Wendy McEwan

Manchester

Writer at North West End UK

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northwestend.com

Articles

In Other Words – The Studio - North West End UK

1 week ago | northwestend.com | Wendy McEwan

When your partner is diagnosed with a life-changing illness, your shared history becomes a prologue. At first, nothing tangible changes between you. But at that moment, you each gain a new identity within your relationship. They are the patient, and you are the carer. And the future you had planned together is revealed as a mirage. As the audience enters, Jane (Lydia White) and Arthur (Matthew Seager) are falling in love.
Tim Rice - My Life in Musicals: I Know Him So Well - Festival Theatre

3 weeks ago | northwestend.com | Wendy McEwan

Tim Rice is a man of many words. He’s been writing lyrics for 60 years, collaborating with some of our most celebrated composers – Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Elton John, of course, and more recently, Gary Barlow. He even wrote some lyrics for Elvis. Rice wanted to be a rock star, so he sent demo tapes to all the leading record labels. Impressed by his lyrics, a musical publisher introduced him to Lloyd-Webber, and a great songwriting partnership was born.
Eliza Carthy and Jennifer Reid – Traverse Theatre - North West End UK

1 month ago | northwestend.com | Wendy McEwan

Jennifer Reid performs nineteenth-century Lancashire dialect and Victorian broadside ballads. She comes from Rochdale, “but I admit it”. Reid sings unaccompanied throughout the evening but provides percussion for one of Carthy’s songs in the form of clog dancing. Eliza Carthy describes herself as a “modern English musician”. She sings centuries-old traditional songs, and more modern pieces including her own compositions. She mostly sings unaccompanied and occasionally brings out her fiddle.
The Flames – Traverse Theatre - North West End UK

2 months ago | northwestend.com | Wendy McEwan

The Flames is a performance company for people over the age of fifty. Each member of the ensemble (I counted approximately 22) tells a moving story from their own past. The theme of the stories is ikigai, a Japanese term often translated as “purpose”. Ikigai is about the things that bring value and meaning to life.
Herak/Bulaktin Quartet Featuring Paul Towndrow – Traverse Theatre - North West End UK

2 months ago | northwestend.com | Wendy McEwan

I’m not especially familiar with jazz, and if I’d heard this music on the radio, I wouldn’t have got it. It turns out that jazz makes more sense when you experience a live performance, and my ears begin to tune in to its language. It reminds me of the first time I saw Shakespeare performed. The gathering feels cosy, in the informal setting of the Traverse bar. I am struck by the intense concentration of each musician when the others are playing.
PASS Double Bill – Traverse Theatre - North West End UK

Jan 12, 2025 | northwestend.com | Wendy McEwan

The BA Dance and Drama students from PASS showcase their artistry in two ensemble pieces, created in collaboration with Dance Base. First up, the cryptically titled YGNEREME. The blurb in the programme talks about grief, collective action and emergency. A single dancer, Clara Browning, moves playfully in a spotlight, but then something changes and she is swept away by the collective. Assimilated, if you like.
reINCARNATION – Festival Theatre - North West End UK

Oct 21, 2024 | northwestend.com | Wendy McEwan

Nigeria’s population is overwhelmingly young, and unemployment is high. Amidst the hardship, dance is a popular creative outlet, and many young Nigerians share their talents through videos on social media. In 2014, Qudus Onikeku returned to his home city of Lagos, having achieved acclaim as a choreographer in France. He was inspired by the abundance of creative talent, and invited some dancers to a workshop.
Dr Louise Newson – Hormones and Menopause: The Great Debate -Festival Theatre - North West End UK

Oct 9, 2024 | northwestend.com | Wendy McEwan

It started in my mid-forties. A woman, maybe a decade older than me, would look around to check for eavesdroppers, then say something like, ‘I can’t drink coffee anymore. Not since the menopause.’Nobody had prepared them for the change of life. Nobody spoke about it. For generations, everyone was blindsided by the menopause, just like that other taboo experience, menstruation.
Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me - Summerhall

Sep 24, 2024 | northwestend.com | Wendy McEwan

Ben Harrison and David Paul Jones were both teenagers in the 1980s. Both felt suffocated by their respective small towns, and both found solace in the music of the time. Harrison tells a selection of stories from his youth, and Jones performs his own interpretations of some of those songs. It’s a nostalgic revisit to a vibrant era that now seems defined by its contrasts. Emery Hunter’s integrated BSL interpretation drew me in right from the start.
Silly Little Bits – The Royal Scots Club - North West End UK

Aug 28, 2024 | northwestend.com | Wendy McEwan

Everyone needs a laugh now and then, and Edinburgh-based Broadsword Theatre are here to save the day with a selection of comedy sketches. It’s energetic, playful, and, as the title suggests, ever so silly. Why work with a focus group to evaluate programming ideas for your TV station, when you can simply get a Content Goblin? This monosyllabic “average” viewer loves shows about hot people running pyramid schemes, and cops who are also other things, but whatever you do, don’t mention werewolves.