Full disclosure: I haven’t read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. An international bestseller with a panoramic vision taking in the 20th century history of Afghanistan from the Soviet invasion to the rise of the Taliban, the book charts the...
The phenomenal success of Six the Musical tells us its producers Andy and Wendy Barnes have a keen eye for spotting the next big thing. So, their backing of quirky new musical, 42 Balloons, from young writer-composer, Jack Godfrey comes with...
It has been a particular gripe of mine that middle class writers often present the poor as a subhuman genus, pouring neat vodka on their morning cornflakes. Determinedly bucking this trend, we now have ‘Sweat’, an American import by...
Carmel Smickersgill is a Manchester based composer whose recent work includes Enter Vivian, part of the Philip Glass Referactions EP; and Birthday Card for a Stranger, a joint commission to mark the 50th annivarsaries of Manchester Camerata and RNCM...
We can say it now – anything set in the 80’s has become a period piece and The Curve’s production of An Officer and a Gentleman, the Musical, is as 80’s as legwarmers in shoulder pads. Douglas Day Stewart’s original story was an 80’s hit film...
‘What kind of Queen are you?’ That’s the question posed by a new exhibition based on the hit musical, SIX, which opens at The Lowry this autumn. In SIX each of Henry VIII’s wives are turned into a pop star on stage and take to the mic to tell their...
The 2020s is blazing a trend for all things meta. So, it’s not surprising to find Rambert leading the charge for dance by staging a meta dance comedy. But what on earth does it mean? Death Trap is a new double-bill from Ben Duke, which links two of...
In 1948, poet WH Auden wrote an essay outlining the key components of the ideal English detective story. ‘A murder occurs, many are suspected: all but one suspect, who is the murderer, is eliminated: the murderer is arrested.’ Such was the national...
Kate Bush said it perfectly when she said: “I don’t aim for perfection. But I do want to try and come up with something interesting”. This is the perfect analogy for the strikingly unique, yet superbly unusual experience that a small handful...
Twin sisters Kristina and Sadé Alleyne are the talented dancers behind the company ‘Alleyne Dance’ whose latest production, ‘Far From Home’ captures the intense struggles and emotions that come from forced migration. Kristina and Sadé, choreographed...