Simon A. MorrisonThe sonic raindrops of ‘Echoes’ ripple out across the banked seating of the Apollo and I have something of an acid flashback… only, there is no LSD involved and this echo bounces me back to a moment I wasn’t even in, the first time. This wonky...
Martin ThomassonI do not know and am not qualified to say if Huang Ruo’s newly commissioned piece, “City of Floating Sounds,” is a great work of music. What I do know and can say, with gratitude and certainty, is that the event the ‘composer and conceptual artist’...
Paul ThomasonFrom the very first jump scare at the start of scene one, this welcome return to The Lowry of “2:22 A Ghost Story” grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. Barely audible baby noises emitting from a monitor begin the play with a...
Katie JohnsonThis summer, Manchester-based actor, Emily Spowage joins HER Productions signature all female and non-binary cast as Petruchio for the company’s unique take to one of Shakespeare’s most provocative comedies, The Taming of The Shrew.She talks to...
Resist the urge to bolt the door and close the curtains when you spot the words “Jehovah’s Witness” in the promotional blurb for Brook Tate’s confessional show, “Birthmarked.” If anything, think of this as your opportunity to turn the tables; to...
Carmel ThomasonA whole new world has arrived at Manchester’s Palace Theatre, as Disney’s Aladdin takes to the stage for a six-week run as part of its first ever UK tour. The story and music will be familiar to many as it is based on the popular 1992 animated film...
Befuddled, bamboozled and more than a little punch-drunk. In this emotional/intellectual state, I stumble from the Quays Theatre at the Lowry after 12 rounds – or was it 80 minutes? – with the Igor x Moreno contemporary dance piece...
It wouldn’t be an odd question to ask: what is The Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre Production of Jesus Christ Superstar doing indoors? Timothy Sheader’s bold new staging first opened in 2016, winning a host of awards, including an Olivier Award for...
You don’t have to be much of a gambler to bet any show written by the late Kay Mellor is going to be a success. But as her last stage play, The Syndicate, premieres at The Lowry there is a sense of much more than the box office riding on this. The...
Some titles tell you all you need to know about a show. In the case of Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle, like the show, all is not quite what it seems. Here Mischief Theatre, the team behind smash hit comedy ‘The Play that Goes Wrong’, take...