Quays Life A lifestyle webzine based-in Salford Quays

THE CARMAN by Matthew Bourne. Royal Albert Hall, London, UK, 2022, Credit - Johan Persson

People To do & see

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

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...

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

Reviews Theatre

Murder for Two: Review

Madcap doesn’t quite convey the orchestrated madness which awaits the audience in this show. Conducted at a breathtakingly frenetic pace, you have to be on your toes to keep up...

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The Bench. Photo courtesy of Joe O’Byrne

Reviews Theatre

The Bench: A Tale from Paradise Heights – Review

Council estates can be tough places to live. I know. I grew up on one. The people were burdened by poverty, ground down by hard, underpaid work (or by the lack of work). Opportunity for some better...

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Reviews Theatre

Waitress: Review

‘Sugar, butter, flour’ – these three comforting words become almost a mantra meditation in this story about the life of expert pie maker, Jenna. But don’t let Jenna’s sweet singing, about her mum’s...

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Reviews

Community cast in Even These Things at the Royal Exchange Theatre (c) Courtesy of the Royal Exchange Theatre

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Reviews Theatre

Even These Things: Review

Dave PorterAdd comment

There’s a lot of talk of ‘Manchesterism’ at the moment and whether the rest of the country can benefit from it if Andy Burnham gets to become Prime Minister. But there is another side to this branch of economics and it has more to do with the spirit...

The Karate Kid, The Musical. Photo: Manuel Harlan

Reviews Theatre

The Karate Kid the Musical: Review

Carmel Thomason

Bank of Dave The Cast of Bank of Dave. Credit: Mark Brenner

Reviews Theatre

Bank of Dave the Musical: Review

Carmel Thomason

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

Daniel Casey (Barnaby) in The Killings at Badger's Drift, credit Manuel Harlan

People To do & see

Daniel Casey steps up as DCI Barnaby for Midsomer Murders on stage

Carmel Thomason

Daniel Casey has been promoted. After playing DS Gavin Troy on Midsomer Murders for a six-year stint, he’s now back in the UK’s most dangerous county (fictionally speaking, at least) as DCI Tom Barnaby in the stage play The Killings at...

People To do & see

Claudia Shnier talks toxic relationships and confronting her trauma head on

Holly Critchley

Claudia Shnier’s one-woman show ‘Split Ends’ is an autobiographical tragi-comedy exploring abusive relationships, coercive control, and our tendencies to cling to the things that hurt us most. Since debuting at the 2025 Brighton Fringe, the show has...