By Karl Hornsey, April 2024 Such is the remarkable imagination required to conceive the original story of Edward Scissorhands, it takes something close to an artistic genius to transform that into a ballet. And, realistically, there’s only one man who could achieve such a feat. That man is Matthew Bourne and the audience at Hull New Theatre were on their feet at the end of the opening night of this run of the return of the stage production by Bourne’s New Adventures company. That New Adventures are the only company in the world that performs the story as a theatrical spectacle is testament to ..read more

By Roger Crow For a certain generation of film fans, it’s impossible to talk about the Children’s Film Foundation without turning into The Fast Show’s Ron Manager. ‘Saturday morning cinema? Sweets for a penny. Supporting features like Danny the Dragon. Main features like Robin Hood Junior? Isn’t it? Marvellous.’ And the latter, which starred a pre-Swap Shop Keith Chegwin, is just one of the many vintage delights on the latest collection of Children’s Film Foundation discs from years gone by. “All sorts of adventures” We start with The Secret Tunnel from 1947, in which the young protagonists w ..read more

By Steve Crabtree, April 2024 The West End and Broadway phenomenon that is Wicked has tornado’d itself into Bradford. And the good news is that the Alhambra has become the Emerald City for a huge five-week run. If you’ve never seen the show before, firstly – what have you been doing? And secondly, now is the time. Wicked tells the untold story of the witches of Oz: Elphaba, the green-skinned outcast destined to become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the popular and privileged Good Witch of the North. It gives us the tale of their unlikely friendship, how their personalities clash and ..read more

By Gail Schuster, April 2024 It was a full house for The Syndicate at the Grand, a play written by Leeds’ own Kay Mellor, and directed by her daughter Gaynor Faye. Faye is well-known for playing Megan Macey in Emmerdale amongst other roles. Joshua Andrews, who collaborated with Mellor on Fat Friends The Musical and Band of Gold and Rollem Productions, originally set up by Mellor, co-produced this latest version. Before this stage production it was a popular television series. The first season of The Syndicate originally aired on BBC One in 2012 and seasons 2, 3 and 4 were broadcasted between 2 ..read more

By Liam Bird, April 2024 Imagine, if you will, that after having done something for 75 years – being an expert in your field, having the skills, the results, the accolades, and indeed the adoration to prove it – you decided to stop what it is that you’re known the world over for in order to start again anew. Believe it or not, that’s exactly the situation Jaguar now find themselves in. (And, one could argue, it’s exactly the situation they’ve decided to put themselves in). As of next year, all new Jaguar models will be powered by electric: their internal combustion engines will be no more – or ..read more

By Clare Jenkins, April 2024 There’s a scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s film, The 39 Steps, where hero Richard Hannay, handcuffed by ‘police’ to a woman he met on a train, hides with her under the arches of an ancient bridge in Scottish moorland, enveloped by fog. First impressions of Burnsall are not dissimilar. The Red Lion’s address is By the Bridge – and while this particular stone bridge is longer and wider than Hannay’s, it’s still in the heart of picturesque dry-stone-wall countryside. It’s also the entrance to a ‘typical’ Yorkshire Dales village, whose handsome stone houses cluster around t ..read more

Award winning indie folk-rock quartet, Elephant Sessions begin an extensive UK and international tour in May, taking their unique fusion of traditional and modern sounds on the road. Ahead of the concerts, On:’s Dave Schuster chats with Alasdair Taylor, mandolin maestro and co-frontman of the band, about the tour, instruments and the complexities of organising a festival… Is playing live where Elephant Sessions are happiest? I’d say so, yeah. We started out as a live band and that’s still what we love doing the most. I’m very excited for it. We’ve been a few months off at the start of this yea ..read more

By Roger Crow, April 2024 In 1985, TV writing legends Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran created Roll Over Beethoven. That amiable tale of a rock star (Nigel Planer) moving into a quaint English village and his relationship with the local music teacher (Liza Goddard) was great entertainment, though after 13 episodes, the gag was over and that was that. But a similar set-up is at the heart of their fun stage play Cluedo 2 – The Next Chapter. Yes, the board game which has been entertaining the masses since 1949, has already been turned into a movie. Clue (also 1985) exploited those well-worn charac ..read more

By Sue Dean, April 2024 The stage revival of the iconic TV series triumphantly re-emerges thirty years after its original launch. The GlobeLink News Team, portrayed by the original cast, breathes new life into the legendary comedy, engaging audiences in the fast-paced, high-pressure world of 24-hour news. The reunion of Susannah Doyle, Robert Duncan, Ingrid Lacey, Neil Pearson, Jeff Rawle, Stephen Tompkinson and Victoria Wicks is a theatrical call-to-arms. It’s remarkable to witness these actors, now esteemed in their careers, reprising roles that contributed significantly to their rise in the ..read more

By Christine Goode, April 2024 A new musical is making waves in the UK. Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch is currently on tour and playing at Bradford Alhambra Theatre this week. The show follows the story of Ursula the Sea Witch, who for this show is inspired by the late drag queen Divine from Disney’s The Little Mermaid. It takes us from her early days as a young octopus to her teenage years, and finally to becoming the wicked witch who terrified Ariel and disrupted the seas. This is not your typical musical – and it’s not for the faint-hearted or easily offended. Essenti ..read more