Stephen Dunstan, Author at Blackpool Social Club

03 Oct

Review – come to the Cabaret

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & Performance

Cabaret at the Winter Gardens promised an interesting night, with headline names in the leading roles and a contrast between the eponymous razzmatazz and some very dark themes. The result was both entertaining and thought provoking. Will Young was reprising his award winning performance as Emcee from previous runs of the show. He recently told the Evening Gazette the character was ‘a clown and a psychopath’. It’s easy to see what he meant, there’s a pierrot like appearance with the white face make up and a physical performance that at times borders on slapstick, but particularly in the second half…

27 Sep

Organist Wolfe Returns To Blackpool Roots

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsMusic & Gigs

World renowned resident organist of the Thursford collection, Robert Wolfe, will be playing at Blackpool Opera House on it's historic Mighty Wurlitzer on Wednesday 8th of November. Wolfe is recognised as one of the world’s leading interpreters of the theatre organ. Acclaimed for his sheer artistry, renowned for his musicality and showmanship, he is one of Britain's top organists. At just sixteen, he became the youngest musician at that time to join the team of organists at the world famous Tower Ballroom. His passion for theatre organ music had also started here in a family summer holiday to the resort. He released…

25 Sep

Trip The Light Fantastic At Half Term

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & Performance

The Lightpool Festival is now a firm fixture in the Blackpool October half term family activities. With just a month to go the final line up and timings has been confirmed. On all three nights, visitors will be able to watch Spark! by Worldbeaters Music - a unique and thrilling show that combines high-impact drumming, superb choreography and stunning lighting design. This year they are collaborating with puppet company DUNDU. On the Wednesday night they will be followed by dance re-mix artist AFISHAL, with his dance re-mixes being performed on a visual DJ-rig in front of the Tower. The Thursday…

13 Sep

Jill’s Road Trip Results

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsLocal News

I have been privileged to do the previous AltBlackpool pieces on Jill Reidy's 'Seaside Towns Out Of Season' project. I interviewed her in February as part of the launch of the crowdfunding to get the road trip off the ground, and last month I wrote a piece inviting applications to the curator post for the exhibition of the results. These can be seen from the end of the month at Blackpool's Abingdon Studios. Jayne Simpson, who was appointed to the curatorial role, comments: "Jill led us through her own physical and emotional landscape, through image making, blog writing and a…

07 Sep

Cilla Cast Confirmed

Stephen Dunstan1 CommentMusic & Gigs, Theatre, Dance & Performance

Cilla The Musical arrives in Blackpool next month, and full cast details have now been confirmed. Bill Kenwright’s new musical features: Andrew Lancel (Brian Epstein); Carl Au (Bobby); Amy Bridges (Rose Willis); Gemma Brodrick-Bower (Pauline); Paul Broughton (John White); Bill Caple (Ringo Starr); Tom Christian (Kenny Willis); Tom Dunlea (Hutch); Pauline Fleming (Big Cilla); Joshua Gannon (Paul McCartney); Billie Hardy (Pat); and Michael Hawkins (John Lennon). The musical reunites Tom Dunlea, Michael Hawkins and Gemma Brodrick-Bower, all of whom starred in Jeff Pope’s original ITV mini-series Cilla, on which the musical is based. It also reunites Andrew Lancel with the…

30 Aug

Forties To Noughties – Now A Club

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsLocal News

If you are from the North Shore area chances are you are familiar with Forties To Noughties. A popular vintage clothes shop on Dickson Road to start with, a cafe was added just down the road. Now the entrepreneurial spirit has seen Bev and colleagues open a club which launched last week and altBlackpool were there. Unlike the other establishments it's not on Dickson Road itself so you need to know how to find it. It's slightly further inland at number 1 Cross Street, off High Street. It's an old venue which had been out of action for a decade…

23 Aug

Have A Whale Of A Time

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsLocal News

Yesterday the Sky Ocean Rescue plastic whale was a striking sight on Blackpool Promenade, one of ten dates in a nation tour. But why was this ten metre whale made from plastic bags, bottles and straw on show. More than 8 million tonnes of plastic pollute the world’s oceans every year. If nothing changes, by 2050 the plastic in the sea could weigh more than all the fish. The plastic whale is made from the same amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean every second, and is travelling across the UK to bring this huge problem to life and…

22 Aug

Review – Sister Act

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & Performance

There have been some top musical versions of hit films at the Winter Gardens recently. Latest in the series was the Craig Revel Horwood directed Sister Act. With Alexandra Burke in the leading role it promised much, and when she was on stage it certainly delivered. Before the action proper got underway there was a recorded message from Mr Horwood himself. The first thing that struck me was how good the sound was. As the night went on it was clear that it was better than at, for instance, Dirty Dancing and Ghost performances here last year. And when a…

22 Aug

Get Some Head-Space At Bootleg Social

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsMusic & Gigs

There is a unique opportunity to see the start of a US rock group’s UK tour without leaving Blackpool this autumn. Atlanta based group The Head start a thirteen venue run spanning England, Scotland and Wales at our very own Bootleg Social on 2 November. The Head are launching their new album Space and on the tour will be majoring on tracks from this album. They cite several English musical influences including The Stone Roses, Spiritualized, The Verve, Ride and Echo and The Bunnymen. Over the years they have supported groups including Primal Scream. The Head comprises brothers Mike Shaw…

18 Aug

Grand Season Launch Is Red Hot

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & Performance

As we waited in Matcham Court to enter The Grand's season launch event we were entertained by a fire thrower and some footballers. And it's fair to say that the theatre has scored with a red hot programme in the coming months. In terms of the event itself guests were treated to three a cappella songs from the cast of Walk Like A Man, currently enjoying an extended summer run at The Grand. Chair of one of The Grand's management charities Tony Stone set the scene and explained the ongoing challenges operating a smaller theatre in an austere environment. Ruth…