Quays Life A lifestyle webzine based-in Salford Quays

L-to-R Harriet O'Shea as Small Alison and Alex Young as Helen Bechdel in Fun Home at the Royal Exchange Theatre. Credit: Johan Persson

Reviews Theatre

Fun Home: Review

The Fun Home is not all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, sometimes it’s not funny at all, what with marital discord, hidden secrets and suicide to contend with. The reason partly may be because the...

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Sewing a Button. Part of Ai Weiwei Button Up at Aviva Studios. Photo credit Hugo Glendinning

Art Reviews

Ai Weiwei: Sewing A Button – Review

If art is a weapon, then the corollary of such a statement is that it is also a weapon which can be used against the artist. Such was the case with Ai Weiwei who was imprisoned by the Chinese...

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Twelfth Night HER Productions. Photo Credit Kelsea Knox

Reviews Theatre

Twelfth Night HER Productions: Review

Manchester based HER Productions has been doing modish Shakespeare adaptations since 2017, and this is their ninth. Co directed by Kayleigh Hawkins and Stuart Crowther, the 2026 tour of Twelfth Night...

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Something Rotten. Pamela Raith Photography

Reviews Theatre

Something Rotten: Review

Jason Manford has become the golden ticket of the Opera House in recent years as the venue’s regular pantomime lead. And his latest vehicle ‘Something Rotten’ looks set to be as popular, if not more...

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Reviews

Matthew Bourne's THE CAR MAN. Harrison Dowzell (Luca) and Company. Photo by Johan Persson

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Reviews Theatre

Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man: Review

Carmel ThomasonAdd comment

It is doubtful that Matthew Bourne’s ‘The Car Man’ could have arrived at Lowry on a better week. For while you might get some respite from the current heat wave in the theatre’s air-conditioned auditorium, things are about to get much hotter on...

Murder for Two at Octagon Theatre, Bolton. Credit Tony Bartholomew

Reviews Theatre

Murder for Two: Review

Dave Porter

The Bench. Photo courtesy of Joe O’Byrne

Reviews Theatre

The Bench: A Tale from Paradise Heights – Review

Martin Thomasson

To do & see

Rowland Hill, Relic, 2026. Photo by Michael Pollard

Art Reviews

Curtain Up – exploring the thrill of the live performance

Leslie James Kerwin

‘Curtain Up’, a new exhibition at Lowry, Salford, brings together works from artists Simeon Barclay, Chris Paul Daniels, Denzil Forrester, Rowland Hill, Joy Labinjo, Ryan Mosley, Abigail Reynolds, Bridget Smith, and Ulla von Brandenburg...

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’...

Nya, TPE's Pets as Therapy Dog. Photo courtesy of Transpennine Express

Dog's Life People

The dog taking the stress out of train journeys

Lorraine Worsley-Carter

One of my dear friends is Chaplain, Reverend Mike Roberts, Rail Industry and British Transport Police Chaplain whom I have featured in QuaysLife in the past. Earlier in the year, Mike included me in the following email. “Hi Lorraine Meet Steve...

People

People To do & see

Stephen Webb opens up about being Frank-ly fabulous Sweet Transvestite

Carmel Thomason

Fifty years on, ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ is still the most riotous party in town. At its centre struts Frank-N-Furter, an outrageous role of glam-rock legend. Quays Life caught up with Tottenham’s Stephen Webb, the latest actor to...

Matthew Bourne's THE CAR MAN. Jamie Duncan Campbell (Vito) and Company. Photo by Johan Persson

People To do & see

Matthew Bourne on The Car Man and Ballet’s Bisexual First

Carmel Thomason

Matthew Bourne’s award-winning dance thriller ‘The Car Man’ returns to Lowry, Salford as part of a new 2026 UK tour. Loosely based on Bizet’s ever-popular opera, ‘The Car Man’ has one of the most thrilling and instantly...