three nights, three shows

I've had a busy week on the going out front, with three shows in three nights.

On Tuesday I was at the Playhouse to see the Propeller Theatre company’s all-male production of Taming of the Shrew.
I have a love-hate relationship with this play. On the one hand I find it one of the most entertaining of Shakespeare’s works.
On the other, being a woman, I really want to poke Petruchio’s eyes out for the degrading way he treats Katherine.
Anyway, Katherine in this case had a hairy chest and bovver boots and looked like she could take care of herself if she really wanted to.
The first half was rollicking good fun, and there were tears running down our cheeks when, well, let’s just say certain other cheeks were exposed.
After the interval it all got a lot darker and by the time they took a bow I felt quite depressed!

The next night I made the drive up to Southport where the theatre is hosting the touring production of Chicago.
There was a real sense of anticipation in the foyer, and an almost sell-out audience in the auditorium itself.
The theatre management say it’s the first time they’ve ever hosted a West End production, and a two week stay is pretty much unheard of.
I hope they have a big success with it and it’s the first of many.
Having made the trek the other way, I know what a slog it is for theatre audiences from the coast to have to chunk down the A565 with its irritating 30-60-30-40-30 speed limits making the 20-mile journey between Southport and Liverpool a real pain (not including the police car which tried to plough into me in Crosby)
There was plenty of parking at Southport, although it was a pain in the pocket to have to pay in the evenings, and the theatre staff were uniformly smiling and helpful.

Last night, and I admit I was flagging by then, I went to review The Rose and the Ring at Lipa.
I like to get to at least a couple of the ‘Inny’s’ productions every season, and this had a panto-like quality about it.
My review is going in tomorrow’s Echo.
But suffice to say I was glad I’d made the effort as it was genuinely funny, well acted and beautifully staged.
I was also given some insider knowledge about the cast members from one of their fellow students who was sitting next to me, and who helpfully pointed out which ones were naturals at musical theatre and which had to be coaxed into it!
Rather than auditioning for roles, students are allotted parts each term by their tutors, presumably so they can be stretched and get a broad range of acting, singing and dancing experience.
The Rose and the Ring is on until tomorrow evening and anyone can go and watch. Give it a try - you may be surprised just how much you enjoy yourself.