Stephanie Cottle

Danny Robins’ critically acclaimed play gripped audiences at The Grand Theatre on the 23rd of April. Stephanie Cottle survived the evening to tell BSC the tale. 2:22 has been creeping into theatres around the UK after a hugely successful West End debut in 2021. Since its positive reception the play has cast well-known names as lead female, including Lily Allen and Cheryl Cole, but on opening evening in Blackpool Fiona Wade (Priya Sharma, Eastenders) who was due to appear in the role was unable to do so due to illness. On this occasion the curtain rose to mum Jenny (company…

Adam Rowe paid a visit to The Grand Theatre on the 12th of April with his stand up show, What’s Wrong With Me? Stephanie Cottle pulls no punches in answering the show's central question for him. Waiting for the Have a Word podcast host to begin this show, a man and his son stood in the queue for the bar. They chatted excitedly about what to expect from the performance and the young man asked his dad, “How long is it?’. The father responded by saying, “About that long'' and winked. He motioned his head subtly towards his fingers, which…

Old friends reminiscing, a couple embarking on a raunchy rendezvous, criminals hatching a sinister plan – The Bench played host to all in Joe O’Byrne’s comedy of love, life and loss. In The Bench, the first installment in a series of interconnected plays, audiences are introduced to Paradise Heights, a run down estate in an unnamed town. Like most towns, the park provides a place for individuals from all walks of life to intersect and it is here that the play finds its backdrop. From one vantage point in particular – a bench next to a war memorial – audiences…

Polly Peachum (Lisa O’Reynolds-Reilly) wants to escape her gritty seaside hometown. Caught up like a fish in a net, her prominent family has kept her entangled in a life that she’s ready to leave behind. She believes that her recent marriage to Macheath (Liz Wilkinson) will finally set her free, but destiny has other plans for Polly. The Electric Sunshine Project’s latest production follows Polly’s predicament using dark comedy and high energy musical numbers. Tackling sociopolitical themes that resonate now more than ever, Dead Dog in a Suitcase is on this week and is a show not to be missed.…

They may be playing arch nemeses on stage but Liz Wilkinson and Ruth Collinge share a passion for community theatre. They chat about the Electric Sunshine project’s new production of Dead Dog in a Suitcase. Set in an unnamed seaside town where corruption is rife, few prosper and many scrape together what they can. Empty buildings, flickering neon signs, and shadowy alleyways provide a background for criminal activity to run rampant. Through the grime emerges protagonist Macheath (Liz Wilkinson), a contract killer and professional opportunist, and Colin Locket (Ruth Collinge) – the corrupt police chief driven by revenge to foil…

I’m watching a conversation between Carl Grose and the theatre company the Electric Sunshine Project. They’re getting to know the man responsible for their upcoming, absurdly titled production. “Every theatre marketing department across the UK screamed in horror. Apparently you can’t have dead animals in titles. They don’t sell tickets,” chuckles Grose who fought tooth and claw for the name to stick. Had marketing departments held as strong a presence in the 18th century as they do now, they would probably have said the same thing about the play from which Grose’s play draws inspiration. John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera…

An AK-47 is too big for Dritan to load conventionally. Assault rifles aren’t built with a nine-year-old user in mind. Forced to adapt to the dangerous conditions of his war torn country he teaches himself to ready the weapon with his feet. You learn to be flexible when you are continually faced with immovable objects. How Not to Drown co-written and starring Dritan Kastrati, follows the true story of his journey to the United Kingdom and gives harrowing insight to the experiences of a child seeking asylum. During the first 40 minutes of this play audiences see a young boy…