Friday 17th February - The Hull Blokes Present Love - A Night Of Comedy, Drama And Passion at Northern Theatre By Jane Foster

Next Page

The Hull Blokes are a talented bunch of 13 local, er, blokes! who I have had the pleasure of seeing twice before in their relatively short life. So I thought it was high time to do them justice and write a review. The Blokes have been lucky enough to secure themselves a home in the new Northern Theatre building, which in my opinion is more welcoming and much better situated than the previous one on Hessle Road. The Hull Blokes first began in 2002 when Gill Adams advertised in her Hull Daily Mail column for local male writers. This was part of a project by the BBC to encourage new writers in Hull.

In partnership with the BBC, the Blokes created a six-part comedy drama called King of the Road for Radio Humberside. This project proved successful and they went on to write pieces for the annual Hull literature festival, the Humber Mouth.

The first time I saw the Hull Blokes was at their 2004 show Play-ola! Held at the Dorchester Hotel, it was series of sketches which were enjoyable but I must say they have improved immensely since then - Northern Conspiracy, their first show at the Northern Theatre venue last year, was very impressive, well acted and far more polished. The Hull Blokes have had a few line-up changes, with members coming and going. They have had both praise and criticism recently in the media. Gill Adams left the Blokes to get on with their own devices - somewhat acrimoniously, it seems, judging from the slagging off she later gave them in her column...I'm not aware how or why this happened, but suffice to say I think they have made up since then and are obviously getting along fine without her.

There was also some recent criticism of them on this very website, which seemed rather unfounded. However a couple of the Blokes struck back so good on them! The Hull Blokes seem to be playing to full houses with tickets selling out some nights, so obviously that speaks for itself! Anyway on with their latest show. This show, which explored universal themes such as love, death and Reader's Digest, was their second outing at the Northern Theatre. Again there was just the right mix of mainly comedy with a bit of drama thrown in. The Hull Blokes seem to work best when used for comedic rather than dramatic effect. A bit like Barbara Windsor's boobs.

The first sketch, Adam and Eve by Bernie Laverick, satirised the NuLabour approach to crime, in this case the ancient art of stealing apples from the Tree of Knowledge...not a good idea you might think seeing as this tree of course is all knowing and all seeing, not only that but it can speak to tell the tale (who needs CCTV in the Garden of Eden eh?) Adam and Eve resplendent in Burberry fig leaves both received an Asbo for Twocing and were visited by a white robed Tony Blair, complaining of course about God trying to steal his identity.. Add to this the sharp bickering between the two lovers about the exact breed of the apple and you've got a very funny and observant take on life, love and Cox's Pippin crime (or is it a Russet?)

Funeral 1 by Wayne Dewsbury was the first of four recurring variations on a theme between the other sketches. In the Blokes' last show they used the progression of a golf match - this time on a slightly more sombre note it was a funeral. I like this idea as it gives a sense of continuity and holds the show together as a coherent whole. Steve Kerry's Waiting Room struck a more poignant note as a man sits in a hospital waiting for news of his very ill father, who dies at the end of the sketch. Mainly in monologue, a medium which I feel the Hull Blokes do well and should do more of.

Given just enough time to muse on various themes, including the nature of 'long' in relation to time, the character ponders on life, love and the universe, and why you only see Readers Digest in waiting rooms and nowhere else : 'It's like those films that go straight to video.' True, very true indeed, and one of life's great unsolved mysteries..

Continued...Next Page

Reviews, Books - The Loop by Nicholas Evans Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	This is the second breathtaking novel from Nicholas, the first having being the international best-selling weepy, The Horse Whisperer which shot the English-based writer to fame. The Loop has nothing to do with horses whatsoever, and instead focuses on the trials of a wild pack of wolves that is terrorising a farming community in Montana. A 29-year old wolf expert called Helen is Read more...

Reviews, Books - Rising To Obscurity and How To Remain Anonymous by AAA Aarbon (Bitterne Books) Reviewed By Nick Quantrill
	Published by Hull-based Bitterne Books, the first two titles in this humorous series offer a different take on the modern world that we live in. Part satire, part social comment, they follow the story of AAA Aarbon, a self-confessed seeker of anonymity. AAA Aarbon is described by his editor as being best forgotten for many reasons. Rising To Obscurity charts the absurd Read more...

Reviews, Books - Notes From a Small Island By Bill Bryson Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	Good old Bill is a natural comedian and never holds back when it comes to being honest. He's one of the world's best-loved and most famous travel writers, and this volume of 'notes' is exclusively concerned with a number of weeks that Bill spent investing in the art of travelling around Britain back in the mid 90's. His travel writing talents first came to prominence when he released Read more...

Reviews, Books - Flashback By Jenny Siler Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	The past is a puzzle for everyone, a tattered collection of memory and desire. Even those people we most long to understand remain no more than a sum of those static moments we've chosen to hold them in. This is a must-read novel for any discerning fan of high-octane, Steve Hamilton-esque thrillers, as the drama-drenched action flits the length and breadth of the Read more...

Reviews, Books - Book Recommendations by Steve Rudd
	Here are some short and sweet book recommendations in place of the usual fully-fledged reviews, quite simply because I haven't had time to write up these reviews in more detail. The fact is that there are too many great books, and far too little time to read them - let alone write about them in gushing retrospect. Anyway, here's some mention of some of the books I've recently been Read more...

Reviews, Films - Films Kong By Michelle Dee
	Visually stunning. Terrific pace. Jackson winds up the tension to breaking point and never lets you go till the final frame. This is what you would expect from a Christmas Blockbuster, but this reworking of the original King Kong film, has so much more than the usual thrills and spills. Naomi Watts is very striking to say the least and the ill-fated love Read more...

Reviews, Books - Complicity by Nick Quantrill Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	The rain refused to ease as Coleman made his way through Queens Gardens and on towards King Edward Street. He pulled his collar up and hurried his pace... This is a staggeringly enthralling showcase for Hull-based writer Nick Quantrill's unmistakable talent for writing fiction - and crime fiction, to be more precise. He has written a fair few short stories that revolve around crime Read more...

Reviews, Books - Ian Newton - The Night Shift Reviewed By Kevin Maguire
	The guy in a sharp business suit glowered as if I was mad for laughing out loud while waiting for a flight in Washington Dulles International Airport. No exhibitionist, I rarely laugh out loud. Indeed, I rarely read anything worth laughing about, let alone out loud. But the story about two on-the-run robbers holding a group of Hull factory workers hostage after a fish Read more...

Reviews, Books - East Of The Mountains By David Guterson Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	Alright, so you might not have heard of the author before, but you might actually be already familiar with some of his 'work,' as his debut novel was called Snow Falling On Cedars... a staggering bestseller that came to be made into a Hollywood movie starring Ethan Hawke. Such a debut made it apparent that Guterson is one hell of a story teller who goes to great Read more...

Reviews, Books - Scott Phillips - The Walkaway Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	It is imperative that you keep your wits about when reading this novel more than with almost any other mighty slab of fiction ever published. If you've never read Phillips' awesome debut novel The Ice Harvest, then there's actually little point whatsoever you even making a beeline for The Walkaway, for this mesmerisingly cool epic crime-drama is the incredible Read more...

Reviews, Books - Robert Adams - Antman (Bitterne Books) Reviewed By Nick Quantrill
	Antman is the latest crime novel from prolific Hull-based author Robert Adams. It is his interest in ant behaviour that forms the heart of this book, and one that allows him to craft a dark narrative that absorbs and terrifies in equal measure. The novel starts with the discovery of a dead pig at a remote location in the Hull area. Forensic investigation reveals that the animal was reduced Read more...

Reviews, Books - The Two-Bear Mambo By Joe R. Lansdale Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	Lansdale certainly is one hell of a prolific author, and this is something like the tenth novel of his that I have had the pleasure of reading. The vast majority of his novels follow two buddies, Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, as they manage - without fail - to get into all kinds of violent predicaments through being often overly stubborn and too-proud-by-half men. Read more...

Reviews, Books - Wobegon Boy by Garrison Keillor Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	I have a responsible job and pay my taxes and keep my lawn mowed, but because I dare to be an individual, people whisper about me behind my back. Why is life like this? This epic novel is an absolute masterpiece that is drama-driven and hugely poignant, as it follows a man called John Tollefson as he bumbles through his life over a pronounced period of time, with the Read more...

Reviews, Books - Down By The River Where The Dead Men Go by George P. Pelecanos Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	As the novel title must suggest, this is a crime thriller... and one of the highest order. I first heard of the author in Pelecanos through him heaping praise on the 'action-thriller' writing of Steve Hamilton. Like with Hamilton's work, Pelecanos weaves an engrossing story around a series of hugely believable and genuinely exciting set-pieces. Interestingly, many authors Read more...