Blood, Sweat, Tears …and a Toenail!

When a play is entitled Catfish Therapy and features Lynne Fitzgerald and Suzanne Collins, let’s be honest, I naturally anticipated settling down to a good light-hearted comedy of the sort this pair of Liverpool actresses are renowned.

I couldn’t have been more mistaken.

It would be wrong however, to say I was disappointed because disappointed I most certainly was not.  Within seconds of the lights going down we were gripped by one of the most intense psychological dramas I have seen in many a year.

It was the first ever performance of this hour-long gem from the pen of Ian Moore.  Ian also directed the play which was part of the Liverpool “Write Now” one-act play festival that runs at the Actor’s Studio in Seel Street from 30th March until 7th April 2012.

How good it was to see these two actresses performing outside their comfort zone – and boy, they did-so brilliantly!

Suzanne graduated from her stint on Brookside Close to appear in countless scouse comedies such as “Brick up the Mersey Tunnels” and “Fifteen Minutes that Shook the World”.

Lynne made a name for herself on the club comedy circuit before treading the boards in the likes of “The Salon” and “Desperate Scousewives” (the stage play that she co wrote with Clare Bowles).

Last year, Lynne appeared in Ian Cartwright’s “Two” where alongside Louis Emerick they played between them no fewer than fourteen different characters. In Catfish Therapy, however, she and Suzanne each played the respective split personalities of what we assumed were two schizophrenics.  I say “assumed” because the final moments of the play revealed a very clever twist!

They both delivered performances that elevated their acting careers to a whole new level.  They did so with compassion and conviction.  The scenes of violence were exceptionally convincing.  None of your “slapping the thigh whilst feigning a blow to the face”. This stuff was good!

They really threw themselves into it – quite literally at times!   In fact it was so good, and so realistic, that during one such scene Suzanne actually lost a toenail!  She showed us after the show where she had bitten into her own hand to counter the pain from her toe.  It’s no wonder the tears we saw on stage looked so real!

This play had the entire audience sitting on the edge of their seats for the entire sixty minutes.  Do catch it if you can.

There are just two more performances:  Monday 2nd of April at 9.30pm and Friday 6th at 6.30pm.

Tickets can be purchased on line at www.writenowfestival.co.uk or by ringing 0151 709 3789.

More pictures from the play: (click to enlarge)

January 2012 Update
Please note: The fabulous play has absolutely nothing to do with the dreadful and much reviled so-called reality show of the same name that is currently running on E4.

Desperate Scousewives is a (very) loose parody of the similarly named American comedy drama and is the latest play to come from the pen of Liverpool actress Lynne Fitzgerald.

Co-written by fellow actress Clare Bowles, this brand new comedy is an absolute scream from start to finish.  The plot revolves around the occupants of four terraced houses during the days leading up to and following the wedding of the gobby 20-something character played by Philippa Goodwin, who also choreographed the play’s comedic dance sequences.  A wedding, incidentally, which takes place in Walton Jail to a prisoner she’d never met and only ever known as a pen pal!

A newcomer to the terrace, played by Lynn Francis, tries desperately and clumsily to fit-in with her new neighbours without realising the other three already know that the house she’s just moved into, Number One, is owned by a battered wives association.

It soon becomes clear, however, that the occupant of Number Two is currently in an abusive relationship and when she accidentally kills her bullying husband, a whole string of hilarious co-incidences conspire to divert suspicion away from this down-trodden character, played so well by Clare Bowles.

In fact, the cast of four talented Liverpool actresses brought these very diverse characters to life brilliantly, with the bossy, loud-mouthed occupant of Number Three being portrayed by Lynne Fitzgerald in her own inimitable style.

Such was the success of this comedy’s first week, the second and final week of its run at the Actor’s Studio in Liverpool is now completely sold out.

The enthusiasm with which this comedy has been received by its audiences thus far, has almost guaranteed it will be staged at larger venues throughout the region. In fact I’m delighted to be able to tell you that tickets have just gone on sale for a four-day run at the Theatre Royal, St Helens from the 25th to the 28th of January.

You can book tickets on 01744 756 000. I would strongly recommend you do it NOW to save disappointment.

See also my comments on the Liverpool Echo’s review

You’ll certainly never walk alone through the doors of the Royal Court Theatre this month, because between now and October 29th you’ll be in the company of thousands of Liverpool F.C. fans.

You’ll Never Walk Alone is a fascinating play documenting the 120 year history of what is arguably the most famous football club in the world.

Coming from the pen of Liverpool playwright Nicky Alt, the story’s highs are told with passion and humour and its lows, with empathy and dignity.  The talented cast did the script proud under the direction of Bob Eaton who handled the emotive issues of the Heysel Stadium disaster  and Hillsborough sympathetically, poignantly and without sensationalism.

The club’s history was related via songs from each particular era, with musical director Howard Gray taking a proactive part as keyboard player with the on-stage band.

Regardless whether their off-stage allegiances were Red or Blue, the “team” (who were down to ten men) performed and sang with the kind of skill and gusto King Kenny instils into his footballers.  In the line-up were several regulars such as Mark Moraghan and Pauline Daniels.

One of the new signings – and one to watch – was young Jamie Hampson.  Having recently graduated from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, this was Jamie’s first time on stage at the Royal Court.  Although she is no stranger to the venue.  Just twelve months ago she was serving behind the bar at the back of the auditorium!

All in all this is a fabulous play. Very entertaining, very funny and, at times, very emotional. I spotted some real tears during the telling of the dark days of ’89.  And you could feel the passion and pride during the finale as the whole auditorium joined in a rousing rendition of the song now synonymous with Liverpool F.C. and which gave its name to the title of this play

You’ll Never Walk Alone runs at The Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool until 29th October with tickets from £12.

See also my comments on the Liverpool Daily Post Review

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There are one or two good plays coming up on the local theatre scene and one you mustn’t miss is Two.

Now if that sounds like gobbledegook, I should explain that Two is the name of an excellent Jim Cartwright play that just opened  in Manchester and moves to Liverpool at the end of the month.

So what I was really trying to say in my opening paragraph was that whatever else you see at the theatre you really should go to Two too!

Oh dear, it gets worse, doesn’t it! I suppose I should be grateful that nobody  was wearing a ballet outfit because a tutu really would have been two tos too many!

Ok. Enough of the puns. This really is an excellent play that lends itself perfectly to the intimate atmosphere of a studio theatre.

The story is set in the bar of a public house and provides a glimpse into the lives of the landlord and his wife and a dozen of their “regulars”.

All fourteen characters, five of them being couples, had personalities as diverse as you will find on any evening in any town pub.  And one of the things that makes this play so entertaining is the fact they are all played by just two actors!

Actors will often tell you how they have to work at “getting into character” for any new performance – well these two had to “get into” fourteen different characters throughout the entire performance!

They did it brilliantly and convincingly. Lynne Fitzgerald moved effortlessly from being the downtrodden barmaid to a fiery redhead to the obsequious victim of a bullying boyfriend. And her portraytal of the blonde lush would have you believing that the bar really was stocked with copious amounts of alcohol!

In the opening scene Louis Emerick was the struggling Mancunian barman, putting on a cheery face for his punters whilst hiding a sad secret. The characters he played on the other side of the bar however, alternated between a flirty Jack-the-lad, a sad elderly Jamaican lamenting his fast ebbing years, a vile wife-beating control-freak, and a couple of hapless dimwits.  My personal favourite was the woolly hat wearing simpleton who’s ramblings as he and his equally simple girlfriend watched a cowboy film on the pub telly just cracked me up.

Both played their various parts so convincingly you almost forgot there were only two actors in this play.

Producer Michael Silver decided on an approach that was somewhere between a full stage set with all the props and the bare stage mime approach that was the intention of the play’s writer. In my opinion he got it just right. Not having to interpret mime and imagine the setting, allowed the audience to fully appreciate the character acting and enjoy the wonderful humour to the fullest.

As funny as the play was, Two has its dark side too.  There were parts that shocked and made you feel more than a little uncomfortable. There were sad parts too, filled with emotion.  It is testament to these two talented Liverpool actors that they carried out every aspect of this black comedy to perfection.

Two runs at Stageworks in Walkden, Manchester, until the 17th September before moving to The Actors Studio Liverpool on the 21st

Tickets are just £12 each. To book your seats for Manchester call 07415 044090 and for Liverpool call 0151 709 9034.

Do yourself a favour – don’t miss it!

Anyone following this blog will know that Jayne and I love our scouse comedies. So when the Royal Court announced they were closing down for a three month refurb, we were at a loss as to were we would get our monthly fix.

Just recently we gave The Empire a try:  But whilst we admit to being fans of “The Street”, I’m afraid that, for us at least, their production of “Corrie” just didn’t cut the mustard as a stage comedy.

So it was with a certain amount of intrigue that we ventured to New Brighton’s Floral Pavilion for the opening night of Liverbirds.com, with its cast list featuring some of the Liverpool actors we know and love from those raucous nights at the Royal Court.

Well I can tell you, we were not disappointed.

Centred around the sex industry, this black comedy by Carol Maher had the audience in stitches from the very first minute.  A broad-minded audience, of course, the sexual nature of the storyline and the inevitable strong language made it a prerequisite! If it was culture you were after, you’d have been in the wrong place.  But for good honest down and dirty comedy you just couldn’t beat it.

Liverbirds.com is a sleazy escort agency run by Toni Baloni, played by Louis Emerick (remember Mike Johnson in Brookside?), with award-winning actress Crissy Rock as his reformed hooker girlfriend Liz Lovitt.

The story is set over Grand National Weekend when the agency banks on its girls getting “more rides than Red Rum”.   All doesn’t quite go according to plan though, when gangster Mad Mick Mullen arrives on the scene demanding protection money and his pick of the girls.

Liverpool actor Carl Chase provides the “black” side of this comedy as Mad Mick, as well as some of its funniest moments.

The funny and deliciously dippy “birds” in Liverbirds.com, with such colourfully descriptive names as Sophie Jangles Cox, Kelly Seaman, Tess Tickle and Foxy Bush, were glamorously portrayed by Lucy Brown, Phillippa Goodwin, Shelly O’Sullivan and Paula Muldoon.  And vamping up the action alongside the girls was actor, comedian and drag artist Gordon Fawcett as the resident transvestite Fanny Flaptrap.

The team’s “Devil wears Primark” image is looked after by stylist Alberto Balsom (the names get better and better) played by Billy Nelson.  And then there is a Polish receptionist played by local actress and dancer Lesley Butler.  But the unassuming Volta is one to watch. That one’s as deep as the west African river she was named after!

For my money, the Liverbirds.com “oscar” has to go to Lynne Fitzgerald who’s portrayal of the farting, foul-mouthed and toothless cleaner, Concepta Lush, had us splitting our sides with laughter throughout the whole show.

There was music from teenage singer songwriters Gabriella and Izabella Filed who provided some really excellent original songs for the show. I particularly  liked the poignant  ”In a Prayer” during the opening scene.

All credit to director Paul Carmichael for bringing it all together.  I do feel it is such a shame this fantastic comedy is only on at this venue for three days.  It deserves a much longer run when it would also benefit from the subsequently bigger budget for scenery and props.

Dare I say, Liverpool’s Royal Court would be the ideal venue.  Liverbirds,com certainly fits the genre and is the sort of comedy that is well received by that particular theatre’s enthusiastic regular following.

But for now, you can catch it tonight, Friday 11th March, and tomorrow at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton.

See also the Daily Post website

We came…  We saw…  And we laughed our bloomin’ socks off!

Followers of this blog will know from my preview last week that I was certain Scouse Pacific would be a smash hit.

Was I wrong? …Was I heck as like!

It was laughter all the way – from the moment the curtain went up, right through to the final standing ovation.

Very very loosely based upon Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Classical musical, it tells how Father O’Flaherty, played by the inimitable Alan Stocks, is banished by the bishop to set up a missionary on a tropical island along with four of the tastiest nuns you’ve ever seen – the “Sisters of Mersey”, played by graduates of the Dolphin Dance School.

They discover the island is inhabited by a family whose Liverpudlian ancestor was washed up there following a shipwreck.  Head of the family Terry (Andrew Schofield) educated his wife and daughter (Lindzi Germain and Rachel Rae) through the medium of scouse. “ya know warra meeen la?”

The arrival of Father Flaherty and his nuns (who by this time have dis-robed to reveal skimpy grass skirts) prove no threat to the family’s idilic existence. The arrival of Messrs Burke and Dick (Paul Duckworth and Stephen Fletcher) on the other hand, comes with plans to turn it into a tourist trap.

This is a brilliant fast-moving musical with the story being told via the funniest interpretation ever of dozens of well-known songs  such as Bali Hi’i, irreverently blended with rock classics and right through to contemporary rap!

Bohemian Rhapsody was the musical highlight for me.  It wasn’t real life. It was a fantasy – and the entire cast contributed to this hilarious full-length, three-part parody.  Andrew Schofield’s epic guitar solo was every bit as good as Brian May’s. And if Freddie Mercury was looking down from beyond The Gods, I am certain he would have approved.

This is a lively, colourful and uplifting comedy cleverly written especially by Fred Lawless for the Royal Court’s pantomime season and directed by Bob Eaton who has been responsible for so many of the theatre’s recent hits.

Scouse Pacific runs until January 8th.  It is definitely a festive season “must-see”.

More photos from the show can be seen here

Update: The Show has opened and the reviews are out.  Read mine here

Tonight sees the opening of a brand new musical in Liverpool – and whilst Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein might be turning over in their graves, I can assure you the audiences at the Royal Court Theatre will be rolling in the aisles!

This musical comedy gem comes from the pen of playwright Fred Lawless and in the genre of the Royal Court, it is very scouse specific!

During the hour I was photographing the dress rehearsals I could tell that this irreverent take – based very loosely upon the original musical – is going to be a smash hit.

Worry not. If you’re the kind of person who is turned-off by the word “Musical”, let me assure you: there is nothing Bali Ha’i-brow about this production.  Yes, there is some talky talky talky Happy Talk – very much in a Liverpool accent and very very funny.

The songs range from parodies of the original Rodgers & Hammerstein classics to a hilarious version of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. There’s even a rapping vicar thrown in for good measure!

I personally can’t wait to see it through and a full review will, of course, follow.

Get you tickets from the Royal Court Box Office.  Meanwhile, here are a few shots to whet your appetite:
(click image for a larger version)
All images are available for reproduction. Use the contact form to enquire about licensing.

More about Scouse Pacific on the Echo and Daily Post web sites.