Peter Pan Goes Wrong at The Lowry

by Mischief Theatre Company

Reviewed by Paul Thompson December 2014

We're waiting for it to start. Sporting a crew t-shirt and headlamp, a backstage type shoots me eye contact and makes a beeline for my seat. I'm convinced I'm to be reprimanded for taking up too much space with my personal effects – but no. The young actor hired to play Michael Darling is unable to perform, and I'm invited to take the role. “It's just a few lines,” I'm reassured.

Have you guessed what's going on yet? If so, good for you. I fall for it hook, line and sinker. I politely decline on the rather flimsy basis that I'm here to review, implying that being a part of it would constitute a conflict of interests. The epiphany that I've been ensnared in pre-show ad-lib arrives later.

Twelve Nights or WTF? at Three Minute Theatre

By Manchester Shakespeare Company

Reviewed by Paul Thompson December 2014

Two characters are leafing through DVDs, deciding which movie to watch. “Ten Things I Hate About You,” suggests one of them.

“Nah”, dismisses the other. “It's based on Shakespeare. It's bound to be shit.”

And if the prolific, nodding-and-winking in-jokes of the night are plays by The Bard, that zinger is King Lear. It's a taste of the sort of snappy and uncomplicated gag on offer for anyone who, like me, has no idea what to expect from Twelve Nights (or WTF) – by Three Minute Theatre's in-house team Manchester Shakespeare Company. They've given birth to a knockabout latter-day spin on Twelfth Night (or What You Will) by Stratford-Upon-Avon's most famous offspring. A farcical, panto-flavoured spoof reimagines the tale in FUK – the former United Kingdom – where UKIP are all-powerful, and zero immigration prevails.

My Baby Girl

By Jane The Foole Theatre Company

Reviewed by Paul Thompson December 2014

It's always a pleasure to witness the spirit of new writing doffing its cap to the classics. Much of what the creative cubs are trying out on the boards owes a disproportionate debt to cinema – multiple locations, sub-plots; and snappy scenes bouncing through time like a pre-illness Stephen Hawking on a space hopper. All well and good if you have the luxury of an editing suite, but overwhelming for an auditorium burdened by transition overload.

John and Mark

By Northern Outlet Theatre Company

Reviewed by Paul Thompson November 2014

Tantrums and stonewalling have been a couple of responses to George Gunby's John And Mark on the other side of the M62 – and it is this that occupies my mind as I lounge amid the eclectic seating and woozy light of the basement space in Canal Street's Taurus Bar.

For over there – in the city where it all started – an argument goes something like this: Lennon assassin Mark Chapman wanted to steal his victim's fame; and any work of art that features the potty pistol wielder as a main character is pandering to that very desire for infamy. At a glance, it's a specious – even seductive – jerk of the knee; but it doesn't take much twisting of the lens to capture the immaturity and farce of this thought process.

Mojo by Jez Butterworth

By Inceptive Productions at Salford Arts Theatre

Reviewed by Paul Thompson November 2014

Come back with me, if you will, on a return journey through time – to a happier time. A simpler time: dodgy haircuts; raucous music; urban posturing; rebellious youth.

Yes, as long ago as 1995, Jerusalem scribe Jez Butterworth hit the scene with Mojo, an amphetamine-fuelled, cantering romp of a dark comedy about a paranoid power struggle in a locked-down Soho night club.

On the coat tails of last year's West End revival, newcomers Inceptive Productions now bring this unearthed jewel to Salford Arts Theatre – and a well-executed, fairground ride of energy it is too.

Iris produced by Manana Productions

Reviewed by Paul Thompson October 2014

Three Minute Theatre is the venue equivalent of the Stone Roses playing Fools Gold on Top Of The Pops in 1989 (ask your dad... or Youtube). Funky, stylish and unashamedly indie – the comparison only falls down due to the effortlessly friendly demeanour shooting from all directions. How many times did you go to the toilet at a theatre only to have your plans briefly scuppered by an apologetic member of the cast applying make up? To paraphrase Dorothy: “We're not at the Royal Exchange any more.”  And we're roughly twenty times happier for it.

JB Shorts 12 presented by Reallife Theatre Company

Reviewed by Paul Thompson October 2014

In the dingy, urban chic of a Princess Street hostelry, the polished diamond of Manchester's fringe theatre scene – JB Shorts – is back in its twelfth incarnation. Joshua Brooks gives up its basement to fire short, theatrical creations of TV writers like tennis balls from a machine at sell-out crowds.

The evening's first course is a serving of horror-themed farce, as Peter Kerry's Mr Normal sets up two couples of adjacent generation in lock down as zombies creep nearer. It's a 'what would you do if you had an hour to live' scenario, with a subtlety roughly akin to a hard kick in the groin. Once the twist is revealed, I'm not entirely sure whom I'm supposed to be rooting for. But maybe that's not the point.

Boy on a Bed at Lowry Studio

Written by Edwin Preece, Directed by Alastair Zyggu, Presented by Organised Chaos Productions

Reviewed by Yvonne Cawley May 2014

Boy on a Bed is the story of an unusual love triangle between characters with very different passions, unusual in the importance given to each of their personal passions, which are on the surface fairly unlikely bed fellows in some ways. Adam (Adam Carroll-Armstrong) is the central and pivotal character, very much the innocent abroad and naive to the driving force behind his hobby of running every day, sprinting through snow, heat, gales and rain.

Running, Adam gets soaked by a passing bus and Stella (Lily Shepherd), who is training to be an architect at the same college Adam is studying English Literature, kindly offers him a towel - and they are instantly attracted to each other.

The Events at Everyman Theatre

Reviewed by Jane Turner April 2014

It was good to be back inside the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool after two years of closure due to re-construction. The new theatre, workshop, bar and restaurant has a beautiful new façade and a light and spacious modern interior. It is not too different to be unfamiliar, with a similar layout that retains the intimate and atmospheric basement bistro that draws you in and envelops you in the hubbub of pre and post theatre gossip.

The balcony overlooking Hope Street is a creative addition to the old frontage and a good place to linger and get an appreciative eyeful of the magnificent and under-rated 'Paddy’s Wigwam'. The theatre itself is still snug and informal, but better lit and with seats that don’t make your bum ache after half an hour. My only complaint is the menu, limited and not a patch on the old one. Bring back the chicken curry and those delicious desserts please!