Quays Life A lifestyle webzine based-in Salford Quays

Ian Ashpitel and Jonty Stephens in Eric & Ern (photo credit Paul Coltas)

“You get three generations of the same family, all laughing at the same thing – that’s just so rare now” – Jonty Stephens

Jonty Stephens and Ian Ashpitel talk to Leslie Kerwin about reliving the magic of Morecambe and Wise on stage. “Every year we did a show for the Stage Golfing Society. They did a ‘70s variety show...

Read on

Opera North's Peter Grimes. Photo by James Glossop

Opera Reviews

Opera North’s Peter Grimes: Review

Benjamin Britten knew what it was like to live as an outsider, and his Suffolk roots meant he had an instinctual understanding of the rhythms and power of the sea. Both are brought to the fore in his...

Read on

A scene from The Marriage Of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. An Opera North production.n ©Tristram Kenton

Opera Reviews

Opera North’s The Marriage of Figaro: Review

Before the curtain rises on this new production of The Marriage of Figaro at Lowry, we’re told the show has already been seen by more than 3,500 first time opera goers since premiering at Leeds in...

Read on

The Battle - Oscar Lloyd, George Usher. Credit Helen Murray

People To do & see

Matthew Dunster and Mathew Horne on bringing the ultimate battle of the bands to the stage

The fight that took place in the long hot summer of 1995 wasn’t on the beaches, in the fields or in the streets, but rather on the airwaves, in record shops and across the front pages. Now arguably...

Read on

Reviews

Two at Shakespeare North Playhouse. Photo Credit Alex Hurst.

min3

Reviews Theatre

Two by Jim Cartwright: Review

Dave PorterAdd comment

For people of a certain vintage (your reviewer, for one), Brookside holds a special place in their heart. So it’s apt that the new production of Two at Shakespeare North should feature two of the show’s stars, Michael Starke (Sinbad) and Sarah White...

A scene from Don Quixote by Birmingham Royal Ballet @ Birmingham Hippodrome. Artistic Director Carlos Acosta. ©Tristram Kenton

Reviews Theatre

Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote: Review

Carmel Thomason

Lucy Crowe, Ailish Tynan, Taylor Raven, ENO’s Cosi fan tutte 2026, The Bridgewater Hall © Matthew Johnson Photographer

Opera Reviews

ENO Cosi fan tutte: Review

Carmel Thomason

To do & see

Art People To do & see

Climate change, AI and finding hope in artistic activism

Leslie James Kerwin

AI meets nature in a new interdisciplinary exhibition at Lowry from January which sees artists, John-Paul Brown and Sophy King, look beyond climate grief into a future of possibilities. It is 2076 – the climate crisis is fading, the Earth is...

LUMINISCENCE UK Premiere - Photo Lorraine Worsley-Carter

Music Reviews

LUMINISCENCE at Manchester Cathedral: Review

Lorraine Worsley-Carter

Manchester Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, began as a parish church in the 13th century, became a Collegiate Church in 1421 under Henry V, and was granted Cathedral status in 1847 with...

To do & see Travel

The only swing bridge aqueduct in the world

Lorraine Worsley-Carter

Lorraine Worsley-Carter stumbles upon a unique wonder of the canal age in Salford After taking a short cut to our favourite Trafford DIY store, our sat-nav suggested a route which took us over an old bridge which we had not traversed before...

Further Afield To do & see

Happy Mondays join line-up as The Brit Fest turns three

Alex Price

Brothers and business partners, Anthony and Edward Prophet have been involved in many projects together over the years. But back in 2024 when Brit Fest first launched, the pair could never have imagined how their ‘crazy little idea’...

People

Art with Heart Banner. Photo by Breige Cobane

People To do & see

Artist Emily Simpson on capturing Salford’s complex and diverse identity in textiles

Leslie James Kerwin

Born in Salford and having lived elsewhere, Emily Simpson is used to the city’s reputation as Manchester’s indignant shadow. “Salford is always the other city,” she says. “It has a confusing, complex identity that is often squashed...

People Salford Quays To do & see

Cheryl Baker on her 50 years fizzing from Eurovision success

Alex Price

Eurovision winner and national treasure Cheryl Baker is celebrating her 50+ years in showbiz by invitng audiences to ask her anything they want to know in an evening of music and chat at Lowry, Salford. Alex Price meets her to find out more. “I’ve...