March 2018

Cilla (UK Tour), Storyhouse | Review

Cilla (UK Tour)

Storyhouse

Reviewed on Tuesday 6th March 2018 by Becca Cromwell

★★★★

Based on both a real-life story and Jeff Pope’s Bafta Award Winning ITV drama, Cilla the Musical brings to life the story of Priscilla White, a teenage girl from Liverpool whose dreams turned to reality as she became one of the most loved Stars of the 1960s and most popular entertainers of all time. Cilla began her career in 1963 and had a career in both Music and Television which spanned five decades; including shows such as Surprise Surprise and Blind Date.

The musical score, written by Scott Alder incorporates both Cilla’s best loved songs and other well-known hits from the sixties well. You can expect to hear a majority of the songs that everyone remembers from the sixties, including Anyone Who Had A Heart and You’re My World, alongside The Beatles’ Twist and Shout and Martha and the Vandellas’ 1964 hit Dancing In The Street.

Kara Lily Hayworth, who landed the role through success at rigorous open auditions, plays the role of hopeful starlet Priscilla White whose life changes massively once introduced to Brian Epstein. It is no wonder that Hayworth bagged the role, as her portrayal of Cilla was astounding. Cilla herself would be proud. The vocals were extremely impressive and although not from Liverpool, Hayworth really did the accent justice.

Personal Assistant turned boyfriend Bobby, played by Carl Au, brought plenty of drama to the production. With a strong voice and solid acting, the character was portrayed excellently. With charm and wit, Au shone throughout the show.

Brian Epstein, played by Andrew Lancel, was executed fantastically. The character’s tragic tale was intertwined with the main plot of the show, and worked well. The audience connected with Lancel well and he received loud applause at the curtain call.

The ensemble and supporting characters all gave good performances, with Pauline Fleming and Neil MacDonald standing out in the comedy roles as Cilla’s Parents.

The first act of the show feels more like a concert than a musical theatre production, as it is done in a style that almost breaks the fourth wall, different to anything I have seen in a while. Set mostly in the Cavern Club in Liverpool, Cilla embarks on her journey from teenage starlet to national treasure.

During the second act, there are significantly more numbers which make it feel like a musical theatre production, rather than a concert. However there were a few set mishaps, with one of the backdrops being lowered completely down instead of pulled back up out of view and wonky tables. Set mishaps aside, the cast often had to deal with the band being louder than their microphones, which is a shame. Throughout the bigger numbers, Hayworth could hardly be heard over the live band, which can easily be remedied and make the whole experience even more enjoyable.

The UK tour of Cilla runs currently until April 21^st. Grab your tickets whilst you can!

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