The Thunder Girls is a new show, premiering at The Lowry, that sold-out way before its opening night. It is inspired by Melanie Blake’s book of the same name, of which the action in the play is just a small taster. The novel follows the fortunes of...
‘Fringe theatre’ is a nebulous term that most people will be familiar with but perhaps struggle to define. Usually it conjures up images of a group of ex drama students, gamely staging a piece of new writing – on a zero budget – in a pub back-room...
Kimberley Sykes is clearly on a mission to take control of theatre in the northwest. Her production of Maxine Peake’s Beryl has just opened at Bolton’s Octagon theatre, and now here she is, directing the RSC’s touring production of As You Like It...
Receiving a programme presented as a school exercise book truly set the scene for Emma Rice’s second production with her Wise Children theatre company. Malory Towers. Photo by Steve Tanner As we file into the auditorium, we are minded that we are...
Director Justin Audibert reimagines Shakespeare’s comedy ‘The Taming of the Shrew’, in a new production for the RSC where the women hold the power. He talks to Quays Life about playing with conventions to turn gender on its head. RSC The Taming of...
Yorkshire cyclist, Beryl Burton (1937-1996), has a strong claim to being the greatest sporting hero Great Britain has ever produced and yet, as Kimberley Sykes’s production of Maxine Peake’s biographical piece makes us painfully aware, she remains...
Shakespeare’s play ‘As You Like It’ ends with the wedding of four couples, including Rosalind and Orlando, with the ceremony overseen by the God of Marriage, Hymen. But how do you go about depicting a god onstage? The answer for the Royal...
Director, Kimberley Sykes talks about her playful and passionate version of Shakespeare’s much-loved romantic comedy, As You Like It. What has influenced your thinking around the production? Kimberley: “I think a big thing which has influenced...
It is easy to feel jaded as a reviewer, particularly when a play you’ve seen countless times pops up again on the season brochure. When it comes to refreshing an old favourite, star casting works. In Manchester we’ve recently seen Jodie Prenger...
Every now and again an event comes along that stops you dead in your tracks. It either shifts your perception of what you thought was true; or reminds you that you’ve taken something for granted for too long. On this night, in Manchester, that event...
Carmel Thomason
Steve Timms
Martin Thomasson
Lorraine Worsley-Carter
Moses Kabunga