The Star

Venue:  Liverpool Playhouse Theatre

As soon as I walked in to this old theatre, I fell in love with it all over again.  There is something magic in small theatres that you can’t seem to find in larger venues such as arenas.  The beautiful red velvet curtain draped the stage and a sense of nostalgia flowed. 

Michael Starke (The Chairman) was perfect for this leading role.  An actor, who is at ease in front of an audience, delivered the intended poor jokes and puns with perfect comedic timing, even though he was obviously struggling with his voice (I believe he has been unwell but the show must go on) it didn’t stop him giving a great performance.  Michael was backed up by the superb Eithne Brown.  I have seen her in many productions over the years and I love he wit and put downs to the audience, making the audience feel part of the show.  If the audience are hesitant to participate, Eithne encourages them with what I can only describe as ‘scouse charm’.  Michelle Butterly I hadn’t come across before but gave an excellent performance and used some ‘scouse’ put downs superbly, adding a local twang to her voice.  Her singing was excellent, as was her interaction with the audience, which some actors find difficult to do.

Kevin Harvey was the surprise performer for me in the show.  Some actors, when asked to play a drunk, over compensate and get it completely wrong.  For me, Kevin played it as it should have been played.  He reminded me of a young Don Warrington of Rising Damp fame.  Danny O’Brien was great in the many failed attempts at entertaining us, although still not sure how the magic trick was done! Jack Rigby and Helen Carter played the young love interest in the show. Both had very good singing voices and Helen’s solo towards the end was delightful.  I would like to see both of these actors in other shows as I think they have more to offer.

The show was a throw back to all the wonderful music hall acts that have now sadly gone and we are left with the fame hungry generation, who want instant success.  A reference in the show to Britain’s Got Talent wasn’t wasted.  There were many local places of interest that were mentioned throughout and at one point we thought the theatre was going to be closed down for, as the Chairman put it, ye olde Poundland!

I didn’t really know what to expect from this show and sat there throughout laughing at the lines thrown at us and the situations being farcically played out on stage.  I would recommend everyone to go and see this show and support a great cast and well written script.  This star will certainly continue to shine bright.