Niamh MelodyFrom the roaring standing ovation to the audience hum of “You can’t stop the beat” following us into the street, it’s abundantly clear the opening night of Hairspray at the Palace Theatre was a resounding success. After more than 30 years on the...
Steve TimmsThe genre of films that combine live action with animation is notoriously small, probably because of the huge technical challenges involved. Try and think of a dozen such movies and you may struggle – though Anchors Aweigh, Mary Poppins...
Alison RuckThe classic musical ‘Tell Me on a Sunday’ is on tour and back in front of audiences where it belongs! The first of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black collaborations, this one-woman play is a perfect show to be touring following the pandemic: it...
Niamh Melody gives an affirming shantay you stay to the first UK tour of new drag murder mystery, Death Drop. Seeing a production that’s only been on the stage for a year or so is always a treat for the well versed theatre-goers. There’s a different...
Georgina WellsWhile it’s always special to see Ballet Black, it was particularly special to see this talented, versatile and innovative company at the Quays Theatre for the opening night of their autumn tour – their first live performance since the pandemic hit...
Wim Vandekeybus’ work for Rambert was originally created and streamed live last year, when people were “desperate for old-fashioned physical interaction,” with the camera placed in the midst of the company dancers. It’s impossible to recreate this...
There’s no such thing as an unlikely musical, though some don’t stick around long enough to make an impression. Does anyone remember Fields of Ambrosia, a mid 90’s affair about a travelling executioner who falls in love with one of his victims...
Carmel ThomasonJez Dolan, stand-up, lecturer and expert on Polari, has joined forces with writer and tour guide, Joshua Val Martin to create Double-Ender, a fast-paced double bill of monologues sharing stories about Queer people in a rapidly changing Manchester...
Martin ThomassonMy dear friend, the playwright, Les Smith, once told me, the first draft of a script is to show you that you have a story (beginning, middle and end). The second draft is to find out what your story is really about. Les didn’t, at that point...
Peaceophobia is a new play performed in a car park that looks at Islamaphobia through the eyes of young British Pakistani men from a modified car club. Quays Life talks to writer Zia Ahmed to find out more. What is the idea behind Peaceophobia...