Global connection and love of our planet are the messages at the heart of this year’s Lightwaves festival at Salford Quays. The free 10-day arts festival features an illuminated trail of 12 original art works, starting with a huge globe on the water...
Extravaganza Productions return to the Stockport Plaza with a production of Dick Whittington that marries traditional bawdy humour and bauble glitz. After last year’s intense disappointment of cancelled performances and the painful hit to theatre...
No balloon bosoms, garish make-up, gravity defying skirts or audience taunting here. The not-so-ugly sisters are far from the usual dames you’d see stomping around in more traditional Christmas pantos. But this isn’t your usual Christmas panto. Barb...
Everybody knows Postman Pat’s bright red van. Now fans can see it for real as some of the original sets and props from the popular animation series go on display for the first time. To mark the 40th anniversary of the children’s TV favourite...
Nutcracker! was the first big hit for choreographer, Matthew Bourne and his New Adventures company. Thirty years on it still feels edgy, encapsulating the inventiveness and energy Bourne’s work has become synonymous with over the years. This is...
David Walliams is the current undisputed king of children’s books and, with over 25 million books sold, it is no surprise that his juvenile humour and easy to read stories are such a hit with so many children. His highest selling book, Gangsta...
After the sadness and gloom of last year, I’m dreaming of a normal Christmas with all the essential ingredients – and where better to kick off festivities than at the Palace Theatre with White Christmas? With an audience keen for a night of...
In the early 1980s, Liverpool Playhouse staged what was billed as a ‘Marxist interpretation’ of Macbeth. Patrons soon discovered that, for this production, ‘Marx’ signified Groucho, Harpo and Chico. Purists were aghast. We students thought it was...
Paul Thomason finds so much to enjoy in this traditional family pantomime Having been unable to stage this pantomime at Oldham Coliseum Theatre last year, the production team were clearly wanting to make up for lost time with the show and cast they...
During the first UK lockdown of 2020 all the actors and entertainers, often esteemed so highly as celebrities, were suddenly sent home to sit on their sofas like so many of us. It was a reality check that these famous faces weren’t vital to the...
Carmel Thomason
Eleanor Shember-Critchley
Nic Dowling
Paul Thomason
Georgina Wells
Martin Thomasson