Mundo Jazz - Audience Review

Seems that the recent performance by Mundo Jazz went down a storm. I have
received the following review from a member of the audience:

Mundo Jazz are a Marxist, Feminist Anti Capitalist, (well Anti everything really) collective, who through the power of music fight injustice wherever its ugly head appears. Unfortunately they know nothing about any of the subjects they campaign against.

The show consists of a collection of well written and astute songs and some improvised songs which were about members of the audience, so be warned don’t sit at the front! And ramblings from the leader of Mundo Jazz, Juan a Panamanian peace campaigner, who is backed up ably by Sergei a Russian ex alcoholic, Haris Habib a French Algerian and a mysterious drummer/violinist who no one is sure were he actually comes from, including himself!

The audience in the Studio theatre were treated to a fantastic night of comedy, music and even unicycle riding (!) by this very imaginative and original comedy band who deserve to be playing on a bigger stage.

Definitely the best comedy act I have ever seen and “one size does fit all” - you've got to see them to get that!

Mundo Jazz are on tour and you can find details of their tour dates here. If you would like to write a review of an event you have seen at the Octagon, then you can email me at sally.boyd@octagonbolton.co.uk.

And Did Those Feet - Radio 4 interview

If you were up and about early this morning you might have caught a piece about And Did Those Feet on Radio 4's Today programme. There's an interview with Jeff Hordley (who plays Ted), Les Smith (Writer) and Mark Babych (Director), plus a soundbite from Dick Pym who played in the 1923 FA Cup final. Lovely...

Due to the wonders of modern techno-gadgetry, if you missed it you can listen again here. The interviews feature in the 6.30 - 7am slot (Friday 5th October).

And Did Those Feet - The Movie....

If you'd like to have a glimpse at what The Stage is talking about here, The Bolton News here, The Daily Mail here and other reviews here, here and here, why not take a look at the little film we have produced below. Once again Donna has done a great job - so thank you Donna.




And in a nice story of art imitating life one of the audience members to a recent performance of And Did Those Feet told our Ticket Office the story of how his wedding day coincided with the day the Bolton Wanderers were due to play in the Cup Final in 1958. He, like Ted in the production, tried to persuade his future wife to postpone the wedding. Unlike Ted, he failed!

Read All About It - The Octagon Column

As part of the 40th Anniversary Season celebrations, we will be featuring a fortnightly column in The Bolton News. The column will appear on a Thursday with the first one being published a couple of weeks ago. The first piece was written by John Blackmore, Executive Director of the Octagon Theatre, in what is also his 40th year in the business.

If you didn't see it in the paper then you can read it here.

The column will feature a mix of faces that have had a connection with the Octagon in the past, present or future. Next up is 'Mr Blonde Bombshells of 1943' himself, Alan Plater, which should feature in tomorrow's edition.

Alan will be returning to the Octagon's auditorium for one night only on 4th November with The Seven Ages of Jazz featuring the Alan Barnes Quintet. You can read more about Alan's deep love of jazz here.

Update: If you didn't get to read Alan's column in yesterdays Bolton News you can read it here.

Mundo Jazz speak

If you're still a bit unsure about what to expect from the unique musical and comedic style of Mundo Jazz and what they are all about take a look at this, or watch the video below as they explain a bit more about themselves in their own unique style! Enjoy....

And Did Those Feet - What's Being Said...

And Did Those Feet is getting some nice reviews. You can read what the MEN thought here, the Guardian here and the review from Burnley Citizen here. I am so glad as I really enjoyed this production (despite being neither a Bolton native nor a Wanderer). Seems that a lot of others felt the same way as the auditorium on press night had a definite buzz.

Lofty the Lion also made an appearance but to the dismay of two of our production staff, who should be old enough to know better, got changed out of his costume before they got a chance to have their picture snapped with him! Don't worry lads, your identity will remain a secret for now.

As I think I may have mentioned before, Arun Ghosh composed and arranged the music for the show, which was simple, elegant and beautiful. Not only that but he also grabbed his clarinet to jam with the band in the bar after the show! Unfortunately I didn't have my camera so no photos so you'll have to take my word for it. Having never seen him perform before, it was a delight to watch him in action. You really should go see him performing in the Bill Naughton Studio Theatre this week.

Children's Theatre - Dragon-Fish

Dragon-Fish is rooted in a traditional tale from Vietnam. The story is about a brother and sister who live together in a tumble-down cottage by the side of a huge lake.

The brother believes that the Dragon King lies at the bottom of the lake but the sister doesn't. In fact, they argue all the time, mostly about the fact that the brother fishes all day long but never catches anything whilst the sister works non-stop to try and grow vegetables to feed the hens, tend the plum trees and clean the house. The only thing she actually does well is make jam.

The brother has a pretend friend with whom he has pretend adventures - much to the annoyance of his sister who tries to wake him from these dreams.

Eventually the brother tries to fish properly but his new hook sinks to the bottom of the lake disturbing the Dragon King himself and so causing the lake to overflow leaving mud and muck all through their tumble-down cottage. Not only that but the brother sees a little girl rising out of the lake and asks him to dive down to the bottom of the lake with her to remove his fishing hook which is stuck in the mouth of her father - the Dragon King.......

Will the brother go with the girl? Will he survive the wrath of the Dragon King? How will he get the hook from the Dragon King's huge jaws?

If you want to know how it all pans out for the brother, the Dragon King and that hook you can read more here.

You can also read the comments of children that have seen the show here or the thoughts of their teachers here.