grand theatre Archives - Blackpool Social Club

30 Oct

Theatre Review: Blithe Spirit

Stephanie Cottle0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & PerformanceBlackpool, grand theatre, Noel Coward, play

Stephanie Cottle saw Blithe Spirit summoned onto The Grand Theatre’s stage, where Noel Coward’s mischievous 1941 comedy about life, death and love from beyond the grave charmed its opening night audience. Written in just five days during the Second World War, Blithe Spirit first appeared at a time when the country was in grief. To write a comedy about death during wartime was undeniably bold. Director Anthony Banks acknowledges the play’s origins in his programme note and I agree, it still gives the piece its power. Still, it has to be mentioned some of the gender politics are distinctly pre-war.…

17 Oct

Theatre Review: Noel and Gertie

Linda Hampton0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & PerformanceBlackpool, grand theatre, Noel Coward, review

Noel and Gertie explores the lifelong friendship between Noel Coward and actress Gertrude Laurence in music, song and storytelling, in this devised entertainment by Sheridan Morley. Through stellar performances from Gary Tushaw (Coward) and Rebecca Trehearne (Laurence), who keep the energy going throughout this two-hour show, we discover the close and special relationship between these two iconic performers. For those of us looking back at Coward’s professional persona and his huge body of work, it might be hard to imagine what the man himself was really like. This show opens a door and invites the audience to step inside his life…

11 Oct

Theatre Review: Wonder Boy

Louise Ashcroft0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & PerformanceBlackpool, grand theatre, review, Theatre

The award-winning Bristol Old Vic production of Wonder Boy started its UK tour in Blackpool this week at The Grand Theatre. A truly inclusive performance, it tells the story of a young boy attempting to overcome a stammer. At the start of Wonder Boy the audience is introduced to 12-year-old Sonny and his comic book hero companion, Captain Chatter. They communicate using BSL and expressive gestures, including some very wiggly eyebrows! We then see Sonny arrive at school and discover that he struggles to communicate with peers in real life, due to his stammer. The show is enhanced by the…

23 May

Theatre Review: Unfortunate – The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch

Louise Ashcroft0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & PerformanceBlackpool, grand theatre, review, Theatre

Have you ever wondered why Disney villains were so bad and what made them that way? Unfortunate lets us explore the origin story of the biggest baddy from Under the Sea. Unfortunate - The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch stars Shawna Hamic (Orange is the New Black, 1776 on Broadway) as ‘Ursula’ and River Medway (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK) as ‘Ariel’. The production is running until Saturday 25 May at Blackpool Grand Theatre. Are you someone who grew up with Disney princesses? Do you secretly still love singing along to 'Part of this World' but think you've maybe…

22 Feb

Theatre Review: Bouncers

David Simper0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & PerformanceBlackpool, blackpool arts scene, bouncers, grand theatre

David Simper gladly bussed it down to the Grand Theatre to see one of his favourite plays and was not disappointed at its latest reboot. I first saw Bouncers at college in 1983 and immediately recognised its brilliance. A play written by a working-class person (John Godber), about working-class people, living working-class lives. I saw it again at the Coventry Belgrade Theatre in the late '90s. At one stage the characters bemoan the amount they have spent on a night out – over the intervening period that sum had gone from £15 to £70. Here the show is set back…

04 May

Theatre Review: Pride and Prejudice (sort of)

David Simper0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & Performanceall female cast, Blackpool, Comedy, drama, grand theatre, play, pride and prejudice

There are a few more F bombs in this comedy musical version of the Jane Austen classic, says David Simper, but the core of the story remains. I read Pride and Prejudice some years ago and so was a little rusty on the phases of the plot. Recently I read Emma, a very different book, although with a somewhat similar ending, just to demonstrate my Austen-ista credentials. So I was fairly intrigued to see this production as I boarded my usual service 3 bus for the Grand Theatre. This was obviously a comedy musical take on a book that has…

03 Nov

Review: Sherlock Holmes and The Valley of Fear

David Simper0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & PerformanceBlackpool, blackpool arts scene, conan-doyle, grand theatre, play, sherlock holmes

Having recently read Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes mystery, The Sign of Four, I was keen to see this theatrical version of Sherlock Holmes and The Valley of Fear. The Grand wasn't the fullest I've seen on the first of this four-night run (until 5th Nov), but there were enough people for a good atmosphere and not such a long queue for the essential interval ice cream. This was a highly professional production with five fine actors covering a multitude of roles. It took little suspension of reality for Holmes to become a psychotic American gangster. The narrative, delivered mainly…

22 Apr

Review: Robert Icke’s Animal Farm – A Contemporary Ode to Orwell’s Legacy

Beth Barker0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & Performancegrand theatre, performance, puppets, review, Reviews, The Grand Theatre

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] My first experience of Robert Icke’s work came in 2014 when his Olivier-nominated adaptation of 1984 took centre stage at Blackpool’s Grand Theatre. Almost a decade on, I settled into my seat alongside my Dad to watch Icke take on Orwell again, this time bringing his earlier novel, Utopian classic Animal Farm, to life. As committed readers of Orwell and his seminal works, we waited with glee to discover how the revolutionary story would play out.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="34762" img_size="medium" add_caption="yes" alignment="center"][vc_empty_space height="45px"][/vc_column][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]The defining feature of this beguiling play is, of course, the puppetry. Some audience members may recognise…

28 Mar

Animal Farm at The Grand: Cutting edge puppetry heads to Blackpool

Catherine Mugonyi0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & Performancegrand theatre, performance, puppets, The Grand Theatre

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] A cleverly creative production of George Orwell’s Animal Farm brings the famous farmyard to life at Blackpool Grand Theatre from Tuesday 19 to Saturday 21 April with incredible contemporary puppetry from Toby Olié (whose credits include War Horse and Running Wild ). Toby joins a talented team of renowned theatre professionals who have expertly re-imagined Orwell’s world-famous fable of a revolution and its aftermath to breathe exciting new life into Napoleon, Snowball, Boxer and all the animals of Manor Farm. Mick Hunter caught up with him to find out more.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What are the challenges of this show? Every character apart…

29 Oct

Audio Show Guide Makes Grand Employee New ‘Voice’ of the Theatre

David Simper0 CommentsLocal News, Theatre, Dance & Performanceaudiobrochure, Blackpool, blackpoolgrandtheatre, brochure, grand theatre

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] For its current season, Blackpool Grand Theatre has launched a new audio guide boosting accessibility for visually impaired visitors. Packed with over fifty shows, the theatre and a previous employee, Anne-Marie Flood, who has recently launched a voice audio company, have produced this guide. Shows ranging from the Grand’s very own production Around the World in 80s Days, to A-list comedians Jason Manford and Alan Carr. For opera lovers Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Bizet’s Carmen return to Blackpool. The spectacular Russian State Ballet of Siberia, is a New Year staple offering. The guide is available on Sound Cloud Additionally,…