Northumberland Theatre Company

Posted by: Admin - Wed 10th Mar 2010 11:54am

The Stage review for A Village Life has just been published! Reviewed by Kevin Berry at Danby Institute, North Yorkshire, 9th March 2010.

The rural idyll is examined with humour and gradual but revealing insight in Mary Cooper’s new play for the Northumberland Theatre Company. Audiences for this tour of village halls will chuckle at recognisable ironies, but village life is not all fun and certainly not a panacea. How that is illustrated, in moments of emotional depth, is this play’s dramatic strength.

Margaret, played with unquenchable enthusiasm and heart by Sandra Hunt, is in her sixties and has come from London to the village of her childhood. She sees a disparate, apathetic community, which is not what she remembers. She tries to pull everyone together with frivolous ideas, but it is the prospect of a wind farm on a nearby beauty spot that eventually binds this community. Or at least puts them into two opposing factions.
Others in what is a splendid cast play two or even three sharply contrasting roles. Nigel Collins excels as Colin, Margaret’s husband who loathes village life. William Reay’s playing of a farmer dealing with despair really does hit home.

The NTC style is fluid, physically inventive and there are always memorable images to stir the senses. The actors have their props and costumes in the body of the hall, neatly arranged. Changing, in full view of the audience, is done with strict economy of movement. It has the effect of drawing the audience into the process of creating theatre.
A Village Life, touring to remote communities, is theatre without compromise.

Posted by: Admin - Wed 3rd Mar 2010 9:33am

Watch our video to see a selection of audience comments from the opening night of A Village Life in Alnwick Playhouse!

Posted by: Ben - Thu 14th Jan 2010 10:10am

Snow place like home for Gemma

Published Date:
13 January 2010
By Paul Clifford
A SOUTH Tyneside actress is about to break a leg in her hometown for the first time.
Gemma Clough is starring in The Last Snow Rider, which comes to the Customs House next week.

It is her first time on stage in South Shields since she started working professionally in 2003.

She appears as the title character in the play, which is brought to the borough by Alnwick-based Northumberland Theatre Company (NTC).

Gemma, who recently moved across the Tyne from South to North Shields, studied drama at Newcastle College and the University of Sunderland.

She first worked for NTC in 2006 in Shakespeare's A Comedy Of Errors, and has been in a number of plays for the company since.

The 28-year-old is looking forward to making her home-town debut, but admits she's slightly nervous.

She said: "I'm excited about playing the Customs House. I was over the moon when I saw it on the schedule - not only because it is in South Shields, but because it has such a good reputation."

"It will be a funny one for me because a lot of the audience will be family and friends."

"I'm sure there'll be extra nerves on the night because of that, but also because it's a chance for me to show the people at the Customs House what I can do."

The former Boldon Comprehen-sive pupil added that the play, a modern fairytale about friendship and belief, couldn't come at a more perfect time: "The story is about winter magic and the wonder that snow can bring," she said.

"We couldn't have asked for better weather really, as some children are enjoying playing in the snow for the first time, which makes the play more special."

The show was written by Berwick-based writer Ann Coburn and recently received rave reviews in theatre newspaper The Stage.

The Snow Rider is on at the Customs House next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Posted by: Admin - Mon 4th Jan 2010 1:55pm

Two great reviews for our production of The Last Snow Rider!

Hexham Courant 24/12/2009
The wonder of winter and the childhood excitement that comes with seeing snow is brought to life in the latest production by Northumberland Theatre Company.

Featuring Bellingham's James Reay, who is billed as William Reay, his stage and middle name, The Last Snow Rider tells the story of Freya, played by Gemma Clough, a snow rider responsible for spreading the magic of the season across the land.

But Freya and her kind are kept alive by human wonder at her work and, as children have found alternative entertainment on TV and computer screens rather than playing in the snow, she finds herself the last surviving snow rider.

Evil winter witch Cailleach, played in a confident and commanding style by Kim Evans, seems to be delighting in the demise of the snow riders however, as it is she who wants to use her wicked powers to reign over the frosty months.

So when Freya and her snow cloud Nimbo, played by James, take a tumble into the garden of shy Jack and his trusty canine side-kick Lila, played by Jennifer Gabriele, it is left to the unlikely heroes to save Freya and get her and Nimbo back in the air.

The intimate stage, compact cast and magical set makes for an enchanting production for young and old.

James stole the show as bold and bullish cloud Nimbo who, with his Geordie accent, was at the centre of most of the comedy and proved he could command laughs as well as put in a heart-warming performance.

Gemma makes an angelic Freya, while Christopher Ranson's portrayal of timid Jack and Jennifer Gabriele as loyal pup Lila, both leave a lasting and tender impression - and give you that warm festive glow.

The show is a must-see festive family outing

The Stage 04/01/2010
It is always undoubtedly a glorious piece of luck for a writer when a work of fiction chimes with what is happening in the real world.

In The Last Snow Rider, the realisation that playing in the snow can be more fun than hiding indoors staring at TVs and computers opens just as the heavens drop a white blanket across the country. It couldn't be more up to the minute if it included updated travel reports.
This performance takes place in a very small village hall space that not only stretches the imagination but also the chill factor. It is never quite clear if the wind noises are machine-made or seeping through the draughty windows, covered - loosely - with pinned-up sheets. It does, of course, all add to the metaphorical nature of what exactly is fun during deepest winter.
High praise must go to Gemma Clough who injects Freya, the last of the Snow Riders, with just the right amount of warmth and frostiness, while local actor William Reay's gags as Nimbo the snow cloud draw the most laughs. It is left to the experienced Kim Evans as the wicked witch Cailleach to entice over-excited boos and hisses from the audience as she attempts to hijack winter. Christopher Ranson makes an excellent wuss turned hero of Jack yet the surprise highlight here is Jennifer Gabriele. She may have drawn the short straw having to play Lila the dog but her ability to make endless sniffing look so much fun as the others search for human wonder is endearing.
A modern fairytale for the screen generation, The Last Snow Rider is not only highly topical but also highly thought-provoking

Posted by: Ben - Thu 3rd Dec 2009 11:31am

Review from the Northumberland Gazette, Thursday 3rd Dec 2009:
The Last Snow Rider - Northumberland Theatre Company, Alnwick Playhouse Studio, Friday.

HITCH a ride on a snow-filled cloud back to your childhood days.

Remember whooping with joy as you opened the curtains on a white, sparkly blanket covering the landscape? Remember the magical days and dark evenings before Christmas filled with spicy aromas and fairytales around a log fire (as this play points out, before the advent of double glazing!)?

Northumberland Theatre Company's production of The Last Snow Rider will glide you back to those simple times of tinsel and trimmings. For the many children in the audience, they did not have to make the same journey, they were just transfixed, wide-eyed.

Freya, played by the angelic Gemma Clough, is a snow rider, spreading magic across the land and kept alive by human wonder at her work.But as children have found alternative entertainment on TV and computer screens rather than playing in the snow, Freya finds herself the last of her kind. Which is music to the evil ears of wicked witch Cailleach (a contrastingly dark portrayal by Kim Evans), who wants to rule over the frosty months.It falls to timid lad Jack, who shuts his eyes in the scary bits of Dr Who, to save Freya and restore the wonder to winter.

If Gemma is delightful as Freya, commanding William Reay was excellent as her means of global transport, a bullish Geordie cloud with a soft heart.As my 10-year-old daughter put it after the show: "He was awesome," which is the equivalent of getting four yeses from the X-Factor judges! Christopher Ranson's wide-eyed Jack added a dose of innocence to the proceedings and the heavenly singing voice of Jennifer Gabriele as eager pup Lila made you wish she had been given a bigger part. With song, dance, comic touches and a couple of satirical skits on modern television, all played out in an intimate, dreamy, frozen set, this made for a thoroughly entertaining and heart-warming evening - a giant snowball of fun.

I would urge you to catch the production as it tours the county and further afield until the end of January. See it, you'll not regret it!