Martin ThomassonIn case you’re so pressure-cooker busy you don’t have time to read the rest of this review (cue scream-face emoji), I’ll come straight to the point: This Opera North production of Verdi’s “Falstaff” is simply splendid. Shakespeare’s Sir John...
Jeremy CraddockIf you happened to be listening to a radio in the mid-to late-1980s there was no escaping the sounds of Stock Aitken Waterman. You knew instantly when one of their records came on. The trio and their Hit Factory were famous for their driving beats...
Katie JohnsonKalabanté Productions, in collaboration with The Welcome and Factory Assembly, officially opened Manchester’s new Aviva Studios with a spectacular performance that transcends borders and cultures. This multi-sensory extravaganza, titled...
Carmel ThomasonIn 2019, when actor, writer and director Fraser Ayres suggested to Scott Graham, the artistic director of Frantic Assembly – one of the most iconic and collaborative British theatre companies of the last 30 years – that he might like to...
The countdown to Christmas has begun at Salford Quays as Francis House opens the bidding on its fundraising Festival of Trees. This year 40 decorated trees and gifts have been donated by individuals, groups and businesses in the region. Francis...
Think of 80s music and first to my mind is Duran Duran. In the school yard it felt almost like a forerunner to the 90s Blur vs Oasis Brit Pop battle. Girls were either obsessed with Wham or Duran Duran. Decades later, I love both bands. But back...
Reece DonlanIn a time when almost every entertainer has either a biographical movie outlining their rise to stardom or a documentary, deep diving into their trials and tribulations as starved performers, comes a movie for horror fans and cinephiles alike. From...
Dave PorterTime flies past like arrows, Shaw said. With Shakespeare, it’s words which fly past us like arrows. Some hit their target, a lot don’t, yet the sheer thrill to the senses such words arouse is difficult to ignore. And when they do land in your...
Cathy CrabbQuiz, the story of cheating to a million on Who Want’s To Be A Millionaire? is a highly theatrical narrative of blindsiding, hoodwinking and Craig David’s first album.After being dead good at quizzes down the pub, Diana Ingram (Charley Webb) along...
Lorraine Worsley-CarterIt was a great loss for the people of Oldham and beyond, when Billington’s Dance Studio, at 3 Ascroft Street, held its last waltz in February 2016. The building , over a century old started its life hosting ‘The Aerated Water Company’ and its...