Big Society
Leeds City Varieties, 2012
Red Ladder and Chumbawamba. Written by Boff Whalley. Directed by Rod
Dixon.
Premiered at Leeds City Varieties on 18th
January 2012.
Centred around a cast of showmen, starlets and ventriloquists, and set in the Leeds City Varieties of a century ago, Big Society! invites you you to sing along with the assembled conjurors, drunks and suffragettes as they wrestle with the forces of morality in a concoction of comedy, class and catchy choruses.
“Lisa Howard has immense stage presence and charisma,
as the matriarchal Eve the Escapologist who spends every waking hour
challenging inequality and injustice wherever she encounters it.”
Leeds News, January 2012
“But make no mistake this is an ensemble piece and he is equalled
by the mesmerising Lisa Howard as the brassy Geordie showgirl who
literally
shags King Edward to death. Her front of house song and dance routines
with the
more precise Kyla Goodey are divine.”
Paul Clark, The Culture Vulture, 23rd January 2012
“There is a wealth of lively support from Lisa Howard as a militant
escapologist...”
Michael Billington, guardian.co.uk, Sunday 22nd January 2012
“...the strongest character is suffragette Lisa Howard, giving a
talented turn as Eve the Escapologist. She confidently predicts that in
the
distant future, wars and riots won’t exist under Britain’s
first female Prime Minister.”
The Arts Desk, Graham Rickson, Monday, 23rd January
2012
“Lisa Howard (Eve) and Kyla Goodey (Beatrice) are also excellent,
Howard leading the choruses with typical music hall gusto.”
What's on Stage, 20th January 2012
“...Lisa Howard, it should be noted, excels as this sturdy-minded
suffragette.”
The Leeds Guide, Simon Walker, 23rd January
2012
“...the strength of the performances and the comedy throughout
is more than enough to buoy it up.”
Emily Heward, Halifax Courier, 25th January
2012
