You may have heard that we all have a novel, play or song inside us just bursting to come out. This suggests an immediacy, a sense of urgency which, if ignored, will mean that the creative idea is never realised. A wonderful play on a familiar theme. Looking back things seem so much clearer, almost funny, don\u2019t they? Christmas 67, coming of age, clash of cultures and the dark family secrets coming out\u2026 yes you\u2019ve seen this before but rarely so well done. The acting is some of the best seen at this year\u2019s Fringe so far, the characters are believable and you honestly start to care for them, and most importantly, among all the confusion and tragedy, there is plenty of humour and an almost magically light touch. One of those rare plays that finds a positive message and a glimmer of hope among the rubble of family relationships and will leave you with a smile. <\/p> Three Weeks <\/strong> – www.threeweeks.co.uk<\/a> tw rating 4\/5 <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n “If you can remember the Sixties, you weren’t there” – it’s an old joke, frequently repeated these days, but I can remember, and so can Bill Cronshaw, the writer\/drector of Dancing with Auntie. This is a particularly well-observed family drama, based on Bill’s memories of growing up in Manchester, and revolving around Christmas at the Metcalfe’s – Mum and Dad, son Barry, Barry’s Auntie Molly, her daughter Marlene and son-in-law Jed. Oh, and Susan, young Barry’s first girlfriend. After Christmas lunch there’s a family party – a chance for Susan to meet all Barry’s relations, and a chance for them to renew hostilities with each other. <\/p> Barry Metcalfe<\/strong> by Bill Cronshaw You may have heard that we all have a novel, play or song inside us just bursting to come out. This suggests […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-92","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamshedtheatre.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/92","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamshedtheatre.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamshedtheatre.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamshedtheatre.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamshedtheatre.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=92"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamshedtheatre.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/92\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107,"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamshedtheatre.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/92\/revisions\/107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dreamshedtheatre.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u2018Dancing with Auntie\u2019s\u2019 gestation period easily outdates that of an elephant and hopefully will inspire others to turn memorable, distant events into performance art. The stimulus for this play has innocuous origins. The \u2018family do\u2019 was a regular part of my early life. It appeared as predictably as the seasons and, in my case, lightened the dismal northern winters as the family congregated to celebrate Christmas. I still have to smile as adults dismiss Christmas as a \u2018great time for the kids\u2019. It\u2019s my belief that it\u2019s a great time for the kid in all of us, regardless of age. And like children, adults are equally entitled to tantrums, moods and periods of idiosyncracy. \u2018Dancing with Auntie\u2019 is set in a working-class home in Manchester in 1967. What a great time to be young! The sixties were swinging, Manchester City was a formidable footballing force, and I was about to embark on a new life that would take me away from my roots. The play is all about relationships, hopes and dreams. It\u2019s only with hindsight that I\u2019ve felt able to use the memories of that Christmas as a catalyst for this show. I hope that you enjoy it.
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Bill Cronshaw \u2013 November 2003<\/em> <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.dreamshedtheatre.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Dancing-with-Auntie-01444-1-copy-1.jpg\")
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<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nReviews<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Edinburgh Guide.com<\/strong> – www.edinburghguide.com<\/a> 4 Stars \/ Reviewer – Neil Ingram. <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nPast Productions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Previous Cast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\nTim Minshull (2004,2005) Peter Mitcheson (2007), Tom Stentaford (2012)
\n
\nNorman Metcalfe (Dad)<\/strong>
\nIain Barton (2004,2005,2007) John Martin Stevens (2012)
\n
\nBeryl Metcalfe (Mam)<\/strong>
\nLisa Defty (2004,2005) Kim Baker (2007) Anwen Ashworth (2012)
\n
\nJed Tonks<\/strong>
\nRobbie Gardner (2004), Tim Goodwright (2005), Andrew Harvey (2007)
\nAdrian Ross-Jones (2012)
\n
\nMarlene Tonks<\/strong>
\nKaren Little (2004), Kate Colton (2004), Milanka Brooks (2005)
\nAlexandra Chell (2007) Laura Lloyd (2012)
\n
\nDot Metcalfe<\/strong>
\nHelen O’Reilly (2004), Helen Tuvey (2004), Jilly Breeze (2005,2007,2012)
\n
\nSusan Pearson<\/strong>
\nClaire Benjamin (2004,2005), Sarah Thomas-Lane (2007), Zoe Hart (2012)<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.dreamshedtheatre.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/auntie-tshirt-front-300x212.jpg\")
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