REVIEW: Snow White 2 at Newcastle Stand Comedy Club

Disclosure: Unlike other shows – we had to buy tickets and even paid for the programme. We even paid a booking fee! I know…it does happen sometimes. LOL!

Snow White 2: Appley Ever After

Newcastle Stand Comedy Club

Until 30^th December 2018

Family entertainment for £5 a head in that difficult time between Christmas and New Year…we needed to check it out.  Bearing in mind that the theatre around the corner charges over 8 times that figure for it’s best seats, what was the show going to be like?

2018 began with a review of Lee Kyle and Sammy Dobson on a cold, wet night in Newcastle. There is some lovely symmetry in that we finish the year with these very funny people in a packed Stand Comedy Club.

This is not Snow White though… this is the sequel. Prince Charming has done one…ran off with a lover called Steve.  Snow White (Hannah Walker) has her riches and loves shopping but she wants to meet Mr Right. Muddles (Lee Kyle) is still a friend, though he has become obsessive bordering on stalking. Snow White’s best mate is Dame Frankie (Sammy Dobson)  whom she can confide with.

Along comes a new suitor – the Handsome Prince Hal (Hal Branson) whose only friend appears to be a vacuum cleaner. This is 2018 so they are matched on a dating site.

But hang on – this is panto and panto needs a baddie… Well the evil Queen was dispatched to be in a mirror for all eternity and so she remains. Katherine Tanney is the plotting evil Queen in the mirror (on a large TV next to the stage).

The TV comes in handy too when Snowy needs to make video calls to the 7 dwarfs who are on a stag do in Blackpool – or deal with an evil computer voiced by Britain’s Got Talent winner Lee Ridley.

Cheap pantos don’t have special effects, but they don’t need them. Panto is about people interacting. We have a group of people most of whom do stand up on a regular basis and hence know how to entertain and to tell a joke. As an ensemble they work too. Whereas a lot of pantos involve a group of people who had never met before the press photo call (like on The Chase), this is a group of people who know each other well (like the contestants on the Eggchasers). The cast credit themselves as producing a script and it works well.  The interactions between cast members is natural (or as natural as 4 comics can be at 1 in the afternoon).

The show clearly got the audience going. One young person was starting early in life with numerous heckles throughout the show, especially when the evil Queen appeared on screen to insult the audience.

A number of standard panto elements are there, including the take off scene which had the kids screaming ‘it’s behind you!’  Apart from a brief few seconds of Baby Shark, all of the songs have had lyrics written by Lee Kyle. In this aspect the production has overlap with the format of a musical as the lyrics support the exposition. Unlike in most pantos when some recent songs are belted out to give the star on the poster the solo spot demanded in their contract (or so I assume).

So onto the panto checklist: was it funny? Yes – we had plenty of laughs. Did the kids enjoy it? – given the noise they were making, indeed they did. Did the adults laugh at jokes the kids didn’t get? That happened throughout the show, though the innuendo was thankfully fairly limited. Did they attempt to tell a story? Yes they did. Did time fly by? Indeed it did – though for those paying for parking it is worth noting it finished at 3:20 not 2:45. Recommended? Absolutely!

Review by Stephen Oliver

Tickets:

Snow White 2: Appley Ever After

Venue: The Stand Comedy Club, High Bridge, Newcastle NE1 1EW

Dates: 17^th – 23^rd / 27^th – 30^th December
Ages: 5+

Times and ticket links:

28 Dec 1pm 

29 Dec 1pm 

30 Dec 1pm

Cost: £5

Website: http://snowwhite2.co.uk/

Lee Kyle has a monthly children’s show at the Stand and is on tour again in 2019 See: http://www.imleekyle.com/2019tour. He kept mentioning it during the show so we thought we’d repeat it here.

Preview: Rock Of Ages at Sunderland Empire

 ROCK OF AGES – Casting Annoucement

KEVIN KENNEDY TO PLAY ‘DENNIS’,

ZOE BIRKETT ‘JUSTICE’,

JODIE STEELE ‘SHERRIE’,

LUKE WALSH ‘DREW’,

LUCAS RUSH ‘LONNY’,

ANDREW CARTHY ‘FRANZ’

VAS CONSTANTI ‘HERTZ’

AND RHIANNON CHESTERMAN ‘REGINA’

Rock Of Ages

Sunderland Empire

Tuesday 23^rd  – Saturday 27^th July 2019

Dan Looney, Adam Paulden, Jason Haigh-Ellery and Selladoor Worldwide are delighted to announce further dates for the UK tour of the award-winning smash-hit musical Rock Of Ages at Sunderland Empire Tuesday 23^rd  – Saturday 27^th July 2019.

Kevin Kennedy will play ‘Dennis’, North East’s Zoe Birkett ‘Justice’, Jodie Steele ‘Sherrie’, Luke Walsh ‘Drew’, Lucas Rush ‘Lonny’, Andrew Carthy ‘Franz’, Vas Constanti ‘Hertz’ and Rhiannon Chesterman ‘Regina’. Further casing to be announced soon.

“ROCK OF AGES” is an LA love story lavished with over 25 classic rock anthems. Lose yourself in a city and a time where the dreams are as big as the hair, and yes, they can come true!

This hilarious musical comedy features the songs, including We Built This City, The Final Countdown, Here I Go Again, Can’t Fight this Feeling and I Want To Know What Love Is, played loud and proud by an awesome live band.

WARNING: CONTAINS SERIOUS ROCK ‘N’ ROLL DEBAUCHERY!

Kevin Kennedy is probably best known for his portrayal of ‘Curly Watts’ in “Coronation Street”. His West End theatre credits include ‘Amos’ in “Chicago” at the Adelphi Theatre and “We Will Rock You” at the Dominion Theatre. Kevin has played both ‘Caractacus Potts’ and ‘The Child Catcher’ in the hit musical “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, becoming the first actor to have played both roles. He has also appeared in the national tours of the musicals “The Rocky Horror Show”, “The Commitments” and most recently Kay Mellor’s “Fat Friends”.

North East’s Zoe Birkett is probably best known as the highest placing female contestant in ITV’s Pop Idol, 2002. She most recently appeared as ‘Rachel Marron’ in the UK tour of the “The Bodyguard The Musical”. She has also appeared in the West End productions of “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” and originated the female lead in “Thriller Live”. Her other theatre credits include the ‘Acid Queen’ in “Tommy” and ‘Maureen’ in “Rent”. She can currently be seen in Channel 5’s “Get a Holiday Body”.

Jodie Steele has appeared in the UK and International tour of “Wicked”, “War of the Worlds” in the West End at the Dominion Theatre, “Heathers the Musical” and “Myth”, both at The Other Palace, “Legally Blonde” at Kilworth House and the national tours of “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Fame”.

Luke Walsh has appeared in many shows including “Boybands Forever” in Germany and ‘Caesar’ in “Antony and Cleopatra”, ‘Billy’ in “The Rabbit King” and “Smorgasbard”, all at Another Way Theatre. He has also appeared in the independent film “Don’t Let Go”.

Lucas Rush appeared as ‘St Jimmy’ in “American Idiot”, both in the West End and on tour. For this role he received a WhatsOnStage Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical. His West End credits include ‘Roger’ in “Grease” at the Piccadilly Theatre and “We Will Rock You” at the Dominion Theatre. He has also appeared in the World Arena Tour of “Jesus Christ Superstar”, ‘Joe Vegas’ in the national tour of “Fame” and most recently the national tour of “Thoroughly Modern Mille”.

Andrew Carthy has appeared in the West End productions of both “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Loserville”. His other credits include “Guys and Dolls” at Kilworth House, the UK tour of “The Wedding Singer” and “Wicked” in Germany.

Vas Constanti’s many West End credits include “In the Heights” at King’s Cross Theatre, “Miss Saigon” at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and ‘Riff Raff’ in “The Rocky Horror Show” at the Duke of York’s Theatre. He has also appeared in the national tours of “Oklahoma!” and “Flashdance – The Musical”.

Rhiannon Chesterman was in the original cast of the musical “Mrs Henderson Presents” at the Theatre Royal Bath and then the Noel Coward theatre in the West End. Rhiannon has also appeared in the UK tours of “Grease” and “Hairspray”.

Now a global smash with extensive runs in London’s West End, on Broadway and in Las Vegas, the show has also been made in to a star studded Hollywood movie.

“ROCK OF AGES” has a book by Chris D’Arienzo and Arrangements and Orchestrations by Ethan Popp. It is directed and choreographed by Nick Winston (“The Royal Variety Performance”, “Annie” and “The Wedding Singer”) designed by Morgan Large (“The Woman in White”, “Top Hat” and “The Christmasaurus”) and has lighting design by Ben Cracknell (“Young Frankenstein”, “Sunset Boulevard” and “Annie”). Sound design is by Ben Harrison (“Hairspray”, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and Million Dollar Quartet”) and musical supervision is by Barney Ashworth (“Sunny Afternoon”, “Grease” and “Mrs Henderson Presents”).

Tickets:

Tickets available online from our Affiliate ATG Tickets Link: http://bit.ly/RockOfAgesSund #Ad

* Booking and transaction fees may apply.

Preview: Stewart Francis - Into The Punset at Whitley Bay Playhouse

Live Nation proudly presents

Stewart Francis - Into The Punset

Whitley Bay Playhouse

Sunday 2^nd June 2019

The star of 'Mock the Week', 'Live at the Apollo' and 'Crackerjack' embarks on a brand-new show, in this, his last tour EVER!!! See him before he heads off... INTO THE PUNSET.

“One of the funniest comedians in the world.”

Craig Ferguson, CBS' Late Late Show.

Tickets cost £21 & are available now.

Tickets can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/SFIntoThePuns #Ad

Preview: Blue Planet II at Newcastle Arena

TAKE A DEEP BREATH

FKP Scorpio Concerts and BBC Studios present:

Blue Planet II *LIVE IN CONCERT*

Newcastle Metro Radio Arena

Wednesday 20^th March 2019

FEATURING FILM SEQUENCES FROM THE BAFTA AWARD WINNING BBC ONE TV SERIES

AND

 MUSIC BY HANS ZIMMER, JACOB SHEA AND DAVID FLEMING FOR BLEEDING FINGERS MUSIC

FULL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCE

Following the incredible success of the BAFTA award-winning BBC One television series Blue Planet II, presented by Sir David Attenborough, BBC Studios, and FKP Scorpio are proud to present a 13 date UK live tour, which will bring the wonders and mysteries of the planet’s oceans and wildlife to the UK arena stage.

Blue Planet II – Live In Concert – will present a selection of stunning visuals from the television series, highlighting the incredible natural wonders of our blue planet in breath-taking detail, projected on a state of the art 200 square metre 4K Ultra HD LED screen. Accompanied by the original immersive music score by Bleeding Fingers Music, the concert will be performed live by a full symphony orchestra.

A fantastical journey from icy polar seas to pulsating coral reefs, from the luminous deep sea to enormous kelp forests: immerse yourself with Blue Planet II – Live In Concert, a simply breath-taking and epic show that you will never forget.

The UK arena tour is a live adaptation of a television story that began some 20 years ago when a team of wildlife filmmakers from the BBC’s Natural History Unit set out to make a television series on the world’s oceans, the breadth and scale of which had never been seen before. Broadcast in 2001, the multi award-winning The Blue Planet, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, cemented the Unit’s peerless reputation for underwater filming.

Now, a generation later, the Natural History Unit has once again dived deep into the blue underworld, providing the audience with a completely new perspective on our oceans, coasts and coral ecosystems - full of mystery, surprise, and startling revelations. With the help of groundbreaking advancements in research and technology, the BBC One landmark series has not only presented the viewer with spectacular images but the public reaction to the series has raised awareness of how fragile our planet and environment has become from plastic contaminants and demonstrated the power of television to make an impact on society. The live concert adaptation is an extension of that striking visual and environmental narrative.

During the four-year filming of Blue Planet II, the teams embarked on 125 expeditions, travelled to 39 countries, filmed on all continents and in every ocean. They spent 6,000 hours deep-sea diving, 1,000 of which were on underwater boats. Logistically, some of these expeditions could be compared to a trip into space – such was the effort. In the process, the camera teams encountered creatures that appeared so strange that they really did seem to come from a different planet.

Revolutionary technology provided insights that the makers of the original series could never have imagined. With the help of endoscopic, low-light, towed and suction cameras, as well as diving robots and the latest underwater equipment, the camera teams ventured into the sea for longer and much deeper than ever before. This allowed them not only to enter new (underwater) worlds but also to discover new species and observe the previously unknown behaviour of the seas’ inhabitants.

Mat Way, Global Director, Live Entertainment at BBC Studios adds, ‘We are delighted to partner with FKP Scorpio for Blue Planet II Live in Concert. It is an incredible concept bringing the BBC’s groundbreaking footage from a BAFTA award-winning series to the UK arena stage for fans to enjoy.

Tickets are available online from our affiliate Ticketmaster UK: http://bit.ly/BLUEPlanetII #Ad

·        Group Bookers should call (0191) 260 6006

·        Accessible Bookings should call 0333 344 6250 for further details

Preview: South Tyneside Comedy Festival at South Shields Customs House

SOUTH TYNESIDE COMEDY FESTIVAL 2019

The South Tyneside Comedy Festival is returning to The Customs House for a massive fourth year – and the first show is already selling fast.

Jason Cook

Festival director Jason Cook will join Carl Hutchinson for a ‘free-wheeling evening of comedy chaos, totally unplanned and totally unscripted’ on Saturday 13 July. The pair are also promising a fair bit of Hebburn/Jarrow rivalry in Cook and Hutchinson Have Literally No Plans Whatsoever.

Cook’s previous unscripted shows with South Shields comedians Chris Ramsey and Sarah Millican and last year’s South Tyneside Comedy Festival headliner, Johnny Vegas, have gone down an absolute storm in the past.  Cook and Hutchinson’s show is the first to go on sale, with the full programme for the South Tyneside Comedy Festival 2019, which runs throughout July and August, still taking shape.

Carl Hutchinson

Cook said: “I can't wait for people to see who we've booked for the South Tyneside Comedy Festival 2019. Every year has gotten better and better, with bigger and bigger names coming to see what a perfect venue we have in The Customs House.  It's now become part of the comedy calendar and I'm getting inundated with requests to join us, although I only pick the very best - we don't just let anyone do our gig!”

Hebburn-born Cook’s career in stand-up started in 2005 and he is now a highly sought-after comedian and writer, whose television credits include Hebburn, Murder on the Blackpool Express and most recently, Death on the Tyne.  He is a Fellow of The Customs House Academy and brings Jason Cook’s Comedy Club to The Customs House every month, the popularity of which led to the launch of the South Tyneside Comedy Festival in 2016.

Hutchinson, from Jarrow, has been crowned the Magners Pub Comedian of the Year and the winner of the Beat the Frog World Series competition. He also reached the final of the annual stand-up competition for new acts, So You Think You’re Funny? in 2007.  His debut Edinburgh Fringe Festival show, Acceptable? made the Top 10 shows of the Amused Moose Laughter Awards 2012 and in 2010, he starred in ITV’s FHM Comedy Hero and was part of Just the Tonic’s Big Value Edinburgh Showcase in 2011.

Over the last two years, Carl has appeared on Stand Up Central, supported sell out tours with WWE Legend Mick Foley on his UK tour and Chris Ramsey on his tours The Most Dangerous Man on Saturday Morning Television and most recently, Chris Ramsey Live 2018: The Just Happy To Get Out of the House Tour. 

Tickets for Cook and Hutchinson Have Literally No Plans Whatsoever are priced from £10 and available from the box office on (0191) 454 1234 or online at www.customshouse.co.uk. The recommended age is 16-plus.

2018 …and all that jazz

2018 …and all that jazz

418 posts so far this year…making the North East Theatre Guide the busiest forum solely dedicated to theatre just in our region. It has been a fun year. Some of the best shows we have seen have literally involved one person in a small room, others have been massive spectacular events. We are lucky to have such a wide range of venues capable of handling very small fringe events up to full scale productions direct from the West End. In the background, funding/income continues to be a major issue for everyone: venues, production companies and the audience. Having said that, the people of the North East love the escapism of a good show.

January…

We started the year whilst completing our panto marathon. We still had shows to see as some opened in January. This also gave us a chance to pay our first visit to the Boulevard in Newcastle to see an adults-only reboot of the Tom Whalley’s Aladdin. Funnily enough we also saw the normal version at the Westovians too. It was strange seeing a panto, that we’d seen in Gateshead the previous year, softened up for a younger audience at one venue and made as you as you can go at the other on 2 consecutive days.

We love our comedy and January was our first review of Lee Kyle’s tour. You’d imagine that comics are all living the lifestyle of a Peter Kay or a Michael McIntyre – the truth is far removed from that as people like Lee work extremely hard to earn a living. Lee would set up the Working Class Fringe website for the Edinburgh Festival in order to highlight the many shows that are not created thanks to the deep pockets of rich sponsors or parents.

The month finished with opera in the form of Ellen Kent’s La Traviata. We had the opportunity to discuss the issues of creating large scale shows with Ellen on the evening. Memorably the conversation turned to difficult shows to produce in the politically correct 2018. King and I was mentioned and, that too will be appearing in the region in 2019 when it comes to the Sunderland Empire.

February…

The North East Theatre Guide has covered lots of children’s shows this year. Puddle’s Adventure featured one of our panto heroes, David Jon Hopper.  He does a brilliant job keeping the kids entertained and the reaction from the audience is a delight to watch.

Showstopper is an improvised musical that has no script or music before the suggestions fly in from the audience. It is returning to the Northern Stage in 2019 and even if you saw it in 2018, you’re guaranteed a different show next time you see it. Comedy also continued in February with the huge Sunday For Sammy event at the Arena. A cacophony of talent from the region put on the stage for a good cause. The charity helps fund a number of projects that we have seen during the year.

2018 was a great year for Northern Stage. A steady flow of wonderful shows ensured the venue was punching above its weight. Hamlet, from the Royal Shakespeare Company was the first of the big productions that we saw there. The use of one of the medium sized venues in the city may have raised a few eyebrows but the venue showed it can be as a great place for theatre as some of its more historic neighbours.

March…

We paid another visit to the newly refurbished Darlington Hippodrome in March to see one of our favourites The Play That Goes Wrong. I’m losing count now of how many times we have seen it, yet we’d happily see it again. We also had a trip to London around this time and clocked another show by the same company. The Comedy About A Bank Robbery is a wonderful farce and it comes to the Theatre Royal in January.

Another show we saw for a second time was Pete Peverley’s Bobby Thompson Story at the Theatre Royal. A one man show that kept the audience in the palm of his hand. It is one of a number of shows that keeps the memory of North East legends going.

The Northern Stage had another big blockbuster when Sting’s The Last Ship sailed in. The venue is not known for its musicals but this production showed how adaptable the space can be. In the same way The Bobby Thompson Story recognised an individual from our region, the Last Ship celebrated both an industry long gone and the spirit of the North East. I will remember the press night as we literally bumped into Sting.

We got to see Suggs twice this year. In December, he appeared with Madness at the Arena, but in March he appeared in a solo show at the Tyne Theatre. A show telling his own story with a few songs chucked in for good measure, it was one of the many one night shows at the Tyne. They attract a strong line up of comics, and March included Dave Spikey. There is always a rich variety at the venue and 2019 is already shaping up to be another successful year.

April…

I have to confess…we didn’t see as much dance as we had in previous years. Nothing deliberate on our part, it was just the way the diary filled up. Having said that, we still got a chance to see some ballet. Coppélia filled the Sunderland Empire with its large orchestra and the talented ensemble from the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Another form of culture that we normally see much more of are spoken word shows. For some reason it has been a funny old year. April did see us head to Stockton to see the door-to-door poet Rowan McCabe’s show about creating poetry for random strangers around the region. Joanne was so motivated by the show that she wrote the review in verse.

We’ve already mentioned that it was financially a tough year for everyone. This was reflected in the case of Thoroughly Modern Millie.  Whilst it received good notices, this wasn’t translated into ticket sales. So, whilst we got to enjoy it at the Sunderland Empire, the tour was cancelled before it rolled into Darlington. Fortunately, other musicals such as Legally Blonde had more success.

We are not known for our amateur musical reviews but occasionally we take a gamble that a show will have professional values. One such company is the Darlington Operatic Society. Their interpretation of Priscilla Queen of the Desert was as good as the last professional  tour that we saw.

Live Theatre continues to support new writing and one of their highlights was in April/May with My Romantic History. It was a well observed adult comedy.

May…

The day job hits its peak, work wise, during May to July. The Theatre Guide, at times, goes on life support with just the odd excursion out, as the bills need paying. As I write this on Christmas Eve, a contract for work next June has literally just landed on the door mat this morning – joy!

May was a historic month for the region’s premiere fringe venue. Alphabetti hosted its first musical. The Last Five Years was not your usual sort of musical and it fitted in well with Alphabetti’s brief for doing things differently. This was an opera for the Tinder generation. 

Lightning would strike a second time at the St James Boulevard venue as Tom and Bunny Save The World would be the first time Fat Rascal Theatre swept us off our feet with their mix of fun and inventive musicals. In August we would catch Vulvarine The Musical in Leeds en route to the Edinburgh Fringe. It is probably the best show to miss the North East and it is a massive shame that the 2019 tour also misses the region out. If they get around to producing a cast recording then we’d be buying it too.

Perhaps the close proximity of Alphabetti ensured a number of visits during this busy time. Suffragette celebrated the 100^th anniversary of some women getting the vote. It was an interesting mix of new and old writing.

Don’t work with children, they say. Not a problem if you consider the cast of Matilda at the Sunderland Empire. It was wonderful to finally catch up with this show that had done so well in the west end.

Across in Newcastle, one of the press pack witnessing the latest production of Evita at the Theatre Royal suggested it was the best one that they’d seen. Certainly the power and pose of Madalena Alberto during the big hit Don’t Cry For Me Argentina was memorable.

With both the audience and actors on the large main stage, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune was classic Northern Stage. This live production was much better than the Hollywood film.

June…

Two trips to the Tyne Theatre were the highlight of the busy month of June. Two very different events kept us entertained. Jason Cook’s Comedy Club included our long time favourite Gavin Webster in support of Andy Parsons. The evening reinforced our opinion the comedy is much better in a high quality space like the Tyne Theatre rather than on tv.

A very different event at the Tyne was Cirque Berserk. The room stank of petrol from the matinee as you entered. The big question was – how do you do motorcycle stunts on a theatre stage? With skill was the answer as the audience was encouraged to get their phones out. I can still smell that petrol.

July…

We love computer games. We love Shakespeare. Obviously Super Hamlet 64 was written with us in mind. Wee man agreed that it was better than a night on his games console.

David John Hopper was successfully entertaining the kids again at the Customs House with Dale Jewitt, in Arbuthnot and Puddles’ Pirate Adventure.  Our travels took us, as we’ve already mentioned, to Leeds and then to Bolton to see another South Shields based entertainer Stephen Sullivan playing Fleshcreep again in another production of Jack And The Beanstalk. It was a surprise to have our wedding anniversary mentioned by the dame. You could tell who the “Geordies” were as we left the Albert Halls: it was raining and whilst everyone else hesitated to step outside – the 3 of us confidently strode out. It was only summer rain after all.

August…

We managed a trip to Edinburgh in August. Lee Kyle was packing them in at 10:20 am; Simon Jay was causing a riot in Trumpageddon and Janey Godley was straight talking in her popular show.  You go to Edinburgh for that unexpected unplanned treat and for us it was Alex McSherry’s one man theatrical performance in The Tanner.

The Customs House prides itself with shows of a local nature and it created a corker in 2018 with its reboot of When The Boat Comes In. A cast of local talent was headed by the talented Jamie Brown as Jack Ford. The plans are to keep going with the tale and do sequels – lets hope they retain the features that made this show work so well.

You really look forward to some musicals, like Matilda. Others, especially with new writing, come with no preconceived notion before attending press nights. Other shows worry the reviewer ahead of press night. A feeling that they could really mess it up – that a musical may not be the best format for the story. Anyhow, Madagascar was a pleasant surprise. It was family entertainment that didn’t disappoint.

September…

The back end of 2018 had a number of great major shows at the Sunderland Empire. Big productions that took full advantage of the generous proportions of the Empire stage. The venue lived up to its handle of the “West End In The North East”. Wicked is a popular show with younger musical fans. I had previously taken a bus load of teens to London and they all loved it. The adults in the group had their reservations. The show that arrived in Sunderland had undergone some revisions and they made for a much slicker production. Gone were the elements of the story that had caused issues for me and I really enjoyed this version.

October…

October began with ballet and comedy in the form of The Trocks at the Theatre Royal. It was a show that shows how precise good comedy has to be.

Comedy continued at The Tyne Theatre with Sarah Millican. We have watched her grow into a household name over the years. This show really worked well. No wonder she sells out multiple nights.

A highlight for the North East Theatre Guide? Probably getting quoted by Adrian Edmondson on television when he appeared in Vulcan 7 at the Theatre Royal with Nigel Planer. “The funny version of Waiting For Godot for Generation X” indeed.

Elvis met Evil Dead 2 in The Elvis Dead at Northern Stage.  A parody about a parody? It worked and did brisk business on Stage 3. In total contrast, the same venue had a poignant show on about the final evening of Martin Luther King. The Mountaintop falls in that category of shows that make you ponder long and hard on the way home.

October finished on a high with Miss Saigon. We had said Wicked was the best musical we had seen up to that point and then Sunderland Empire plays its trump card and puts on a superb show that is Cameron Mackintosh’s spectacular production. 

November…

Before the Panto season started we had a number of notable shows to enjoy. This included the other notable am-dram musical of note this year: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Tyne Theatre. It was really entertaining.

Putting its audience on an emotional rollercoaster was the powerful Open Clasp production of don’t forget the birds. Rather than using actors, the actual people in the story played themselves in the show. Just like 2017’s Rattle Snake, we were really moved by the performance.

December…

Panto season. Oh yes, it is! Between the pantos, though, are some straight theatre shows: Christmas Carol is another classic Northern Stage family show. It may not follow the panto format but it knows how to entertain the family. As the Muppets proved: Charles Dickens know how to put together a story that is as relevant today as it was then.

We also had shows about Christmas. Christmas Crackers at Live Theatre and Christmas Cabaret at Alphabetti both had an ability to point the mirror back at the audience and ask what it is all about.

So, which panto floated our boat the best this season?  The big shows delivered: Goldilocks has shown there is life in the Danny and Clive show and Louie Spence is making Darlington laugh in Aladdin. The Sunderland Empire has delivered the best panto that has appeared on Wearside for a number of years with Peter Pan – it is a real cracker.

The ‘smaller’ shows are just as entertaining and have just as many laughs. Durham Gala’s Snow White is very well written. In Westerhope, Aladdin was making the audiences very happy too.

The Tyne Theatre’s Cinderella has a great mix of higher production values, plenty of laughs and good value for money. They’ve really hit the spot this year. Charlie Richmond is one of our panto heroes.

What will 2019 bring?

Stephen Oliver