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Since its formation in 2007, Hartshorn - Hook Productions has been involved with a constant stream of exciting projects. Below are a range of reviews and photographs covering the company's production history. Simply click on the production titles to access more information and gallery images.
In 2009:
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H&H at the Brighton Festival Fringe
H&H ran the Brighton Unitarian Church which shows scores of fabulous shows earning excellent, well-deserved reviews. For more information see the venues page.
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Boys of the Empire at the Kings Head Theatre In London
Following the success of "Boys of the Empire" at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year, H&H and "Taggart" creator Glenn Chandler joined forces once again to bring this fantastic show to London. The show was directed by acclaimed director and writer Patrick Wilde, and was performed in the Kings Head Theatre, Islington, from December 16th to January 11th.
After a sell out run, the show was extended for a further two weeks due to overwhelming popular demand!“The show scales preposterous heights... has a rare charm.”
Evening Standard* * * * - Time Out
At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2008:
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The Rat Pack - Live!
With a highly acclaimed run in 2007, The Rat Pack – Live! returned again this year and sold out repeatedly, with 5 star reviews. Robin T. Barton, of BroadwayBaby, described it as “one big party to which we are all invited”. A live band, beautiful Berelli sisters, and the main men, Frank, Dean and Sammy made this show the perfect evening with a cocktail of sexy, stylish swing.
“…excellent renditions of all the classics from the Rat Pack, backed by a top-class band.”
* * * * * - boredtonight.co.uk“ …kicking brass and super tight rhythm sections…Frank would be proud.”
Three WeeksLouis Hartshorn's original conception of The Rat Pack - Live! played to packed houses and to great acclaim. To view photographs from August 2007 starring Martin Kaye as Frank Sinatra click here
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Return to the Forbidden Planet
We blasted on to the Fringe this year with the rock’n’roll and spaceship glam of Return to the Forbidden Planet. Based on Shakespeare’s tale of magic, love and secrets, The Tempest, this show brought all these dimensions into the 21st Century for the Fringe, with an acrobatic, multi-instrumental cast of talented young performers.
“I would not be in the least surprised if it develops a Fringe cult following.”
* * * * - one4review.com -
Treasure Island
Brought to you by Hartshorn - Hook Productions, after Treasure Island’s sell out tour 2006-2007: the fast, fun and fantastic production of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale, Treasure Island.
Pantomime met Monty python in this delightful children’s show, which had everyone rolling in the aisles; young and old.
“Just what you want for an afternoon out with your children/nieces/nephews or grandkids.”
* * * * - BroadwayBaby.comFind us on Facebook.
In co-production with Glenn Chandler and Wild Justice:
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Boys of the Empire
The editor says: Hallo Chums! I'm very excited to present this ripping tale about the pals of St. Ethelred's School, Pyke, Overday, Ascher, Kamal (he's foreign!), not forgetting Morley of the sixth who will give all of you a thrashing if you don't pay attention. And you don't want that, do you? (Some of you might!)
Now, a little background to our story. The Great War has ended (incidentally it was called Great because we won!) and Great Britain - there's that word again, chums - has occupied Mesopotamia and called it Iraq because it is so much easier to pronounce. The Ottoman Empire has been divided up, and the Turks sent packing back to Turkland. We have put a Sunni King on the throne who is friendly to Britain and intends giving us all his oil. Unfortunately the Arabs haven't shown their gratitude to our British soldiers (shame on them!) and are rebelling against liberation. Our noble and great Colonial Secretary, Winston Churchill, has advocated dropping poison gas on them, and many readers may agree with him! But in Iraq there are children, just like you, who like collecting stamps and making objects out of plasticine and who dream of one day owning a BSA bicycle, and you wouldn't like it if these Iraqi boys and girls advocated dropped poison gas on Tunbridge Wells or Kingston-Upon-Thames, would you? (Reader S. Purbright of Kingston take note - I read your letter and I don't think you are very loyal to your home town. I have passed it to Morley of the sixth, who is coming to give you a sound thrashing!)
But something almost as bad happens to the chums of St. Ethelred's, and you will just have to wait to find out what!
Finally, T. Rogers of Abergavenny sends me a chatty epistle asking about coalmining as a career. Well, everyone who goes into mining gets an opportunity to learn a skilled, interesting job. I suggest you write to the Juvenile Employment Office who will advise you on coalmining as a job for you. The boys of St Ethelred's would never become coalminers, however! They are our future politicians - thankfully! Chin chin!
“Everything you could want in an energetic and creative Fringe show”
* * * * * - British Theatre Guide“The whole thing is faultless. The funniest play I have seen on the fringe in quite some years.”
* * * * * - Scotsgay"...absolutely ripping yarn..."
* * * * - The Scotsman -
What's Wrong with Angry?
Two beautiful boys fall in love, but that love is a crime. Patrick Wilde directed his award-winning, funny, heart-breaking and ultimately triumphant tale of courage and defiance, to great acclaim.
When What’s Wrong With Angry? opened at a small fringe theatre in London in 1993 it played to six people. By the end of the three week run, thanks to some rave reviews and word of mouth, people (including Sir Ian McKellen) were queuing round the block.
A searing indictment of the anti-gay laws (The Age of Consent was 5 years higher for gay men, and Section 28 meant local authority was too afraid to support anything homosexual) in the UK it caught the public imagination and was particularly championed by the gay community. It transferred to the Oval House Theatre, then the BAC, and sold out both venues.
As a piece of political theatre it was a huge part of the movement towards real equality for gay men. The laws started to be relaxed, but inequality persisted. Writer Patrick Wilde was commissioned to write a feature film version, (titled "Get Real") and the play finally made it into the West End at The Arts Theatre.
The play’s combination of politics, humour, a fantastic pumping soundtrack and a heart breaking love story has meant it has sold out almost everywhere it has played, and was described by Time Out as “popular theatre at it’s best – a real crowd pleaser”. Though it tells of a time when things in theory were much tougher for young gay people, it still stands a celebration of the human spirit and determination to triumph, and in Patrick Wilde’s new shorter version directed by the playwright himself remains a poignant reminder of how recently things were very, very different.
“Beautifully executed, fantastically acted, What’s Wrong With Angry? lingers in your thoughts days after you have seen it. And that’s the power of perfect theatre.”
* * * * * - Hairline
“Oliver Jack and Christopher Birks are a joy as the leading men”
* * * - The Scotsman
"In a world which desperately needs heroes, Patrick Wilde and Steven Carter emerge as clear candidates."
* * * * * - Fringe Review
"...real and raw emotion were captured beautifully..."
* * * * * - British Theatre Guide
With Adam Somerset, we present the World Premiere of:
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The Root of Minus One
Adam says: This production came into being on 21 September 2007. On that evening I saw, by chance, Theatre de Complicite performing their group piece "A Disappearing Number". The production, which went on to win every award last year, merged a modern love story with a biographical treatment of the Indian mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan.
As I watched the play I realised that some of the content was familiar to me, that I had also once written a play that featured a mathematician. Back home, in one drawer, I found a copy of the play, and, in another drawer, a letter from a BBC reader with feedback that was both encouraging and critical.
I was once told that playwright David Storey would write a play, then put it aside for a whole year so that he might gain a critical perspective on it. Whether it is a true story or not time is a sharp judge. In the interval since that early draft of “The Root of Minus One” much had happened; not beyond the normal passage of living but it took in illness, parental loss, a child bounding on in development. I could see easily the play through the eyes of that BBC reader. The play's shortcomings were as clear as the parts that were worth salvaging. Nine-tenths of the original writing dropped away with ease.
What took its place was a small piece, a three-hander, on loss and the return from loss. It was written for the space in which it is being performed. It gives to the cast what actors always seek, new language, roles that have complexity, characters that evolve.
- Adam Somerset (18th June 2008)
This production recieved interest from several establishments including drama, research and mathematical institutions, one of whom suggested the show transfer to London. For a full review please click here.
With Angels and Virgins Theatre Company:
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The Miller's Tale
The Miller's tale is a modern day adaptation of Chaucer's most bawdy tale. Where the original centred on farce and cuckoldry, the adaptation centres on more of the same, but with all the follies and prejudices of Medieval England replaced by the follies and prejudices of the modern world. Nick Monferat, known throughout the University of Oxford for his charm, love of Medieval literature, and talent for manipulation and seduction, lodges with strangers to write his third year dissertation. Playing to the bigotry of John, the narrow-minded homeowner, Nick feigns homosexuality in order to escape his obligation to engage in John's tiresome, bigoted "manly banter". Later he realises that the pretence may aid him in his new conquest: the seduction of Alice, John's unfittingly beautiful and intelligent girlfriend. This conquest is punctuated by Nick's delusions of grandeur and fantasies, as he sees himself partake in the original tale of Chaucer, interacting with Middle English speaking characters such as Alisoun, Johann the carpenter and Absolon. As fantasy becomes reality and Chaucerian characters spill onto the stage, while Alice and Nick must face many a farcical challenge if they are to continue their affair. The Miller's Tale lays bare the foundations of modern stereotypes and investigates age old misconceptions with the aid of cerebral wit and lewd humour in equal measure.
The Miller's Tale is an hour of hilarious sexual farce, social mayhem and the player every man wishes to be..... Nick Monferat.
"...energetic cavortings... Ah, youth and limber lissomeness! Beyond price."
BroadwayBaby
In cooperation with the Royal Northern College of Music Outreach Department:
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West Side Story
Photos by Matthew Priestley
This production was performed to great acclaim from the Independent in April 2008. RNCM students and children from schools across the region joined forces in a thrilling production of one of the all-time great American musicals.
Full of sharp dialogue, electrifying dance and well-known songs such as Tonight and America, West Side Story is a timeless story of love and hope against all the odds. Reflecting themes of gang warfare, racism and teenage disaffection, it was as relevant in urban Manchester today as it was in New York at the time of its first performance in 1957. This amateur production was presented by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Ltd on behalf of Music Theatre International of New York.
All the shows feature talented casts from all over the UK.