The Tin Foil Astronaut @ The Arc, Stockton

Every journey begins the same way, with the 1^st step. 

It was a cold and wet Saturday morning, a room filled with over 35 children aged between 2 and 8 and some anxious parents wondering just how soon it will be before anarchy breaks out, yet from the very first minute until well after the final scene, every child and grown up was transfixed by the brilliant storytelling, wonderful characters and no small amount of very interesting science.

The Tin Foil Astronaut is an immersive, interactive and totally engaging play about Alba, a wannabee astronaut who, through ingenuity, imagination ( and plenty of tin foil) becomes the youngest person to travel to the furthest reaches of the Solar System.  Alba, helped remotely by her Dad and guided by the Man in the Moon, overcomes the barriers of the kids at school thinking she’s a bit weird, ignores the grown ups telling her she’s too small and, despite being late for her tea (fish fingers and beans, her favourite) joins the space race.

Kitchen Zoo (founded by Hannah Goudie-Hunter and Bob Nicholson and supported by the brilliant music of Jeremy Bradfield)  state they ‘aim to create work for young audiences that is playful and vibrant’ and they hit the nail square on it’s bonce with this one. Blending live music, sound effects and puppets with real science, the 3 hand cast transport the audience into a make believe world which who knows,  could be just the thing to encourage a young person out there to become the next Brian Cox or Helen Czerski.

If you have any little ones who love space, science or just great storytelling, treat them (and yourselves) to an hour of fun and facts that will leave you all talking for ages afterwards.

The Tin Foil Astronaut will be landing at these places

• 10 February: Arts Centre Washington

• 12 April: Bishop Auckland Town Hall

• 13 April: Queens Hall Hexham

• 14 April: The Witham

• 15 April: Gala Durham

• 22 April: Sage, Gateshead

• 5 May: Lyric, Hammersmith

Anywhere, the history and tour of New Hippodrome, Darlington

A thoroughly modern and unique take on a history tour

The newly refurbished Darlington Hippodrome, formerly the Civic and before that the grandly titled The New Hippodrome and Palace Theatre of Varieties has such a rich history that it was begging for someone to take it all and make something of it.  Other historic recountings have invested in video or multimedia sessions with the audience sat in a plush new lounge and furnished with an audio guide but that’s not the New Hippodrome’s style.  For this, the brilliant ODDMANOUT theatre group have been engaged to work with the Hippodrome and the Hippodrome Theatre Company and have produced an innovative, interactive, entertaining and downright fun approach to both guided tour and history lesson.

Starting with a flashmob-esque opening number which I guarantee will leave you with the evening’s earworm, you are brought together in a small group and taken on a behind the scenes and screens tour of the new and old, while along the way being entertained by characters from literary and theatrical stardom.

The ‘cast’ – who seems to morph seamlessly between characters, guides and even audience are brilliant in making the history come alive.  Stories from giants such as Carrol & Shakespeare are rammed hard up against the comedic shoulders of Barry & Paul, driven to ‘fight’ by Lewis and then cuddled by the quintessential British Dame, all done as you wind your way through the auditorium, changing rooms, stores and flys.  Not only do you get to tread the boards and gaze out at the seats, but you get to spend time in the Green room, intruding on a rehearsal which would fit perfectly with The Play that Goes….

If you have ever been to the Hippodrome (or Civic), if you enjoy theatre in general but wonder what ‘behind’ is like or if you just love great entertainment and watching a very, very good cast please, PLEASE treat yourself  and grab a ticket – it’s only on for an hour but it’s so much fun and you may just learn a little. If nothing else you will appreciate why you should take heed that There’s a Fish Train Comin’.

Anywhere is on from Friday 2nd till Sunday 4th Feb with shows 1pm, 1.30pm, 2pm, 2,30pm, 3pm and evenings 7pm, 7.30pm 8pm, 8.30pm and 9pm.

Shrek the Musical @ Sunderland Empire

A giant ogre, a talking donkey, a magical princess, a tiny Lord and a fire breathing dragon – all quite feasible characters for an animated movie but surely a challenge to portray as a live stage musical – or so you’d think, but under the expert direction of Nigel Harman (and aided in no small way by the brilliant cast and choreography) Shrek the Musical is a modern day masterpiece to rival anything currently on show.

Drawing heavily from the Dreamworks animated movie made famous by the vocal talents of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, this non-stop extravaganza concentrates the essence and humour of the CGI film whilst introducing new songs and some amazing costumes for which Tim Hatley should be lauded and applauded.

Right from the opening scene, the storybook backstory of how a young Shrek befell his swamp life, the whole show has a larger than life feel as though the audience are being immersed into a true fairy tale. Brilliant set design, the multitude of additional characters and the very clever little details mean there is so much to watch;  in fact the interval conversation was peppered with “I didn’t see that, I was watching ….”.  Special mention must go to the dragon, a war-horse-esque appearance brimming with character and dare I say totally believable.  

The main factor that made the original movie such a must for repeat viewing was the subtle (and not so subtle) pastiches, homages or just plain ‘steals’ from multiple genres – spotting the digs at Disney, the role reversal of children’s stories or the twist on expected norms meant adults could also laugh while the kids hollered at the ‘rude’ jokes and naughty behaviours.  This show has taken that premise and, in keeping for a stage musical, took a mischievous aim at many of the most popular musicals – as such you can find nods to Wicked, Rent, Matilda, Spamalot, Bob Fosse, Avenue Q, Rocky Horror, Blood Brothers and I’m sure many more.  For a fan of the theatre, this is like playing Musicals Bingo, write out a list and tick them off as you find them.

The main cast are all fabulous; Steffan Harri (Shrek) seems to tower over the other fairyland creatures in presence yet never loses his soft side whilst Samuel Holmes (Lord Farquaad) is hilarious as the diminutive ruler with a desire to be considered large (his dance routines should come with a health warning of split sides and inability to breath due to laughing).  Marcus Ayton (Donkey) has all the style, soul and street of a cross between James Brown and Jay Z but I think it was Laura Main (possibly best known for Call the Midwife) who gives Princess Fiona some real umpf – she is sassy, alluring and totally bonkers, laugh out loud funny and not afraid to bend her leg and let us know she can ‘Shrek’ it with the best (oh and boy can she sing)

The show has a feel of a pantomime in that it is super friendly, instantly recognisable, enthralling and entertaining through every minute (and provoking a theatre full of kids laughter),  but this is no corny ‘he’s behind you’ fare, this is musical theatre at it’s very best and packed with moments of genuine hilarity.

Even though it’s only February, I’d say this will be THE show you will still be talking about come the end of the year and most certainly the one you’ll want to go and watch again and again

★★★★★.

New Jersey Nights at Darlington Hippodrome

To many, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons provided the soundtrack to more than 3 decades from the 50’s to the 70’s, but it’s testament to the quality of their music that so many of their hits are recognised by todays younger listeners, both in their original form and through covers.

New Jersey Nights is a high octane, non-stop show which whistles through the catalogue with each of the four,  Joshua Dever, William Hazel, Duncan Heather & Ricky Rojas sharing the distinctive falsetto rich lead, ably backed by an equally energetic rock band. 

With such a huge list of hits, the danger was what would have to be left out, rather than what was included; for true fans there were some abridged versions which may have left them feeling a little short changed, but there was little time to lament a few missed verses as the familiar chords of the next mega hit kicked in.

Hits like Walk Like a Man, Sherry, Oh What a Night, Can’t Take my Eyes Off You, My Eyes Adored You and of course the title track from the musical Grease kept the audience singing and dancing throughout the evening.  A brief interlude (no doubt to let the guys rest their throats from hitting the Valli-esque high notes) had the three backing dancers perform a couple of Phil Spectre ‘Wall of Sound’ tunes, further adding to the richness of the acoustic treats on offer.

Whilst this is not the Jersey Boys approach to retelling the bands’ story, the cast do manage to bring some trivia, background and no shortage of humour, making this more than just a greatest hits show.  Perhaps most telling was that even on a snow blighted Tuesday in January, the theatre was well over half full with every age up and dancing during the medley encore, a great way to start the new year and guaranteed to have everyone humming tunes on their way home. 

Snow White at Darlington Hippodrome

Great songs, wonderful sets and a flying wicked queen – the only thing green about this show will be the envy of people who don’t go and see it.

It's funny how some traditions live long and strong, year after year.  Take Panto season, which is here again (oh yes it is); the usually demure and sedate theatre-going audiences are suddenly turned into, and accompanied by, screaming kids sporting all manner of flashing appendages; the knowing whispers when an actor misses a line are swapped for roars of laugher both on & off the stage and the 4th wall is torn down and ceremoniously trampled on as young and old are encouraged to great the cast with cheers, boos, chants and giggles.  That tradition is constantly reinforced by the production company Qdos who bring glitz, glamour, sparkles and no shortage of special effects back to Darlington.

This years offering at the newly reopened Hippodrome is the first major production to grace the refurbished theatre and give the seats, sound system and stage hands a really good workout.  With Snow White the chosen story, the traditional formula for panto is very well observed; plenty of goading the younger audience into shouts & screams, the singling out of a few teachers to make the next school dinner a constant source of amusement and of course, a liberal smattering of double entendres to ensure the adults can laugh along, tho not always at the reasons the kids believe.

On a stage of many stars Zoe Birkett (born like yours truly in Consett) dominates every scene she’s in – its been a long time since we had to knowingly share ‘our’ Zoe with the rest of the UK but each time she comes home she brings such energy, fun and enthusiasm that it’s like recharging the pride batteries.  

For this performance as the Wicked Queen she has

the opportunity to give us a full appreciation of all her talents, ending the 1^st act with her rendition of Queen of the Night which sounded and felt like Tina Turner in the Who musical Tommy (bit of an odd reference, but anyone who has watched the Ken Russell rock opera will surely appreciate the similarities) - when Zoe ‘brings it’ she brings it all, leaving you wondering how can someone soo good be soo deliciously bad ?

Continuing the time honoured traditions, the comedy double act of Eric Potts (a madcap dame to rival Christopher Biggins as Mrs Norah Crumble with an extensive range in baking ) and Liam Mellor (the daft as a brush Muddles) guarantee bucketfulls of slapstick comedy, laugh out loud routines and just plain old ‘forget your inhibitions’ silliness.  Bizarrely, they even occasionally manage to out-funny stand-up superstar Patrick Monahan, the not so evil queens henchman (tho if you want to get an extra session of Patrick then check out Bishop Auckland Town Hall comedy night on Fri 22^nd).  The funniest (and yet possibly scariest for the 3 guys) scene must be the discussion around how best to prepare the game bird for the royal dinner – I won’t spoil anything here, but the script writers certainly knew how to ensure the cast didn’t dare have a nip of something before a show.

The starring role of Prince Lee is played admirably by Lee Ryan, with plenty of energy and a great voice, he quickly identified with the dabbing youngsters in the audience (and a few of their mums too).  Full of very cleverly written songs (especially the ‘Darlo’ opening number ) and plenty of in jokes about the town and our neighbours, this had a very local feel which, with along with Zoe et al, ensured that whilst the deco might be new and the layout slightly different, the New Hippodrome still feels like home.

Panto is a very English form of theatre - many of my foreign friends just don't know how to approach one and consequently they struggle to accept the 'anarchy' that ensues, but that's what this tradition is all about - forget the quintessential British reservedness and grant yourself one evening of self indulgent silliness - if laughter is the best medicine then Darlington Hippodrome audiences will be the healthiest in all the land.