I was one of a band of Manchester bloggers invited by Opera North to see behind the scenes, talk to some of the Opera North company and then guzzle free wine and afterwards watch Opera North’s version of Carmen at the Lowry in Salford on Friday.

As someone who takes part in amateur productions of Gilbert and Sullivan I was itching to see how the Opera North stage crew and Carmen cast operate behind the scenes.

I wasn’t disappointed, Kate the stage manager very kindly walked us through the set and the dock (where what seemed like a lot of Opera North’s technical equipment was being held). She showed us how they were holding up around 15 trees above the stage  ready to set down on the stage later on in Carmen. It was really quite exciting to see how it’s all done backstage and we also got to talk to two of the main performers who were very pleasant and gave their time without stint, despite the fact they were almost about to go on!

We then retired to the seats we’d been allocated and sat down to watch…

I can report that Opera North has produced the best Carmen I’ve ever seen. Set in the Deep South, I imagine some place where pidgeon French is spoken.  The first act was set against the backdrop of a factory where the girls chorus work and according to the programme tended to work half-undressed, because of the heat! And as we were told by one of the Julias, who were looking after us, boobs had been exposed during the performances last year but after a public outcry, they were reined in!

The male chorus members were at their swaggering and bullying best as local home boy law enforcement officers. The whole first act simply sweated and oozed with heat, sex and restrained passion bubbling below the surface and then bursting out!

The great thing about all this is that the singing was great, some of it truly excellent and even better, although everything was sung in French we had English subtitles on two unobtrusive screens. That meant we all understood the plot – not just those who had pored over the programme before we started.

Act two sets itself in a trailer park with debris and human flotsam and jetsam distributed around the stage to give that “too hot to do anything” ambience.

The third act with the pine trees (in the Catskill mountains?) was very well done and really made you feel like it was cold and unforgiving.  I congratulate Opera North for having the bravery to invite a bunch of bloggers and to allow them to experience the show and to write whatever we like about it, or not.  My take on this show was that if you like to see opera performed well, but not in the normal “opera by numbers way”, you should see this version of the show. The singing by Opera North’s chorus was an excellent backdrop to the hired talent who come and sing the parts. And the hired talent gave of their all and I felt that this production really encapsulates how performances can be made new and exciting by changing the way we look at them on stage and in production.

The one thing that let it down very, very slightly was the subtitle screens went blank at a couple of inopportune moments. Maybe it was deliberate. However, the result was that during one song I was completely in the dark about what was being sung and what it meant for the plot. I was also baffled by the appearance of the women in their lovely white underclothes, until I read the programme which pointed out that the factory girls would have been half-undressed in the factory. Personally I suspect it was just to give the wardrobe mistress a headache!

Unfortunately Carmen has now finished so that’s it for this show. But given the excellence of Opera North’s interpretation I would suggest it would be worth seeing other operas they bring to the Lowry. I for one will be angling for an invite to go back stage and see what’s going on when they do Ruddigore later this year.

Finally, listen to my excited take on the whole thing that was recorded during an interval at Carmen:

The Cornerhouse and Library Theatre move to First Street is not news.

However I noticed that Manchester City council have asked for expressions of interest about the design of a development in the Cultural Quarter of the city of Manchester. 

And of course the development is expected to include

• a multi storey car park
• retail/leisure units
• a hotel development
• a “major new public realm” including external performance space
• The bringing together of the “Library Theatre Company and Cornerhouse, to form a new cultural organisation”

So it’s expected that we’ll get up to five cinemas, some contemporary gallery spaces, a 500 seat theatre with smaller studio space and education spaces, a large café/open foyer.

The building is expected to be around 5,000 sq. m.

And interestingly the estimated contract end date is 31st May 2012.  Doesn’t give them long for construction if the Cornerhouse and Library Theatre are expected to relocate for 2014 does it?

The Pirates of Penzance is probably the most famous operetta written by the Victorian equivalent of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice. They are of course, WS Gilbert And Sir Arthur Sullivan.

Even if you don’t know any Gilbert & Sullivan I’m pretty sure you’ve heard people say “a policeman’s lot is not a happy one.” That’s a song in the show.

The Pirates of Penzance we’re producing has a bevy of beautiful maidens, a gang of bloodthirsty, but as the same time rather nice, pirates and a rabble of comic policemen. Sprinkled in amongst this comic collection of characters is the Sergeant of Police, a Major General, The Pirate King and assorted hangers on.

The plot is typically G&S and there are some great songs in it. Wait for the beautiful rendition of “Hail Poetry” or even better “Poor Wandering One”, or maybe the very fast “I am the very model of a modern major general” or the swashbuckling “For I am a Pirate King.”

The song that all the Pirate gang loves is “With Cat Like Tread.” And if you come along to the show you’ll see why. It’s absolutely brilliant to sing and act in. I can’t wait for the performances to begin! We want everyone to enjoy it as much as we enjoy performing it.

And yes, the months of rehearsal are finally paying off. Because the production which is being put on at the Royal Northern college of Music starts on May 5th at 7:30 and goes straight through to May 8th.

Come along and see us because I can promise you that you’ll see a cast who love doing this show and have all the joie de vivre of a bunch of students. Mainly because most of them are students, from the University of Manchester.

Invest in a good time by getting your tickets from the RNCM box office either though the RNCM Web site or their Box Office Phone Line on 0161 907 5555.

I took 3 of my children to watch Mary Poppins at the Manchester Palace theatre on Wednesday night.

I remember seeing the film as part of my birthday treat many years ago and I wanted the girls to have the same excitement for a fun story.

My only worry was that the show set in a theatre couldn’t compete with a film for special effects or vast numbers of scenes. Plus I’d just missed out on getting seats for the matinee performance during half term so this show was at 7:30pm on a school day which meant they’d be back well after bed time.

When we arrived the theatre was stuffed to the gills with people. and this despite the show being near the end of its run (ends of the 7th March). The only seats we could get were limited leg room in the upper circle so we got a fantastic view.

One of the ladies in front of me was was terrified by the angle of the seating and held on for grim death to her seat and her friends seat all through the show. But she was determined to stay.

Mary Poppins Was Supercalifragilistic

Right from the beginning the show went at a breakneck speed that enhanced the magic of Mary Poppins.

Initially I wondered whether Mary Poppins would have a good a voice as Julie andrews. I needn’t have worried. She was as good as Julie Andrews, with the same cut-glass nanny voice as in the film!

We all marvelled at the sets and how Mr and Mrs Banks’ house was folded up like a 3-D Christmas card.

The children’s bedroom, which also doubled for the roof top scenes during the show was extremely well designed and looked solid enough to have been there all the time.

When the hose was rotated the back opened up to show the kitchen. Where Mary Poppins was able to demonstrate her magical abilities after the children had almost destroyed it.

The park near the house was very well done. The cartoon piece in the film was replaced by a fantastic dance routine involving statues, passers-by and an amazing moving set.

Mary Poppins visit to her Uncle (who loves to laugh) was cut from the show without any problem and replaced by a high energy dancing visit to a special shop run by Mrs Coffy where they piece together that special word. Mrs Coffy was in one of the books but not in the film.

Mrs Banks appeared to have much more of a role during the show than in the film, as did Mr Banks. The show actually improved as we saw their real characters.

And of course we got to boo at a hideous nanny drafted in to look after the children after Mary Poppins leaves part way through.

There were several show stopping routines during the show but my favourite was the sweeps dance amongst the chimneys of London.  I got swept away with the choreography and singing

Of course Mary returns and all ends very happily with Mr Banks becoming a senior bank manager (of the type we could all do with at the moment!) with 4 times his current salary.

The finale is a romping, stomping fun end, except for when Mary has to say goodbye to everyone and to Bert.

And then everybody started cheering and whistling as Mary Poppins swept out over the audience seated in the stalls and then right up to those of us in the Gods. And that is a long way to go in the Palace! A truly fitting finale to a fabulous, fabulous show.

Did we think it was a good show. No, we all thought it was great! Well done to all those who took part and to Cameron Mackintosh and Disney for getting it on stage.

My advice, if you’ve not seen it, you really must go and see this fantastic, fun for the whole family production of Mary Poppins before it leaves the stage on the 7th March.

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Manchester Theatre has been incredibly lucky to have a twin driving force in the shapes of David Slack and Amanda Hennessy to put theatre outside of normal theatre experience. The 24:7 Theatre Festival they formed (now in its 5th Year) gets new plays performed every year in alternative venues. That is venues that aren’t normally used for putting shows on.  I would say it’s a little like the Edinburgh Fringe, except luckily there’s less venues to trot to. The venues are The Midland hotel, Pure in the Printworks and the music store Zavvi in the Arndale Centre.

Last year Pure looked pretty impressive as a theatrical venue so I suspect it will be even better this year.

The 24:7 team are putting on 16 new plays which is pretty strenuous going and on their web site you can actually listen to clips from each show – which must be a first, surely?

Anyway, it all kicks off on the 20th July and runs until Sunday 27th July. Tickets are ridiculously cheap (£6) and you should go and see one. Let me know what you think.

The Royal Northern College of Music fairly shook with the loud cheers and applause as we finished our final performance of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Iolanthe on Saturday night.

We’d struggled to sell tickets again this year. And that’s despite a pretty high standard, semi-pro orchestra, great RNCM bar and a fun time for all!

The RNCM theatre is excellent, although as none of us have operatic voices the sound can drop slightly for the audience if we get too far back on the stage.

The cast had a fantastic time which is part of being in this sort of show. However, we also had some great audiences who appreciated the show and who in turn we appreciated.

Some years, in fact quite some years, ago we actually use to sell out quite a few of the nights. Then for some reason we started not selling out completely. So we dropped our first night (Monday) as we had very few people coming to the show compared to the other nights. Then we dropped our first night again (Tuesday), presumably for the same reason. I’m not convinced that was a good idea as we’re paying for the theatre anyway so we really ought to try and sell tickets.

Having been publicity manager for the society on one occasion I know it can be difficult to get coverage. As the Manchester Evening News said there are plenty of professional productions that they review, trying to review the am-dram shows would be impossible. Similarly a different local newspaper was totally unimpressed with the fact that some of their local students were in the show.

I talked to an expert on PR (Rob Baker) after he’d seen one of the shows during the week. He told me he couldn’t believe how professional it was. He also was of the opinion that we should be able to get publicity. He suggested one or two strategies which we’ve applied in the past with results and I’m baffled as to why we didn’t continue with them.

After months of rehearsal and working Thursdays and Sundays for quite a while the show has come together at last. As usual we seem to not get the knack of a particular dance step until we’ve had it drummed into our brains 11 million times.

Anyway, now we’ve a show on our hands and I’m really looking forward to going into the Royal Northern College of Music for our second major production.

The company have already performed a Rock version of Trial By Jury and, unusually, last November Bugsy Malone. Unusually because we’ve done Gilbert & Sullivan ever since I started as a member back in the 1970′s.

We’ve not seen the set yet, that will be on Monday when everything is brought into the theatre. According to one of the directors they’ve actually produced some set that took a long time to build and which is only on stage for a few minutes.

Apparently we’ve got a good orchestra, I’ll know more on Sunday when the whole company sings with them for the first time. The orchestra having rehearsed with Justin Morley our musical director.

Breaking with tradition we’ve had a pair of directors directing us this year. I must say I’ve been impressed that they’ve not (apparently) lost their tempers with each other, or with the cast.

Anyway, it’s going to be a fun show, after all fairies, peers and the House Of Lords, who could ask for more intrigue or opportunity to see some fun antics!?

You can buy your tickets online via the RNCM or via a variety of other ways through the MUGSS website for the show which starts next Tuesday 30th April 2008.

I commend the show to the house…

I went to see Dad’s Army, The Lost Episodes, at the Lowry Theatre in Salford yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

A few of the cast look similar to the original BBC TV characters, for example Pike and Corporal Jones.

In all there are 4 episodes presented, using scripts adapted from the original TV scripts.

Being of that certain age where I’d seen episodes as originally broadcast I’d seen them all. That said I was completely immersed in the experience and as I said found it most enjoyable.

Captain Mainwaring sounded just right, although when he said “stupid boy” to Pike it lacked the conviction of the original. That said, Captain Mainwaring acted exactly how Jimmy Perry and David Croft had written the script so many years before.

Captain Mainwaring and Corporal Jones were a delight, as was the U boat commander who lovingly recreated the role of a superior who had no doubt he would win out over the humble British Home Guard.

Private Fraser was slightly cartoon like to look at but sounded exactly right and delivered his lines with real impact, particularly Fraser’s catch phrase of “We’re Doomed!”

If you love the original Dad’s Army you’ll also love this this well adapted staged version.

The set is minimalist and flown in from the wings and from the top of the stage. But in some ways that helps you to fill in the details yourself. The real power of the play is in the exact characterisations and staying close to the scripts without trying to re-invent a winning formula.

So if you want to see it you need to get your skates on as the production finishes its run at the Lowry Theatre on the 5th January 2008.

An interesting Manchester blog that I discovered through an email from David Slack who is the co-organiser of the 24:7 theatre festival is called What Would You Do?

The author, Elizabeth Baines, is writing a story week by week and at the end of each “chapter” we’re allowed to choose some of the future plot direction. She started on the 4th September and is the second week now. The story continues in Manchester’s Central Library and you get to vote on which inhabitant of the house from the first episode helps Cat on the trail of someone mysterious…

Ooh, sounds like a who-dunnit!

The final chapter is going to be performed at the Manchester Blog Awards which should be good fun.

So get on over and check the story out. Help out by voting for your preferred plot direction. Although I must admit I just chose a name at random because I don’t really identify with the characters yet.

Manchester’s theatrical festival frenzy of the month starts on the 23rd July and runs until the 29th July.

David Slack and Amanda Hennessy have been the tireless organisers behind it all. And since starting 4 years ago they’re now putting on 105 performances across Manchester city centre in a non-theatre venues.

• The Midland Hotel (Victoria Suite)
• Pure in The Printworks (with 3 different venues)

The great thing about all this is that David and Amanda are giving aspiring writers of comedy and drama the ability to present their new works. And just to make sure everything is up to scratch they vet all the scripts of all the new plays themselves.

You can check out the 24:7 Theatre Festival web site for yourself for details of the plays and to buy tickets.