Theatres - Starting This Week - March 18 onwards

Mar 15 2010 by Michael Green, Chester Chronicle

STARTING THIS WEEK

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE (Studio 2, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, March 23-24)

SET in the mountains of Connemara, County Galway, Martin McDonagh’s play tells the darkly comic tale of Maureen Folan, a plain, lonely woman in her early 40s, and Mag, her manipulative, ageing mother. When Mag interferes in Maureen’s first and possibly final chance of a loving relationship, a train of events is set in motion that leads inexorably towards a terrifying finale. Visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk or ring 0845 330 3565.

THE BOY WHO RAN FROM THE SEA (Royal Exchange Theatre Studio, St Ann’s Square, Manchester, March 18-20)

THE Young People’s Theatre Workshop offered 67 young people the chance to explore the creative and technical processes of making theatre last autumn. A further 30 have worked to direct and perform this evening of fres, original work, inspired by ideas of location, a sense of place and the search for home. Visit www.royalexchange.co.uk or ring 0161 833 9833.

THE CANTERBURY TALES (Playhouse Theatre, Williamson Square, Liverpool, March 23-27)

NORTHERN Broadsides take on Chaucer’s bawdy stories in a new version by Mike Poulton. At The Tabard Inn in London, sometime in the 14th century, a motley group of individuals gather for their pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral. On the way, they regale each other with colourful tales to pass the time of day. Visit www.everymanplayhouse.com or ring 0151 709 4776.

CLING TO ME LIKE IVY (The Lowry, Salford Quays, March 22-23)

RIVKA wants the perfect wedding. She has the man, the dress, the wig and two weeks to go. But when doubt is cast on her wig everything starts to unravel and Rivka finds herself far from home, not knowing whether she’ll be able to go back, or whether she wants to. Inspired by a chance remark by Victoria Beckham in 2004 which sparked a crisis within the Orthodox Jewish community about the wigs worn by married women. Visit www.thelowry.com or ring 0870 111 2000.

CLUNK (The Brindley, High Street, Runcorn, March 25)

TWO women and an incoherent male live together but can’t quite work out why. The radio is broken, another mysterious relative has died and there’s a parcel on the step. It’s like this every day. Conjuring an evocative world of mutinous rag toys, donestic wormholes and poignant forgotten dramas, this Suitcase Ensemble production is a darkly rebellious feast of unhinged humour. Visit www.thebrindley.org.uk or ring 0151 907 8360.

HOLD TIGHT IT’S 60S NIGHT (Forum Studio Theatre, Hamilton Place, Chester, March 18-27)

CINDERELLA revisited with the beehives, the minis, Dusty, Cilla and much more. Suburban England in the middle of the Swinging Sixties. Downtrodden teenager Ruby dreams of meeting her handsome prince, falls asleep and is suddenly whisked away to the arms of Rock Hard at the Plastic Palais de Dance. Visit www.tiptopproductions.co.uk or ring 01244 341296.

GIG (Studio 2, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, March 20)

A HIGH-octane satirical rampage through the human condition with dark humour, bold dance, live music and film from the multi-award winning Earthfall. It tells the story of a band that encapsulates the world outside with songs, film and extreme dances of love and loathing. Visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk or ring 0845 330 3565.

THE HISTORY BOYS (Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, March 22-27)

ONE of the great plays of the decade is set in a school in the North of England where a boisterous bunch of bright, funny sixth-form boys are attempting to gain entrance to Oxford and Cambridge whilst fending off the distractions of sport and sex. In Alan Bennett’s much-loved play, staffroom battles and the anarchy of adolescence provide a rich vein of comedy. This will be the first major revival of the play since the original National Theatre production. Visit www.ambassadortickets.com/stoke or ring 0844 871 7649.

MAINE ROAD (The Lowry, Salford Quays, March 18-20)

FOLLOWING the 5-star success of A Song for the Lovers, Monkeywood Theatre returns to The Lowry. Already a hit at Manchester’s 2009 24:7 Theatre Festival, Maine Road is a Manchester story about football, family, bricks and mortar. Leo loves football; loves City. Saturdays mean car-minding and listening to the match from the backyard. That is, until his world is bulldozed around him. Visit www.thelowry.com or ring 0870 111 2000.

NQR (The Lowry, Salford Quays, March 23-24)

SCOTTISH Dance Theatre present NQR or Not Quite Right - an acronym used in medical records to describe unexplained difference. It is a three-way collaboration examining “normality” and eccentricity. Visit www.thelowry.com or ring 0870 111 2000.

PORRIDGE (Empire Theatre, Lime Street, Liverpool, March 22-24)

SHAUN Williamson of EastEnders and Extras fame bravely steps into the shoes of the late, great Ronnie Barker for this stage revival of the classic BBC TV sitcom which has been written by the show’s creators Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. Visit www.liverpoolempire.org.uk or ring 0844 847 2525.

SHAKESPEARE’S WILL (Emlyn Williams Theatre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, March 18-April 3)

IT IS the day of Shakespeare’s funeral in 1616. The burial over, the mourners have gine and Anne Hathaway awaits the visit of her sister-in-law Joan to read the will. In the hour before she comes, Anne looks back on her relationship with the great writer. This beautifully imagined portrait of a marriage was written by Vern Thiessen, one of Canada’s leading playwrights, and was first produced in 2005. It will be performed by acclaimed actress and Mold regular Vivien Parry. Visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk or ring 0845 330 3565.

THEY SHOOT HORSES DON’T THEY (LIPA, Paul McCartney Auditorium, Liverpool, March 25-27)

THE livs of a disparate group of contestants intertwine in an inhumanely gruelling dance marathon during America’s Great Depression of the 1930s. They dance hour after hour to get enough to eat. Final year acting students perform Ray Herman’s adaptation of Horace McCoy’s novel. Ring 0844 873 2888 or visit www.lipa.ac.uk.

THE 39 STEPS (Anthony Hopkins Theatre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, March 23-27)

DIRECT from the West End, Broadway and 25 countries around the globe comes Alfred Hitchcock’s classic spy thriller, brilliantly and hilariously recreated as the smash-hit Olivier Award-winning Best New Comedy. This blissfully funny show follows the incredible adventures of our handsome hero Richard Hannay, complete with stiff-upper-lip, British gung-ho and pencil moustache as he encounters dastardly murders, double-crossing secret agents, and, of course, devastatingly beautiful women. Visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk or ring 0845 330 3565.

WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND (Opera House, Quay Street, Manchester, March 22-April 3)

SINGER Jonathan Ansell has been announced as the star of this production of the smash hit musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman, based on the classic British film and featuring the best-selling song No Matter What which Boyzone took to number one for six weeks. Ring 0844 847 2484 or visit www.palaceandoperahouse.org.uk.