The Press Night for Bruiser's latest production The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 took place in the MAC, Belfast on 26 September. Here are some of the nice things that critics have been saying about the show. The Critics: ‘Matthew Reeve’s musical arrangements cleverly capture the spirit of the ‘80s and offer a saccharine counterpoint to contemporary social issues, like widespread unemployment and the rise of the feminist movement, swirling around a confused adolescent’s quest for love, acne-free skin and intellectual brilliance.’ – Jane Coyle, The Stage ‘Adam Dougal is well cast as nerdy, bespectacled Adrian, submerged by a grotesque circle of dysfunctional, two-dimensional relativ
In honour of our upcoming production The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Bruiser have been stepping back in time to the 1980s and counting down our favourite fifty songs from the decade! All week we’ve revealed the songs 11-20, 21-30, 31-40 and 41-50 and now it’s time to reveal which songs are in our top ten! Bonnie Tyler- Total Eclipse of the Heart Buggles- Video Killed the Radio Star Toto- Africa A-Ha!- Take on Me Madonna- Like A Prayer Michael Jackson- Billie Jean Human League- Don't You Want Me Cyndi Lauper- Girls Just Want To Have Fun Bon Jovi- Livin On A Prayer Eurythmics- Sweet Dreams We hope you’ve enjoyed reliving the 1980s with us this week! Don’t let the fun stop here! You can book t
Just a few weeks until the opening night of our next production The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. Given the play is set in the 1980s, we have decided to count down our favourite songs from the decade. Check out the songs that we have ranked from 11-20! 11. Tiffany- I Think We're Alone Now 12. Blondie- Call Me 13. Whitney Houston- I Wanna Dance With Somebody 14. David Bowie- Let's Dance 15. Michael Jackson- Thriller 16. Erasure- A Little Respect 17. Culture Club- Karma Chameleon 18. Chaka Kahn- Ain't Nobody 19. Prince- Kiss 20. Wham!- Wake Me Up Before you Go Go With just the top ten left to reveal, we hope you’ll join us tomorrow for the final countdown (pun definitely intended!). If you want
Ahead of our production of 1980s classic The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Bruiser continue with our countdown of our favourite songs from the Eighties this week. Check out the songs that we have ranked from 21-30! 21. Tears For Fears- Head Over Heels 22. George Michael- Faith 23. Lionel Richie- All Night Long 24. Duran Duran- Hungry Like The Wolf 25. Dead or Alive- You Spin Me Right Round 26. Bruce Springsteen- Born in the USA 27. Soft Cell- Tainted Love 28. Madonna- Into The Groove 29. Survivor- Eye of the Tiger 30. Journey- Don't Stop Believin' We hope you like our list, so far. Let us know which song is your favourite from the Eighties. If you want to continue this nostalgia fest, remembe
This week Bruiser have been bitten by the nostalgia bug and have been celebrating all things Eighties in line with the setting of our next production The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾. Yesterday we began counting down our top 50 favourite songs from the decade, we continue the countdown later in the week but for now we reveal which songs we ranked 31-40. 31. Ray Parker Jr- Ghostbusters Theme 32. Nena- 99 Red Balloons 33. Prince- Purple Rain 34. B52s- Love Shack 35. Rick Springfield- Jesse's Girl 36. Men At Work- Down Under 37. ACDC- You Shook Me 38. Europe- Final Countdown 39. Foreigner- I Want to Know What Love Is 40. REO Speedwagon- I Can't Fight This Feeling We hope you like our
The 1980s. A decade of big hair, questionable fashion sense and dubious politicians. Despite all this, one thing the Eighties gave us was ten years of epic tunes! From Madonna to Prince, Queen to Michael Jackson, Bonnie Tyler to Bon Jovi, the eighties had it all. Bruiser’s next production will be The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾. It is the story of a teenage boy growing up in the 1980s, trying to deal with adolescent issues such as quarreling parents, falling in love, the stress of school work and being bullied. (Not that we need one but) Bruiser have decided to use the setting of the play to celebrate this glorious decade by counting down our favourite 50 songs from the 1980s! A wo
Ordinarily it is not considered socially acceptable to read another person's diary, but when it is full of poignant witticisms, hilarious anecdotes and funny observations, it can prove to be impossible to put down. This is the case with Adrian Mole, a teenage boy (13 3/4 to be exact) who experiences all the hardships, trials and tribulations synonymous with growing up in the 1980s. This hilarious social commentary has been turned into a stage play The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4, and is something Bruiser has jumped at the opportunity to produce not only in 2005, but again this year in 2017! Here are just ten comical citations you can expect from the play which runs in Belfast's t
Keith loved working with Bruiser so much last year in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), that he has returned to star in our next production The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4. Keith will play multiple roles including Adrian's elderly friend Bert, next door neighbour Mr Lucas and school chum Nigel. Ahead of opening night, we take a look back on Keith's previous roles. Keith began his acting career in his hometown with the Londonderry Musical Society. His roles here included the Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance, Fagin in Oliver! and Jimmy Smith in the NODA winning Thoroughly Modern Millie (Best Overall Show). After playing the title role in the Millennium Foru
Colette has the onerous task of playing four characters in Bruiser's upcoming production of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. Colette will not only be stepping into the shoes of Adrian's love interest Pandora, but she will also play his Grandma and neighbours Doreen and Mrs Lucas! As she gets to grips with her multiple roles, why don't you check out some of her previous work! Colette comes from Belfast and trained in Musical Theatre at The Royal Academy Music in London. Some of her most recent roles include; Wife Donaghy in The Faerie Thorn, (Big Telly, international tour) Claire in Gordon Osram's Funeral (Accidental Theatre, Ireland Tour), Barbara in That Man Musical (Hippodrome,Westend Lond
Adam will star as the titular character, teenager Adrian Mole in Bruiser's The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. Find out more about Adam... Originally from Belfast, Adam trained at The Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and has bases in London and Belfast. He has toured both the UK and Internationally with New Jersey Nights, a show celebrating the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. He has also worked with many Northern Irish theatre companies including Bruiser, c21 and GBL. Adam’s credits include Frankie Valli in New Jersey Nights (UK and China), Antonio in The Merchant of Venice (c21), Chip Tolentino in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Bruiser, The Mac), Ben in The Break (
Gerard has been cast as Adrian Mole's dad George in Bruiser's 2017 production of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4. We find out more about Gerard and his previous roles. Gerard trained at Youth Action Northern Ireland’s Rainbow Factory School of Performing Arts. His previous acting credits include: Smiley, Pride & Prejudice and The Jungle Book at Belfast's Lyric Theatre, Blue BoyGlenmore (Brassneck), Jacque Brel is Alive and Well (Lyric Theatre/Blunt Fringe), Lally the Scut, Fireworks, Swing State Cabaret (Tinderbox), iSpy (Big Telly), Short Strand Rising, Henry and Harriot (Kabosh), Tosca (NI Opera), The New Kid, Sinking (Replay), The Comedy of Errors (Belfast Th. Co) and Herons,
Orla will play the role of Pauline Mole (Adrian's mother) in Bruiser's production of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4. Find out a little bit more about Orla's career to date. Orla trained at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) graduating with a First Class BA (Hons) Degree in Acting in 2005. She is also a 2005 Spotlight Prize nominee. Orla's theatre credits include: An Evening with Bette Midler (The Playhouse - Premiere & Irish Tour), Fly me to the Moon (Balor Rep), A Christmas Carol (Maxim Theatre, Stockholm), Josef Locke, A Grand Adventure (The Playhouse & N.Irish Tour) Denizen (Premiere, Creggan Enterprises), Pits and Perverts (Sole Purpose Productions, Premiere
