Review: Alice in Wonderland at South Shields Customs House

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Alice Is Simply The Best!

Alice in Wonderland

South Shields Customs House

Until Saturday 9^th January 2016.

What do you want from a pantomime? Easy to follow and recognisable story? Bright set and lush costume design? Lots of jokes for the kids (and some for the adults too)? A dame that takes control and is happy to interact with the audience? A cast of extremely talented actors who can sing, entertain and make everyone smile? Alice In Wonderland at the Customs House ticks each and every box.

Allow me to explain. Some pantos feel like they are done to you. A few, like Alice, make you feel that you are a part of it. The packed house were all willing to get involved in the antics. It felt like Christmas has arrived. This show is rather special.

Both Alice In Wonderland and the Customs House celebrated their 150^thanniversary this year. Even though it is not common panto material, it is sufficiently well known to make it work. Ray Spencer and Graeme Thompson have written a play that knows its audience well.

The story starts with the White Rabbit, played by Luke Maddison, running onto the stage and announcing he is late and shooting off. He is quickly followed by Alice who wants to chase him. Natasha Haws is very comfortable in her role of Alice and the audience quickly warm to her.

Alice then meets the Cheshire Cat, animated by Sheila Gruber and voiced by BBC Radio Newcastle’s breakfast show host Alfie Joey.  After a few tongue in cheek jokes Alice decides to follow the rabbit and ends up in a strange world.

Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee are a likeable double act. Gareth Hunter and Craig Richardson spar off each other like a pair of Minions. Kylie Ann Ford’s Dormouse is delightful and the Mad March Hare features another entertaining performance by Stephen Sullivan.

The singing is this year’s Customs House show is a real strength. The operatic training and experience of Anne-Marie Owens, as the suitably terrifying Queen of Hearts, results in a some stunning vocals. Though I’m not sure what Carl Orff would make of the alternative lyrics to Carmina Burana!

Each member of the cast has something to offer in the singing department. Special mention should go to Natasha, Steven Lee Hamilton, as the Mad Hatter, and Afnan Iftikahr as the Knave of Hearts. Their singing contributions really lifted the show.

A great pantomime needs a dame that controls the show rather than wheeled on for a brief interlude.  Ray Spencer gives a panto dame masterclass, handling both the audience and his cast well. There is a real element of the late great Les Dawson in his delivery.

Every panto has its young dancers and the members of South Tyneside Dance Workshop were delightful. Some of their routines were ambitious and they pulled them off.

Even though it was two and a half hours long, Alice In Wonderland flew by. Not only was it was great to see, but it was also great to be a part of. This show markets itself as the Little Panto with a Big Heart. Well there is a whole lot of loving in the venue.  The audience and strong cast make it a panto with no weak links.

In fact, it is the most fun we’ve had at a panto for a while.

This review was written by Stephen Oliver for the North East Theatre Guide from Jowheretogo PR (www.jowheretogo.com). Follow Jo on twitter @jowheretogo, Stephen @panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo

The Customs House is also adding to the madness of Carroll’s world with Mad Hatter’s Tea Parties throughout the festive season. On December 6, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29 and 30, children will be able to enjoy special parties with an afternoon tea, party games, entertainment and an opportunity for a meet and greet with some of the panto cast members.

Read the original preview: http://nomorepanicbutton.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/preview-alice-in-wonderland-at-south.html

Tickets:

Alice in Wonderland, sponsored by Hays Travel, is at The Customs House from Tuesday 1^st December 2015 to January 9^th.

Tickets for the pantomime and Mad Hatter’s Tea Parties start from £9 and are available from the box office on 0191 454 1234 or from www.customshouse.co.uk.

For exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, competitions and all the latest news in Wonderland follow #BigHeart @thecustomshouse.

Cast:

Anne-Marie Owens – Queen of Hearts

Ray Spencer – Duchess

Natasha Haws – Alice

Steven Lee Hamilton – Mad Hatter

Luke Maddison – White Rabbit

Afnan Iftikhar – Knave of Hearts

Stephen Sullivan – King of Hearts & Mad March Hare

Kylie Ann Ford – Dormouse

Craig Richardson – Tweedle Dum

Gareth Hunter – Tweedle Dee

Preview: Autumn 2015 at Customs House

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Audiences Decide In New Autumn Theatre Season At South Shield’s Customs House

A new season of plays is being launched to bring the best contemporary drama to South Tyneside.

The Customs House in South Shields is introducing a new season called CUSTOM MADE consisting of seven very different shows by the most innovative companies making theatre in the UK.

Coronation Street’s Krissi Bohn

stars in The Bogus Woman

The productions have been hand-picked by The Customs House programming team to challenge perceptions of what theatre really is, and to bring award winning drama to the Mill Dam theatre.

Launching the season next month will be The Disappearance of Dorothy Lawrence, directed by Paulette Randall MBE - Associate Director for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics.

Executive Director of The Customs House Ray Spencer MBE said “We’re thrilled to be able to bring the very best drama from the very best companies to The Customs House.”

The season will also see Friends of The Customs House benefiting from a new Pay What You Decide scheme.

The Friends will be able to book their tickets for free and then pay how much they think it was worth at the end of the performance. The aim is for audiences to try out something new without worrying that they’ll be out of pocket or it may not be ‘up their street’. This scheme has been informed by the work of Arc Stockton who have had great success with their own Pay What You Decide scheme.

Ray added: “The Customs House prides itself in having very loyal supporters and we’re thrilled to be able to give back to our Friends of The Customs House by offering them this opportunity to see shows without paying anything upfront and to be able to feed back to us their thoughts on this new and exciting initiative.  I myself am looking forward to seeing these renowned artists on The Customs House stage and hearing just what our audiences think of our new-look drama season.”

Kicking of the season will be The Disappearance of Dorothy Lawrence on September 26 followed by You, Me and Everything Else on September 30 & October 1; Beats North on October 4; One Last Waltz on October 14; Confirmation on November 6; The Bogus Woman on November 9; and Be Brave and Leave for the Unknown on November 20 & 21.

Details of the shows is given below and to buy tickets go to www.customshouse.co.uk , or call box office on 0191 454 1234. To become a Friend of The Customs House contact Angela Hannon on 0191 427 8183.

The shows: 

 

Vital Xposure presents                                                                                   

The Disappearance of Dorothy Lawrence

Thursday 17^th September

8.00pm

Its 1914, England is at war and the Suffragette movement is gaining strength.

Dorothy Lawrence, a young journalist with aspirations to become a war correspondent, takes to her bicycle to join the frontline in France. What happens next rocks the powers that be and shakes her life apart. She was never seen in public again.

100 years on a young woman screams out a Punk Prayer in an orthodox cathedral, and her censure triggers a storm of protest that rocks the world.

This beautiful and cleverly written piece by Julie McNamara investigates their remarkable stories, and how history repeats itself; exposing the ways society deals with women who step out of line.

Take a trip in time to explore themes of inequality and power that still resonate today. With integrated British sign language interpretation.

Camisado Club presents

You, Me and Everything Else                                                     

Wednesday 30^th September – Thursday 1^st October

8pm

If you could send a mixtape to outer space, on behalf of planet Earth, what would be on it?

Right now, there’s a golden record hurtling through space. It’s a mixtape of songs, sounds and pictures from Earth, a valentine from the human race to whoever or whatever finds it.

This is a science-fact love story where two ordinary people look out into the universe and find the most human thing: love.

Created through Bridging the Gap, an ARC initiative with Northern Stage, The Customs House and The Maltings Theatre, Berwick. Supported by Arts Council England, The Sunday for Sammy Trust and Unity Theatre Trust

                                               

Company TSU presents

Beats North

Sunday 4th October

6pm

Al’s family wants him to be a Bollywood convert, but he craves Motown, the spotlight and his guitar. Jack gets lost in the power of Bonnie Tyler and his own imagination, much to his dad’s frustration.

A double bill by Luke Barnes and Ishy Din, with a live soundtrack by DJ Mariam Rezaei.

Beats North is an event that includes a double bill of one-man plays by Luke Barnes and Ishy Din ending in a guilty pleasures disco. Using a mixture of turntablism and live and recorded sampling and drum machines, award winning DJ Mariam Rezaei creates the soundtrack to both pieces live onstage.

The audience will have the opportunity to interact with the set and the DJ, as they are invited into the space before the show starts - to play a record, write on the lyric wall, record a story or song or dance at the silent disco. Before the show the audience are asked to confess their guilty pleasure song, which they post into the confessions box. The guilty pleasure songs collected then form the playlist for the Beats North disco at the end of the show when the audience is invited to join the cast onstage for a boogie!

Originally developed with young men in Teesside in 2013, Beats North is supported by Arts Council England, Northern Stage, Middlesbrough Council, Musinc, Arc Stockton Arts Centre, Northumbria University, The Empty Space through This Way Up, and has been developed through Northern Stage’s Title Pending Award and Fuel’s Jerwood Residencies at Cove Park which are supported by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation.

*Winner of the Northern Stage Title Pending Award 2013

*Shortlisted for a Brighton Fringe Award at Edinburgh Fringe 2014

*Lyn Gardner’s Hot Tickets for Edinburgh Fringe 2014 – The Guardian

Black Coffee Theatre presents

One Last Waltz                                                 

Wednesday 14^th October                    

8pm

Alice is becoming more and more forgetful. Her daughter Mandy is always on hand to help out but the strain is becoming too much.

A long forgotten photograph stirs a memory and lures Alice back to the Crown Hotel in Blackpool.  The mother and daughter set out to dance in the tower ballroom one last time... But Blackpool isn’t how Alice remembers and things become too much for her as she finds herself getting lost in the past.

Based on real life events and experiences, this funny and touching new play explores the difficulties in coming to terms with Alzheimer’s.

Black Coffee Theatre was created in 2010 by Luke Adamson, Jonathan Holby and Maria Crocker.

Warwick Arts Centre & China Plate presents

Confirmation

Friday 6th November

8pm

If you pinned me against a wall, I’d probably admit to being a liberal. Of course, pinning me against a wall is exactly what I’d expect from someone like you.

Confirmation is a show about the gulfs we can’t talk across, and about the way we choose to see only the evidence that proves we’re right.

Working with research into the phenomenon of Confirmation Bias, Confirmation attempts to have an honourable dialogue, real and imagined, with political extremism. From multi-award-winning Chris Thorpe (Unlimited, Royal Exchange, Hannah Jane Walker) and Rachel Chavkin (The TEAM).

FRINGE FIRST AWARD-WINNER, Edinburgh Festival Fringe – 2014

Theatre by the Lake and Curtis Productions presents

The Bogus Woman                                                    

Monday 9^thNovember

8pm

An African woman arrives in a strange country fleeing for her life, seeking safety and asylum. Despite having committed no crime she is indefinitely confined, interrogated, humiliated and abused.  She witnesses the cruelty of the authorities and their casual disregard for an individual’s human rights.  This strange country is England. 

Krissi Bohn (Coronation Street) performs this powerful, poetic and heart-wrenching play – bringing to life the 51 sharply etched characters who retell the experiences of this young woman.

Please note that this production contains strong language and scenes that may be unsuitable for younger audiences.  Age guidance: 16 years +.

‘Essential watching … Krissi Bohn acts to vividly realised and blistering perfection’

★★★★  The Independent, Lynne Walker

Preview: Geordie the Musical at South Shields Customs House

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New Show Will Remember

Much-Loved Director

Geordie the Musical

South Shields Customs House

Friday 21^st August to Saturday 5^th September 2015

A new musical will be dedicated to a much-loved member of the theatre community.

Geordie the Musical was due to be directed by Jackie Fielding at The Customs House in South Shields this August, but following her sudden death earlier this year it will now be dedicated to her memory.

Jackie had worked closely with the creative team to shape the play. Customs House Executive Director Ray Spencer said: “Jackie was an immensely talented performer and director who made The Customs House her home. It is only right that this production is dedicated to a woman who is still an absolute inspiration to so many.”

Andy Bogle, the ex-pat who came up with the story behind the musical, added: “Jackie left an indelible mark on Geordie and her creative input serves as a fitting tribute to a life devoted to the The show, which features traditional Geordie song and is set during a time of change in the North East, will now be directed by Jamie Brown, who worked closely with Jackie on several projects and starred in her final show, The Man and the Donkey, in May.

Director Jamie Brown and

assistant director Viktoria Kay

at The Customs House

He said: “I will be forever thankful to have been entrusted as one of Jackie’s leading men over the past few years, including in her final production The Man and The Donkey. Her loss is still very raw to “How she’d feel about me directing ‘Geordie’ in her stead, I couldn’t possibly say – all I can say is that I’m honoured and privileged to be part of a project which, although it may be going ahead without her at the helm, will have her as the wind in its sails, and the fire in the belly of all those driving the project forwards. There is little doubt that our time together shaped me artistically and personally and I can’t think of anything that could stand me in better stead for the challenge ahead.”

His assistant director will be his fellow Man and the Donkey co-star Viktoria Kay. She added: “Being part of Geordie the Musical is a very special honour and a privilege for me. Geordie: The Musical highlights how precious the Geordie dialect is and how, through the art of song, it will forever be preserved. I had a huge emotional response when I read the script, I was full of pride, and I’m sure the audiences will feel the same. Jackie was always my champion and for that I will forever be in her debt. Helping to bring the project she started, Geordie The Musical to life, in all its glory, is a chance to repay just a smidgeon The fact that Geordie The Musical has been dedicated to Jackie will make her very happy, albeit secretly, as she was renown to hate any sort of fuss made of her!”

Mike Turnbull will be the musical director, lighting will be done by James Henshaw, set will be produced by Kate Urwin and the costumes have been created by Lou Duffy.

A memorial show will also be held in Jackie's honour on September 13. It will raise funds to help young budding actors go to drama school.

Tickets

Geordie runs at South Shields Customs House from Friday 21^st August to Saturday 5^th September 2015.

Tickets for Geordie the Musical, from £10, are available from The Customs House box office on 0191 454 1234 or visit www.customshouse.co.uk.

Summer Preview at South Shields Customs House

Theatre Season is Red Hot  

Even if the Weather Isn’t

Summer Preview

South Shields Customs House

The return of one of the region’s most loved duos, a world-class musician and a new musical are all coming to The Customs House stage this summer. The Mill Dam venue in South Shields has an exciting summer season lined up. Even if the weather doesn’t always heat up the theatre certainly has all the hottest acts.

Customs House Executive Director Ray Spencer said: “Once again we have a full and interesting line-up with something that everybody can not only enjoy but plenty of things that people can try for the first time. This season sees us bring the vision of ex-pat Andy Bogle to life in Geordie The Musical, bring live cinema events to The Customs House for the first time and so much more. We have everything from the opportunity for cellists to have their cello played live on stage by the best in the world to a sing along to the country’s all-time favourite musical. Pick up a brochure today!”

Waiting for Gateaux

Waiting for Gateaux, from the writers of Dirty Dusting, will have you rolling in the aisle with a tale about chips, chocolate, weight loss and friendship from June 10 to 13.

Aladdin

Ballet Theatre UK, who last year brought The Little Mermaid to the theatre, will present Aladdin in a stunning new show on June 19.

Live Cinema events are kicking off this summer with Andre Rieu live from Maastricht in July and The National Theatre’s Hamlet will be beamed into the cinema in October.

This August Geordie The Musical will hit The Customs House stage. Step back to 1890 as The Customs House presents the premiere of this brand new musical which combines traditional Northumbrian songs and music with the award-winning storytelling skills of Tom Kelly, from a story from Andy Bogle.

Jive Aces

You won’t be short for things for the kids to do this summer. The venue boast a cinema which shows plenty of children’s films including Minions. Also in the theatre there’s Only One Direction in July and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Silly Simon the Sailor in August.

Top-notch music includes crooner Joe Longthorne in June and Britain’s Got Talent’s Jive Aces in August. July sees a free comedy show from Lewis Scheffer and August will see a 50^th anniversary celebration with Sing-a-long-a Sound of Music.

Andre Rieu

The venue has some of the best tribute bands around gracing the stage including The Blues Brothers Experience, Abba The Show and Magic, A Kind of Queen in June, The Robbie Williams Experience and The Billy Fury Years in July, and Beatlemania will be on stage in August.

For musical lovers Customs House favourites Encore are back, South Shields Gilbert and Sullivan Society are performing the A- Z of Musicals, Reavley Theatre School are producing Seussical Jr and Starset Theatre are performing Hairspray.

Only One Direction

The venue’s latest What’s On guide also looks ahead to the next season with acts including comedian Chris Ramsey, Catherine Cookson’s The Cinder Path and An Audience with The Original Stig. And, of course, the pantomime Alice in Wonderland is on sale now.

The What’s On guide can be picked up from The Customs House, local libraries and tourist information centres.

Tickets:

To book tickets or for more information on the season visit www.customshouse.co.uk or call the box office on 0191 455 1234.

Preview: Doing It for the House at Customs House

Everyone’s favourite duo are back together!

Doing It for the House

South Shields Customs House

Thursday 4^th June 2015

Ray Spencer and Bob Stott will be joined on stage by a whole host of friends to raise cash for The Customs House Trust this week.

The pair, who delighted panto fans for almost 40 years, will perform this hilarious variety show for one day only at The Customs House in Mill Dam, South Shields.

Customs House Executive Director Ray Spencer, MBE, said: “I can’t wait to be back on stage with Bob. We did panto together for 37 years and had such a laugh. Bob is the quickest and sharpest ad-libber I know. This show is going to be packed with laughs, fun and a few surprises. We’ll be back together for just one day so make sure you grab your tickets now.”

The show called Doing It for the House is on at The Customs House on Thursday, June 4 at 2.30pm and 7.45pm and will raise funds for The Customs House Trust which provides art and cultural activities for the people of South Tyneside.

The pair are known to thousands as the loveable panto mother and son duo Dame Dotty and Tommy.

Bob and Ray began their partnership at The Westovians at the Pier Pavilion Theatre in South Shieldsin 1975 and became Dotty and Tommy when Ray began writing summer Tommy the Trumpeter pantomimes in 1990. Bob hung up his panto wig and frock two years ago following a record-breaking Dick Whittington show.

Bob added: “I’m looking forward to being back on The Customs House stage. Doing It for the House promises to be lots of Ray and Bob fun and silliness.”

Tickets for Ray & Bob & Friends are £15, £14 concessions and there is a meal deal available, grab your meal and the show all for £26.

Tickets are available from the box office on 0191 454 1234 or online at www.customshouse.co.uk. 

 

 Here is a link to the event page to the Simma gig at The Bridge Hotel in Newcastle