Theatres - 11/6/09

Jun 11 2009 by Michael Green, Flintshire Chronicle

STARTING NEXT WEEK

CHATURANGAN & FUSE (The Brindley, High Street, Runcorn, June 18-19)

A STUNNING new dance theatre piece for young children. The show fuses dance styles from across the world, highlighting cultural diversity and identity. It tells the story of a group of animal friends; of their falling out, making up and gaining self-esteem. The story comes alive through dance and music within a mesmerising surrounding. Visit www.thebrindley.org.uk or ring 0151 907 8360.

DR KORCZAK’S EXAMPLE (Royal Exchange Theatre Studio, St Ann’s Square, Manchester, June 17-27)

WRITTEN by award-winning writer and director David Greig, this is based on a true story and recounts the remarkable last days of Janusz Korczak, a children’s author and paediatrician who founded a Jewish orphanage in the shadow of the Warsaw Ghetto. Visit www.royalexchange.co.uk or ring 0161 833 9833.

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (Emlyn Williams Theatre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, June 17-20)

MOLD Players present Tim Kelly’s adaptation of the most famous Sherlock Holmes story. A monstrous hound roams the moor – a beast which is inextricably bound up with the legacy which Sir Henry Baskerville has inherited. Can Sherlock Holmes save the day? Visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk or ring 0845 330 3565.

LAZYTOWN LIVE! (Empire Theatre, Lime Street, Liverpool, June 17-21)

SWASHBUCKLING fun for all the family. Get ready for star jumps, power moves, laugh out loud fun, sing-a-long songs and dancing in the aisles. You'll be transported on to the high seas through a high energy story full of parrots, pieces of eight and buried treasure. Visit www.liverpoolempire.org.uk or ring 0844 847 2525.

I MISS COMMUNISM (The Lowry, Salford Quays, June 18)

FROM Croatia to America and back, this intense, dramatic and deeply moving solo comedy explores three women’s experiences of war, politics and freedom. Visit www.thelowry.com or ring 0870 787 5788.

NEDERLANDS DANS THEATER 2 (The Lowry, Salford Quays, June 16-17)

NDT2 have become firm favourites with British audiences. The young dancers, none of them older than 23, fill the stage with feats of virtuoso spinning and jumping, spreading an infectious delight as they show off their extraordinary technical ability. Visit www.thelowry.com or ring 0870 787 5788.

OLIVER! (Anthony Hopkins Theatre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, June 16-20)

TIP Top Productions follow their recent successes with The Full Monty and Bouncers with the classic Lionel Bart musical, bringing to life Dickens’ dramatic characters as Oliver Twist defiantly asks for more. Packed with wonderful songs such as Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself and As Long As He Needs Me. Visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk or ring 0845 330 3565.

THE PIANIST (Royal Exchange Theatre, St Ann’s Square, Manchester, June 17-27)

BEST known as an Oscar-winning film by Roman Polanksi, this play is based upon the memoirs of Wladyslaw Szpilman. It retells the harrowing story of one man’s time under the Nazi occupation in Poland, with internationally acclaimed concert pianist Mikhail Rudy performing the music of Chopin and Szpilman. Visit www.royalexchange.co.uk or ring 0161 833 9833.

QUADROPHENIA (Opera House, Quay Street, Manchester, June 16-20)

SET in London and Brighton at the height of the Mod era, this story is told through the eyes of Jimmy, a hedonistic style-conscious teenager searching for a place to belong and a girl to love. Misunderstood by his parents and stuck in a dead end job, he sets off on a trip to Brighton that will change his life forever. The evocative world of Sixties Britain is emulated by the stunning Pete Townshend score. Visit www.palaceandoperahouse.org.uk or ring 0844 847 2484.

RANK (The Lowry, Salford Quays, June 12-13)

A GANG war, an innocent shot, a community divided. Following the sell-out success of The Beach in 2008, Joe O’Byrne returns to Paradise Heights. Visit www.thelowry.com or ring 0870 787 5788.

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (Pavilion Theatre, Rhyl, May 15-20)

WEST End and Broadway star Tim Flavin takes on the role made famous by Gene Kelly in this stage version of the classic MGM musical which features such immortal songs as Make ‘Em Laugh, Good Morning, You Were Meant For Me and, of course, the title track. Visit www.rhylpavilion.co.uk or ring 01745 330000.

WEST SIDE STORY (Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, June 16-27)

WITH groundbreaking choreography by the legendary Jerome Robbins, an unforgettable score by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story changed the face of musical theatre forever. Based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and packed with unforgettable songs including Maria and America. Visit www.ambassadortickets.com/stoke or ring 0870 060 6649

WUTHERING HEIGHTS (Venue Cymru, Llandudno, June 11-13)

NORTHERN Ballet Theatre are one of the UK’s leading ballet companies. With an original score by celebrated composer Claude-Michel Schonberg, best known for Les Miserables and Miss Saigon, this turbulent love story has been brought to life in an adaptation of Emily Bronte’s romantic masterpiece about the unruly and dangerous love affair between Heathcliff and Cathy. Visit www.venuecymru.co.uk or ring 01492 872000.

WHAT’S STILL SHOWING & WHERE

CHESS (Floral Pavilion, New Brighton, Wirral, June 10-13)

WEST Kirby Light Opera Society presents this unique collaboration between Tim Rice and Abba. Set in the late 1970s when the Cold War was at its height, the show follows the story of two grand masters of the game competing in the world championships. Behind the scenes, politicians are trying to manipulate the tournaments for their own gain. Visit www.floralpavilion.com or ring 0151 666 0000.

DISNEY’S HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL (Empire Theatre, Lime Street, Liverpool, June 8-13)

FOLLOW the much-loved story live on stage, featuring all of your favourite characters and songs performed by the country’s hottest dancers and an electrifying live band. Watch the twists and turns of schoolmates Troy and Gabriella as they surf the tricky tides of peer pressure and canteen cliques to follow their dreams and score the leads in the big school show. Visit www.liverpoolempire.org.uk or ring 0844 847 2525.

DUMB SHOW (New Vic Theatre, Etruria Road, Newcastle-under-Lyme, May 29-June 20)

A FURIOUSLY funny expose of celebrity culture and tabloid journalism by multi-award winning writer Joe Penhall. Millions of fans may know him as TV’s Mr Saturday Night but Barry’s worried that his 15 minutes of fame could be coming to an end. So when a couple of hot shots say they can help him make some serious money, he’s more than happy to go along. Visit www.newvictheatre.org or ring 01782 717962.

LOST MONSTERS (Everyman Theatre, Hope Street, Liverpool, May 22-June 13)

WORLD premiere of the new play by Liverpool writer Laurence Wilson whose first work, Urban Legend, was seen at the Everyman in 2004. An isolated house in a forgotten valley has only the litter and noise from the surrounding motorway as company. A flash of lightning and a freak car crash leaves three runaways seeking refuge – but they enter a world of dreams and nightmares. Visit www.everymanplayhouse.com or ring 0151 709 4776.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM/THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (The Lowry, Salford Quays, June 9-13)

INTERNATIONALLY celebrated innovative Shakespeare company Propeller return to The Lowry with two of the Bard’s masterpieces. In Merchant (June 10, 11, 13), they present a new staging of a bitingly modern play that manages to excite the deepest of arguments. And they revive their award-winning version of Midsummer Night (June 9, 11, 12, 13). Visit www.thelowry.com or ring 0870 787 5788.

OKLAHOMA! (Anthony Hopkins Theatre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, June 9-13)

DEE & Alyn Gilbert & Sullivan Society are departing from their customary Savoy Opera production with a fresh new take on the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. Set against a background of conflict between farmers and cattlemen in the Indian territory of the American West at the turn of the 20th century, it features such memorable songs as Oh What A Beautiful Mornin’, Many A New Day and The Surrey With The Fringe On Top. Visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk or ring 0845 330 3565.

THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD (Playhouse Theatre, Williamson Square, Liverpool, June 9-13)

A STORY of love, rivalry and betrayal by JM Synge – a rich encounter with one of Ireland’s most beloved dramatists. Synge’s comic masterpiece tells the story of Christy Mahon who stumbles into a public house in County Mayo claiming he has killed his father and so capturing the romantic attention of the daughter of the house. Tony Award-winning director Garry Hynes is at the helm of a production by Druid, one of Ireland’s most lauded theatre companies. Visit www.everymanplayhouse.com or ring 0151 709 4776.

RELATIVELY SPEAKING (Library Theatre, St Peter’s Square, Manchester, May 22-June 20)

ALAN Ayckbourn’s hilarious 1960s comedy established him as a modern day comic master. Greg and Ginny are living together and planning to get married. But Greg is becoming increasingly suspicious that he is not the only man in Ginny’s life. So when she plans to “visit her parents”, he decides to secretly follow her. Visit www.librarytheatre.com or ring 0161 236 7110.