Karen Henthorn – Live Art Alive

Blithe Spirit

Written by Noel Coward

Directed by Hannah Ellis Ryan

Hope Mill Theatre

The latest offering from HER Productions is the sparkling screwball comedy Blithe Spirit. This Noel Coward classic sees urbane couple The Condomines entertaining some friends to an evening with the local clairvoyant Madame Arcarti. Charles Condomine callously hopes to use the evening purely as research for his latest novel. Initially the butt of arch comments and wicked jibes, the high spirited clairvoyant accidentally conjures up a real live spirit in the ectoplasmic form of Charles’ dead first wife Elvira. The resulting high jinks see the two wives desperately competing for their husband which culminates with Elvira attempting to win him over by murdering him to reunite as ghosts. Amusingly it is wife No2, Ruth that dies instead leaving both ghostly women to ultimately unite and vent their frustration on their erstwhile husband who suddenly seems to relish in his new found liberty!

The theatrical polymath that is Hannah Ellis Ryan is at the helm as Director. It may be her first outing in this role but it is an assured debut that she clearly relishes. It’s an ambitious production that makes for a highly entertaining evening despite an overly lengthy first Act.

The staging by Jenny Holt Wright does an excellent job of conveying a feel of comfortable opulence with a gleaming cocktails table and over stuffed furnishings. Although originally staged in 1941 with a definite nod to the relaxed decadence of the pre war era, this new production has gone with a Bridgerton vibe for the costumes by Hannah Bracegirdle. They certainly look lush and colourful and there are some fabulous coiffures but I’m uncertain how well the idea works within the rest of the play. Regency style costumes seem somewhat at odds with Madame Arcarti speeding around on a bicycle in trousers and Ruth being killed off in a car accident! In addition Kayleigh Hawkins as Elvira has hair and a gown that looks much more at home with a 1930s feel.

There are some sparkling performances from the cast. Peter Stone as Charles oozes rakish charm when everything is going his way. As Elvira arrives and his current marriage starts to unravel, he is by turns peevish and increasingly flustered. The result is highly amusing as we watch the supercilious man of the house be driven demented by a petulant dead wife and a bewildered and infuriated living one.

The cast of Blithe Spirit at Hope Mill Theatre Image credit: Lowri Burkinshaw

Ntombizodwa Ndlovu is wonderfully imperious as Ruth. This is a woman used to having her own way and the arrival of Elvira is certainly not tolerable. As the chaos mounts she becomes increasingly angered and threatened resulting in her losing her composure and venting her rage. It’s in the second half that she really comes into her own and any stiffness in the first Act evaporates. Kayleigh Hawkins as Elvira is perfectly cast. Her sinewy grace and brittle charm work wonderfully well as the petulant and mischievous Elvira wreaks havoc with all the nonchalant abandon of a truly Blithe Spirit.

Karen Henthorn is a great comedic turn as Madame Arcarti. Her birdlike swooping and boundless energy and enthusiasm are joyful to watch as she careers around the stage. She exudes a proper Northern charm and a total disregard for staid upper class values. At times a little shouty in her delivery; her performance is a masterclass in letting your inner child out to play on the stage.

This new production at Hope Mill Theatre once again proves what passionate and committed casts and creatives can achieve in small theatres with small budgets. Companies such as HER Productions are blazing a trail ensuring that theatre productions in Manchester remain varied and vibrant.

HOPE MILL THEATRE til 22nd February 2025

THE Dukes, Lancaster 25th Fed – 1st March 2025

Tinned Up

Large Theatres, Uncategorized

Written by Chris Hoyle

Directed by Simon Naylor

Oldham Coliseum

As a writer Chris Hoyle consistently delivers sparkling dialogue that has a rich northern tone, a big heart and a genuine social conscience. Tinned Up may have been written ten years ago, but its relevance today has the same power to arrest and perturb. Staged in Oldham where community spirit remains vibrant, this new version is directed by Simon Naylor of 53Two – a much respected local theatre who are currently between homes due to the surge in inner city re-development. Casting is firmly Northern too and is headed up by the wonderful Karen Henthorn who like Naylor was part of the team involved in Chris Hoyle’s highly successful The Newspaper Boy.

The staging by designer David Howell creates an utterly believable cosy home that Shirley has spent 34 years living in. The outside world might be tinned up but inside these four walls is someone’s home where they have lived their life and built forged their memories. This home houses an indomitable spirit that has spent 7 years refusing to give in to the local council and the private developers. Karen Henthorn is fabulous as the gutsy Shirley whose warmth and stubborn resolve ensures that even those who have left Langworthy are pulled back to their old community to support her. Her performance coupled with the wonderful dialogue Hoyle gives his central character can easily stand confidently alongside the best kitchen sink dramas.

There are some great performances playing off the lead with an especially lovely relationship between Shirley and her young neighbour Daz. Keaton Lansley has real chemistry as Daz and balances humour with real emotional depth as a young man nurtured and encouraged by Shirley to strive for better things in his life. The living room scene with Lynn Roden as Beryl where the two middle aged women reminsce as they get pissed on ouzo is rich with bawdy humour and the poignancy of intertwined memories.

There are some wonderful moments in this production and hopefully opening night will have ironed out some timing issues and fluffed lines. The direction also lacks some of the tightness and lightness of touch that Simon Naylor displayed in The Newspaper Boy. There are several points in the first act and most notably in the final scene where the pacing slows down or appears a little unfocused.

The stomach wrenching moment in this piece is when a muddled Shirley runs out unto her street to share news with her neighbours only to be gently caught by Daz. That street and community has long gone and she is alone…They’re all tinned up, every last one of them. The final street party and the inevitable ending reflect the ebb and flow of progress. The mundane flushing of a toilet as a life ends, making way for wet rooms, upside down houses and another generation of communities… for better or worse remains to be seen.

Main House Takeover Oldham Coliseum 24th-26th Sept 2019

Images by Shay Rowan

The Newspaper Boy

Small Theatres, Uncategorized

53Two

Written by Chris Hoyle

Directed by Simon Naylor

A Dibby Theatre production

Part of Queer Contact 2018

From start to finish The Newspaper Boy is a real joy to watch. Writer Chris Hoyle has such a natural ear for dialogue and a genuine affection for his characters ensuring they are all warm, earthy and colourful. The look and feel of this production is absolutely 1992 from the iconic television ads to the music of New Order and the clothes by John Richmond and Comme des Garçons. This is a real labour of love and perfectly evokes the joy and the anguish of coming out in the Nineties.

The cast do a great job as an ensemble. Christian is on a high speed trajectory from Moston to Didsbury via the nation’s tv screens and Daniel Maley is great as the naive, awkward boy who may be growing up too fast but is having a brilliant time until the newspapers break the scandal. He has the super confident soap veteran Mandy as his ballsy guide to drugs, clubs and fashion. Hollie-Jay Bowes is totally believable as the sweet ingenue/spoilt brat/faghag who just wants to get wankered and not have another cute guy love her like a fucking sister!! The fifteen year old Christian falls in love with the older boy Max who Sam Retford embodies with charm and genuine honour and sweetness.

Director Simon Naylor directs the sex scenes with genuine tenderness . This is a coming of age in a really special and joyful way that is later brutalized and cheapened by an ignorant media obsessed with the moral high ground and the desire to sell newspapers. When Christian says I’m proud of us it is said with a naivety about the personal, social and possible legal repercussions. Regardless of this Chris Hoyle has written young love in a joyous way that anyone could be proud off.

The older cast members bring additional depth to this story and of course were young people in the Nineties so can draw on their experiences. Eve Steele gives a chilly television executive in Burberry and heels but blisters with her genius take on a Manc drug dealer on the club scene. Samantha Siddall as Christian’s Mum is perfectly cast as the proud parent basking in the glory of a famous child while still worrying for his well-being. Karen Henthorn is just brilliant as the feisty, chain smoking Gran who adores Christian. Her performance shifts from impish to red eyed and broken, with the stuffing knocked out of her as the scandal unfolds.

The staging works really well and built over several levels allows for creative space to move the action on stage across a range of settings. The family home in Moston to soap star Mandy’s place in Didsbury via Flesh night at The Haçienda and the Granada studio offices and the set for famous soap Mancroft Walk. The energy ramps up a gear as a throng of tv crew thrust through the audience to film another scene on set. The audience are watching this unfold on stage while overhead monitors play out the filmed scene. A large tv screen above Christian’s bed shows scenes from the soap as the family watch Christian and Mandy on scene as the young lovers. Interspersed with iconic Nineties ads for Gold Blend and Milky Way the feeling of slipping back 25 years becomes stronger and stronger. It is a clever and impressive use of this small, bustling theatre. 53Two is quickly becoming a hugely exciting space to see theatre in Manchester.

Based on some of Hoyle’s personal experience as a child actor on Coronation Street, this play highlights the hypocrisy of television programming that storylines teenage pregnancy by a teacher but baulks at teenage gay sex with another young man. Staged as part of Queer Contact 2018 this is a funny and poignant take on an important subject.

Images by Richard Kelly

At 53Two until Saturday 24th February