Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, based on the French version of the fairytale, has a much longer history. It was first written for television in 1957 starring Julie Andrews and has since gone through several adaptations for both stage and screen.

This latest Broadway adaptation has a new book by Douglas Carter Beane, which bursts with witty retorts and, although almost 10 years old now, feels particularly relevant to the current cost of living crisis.

Here our Cinderella is not just after finding her Prince Charming, but changing the world – one act of kindness at a time. It is a message we could all do with hearing more often and the fast-paced wit of the show prevents it falling into schmaltz.

Following an injury to her foot earlier this month, Grace Mouat has returned to the title role for the remainder of the run. We’re told the show has been slightly modified to ensure a comfortable return for Grace while she continues her recovery. However, this isn’t noticeable to the audience. Cinderella is a high energy show, which every aspect of the production amplifies.

The production is the first time, real-life partners Houston (director) and Whelton (co-director and choreographer) have worked together creatively since opening the venue in 2015. Watching it unfold is like seeing a dream come true. The venue’s intimate stage is transformed with a central revolve and impressive projection. There is enchanting puppetry, magical costume changes, and the standard of singing and performance of the whole cast is terrific.

It’s a triumph for everyone involved – don’t miss it.

Cinderella is at Hope Mill Theatre from 1 November to 11 December 2022.

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Mischief Theatre, following in Stoppard, Green and Frayn’s footsteps, have enjoyed huge success with a series of shows supposedly produced by the ‘Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’: Peter Pan Goes Wrong, The Comedy About a Bank Robbery, and – best of all – The Play That Goes Wrong, which has won numerous awards since its 2015 premiere. What makes the core writing team of Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields a unique proposition, is their gift for comic invention, particularly slapstick. The company are now international players, with Mischief shows having been performed in over 40 countries worldwide.

So successful in fact, there’s now an A, and a B Team. I was expecting the latter on this occasion, so it was a pleasant surprise to discover this touring production features the original cast of Lewis, Sayer, and Shields, alongside Rob Falconer, Dave Hearn, Charlie Russell, Greg Tannahill and Nancy Zamit (most of whom featured in both series of the BBC Goes Wrong Show.)

The Play That Goes Wrong is a critic proof show. Is there any point writing a review? Just listen to the euphoric response from the audience; even the cast were taken aback on opening night, Henry Shields breaking character at the end to declare ‘you’re the most enthusiastic bunch we’ve ever played before.’ Clearly some audience members were already converts, and eager to join in. ‘Just leave it!’ called an excitable young girl in the circle, as cheery bungler, Max (Dave Hearn) attempted to pick up the earpiece of a phone with his foot (he was busy with his hands, holding up a falling painting).

For those who’ve yet to discover what the fuss is about, the premise is simple. On this occasion, Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is producing ‘classic’ whodunit, ‘Murder at Haversham Manor.’ All the characters have a back story, as indicated in the fake programme: i.e., murder victim Charles Haversham is played by ‘Jonathan Harris’ (and ‘Jonathan Harris’ is played by Greg Tannahill – confusing, I know). It’s this level of detail which elevates the show to the premier league. All these ‘actors’ are inadequate in different ways. For example, the black spot of ‘Dennis Tyde’ is cue lines, evident in one of the best scenes, with the cast trapped in an interminable loop, repeating one section over and over, and growing increasingly hysterical.

The contribution of director Mark Bell (who trained at the famed Jaques Lecoq mime school in Paris) shouldn’t be underestimated: Events move at a frantic pace, with the actors possibly in danger of whiplash. It’s impossible to list every highlight but I particularly enjoyed the performance face-off between Charlie Russell – knocked unconscious in Act 1 – and stage manager Nancy Zamit, forced to stand in, and read lines from the book; her initial awkwardness slowly replaced by a giddy confidence. When Russell later returns, Zamit refuses to give up a role which now has her name on it, resulting in a violent battle for ownership. It’s easy to see the fetching Russell (due her first solo show at this year’s Edinburgh Festival) becoming a sort of Mischief pin-up; during act two, in classic farce tradition, she wears only a silky nightdress. ‘I really like her!’ gurgled a hormonal teenage boy sat on the row behind me. Indeed.

Great to see so many children and young folk laughing uncontrollably at this inspired silliness. For some, The Play That Goes Wrong, will prove a gateway drug to slapstick, and earlier comedy heroes like Buster Keaton. Harold Lloyd, and Laurel and Hardy. For Mischief Theatre, that’s probably the highest compliment of all.

The Play the Goes Wrong is at the Opera House, Manchester from 30 May to 4 June 2022 before continuing on its UK tour.

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Cher is one of those rare artists to have earned the title superstar – or megastar as people say as everything in the world gets bigger. Not only does she have an electric presence, but she has such a distinctive voice, whether speaking or singing, she’s instantly recognisable. How are they going to recreate her on stage? Well, to give us the megawatt personality, wall of sound effect, we get not one Cher, but three – and all on stage at the same time.

It sounds a little odd, but this part of the show works well, not just for the vocal power but for the retrospective look at a career that has spanned six decades. The three Chers play the singer at different stages of her life and career, while also watching over the whole action and commenting on events from their own life experience perspective.

Millie O’Connell plays Babe, the goofy daughter of an absent Armenian American truck driver who feels she never fits in, until a Disney tune of all things empowers her to believe, and she follows her dream of fame and falls for Sonny Bono (Lucas Rush) while working as a backing singer at age 16. Danielle Steers as Lady steers us through Cher’s years of motherhood, the Sonny and Cher comedy hour and Vegas residencies. While Debbie Kurup steps it up as Star when Cher’s career goes stratospheric with stints on Broadway and numerous awards including an Academy Award for her role in Moonstruck.

Incredibly all three women capture an aspect of Cher as they dazzle in the singer’s trademark skimpy glittering costumes and take us on the rollercoaster of her dramatic life that highlights the fickleness of fame as well as the steely determination that it takes to stay at the top. It’s like a two-and-a-half hour long, rousing anthem to girl power.

In all 35 of Cher’s top tunes are packed-in including, If I Could Turn Back Time’, ‘I Got You Babe’, ‘Strong Enough’, ‘The Shoop Shoop Song’ and ‘Believe’. It is fair to say that Cher can now add jukebox musical to her long-list of successes. And for those waiting for her next ‘farewell’ tour, The Cher Show could be the next best thing.

The Cher Show opened in Broadway in 2018. It first European Tour arrives at The Opera House Manchester from 17 – 21 May 2022.

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It’s staged like a break battle, with the audience standing around the edge of a circular performance space, as if waiting their turn to join. Being so close to the dancers confronts us with their humanity – we see their sweat dripping on to the floor and hear them breathing heavily – and allows unique performer-audience interactions. There are plenty of aspiring young dancers watching and being able to see their reactions from across the circle adds to the experience.

The usually confrontational tone of a battle is subverted, as Mith and Lim mimic each other’s movements with curiosity, although their initially tentative call and response dialogue is accompanied by unwavering eye contact. There is a sense of playfulness and spontaneity as the performers move to the multi-layered beats of Jack Prest’s sound design with perfect musicality. There is playfulness, too, in keeping the dancers’ mid-performance break onstage – seeing them collapse to the floor, drain bottles of water and exchange smiles is a reminder of the roots of this work and of breakdancing: in collaboration, in friendly rivalry, and in informal spaces.

Mith and Lim pull out all the stops choreographically, their acrobatic flips, spins and freezes jaw-dropping – but the precision of their subtler movements is equally impressive. One section towards the end sees the two dance together in a hypnotic, fluid duet, their arms constantly in contact as they orbit each other with perfect understanding.

Between Tiny Cities may only be 40 minutes long, but so much is packed in to this engrossing and memorable story told through dance – from the opening cautious exchange to a final trade-off of power moves that continues even as the lights go down.

Between Tiny Cities is at Contact Manchester from 10-12 May 2022.

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In many ways it is an easy sell – audiences come because they love the 1952 movie. But once the theatre is full, there’s a lifetime of nostalgia waiting to be unleased in the auditorium and expectations are high.

While largely faithful to the original film, this production doesn’t rest on its laurels. Instead, it takes some of the most iconic moments and brings them to life with joyful freshness.

First seen at Chichester Festival in 2011, Jonathan Church’s hit version has literally made a splash everywhere its played since. The multi-talented Adam Cooper takes the lead-role of movie heartthrob, Don Lockwood. What makes his performance work so well, is not just he’s returning to a familiar part he created over a decade ago, but, like Kelly, he dances like a dream. Cooper trained at the Royal Ballet and earlier in his career was a principal dancer with Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures. He makes the title number gloriously playful, like an overgrown toddler jumping in puddles and delighting at the height of the spray. The scene is a proper Manchester downpour, so if you’ve booked a seat in the first few rows, be warned.

Jenny Gaynor is excellent as despicable diva, Lina Lamont, who lacks any self-awareness and is so ruthless we easily forgive the other characters’ mocking of her accent, which in modern day can feel a little cruel. Even if you’ve seen the silent movie scenes a thousand times, Gaynor still hits the funny bone with laugh-out-loud comic timing, and magically has a way to make the famous can’t stand him line her own.

Ross McLaren brings warmth to Lockwood’s comedy sidekick, Cosmo Brown and delights the audience when he really does run up a wall into a backward somersault during Make ‘Em Laugh. While Charlotte Gooch’s understated performance, as innocent and talented Kathy Selden, works a treat.

If you haven’t seen the film for a while you’ll be struck by just how many memorable tunes are in the score – Fit as a Fiddle, Beautiful Girl, You Were Meant for Me, and Good Morning to name a few. The rain-soaked number is reprised at the end with a stage full of colourful brollies, leaving the audience singin’ and dancing and, for Manchester this week, most probably splashing home happily in the rain.

Singin’ in the Rain is at the Opera House, Manchester from 9-14 May 2022 before continuing its UK tour.

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Perhaps the growing traction for Easter pantomimes has encouraged this two-week holiday run, and it is warmly received by the youngsters and their grown-ups in the audience.

The show itself has been a long time in the making. Director, Sarah Punshon began working on it back in 2019, but the pandemic halted the production just 6 days into rehearsal. Thankfully for the team the hard work hasn’t gone to waste and the energy on display demonstrates how pleased the cast is to be back on stage.

Rudyard Kipling’s collection of short stories, ‘The Jungle Book’ has captured the imagination of children for more than 100 years. Its most famous adaptations are the 1967 Disney animation, and the more recent 2016 film which mixes live action and computer-generated animals.

Writer, Jessica Swale has given her adaptation a contemporary twist for the stage while focusing on the central themes of Kipling’s original stories of family, friendship, bravery and celebrating difference under a unity of the same sun. Fans will still recognise the central story and its characters – man-cub Mowgli, the villainous tiger Sheer Khan, loveable comic Baloo the bear and the hypnotic python, Kaa. But, here the jungle is portrayed as an urban adventure playground, with concrete underpass, skate ramp, and both steel and rope climbing frames.

The basic costumes, which give us a representation of the animals rather than a full costume, make it easy for the cast of 7 to quickly switch from one character to another. All actors works hard to keep the energy high, and the leap of imagination required by the audience means the children are invested in the action all the way through. This is helped along by Joe Stilgoe’s upbeat tunes which span a range of contemporary genres from ambient to hip-hop. There is even a nod to the Madchester days with Manc monkeys, nicknamed the Funkies, taking on a definite Gallagher swagger.

If you’re looking for a treat for primary school children this Easter, The Jungle Book is a winner.

The Jungle Book is at Oldham Coliseum from 7-24 April 2022.

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Joseph is one of Jacob’s dozen sons but being his father’s favourite breeds jealousy from his siblings. It all becomes too much for the brother’s when Joseph is the only one given an amazing technicolor coat and goes on to tell them about his dream in which they will all bowed down before him. Fuelled by jealous rage the brothers gather together to sell Joseph into slavery, returning a blood-stained coat to his devastated father.

Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams serves as both a blessing and a curse, getting him both into and out of difficult situations. Jac Yarrow brings the demeanor, confidence, charm and warmth to the lead role, displaying why Joseph would be so popular to a parent yet instil jealousy in those trying to keep up to his standards. His voice is fantastic and was deservedly shown extended appreciation following the raw emotion and control he brought to Close Every Door.

Alexandra Burke has made a swift return to Manchester after her perfect pantomime performance in Aladdin with a sparkling role of the Narrator. Her wonderful vocals, dancing and energy were a joy to behold.

The all too brief second act appearance of Jason Donovan’s Pharaoh brought a roar from those in the crowd who remember his chart-topping time as the wearer of the eponymous garment. Usually the Pharaoh role is played as a full-on Elvis impersonator from the Vegas years and the although Donovan dons “The King” rhinestone cloak he steers clear of attempting the distinctive Presley voice. The director, Laurence Connor, resisted the temptation to allow Donovan to reprise his Joseph role during the Joseph Megamix at the end and although the roof would have come off if he’d just sang the line, “I close my eyes”, it was the right call to keep Yarrow front and centre.

The show is filled with laughter and fun, catchy songs inspired by different musical genres, be it the Hoedown and Line Dancing of One More Angel in Heaven, French retrospective Those Canaan Days or the Caribbean sounds of Benjamin Calypso.

The set and costume design by Morgan Large is astonishing in that it harks back to the original school play roots of the show by having sparse two-dimensional backdrops but these are then interspersed with stunning camel puppets and 30-foot guitar wielding statues.

With this being a cantata, the pace never lets up and the children in the cast bounce about with great infectious energy.

Go, go, go to see this production of Joseph while it is still in Manchester.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is at The Opera House, Manchester from 23 March to 2 April 2022.

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Even if you can’t immediately put a name to the tune, you will likely recognise the popular score of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and this interpretation from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is immersive in transporting us through the turning cycle of the year.

The staging of the concert, in the atrium of the Stoller Hall, provides an intimate setting – so close it feels like we are sat in an orchestra pit. But again, it is not your usual orchestra pit, because the performers move around, bringing a fluidity, freedom, and narrative to the performance.

This liberation of the musicians from their music stands and scores is emphasised in the costumes. Most are barefoot and there is a playfulness in creating characters through something as simple, yet evocative, as wearing a headband with two dangling socks for ears and painting a black dot on the end of the nose to become a sheepdog.

The four 18th century concerti are shaped by explanatory sonnets, which precede each movement. These are read by Nic Pendlebury (curator of the evening), who acts as both conductor and narrator. Each line of text is cross-referenced to a specific musical phrase and here the story element is given vivid expression through movement of the musicians, a trio of dancers and the addition of natural soundscapes.

It is an absorbing experience and a terrific showcase for the young talent, with a different soloist taking centre stage for each movement of each concerto. How they manage to keep playing so perfectly and passionately while riding on a dancer’s shoulders or having huge fans blow music scores all around them is a wonder.

After a break, the mood shifts for the second piece which is a new work from one of the Conservatoire’s alumni, Hollie Harding. Melting, Shifting, Liquid World, written for electric viola soloist, Nic Pendlebury and the Trinity Laban String Ensemble, was produced as part of Harding’s PhD practice and first performed in 2019 on the Great Map at the National Maritime Museum, in Greenwich.

This second piece stays on the same natural world theme, but here we’re invited to imagine what the seasons could become if we don’t do more to tackle the pressing issues of plastic pollution and climate change. Harding’s is an experimental, multi-layered, boundary-pushing piece which draws on the emotional power of music to elicit a political response.

Pendlebury, on electric viola, leads the performance from a small podium at the centre, with the ensemble of musicians surrounding, spread through the building’s atrium space. The immersion of the first half goes deeper in this piece with the audience invited to move around the musicians during the performance. And there is a further layer of complexity with each audience member wearing bone-conducting headphones, which allows a pre-recorded soundscape including field recordings of Arctic Sea ice to be played, while simultaneously allowing ears to be open to the sounds of the music playing in the hall.

The theme of climate change is one all ages can relate to, and the same 10-year-old who responded joyously to the first part, is intrigued by the second – noticing how the step-ladder bird perches of the first have become ice-bergs; the costumes trail with ripped plastic packaging, and each instrument brings its unique sound to the whole.

There’s a lot going on and it is interesting to watch the various audience responses with some choosing to continuously move around the performance space, others looking in from just outside it, and others standing inside the ring of musicians but remaining in one spot with their eyes closed to get the full impact of the music. The result is very much an experience as opposed to a performance, which echoes the central message of the piece that we are all part of and have a responsibility for our environment. A thought-provoking evening that reminds us of the power of music to inspire change.

Trinity Laban String Ensemble: A Change of Season was at Stoller Hall on 23 March 2022 as part of the venue’s Sounds of Nature Season.

The next event in the season is on April 7 and is an evening of folk music and film inspired by the ghost owl.

Read our interview with composer Hollie Harding.

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Echo & The Bunnymen enjoyed great success throughout the 1980s, with albums like Porcupine (1983) and Ocean Rain (1984). Ian McCulloch left in 1987 and the band didn’t really come back together for a decade but the love is there… the echo remains. I have seen the likes of James and The Happy Mondays in recent months (in that all too short sweet spot that seemed to stand between the end of the zombie apocalypse, but before WWIII) and these bands of my youth are still vibrant and viable. And while my love – as a once cockney-now-many-years-Manc gent – will always veer to our city’s bands, I have witnessed first-hand the persistent power of Echo & The Bunnymen. I am involved with the Louder Than Words festival of music and literature and in November 2021 the festival brought Echo guitarist Will Sergeant to Manchester, now the only early member in the band, along with McCulloch. He was reading from his own memoir – Bunnyman – and the room was so busy you couldn’t even get in.

And it is McCulloch and Sergeant who are out stage front tonight, the newer members of the band – second guitar, bass, drums and keys – to the darker recesses of the rear of the stage. The band are tight as a Tory Chancellor but really, of course, it’s about the two old(er) timers in front. Sergeant – his hair still thick and dark, his body now sturdy and darkly-clothed, goes through a succession of gorgeous looking Fender Jaguar and what looks like Vox guitars, those shimmering arpeggios and jangling chords still beautiful over the top of the music. I’m not enough of a Bunnyman to really hop to lesser known (to me) tracks like the openers ‘Going Up’, ‘Show of Strength’ and ‘All The Jazz’, but as an emergent teenager in the early 80s, for me the night comes to life with ‘Bring on the Dancing Horses’, McCulloch leaving it for the packed Albert Hall crowd to sing the choruses. And McCulloch himself is as iconic as ever. No Julian Cope mic gymnastics for him – the long black overcoat and dark sunglasses are the only requisite apparel, his movements restricted to his singing, or alternatively turning back to the band, or to Sergeant, a smile to the band in acknowledgement of a job well done; to Sergeant more, one imagines, at the fact that it’s good to be back on stage together, with a crowd like tonight.

Elements of tracks such as Bowie’s ‘Jean Genie’ and Lou Reed’s ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ creep into Echo tracks, while crowd favourites flow out towards the warm cuddle of the room, with your reviewer positioned at the end of one arm of that embrace: ‘Seven Seas’, their early hits ‘The Cutter’ and ‘Ocean Rain’ and the gorgeous ‘Lips Like Sugar’, its soaring chorus again sending the adoring crowd into Scouse raptures. And for me, it all comes together with the dark, haunting and mysterious ‘The Killing Moon’, as part of the first of two encores.

There was always something a little wonderfully wonky about Echo & The Bunnymen, that slightly unnerving, unhinged aesthetic that made ‘The Killing Moon’ such a perfect track for Donnie Darko, the bunny altogether more menacing in that movie. But beyond the dark of McCulloch’s sunglasses, tonight they bring only light back through the beautiful stained glass windows of The Albert Hall.

Echo & The Bunnymen were reviewed at Albert Hall, Manchester on 25 February 2022.

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Many companies have gone to the wall since Covid 19, so respect to Box of Tricks for their tenacity in getting this show together again. ‘Last Quiz’ is touring to 17 (mostly) pub venues throughout the North West and into Yorkshire, until early April. The premise is a simple one: an asteroid is heading straight for the earth, and there’s no chance of diversion. Landlady Kathy (Meriel Schofield, a charismatic presence) decides to go out with a bang. Kathy was born for pub life: ‘I came out of the womb pulling a pint.’ She asks quizmaster Rav (Matthew Khan) to host one final quiz, for old times sake. Just a regular night down the local, until two unexpected guests turn up out of the blue: Kathy’s estranged brother Bobby (Chris Hoyle) has some scores to settle; old flame Fran (Tilly Sutcliffe) wants one last shot at love. ‘I’m glad it’s an asteroid – it’s the kick I needed’, she says to Rav. Fran is still in love with Rav, ten years after their relationship ended. He’s less impressed: ‘We were just kids.’ Besides, he’s not into girls anymore (the leopard skin pants are a giveaway). ‘The Final Countdown’ by Europe is the opening song, and the clock is ticking: Have these mixed up crazy Northerners got enough time to set things right?

There’s audience participation in the form of the quiz itself: five rounds including sport, flags and outer space. Pub theatre is a great leveller, as are quizzes, and people are encouraged to join with strangers, and make up a team. Director Hannah Tyrrell-Pinder has created a fluid piece of theatre, and the actors work hard to segue from the story to the quiz and back.

Some sense of disbelief is required because what ‘Last Quiz’ lacks is a sense of urgency. Secrets are revealed, truths are spoken but everyone is a bit too laid back, given what’s at stake. Occasionally it feels like Carr needs to add another layer of detail. Philip Ridley’s apocalyptic themed ‘Mercury Fur’ ended with a powerful soundscape (aeroplanes, bombs, fire.) Not quite necessary here but a countdown, and a few concise radio bulletins – conveying a sense what’s going on in the world outside – would help ratchet up the tension, and give the ending a bigger emotional wallop.

‘My biggest regret?’ says Kathy. ‘I wish I’d had more sex … and pudding’ (Carr has a knack for sharp one-liners). There are moments of pathos, particularly when the bloke-ish Bobby takes off his gruff mask, and reveals that his life has taken a major wrong turn. The final image of the play is a powerful one: all four characters holding hands, eyes closed, as the asteroid finally hits. Imagine a cross between the film ‘Deep Impact’ and TV comedy ‘Early Doors’, and that should give you an idea of the tone of this show. ‘Last Quiz’ doesn’t quite qualify as a newly minted classic, but does make for a hugely entertaining night down the boozer.

The Last Quiz Night on Earth from Box of Tricks Theatre is at Derby Brewery Arms from 23-26 February 2022 and then touring.

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