Celebrity Pig at The Lowry! No, it’s not the Jade Goody roadshow come to trouble the Mancs, but a group of Wythenshawe-based actors with learning difficulties. In their self-devised piece ‘Romeo & Juliet: A Question of Choice’, they have drawn upon often painful personal experience to create a thought-provoking and highly emotional production that challenges our increasingly selfish society to empathise with its fellow human beings on such everyday matters of companionship, family relationships, and physical love.
Aided by a variety of professional actors including Christopher Eccleston as the narrator, and Jeni Howarth-Williams as an over officious Case Manager, the members of Celebrity Pig worked hard to entertain and inform their capacity audience, and their sheer energy, enthusiasm and refreshingly unselfconscious charisma carried them through to the tearful finale. Robert Maxfield was the lynchpin as the hapless Arthur Capulet, performing self-penned songs at the piano with some finely-balanced comedy, pathos and tragedy. The star-crossed lovers, played by a sturdy Andrew Brown and a delicate Julie Sheridan, were well supported by an ensemble cast that pulled together to create a memorable piece of theatre. Special mention must go to Valerie Hughes as Juliet’s passionate and vibrant friend Val, John Travis for his swivel-hipped dance moves as Mercutio, Rose Travis as the boisterous community nurse, and Trish Wray who had everyone in tears at the lovers’ death.
Artistic Director Caroline Clegg fashioned a lovely fusion of enjoyable knockabout comedy with a bone chilling examination of everyday issues that a good many of us regularly take for granted. The rights of individuals to basic human needs in a restrictive, barely sympathetic society more interested in (anything but) reality TV shows, celebrity trivia, and anal-retentive fashion trends (anyone for Paris Hilton’s new perfume range?)!
Top marks to local boy made good, Christopher Eccleston, for backing this fine company. The man is a real star in a world of false idols. So, forget the bloodless and gutless world of narcissistic ladder –climbers, and witness instead REAL people, REAL emotion, and REAL aspirations.
Oh well, back to Big Brother I suppose!
