Paul ThomasonWhether you were first introduced to the Addams Family from watching the original 1960’s TV show, the early 1990’s Angelica Houston movies, any of the numerous cartoon incarnations or are recently discovering the clan through Netflix’s heavily...
Carmel ThomasonBy Royal Appointment may be Daisy Goodwin’s debut play, but don’t let that confuse you as to the talent and experience that has gone into this new production about the late Queen and her dressers. Although she is new to stage writing, Goodwin is a...
Dave PorterIt turns out that nostalgia is what it used to be. That’s certainly the case with this show which depicts an imaginary meeting between a triumvirate of comedy – Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe and Bob Monkhouse – backstage in a dusty dressing room of a...
Steve TimmsGizza Job. Welcome to the gig economy. The game may have changed but the rules of a capitalist society remain the same: for the powerful to thrive, the working class must be oppressed. Zero hours contracts usually involve working for companies who...
The success of The Crown tells us there is plenty of dramatic opportunity in any story about the late Queen as well as a healthy audience for it. Recently Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) too has been getting more attention from dramatists, being the...
Verity MarchantWhitworth Art Gallery is currently home to an installation quite literally good enough to eat. Artist Bobby Baker has recreated her An Edible Family in a Mobile Home (1976, 2023) enlisting the help of Long Boi’s Bakehouse to make the edible family...
Every Britain’s Got Talent hopeful who’s had their dreams shattered by the forked tongue of Simon Cowell need look no further than Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944) for comfort. Who cares what the critics may say? Go for it anyway. Or as Florence...
There are so many songs in this production, at times it seems like the characters barely have time to break into dialogue. This frantic take on Shakespeare’s romantic comedy takes a full-throttle approach to adaptation, with gags galore, pratfalls...
For many in the audience at Manchester Opera House this week, the trip to Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat won’t be their first. But don’t pass up a chance to see this tour because you think you know what to expect, because Director Laurence...
Dear Evan Hansen, today is going to be a good day because there is a great new musical in town that’s full of heart, hope and leaves you feeling like the sun is shining on your face. Well, when I say new, it’s a new production. The show is 10-years...