Theatres - 16/5/08

May 16 2008 by Michael Green, Flintshire Chronicle

STARTING NEXT WEEK

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (Pavilion Theatre, Rhyl, May 19-24)

THE classic Agatha Christie mystery gets the stage treatment from the renowned Agatha Christie Theatre Company with a cast of familiar faces including Gerald Harper, Denis Lill, Chloe Newsome, Peter Byrne and Mark Wynter. Visit www.rhylpavilion.co.uk. 01745 330000

COME ON, JEEVES (Lyceum Theatre, Heath Street, May 19-24)

VICTOR Spinetti and Anita Harris star in PG Wodehouse and Guy Bolton’s play based on Wodehouse’s much-loved creations of Jeeves and Wooster. While Bertie is out of town, Jeeves is ‘on loan’ to the Earl of Towcaster who has been losing heavily on the horses and needs the super butler’s help when he decides to become a ‘bookie’. Visit www.lyceumtheatre.net. 01270 537333

EUROBEAT – ALMOST EUROVISION (The Lowry, Salford Quays, May 19-24)

THE hilarious world of the Eurovision Song Contest is the setting for this new musical which stars Gareth Hale and Mel Giedroyc and even has the involvement of Mr Eurovision himself - Sir Terry Wogan. Needless to say, there will also be an endless stream of Eurovision ‘classics’. Visit www.thelowry.com. 0870 787 5793

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, May 20-24)

JOE McGann takes the lead role of Tevye, the man who dreams of riches, respect and a quiet family life. A rousing score of some of the best-loved songs in musical history is beautifully complemented by Jerome Robbins’ dramatic original choreography. Visit www.regenttheatre.co.uk. 0870 060 6649

ROCK – THE FAIRY GODFATHER OF HOLLYWOOD (Library Theatre, St Peter’s Square, Manchester, May 20-24)

ROCK Hudson was the biggest screen idol in 1950s LA – the ultimate Hollywood hunk. But his career was under threat from Confidential Magazine, every gay man’s nemesis, and only one man stood between stardom and oblivion. Tim Fountain’s play, geting its world premiere in Liverpool, is the story of unscrupulous agent Henry Wilson and his relationship with Hudson, from their first meeting to their break-up and Willson’s decline into self-destruction. Visit www.librarytheatre.com. 0161 236 7110

NOW SHOWING

THE GLASS MENAGERIE (Royal Exchange Theatre, St Ann’s Square, Manchester, April 9-May 24)

DOUBLE Oscar nominee, Golden Globe and BAFTA award-winning actress Brenda Blethyn star in one of the great roles in American drama. A poetic and soulful evocation of the pains of growing up in a material world, Tennessee Williams’ play is set in 1930s St Louis and drawn from the memories of narrator, Tom Wingfield. Tom’s mother, Amanda, was once the most popular girl in town with the pick of eligible bachelors – but she picked the wrong one. Now, years later, she is desperate for her grown up children to avoid her own mistakes. Visit www.royalexchange.co.uk. 0161 833 9833

GREAT EXPECTATIONS (New Vic Theatre, Etruria Road, Newcastle-under-Lyme, April 25-May 17)

CHARLES Dickens’ unforgettable novel is brought to the stage in a new adaptation by the New Vic’s artistic director Theresa Heskins. Orphaned Pip is a boy with few expectations until a terrifying encounter with an escaped convict eventually leads to a summons from the haunting Miss Haversham and an elevation in status courtesy of a mysterious benefactor. Visit www.newvictheatre.org.uk. 01782 717962

THE KIROV BALLET (The Lowry, Salford Quays, May 13-17)

ONE of the world’s great ballet companies, under the artistic direction of Valery Gergiev and ballet director Makhar Vaziev, will perform two full-length ballets - Balanchine’s shimmering Jewels and Don Quixote, one of the highlights of the classical canon, as well as a gala evening of balletic fireworks. Visit www.thelowry.com. 0870 787 5793

MACBETH (Anthony Hopkins Theatre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, May 1-24)

OWEN Teale returns to Mold to play Macbeth once more, this time in a main auditorium production directed by Terry Hands and also starring Vivien Parry as Lady Macbeth. Visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk. 0845 330 3565

ON THE LEDGE (Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, April 25-May 24)

ALAN Bleasdale’s 1993 comedy is revived with a Liverpool cast headed by Peep Show’s Neil Fitzmaurice, Louis Emerick and Neil Caple. The play is set on the top two floors of a high rise building where different characters are thrown together for all sorts of reasons. Some are running away, others are running after them but most are just doing their job. Visit www.royalcourtliverpool.com. 0870 787 1866

OUR HOUSE (The Lowry, Salford Quays, May 12-17)

JOHN Godber’s heart-warming comedy is presented here by his own theatre company Hull Truck. Our House peeks through the keyhole of May who, after living in the same house for 45 years, is packing up her belongings and heading off for a new life in sunny Spain. But she can’t leave without thinking back to all that has happened within those four walls. Visit www.thelowry.com. 0870 787 5793

RELATIVE VALUES (Little Theatre, Gloucester Street, Newtown, Chester, May 12-17)

CHESTER Theatre Club presents the comedy classic by Noel Coward. Moxie has been a loyal lady’s maid to the Countess of Marshwood for many years. But when Moxie discovers her sister, film star Miranda Frayle, is to be married to the Countess’ son, relationships change. Visit www.chestertheatreclub.co.uk. 01244 322674

ROCK – THE FAIRY GODFATHER OF HOLLYWOOD (Unity Theatre, Hope Place, Liverpool, May 13-19)

ROCK Hudson was the biggest screen idol in 1950s LA - the ultimate Hollywood hunk. But his career was under threat from Confidential Magazine, every gay man’s nemesis, and only one man stood between stardom and oblivion. Tim Fountain’s play, geting its world premiere in Liverpool, is the story of unscrupulous agent Henry Wilson and his relationship with Hudson, from their first meeting to their break-up and Willson’s decline into self-destruction. Visit www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk. 0151 709 4988

THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (Empire Theatre, Lime Street, Liverpool, May 14-17)

BIRKENHEAD Operatic Society Trust brings the hero of Baroness Orzcy’s novel to life in a lavish new Broadway musical. The French Revolutionaries’ guillotines are busy but one man constantly defies them by executing daring rescues. Visit www.liverpoolempire.org.uk. 0870 607 7575

STORY OF A RABBIT (Everyman Theatre, Hope Street, Liverpool, May 13-17)

WHEN Hugh finds his neighbour’s rabbit lying dead in his garden, the only sensible thing to do is to put it in a box. But it doesn’t fit. As he puzzles over what to do, he starts to wonder how much of life disappears once we die. Performer Hugh Hughes was last in Liverpool last June with Floating. Visit www.everymanplayhouse.com. 0151 709 4776

TARTUFFE (Playhouse Theatre, Williamson Square, Liverpool, May 9-31)

MOLIERE’S play comes to the Playhouse in a new adaptation from the city’s own legendary poet Roger McGough. Tartuffe is a beacon of piety and in the home of wealthy merchant Orgon, he has his feet firmly under the table. But all is not as it seems and as Orgon becomes more enraptured with his companion, the whole city is chattering. Is he a friend or a fraud? Visit www.everymanplayhouse.com. 0151 709 4776

TOUGH TIME, NICE TIME (Library Theatre, St Peter’s Square, Manchester, May 14-17)

RIDICULUSMUS present their new show, fresh from a premiere at London’s Barbican. Set in a Bangkok spa, it features two naked Germans – an ex-rent boy drug dealing lawyer and a jaded hack writer on a junket. Their story weaves movies, sex, celebrity and murder into a compelling tale. Visit www.librarytheatre.com. 0161 236 7110