Paul ThomasonThe BBC Philharmonic Orchestra: The Sound of Gaming was an ambitious and innovative classical musical event catering for three separate audiences simultaneously. The first, of which I was a part, was the in person audience in the BBC Philharmonic...
Cathy CrabbAfter 30 years of accolades, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake still has audiences on their feet at the end, enthralled, moved and wanting more. This deconstructed and thematically enhanced version of the original ballet is an unflinching look at royalty...
Martin ThomassonSeven-(almost eight)-year-olds, Mickey and Eddie form an immediate bond when they meet by chance in a Liverpool park in the 1960s. Unruly, foul-mouthed Mickey thrills and appalls Eddie (‘Edward’ to his parents) with his unfettered language and...
Carmel ThomasonMozart’s The Magic Flute is enduringly popular because it is the perfect mix of fantasy and fabulousness in an accessible opera that entertains and enchants regular opera-goers and those new to opera alike. Indeed, this Opera North autumn season at...
Whenever “the great and the good” turn out in numbers for a show, it is more likely they are anxious to be seen rather than to see. Laurie Anderson’s remarkable ARK: United States V provides a notable exception to this rule. Familiar faces are much...
There are likely many reasons why Ruddigore is one of the lesser performed works of Gilbert and Sullivan. But audience enjoyment is not one of them. There was a palpable lightness in the Lowry’s large Lyric auditorium for Opera North’s high energy...
I come away from Opera North’s revived production of Benjamin Britten’s adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream still trying to work out whether or not I enjoyed it. Those things that ON, almost without exception, do well, were a triumph. The...
Nic DowlingThere was no shortage of Elf devotees in Manchester this week for an early slice of Christmas fun. We could tell by the amount of elf hats, Christmas sparkles and Elf merch adorning the crowds outside the Palace, that this show has a serious...
Being on the cusp of teenage years is often difficult enough without adding a whole host of other challenges facing 12-year-old Sonny. We meet him as he joins a new school, shadowed by his imaginary friend, Captain Chatter – a superhero of his own...
Following her sell out 2023 Fringe show Y2K Woman, viral sensation Sooz Kempner is taking to the road this autumn with her brand-new show Class of 2000, which arrives at Lowry, Salford on 16 November. Continuing with the theme of growing up in the...