The Burnley businessman’s quest to open the first high street bank in 150 years has already been told as a book, a documentary and a hit Netflix film starring Rory Kinnear.

So, naturally there is much anticipation for its transfer to the stage as a musical. And the fanfare begins even before curtain-up at Lowry for its world premiere, as the man himself, Dave Fishwick arrives in his trademark white van with a Lancashire brass band.

Lowry is one of the funders and producers of this new musical alongside ROYO, Future Artists Entertainment, and Curve Leicester. There is a sense even before it starts that everyone is rooting for this home-grown musical to succeed. It is the David and Goliath feel-good tale that everyone needs right now. It feels worth the ticket price alone just to soak up these good vibes.

What we love about Fishwick is that he is fun, honest, big-hearted and a bit rough around the edges. This musical embodies that in its authenticity and tongue-in-cheek spoof numbers that see the bankers switch to Broadway slick choreography, flanked by a chorus of dancing pigs.

If you have seen the global hit musical Come From Away, this has the same feel, with a strong ensemble cast doubling roles, soaring chorus melodies and a large open stage that draws focus on the well-drawn characters.

Amy Jane Cook’s expansive set is largely static with towering mill chimneys and a Rover’s Return style local pub. But it feels like it is constantly moving with wrap around projections and director Nickolai Foster’s fast-paced action.

Rob Madge’s book and lyrics are full of wit and cheeky northern humour, brought to life with vigour and warmth by a terrific cast led by Sam Lupton as Fishwick. Lupton captures Fishwick’s determination and it would be hard not to get swept away by the passion of his plight.

There are some extra revelations in the musical too that the film glosses over, which add to the overall gutsy punch of this staging. It’s another triumphant success for this universally uplifting story.

Bank of Dave the Musical is at Lowry, Salford from 6-16 May before moving to Curve Leicester from 20-30 May 2026.

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There’s no simple answer to this, though a quick fix of escapism is a guaranteed, short term antidote. Top Hat is now on stage, in a new adaptation by Matthew White and Howard Jacques. The show’s USP is multi award-winning double threat Kathleen Marshall, a premier league director and choreographer, feted for an acclaimed series of shows on Broadway, and in the West End (her brother is film director Rob Marshall, so it must be in the genes).

I have to admit to being late to this particular party, only discovering Kathleen Marshall’s talents with the Barbican production of ‘Anything Goes‘ a few years back. The latter was a dazzling piece of popular art, quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Marshall brings the same eye for glamour and sophistication to Top Hat. If it doesn’t surpass ‘Anything Goes’, it is certainly the equal; impressive enough to convert a musical heretic to the joys of song and dance. 

In New York, wealthy producer Horace Hardwick (James Hume) hires American entertainer Jerry Travers (Phillip Attmore, possessing Zeus like dancing abilities) to headline a new musical show. The action then zips across the Atlantic to London. Jerry stays in Horace’s hotel suite, and his night time dance episodes (described as ‘tapititus’) are irksome enough to wake pretty Dale Tremont (Nicole-Lily Baisden, a pint size package of fizzy energy) in the room below. When she stomps up to Horace’s suite to tell Jerry to keep it down, he falls instantly in love. The next day, Jerry follows Dale around London, croons and charms until she can resist no longer.

This being the 1930’s, she neglects to ask his name – yes, this is the improbable dramatic device on which Top Hat pivots, because Dale now believes Jerry is Horace (who she’s never actually met). Next stop, Venice. Dale knows Horace is married to sassy redhead friend Madge (Emma Williams), who informs Dale that her husband is staying in the same hotel. Misunderstandings quickly pile on top of each other. To say more would spoil the ride.

Attmore and Baisden make a charming lead couple, though are in danger of being upstaged by the sub plot players, Hume and Williams. Hume is a hilarious bundle of bristling neurosis, seemingly afraid of everything – particularly air travel. “I get frightened when I arrive at the airport, and see the word ‘departures.” Act 2’s secret weapon is Williams who crackles with attitude and whip smart put downs. Hume and Williams have such chemistry, it would be great to see these performers return in a spin off.  

I still recall versatile James Clyde from a run of mid 90’s appearances at the Royal Exchange; he deserves a mention for his droll turn as Horace’s jaded valet, Bates. Likewise understudy Zak Edwards, who brings a controlled, toreador energy to the role of flamboyant dress maker, Alberto Beddini.

The mark of a gifted designer is when their work stays in the mind, rather than fading after the curtain. Peter McKintosh’s sumptuous set is a giant art deco clock; at various points, the face spins open to reveal different rooms and suites. Alongside Yvonne Milnes, McKintosh has also created the fabulous costumes. Every member of the company is immaculately attired. Top Hat exists in a rarefied atmosphere of covetous excellence (I’m almost tempted to break into the theatre at night, and steal a souvenir – perhaps Jerry’s duck egg blue suit).

Alongside Cole Porter, Irving Berlin was the prime mover of the great American songbook. His best known tunes might be ‘White Christmas’ and ‘No Business Like Showbusiness’ but those featured in Top Hat are easily the most melodic: ‘Cheek to Cheek’, ‘Putting on the Ritz’, ‘Let’s Face the Music and Dance’ are ear worms that take up permanent residence. The undoubted highpoint of Marshall’s production is ‘Top Hat, White Tie and Tails.’ This is a dance team operating as a hive mind, a series of jaw dropping sequences which include intimate groupings, spiral stage crossing, and dancers tossing and catching canes across parallel lines. How is this sort of thing even possible? A scene like this belongs in a choreographer’s textbook; a blueprint for what the art form can achieve.    

Top Hat is as bracing as a glass of chilled champagne in a cryogenic ice bath. But you will have to hurry: this Chichester Festival production is at the end of its tour (Southampton Mayflower follows this Lowry run).   

Top Hat is at Lowry, Salford from 2 to 4 April 2026.

The post Top Hat: Review appeared first on Quays Life.

Since its world premiere in 2017 the show, by The Old Vic’s Artistic Director Matthew Warchus, has been seen by almost a million people in London, America and Australia, and across the globe as part of OLD VIC: IN CAMERA in 2020. But this is the first time UK audiences will have had a chance to see it outside London, where it will also run for its tenth consecutive year at The Old Vic.

“To now be able to share the joy of this production with the Lowry and its audiences makes this year a truly special one,” says director Matthew  Warchus. “I am immensely proud of the impact it continues to have on audiences – whether it be their first time seeing the show or one visit of many”.

This production sees Charles Dickens’ famous tale of Ebenezeer Scrooge, adapted for the stage by Jack Thorne (His Dark Materials, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child), and audiences can expect a big-hearted show full of music and festive cheer.

“We know North West audiences are in for something very special this festive season and everyone at the Lowry is delighted to be welcoming the show to Salford and presenting it on our Lyric stage,” says Lowry’s Chief Executive, Julia Fawcett.  “It’s the first time the show will have been presented in the UK outside of London – a real landmark moment for theatre in the region. We’re absolutely thrilled to be working with The Old Vic – one of the UK’s leading theatres – to present their landmark production of A Christmas Carol – one of the most exciting, joyous and moving Christmas productions you’ll ever see”.

Matthew Warchus’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ comes to Lowry, Salford from 11 December 2026 to 10 January 2027.

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“There’s a script?”

“Not tonight there’s not!”

Ladies and gentlemen, we hope you’re having a lovely evening – and if you’re not sharing a bed with your appropriately-aged best friend, how could you be? In celebration of the comedians’ 100th birthdays, the UK’s leading Morecambe and Wise tribute act has returned after a sellout tour in 2022. Now at Lowry, Salford for a limited-edition run, ‘Eric & Ern’ guarantees a night of love, sunshine and laughter for fans old and new alike.

After a sparkling debut at the Edinburgh Fringe (or technically, their five-minute skit at the Stage Golfing Society’s ‘70s Night in 2002), Jonty Stephens (Eric Morecambe) and Ian Ashpitel (Ernie Wise) have brought the UK’s greatest variety show back from the grave – and even brought in their own Eddie Braben-inspired jokes as a bonus. In a glittering new remaster, the 2026 tour spills over with treasures from the ice cream van, to Mr Memory (‘Arsenal!’), and more, all delivered with a fondness palpable from beginning to end.

“The diehard Morecambe and Wise fans, who grew up with Morecambe and Wise, all bring their children and grandchildren now,” Stephens remarked in a Quays Life interview earlier this month – and reader, include your reviewer in the latter category. At 22, I’m just past the vintage of the dynamic duo, but that doesn’t mean the joy of watching Morecambe play the ‘right keys in the wrong order’ was in any way diminished. Charming, innocent, with the odd poke at pettiness, my first impression of this Morecambe and Wise was somewhere near Bert and Ernie after a sherry too many – and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction.

Stephens and Ashpitel are a delight to watch as they skip onto the stage, and are brilliant in their rosy revival of a bygone era of comedy. Childish, twitching, and unwavering in his commitment to jumping to the wrong conclusion, Stephens’ Morecambe is forever fizzing with nervous energy. Ashpitel’s Wise, meanwhile, remains the proud peacock of the pair, swanning under the spotlights with an unshakeable charm – which quickly goes down the pan at the slightest breath of wind towards his hairline. The new dynamic duo know their inspirations back-to-front and inside-out, and are uncanny in their apparent ability to read each other’s minds; no wonder an audience member asked if they were about to propose!

And like every great Morecambe and Wise act, there is – as ever – an unfortunate stooge to be used, abused, and bemused, and West End performer Olivia Fines fits the bill perfectly. Having performed “across the world, and in Stockport”, Fines’ brilliant vocals make her a class act on stage, as does her willingness to join in the fun of her hapless hosts. Her rendition of ‘Where are the Clowns’ is beautifully soulful – oh Olivia, if only you would just look behind you!

Stephens and Ashpitel’s ‘Eric & Ern’ is what you get when you put the souls of two old men inside two little boys inside two middle aged men with a dream. The jokes stack, the personalities rival, and the delightful charm of golden age comedy is beautifully revived.

‘Eric & Ern’ is a sprawling banquet of jokes both old and new, and leaves no stone unturned in its tribute to Britain’s greatest dynamic duo. “If you liked this show, we’ve been Morecambe and Wise – and if you haven’t, we’ve been Mike and Bernie Winters!”

We loved it!

Eric & Ern is at Lowry, Salford fro 22-28 March 2026.

Read our interview with stars Ian Ashpitel and Jonty Stephens.

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With feminism under attack as never before from the rise of the manosphere, a play which champions women’s economic freedom within marriage and their ability to make their own choices is admirable. Maugham here presents marriage as a transactional relationship where women stay silent on the subject of infidelity in exchange for ‘bed and board’ and economic reassurance. 

Constance Middleton (played with sophisticated elan by Kara Tointon) is the eponymous constant wife. She breezes on stage with the unruffled elegance of a superyacht, determined not to be blown off course by the domestic tribulations presented by philandering husband and Harley Street surgeon John. He has patients, she has patience. Her mother Sara Clover (a brilliant performance by the great Sara Crowe) dispenses ditsy advice to keep quiet and accept that men are born to be unfaithful (at least it’s with your best friend, she says, and not someone you don’t know); while Constance’s sister Martha – the paragon of the independent new woman – is all for tearing down the shibboleths of marriage and confronting the guilty parties. In the end, Constance decides forgiveness is a more powerful weapon than revenge. 

With music by Jamie Cullen and sharp direction from Tamara Harvey, this dialogue-heavy play is given a much-needed lift which keeps it bobbing along nicely. There are some delicious double entendres and the set – all tennis whites and art nouveau abstraction – underscores how the glitter of marriage may just be that once the shine has worn off. 

The drama, such as it is, effectively ends with the first act and much of the second act is spent explaining the first. But you can only get by on so many apothegms about the relative personality traits of men and women before wanting to set fire to the playbook. Constance is indeed constant (annoyingly so), not wanting to upend a cosy domestic set-up, but at what cost? She goes into business with her sister and finds she is able to support herself but chooses not to leave John, instead paying him a year’s rent for board and lodging at the family home. At this point, anything seems possible. 

There is some fine acting in the production. Tim Delap gives us a John terrified less of being caught out by his wife than being societally shamed by the thought of her going away on holiday with another man. Said man, Bernard Kersal (played with puppyish sincerity by Alex Mugnaioni) is the real love of her life but Constance is too much of a realist to fall for him. Jocasta King is perfect as the femme fatale, all swoon and swagger, while Amy Vicary-Smith plays Martha with strident urgency. 

The final word, however, must go to Philip Rham as Bentley the butler who – like all butlers, of course – knows everything about everyone and in the end is the only person you can rely upon for being straight down the line. 

The Constant Wife is at Lowry, Salford from 17-21 March 2026.

The post The Constant Wife: Review appeared first on Quays Life.

“Every year we did a show for the Stage Golfing Society. They did a ‘70s variety show and asked if I would do Eric Morecambe,” Jonty Stephens says. Sat buttoned up and thickly-bespectacled in the Lowry theatre bar, he could break into the act at any moment. Next to him, equally crisp with an easy grin, fellow actor Ian Ashpitel perches on his seat.

“And I said, well, I need an Ernie,” Jonty carries on. “And I looked over at the bar – it was the summer, and Ian had his shorts on because we’d been playing golf – and I saw his little, short, fat, hairy legs like Ernie Wise and thought, ‘he’s perfect’.”

Ian and Jonty have known each other for 43 years, only a year less than the original Morecambe and Wise. Self-confessed ‘anoraks’, the pair have built a joint career in bringing comedy’s greatest dynamic duo back to life. Following a string of sellout West End plays and an Olivier nomination, a special run of their latest show ‘Eric & Ern’ will come to the Lowry theatre this March, in celebration of the comedians’ 100th birthdays this year.

Cramming in classics from ice cream-police sirens to Mr Memory, ‘Arsenal!’, ‘Eric & Ern’ also teases a smattering of original material, based on the work of original joke-writer Eddie Braben. With the flick of a curtain and a guaranteed grand piano (if you know, you know), the show promises to bring love, sunshine, and laughter as it skips its way to the Salford stage for both old and new fans alike.

“The comedy and the writing is good,” Ian says. “It’s excellent, it’s timeless. It wasn’t cruel or horrible, it wasn’t crude, it wasn’t political. It looks easy and funny, and it should do.”

The original run of the show was a sellout, to rave reviews cheering nostalgia-done-well. With a list of gleefully manic, mischievously smug performances behind them, ‘Eric & Ern’ shapes up to be a variety act revived, promising a song, a dance, a string of gags, and if past performances are to be believed, a mystery stooge ripe for humiliation. “If this is living in the past,” one reviewer said of the 2022 run, “it is certainly a fun place to be.”

“It’s an exciting thing,” Jonty says. “The die-hard Morecambe and Wise fans, who grew up with Morecambe and Wise, bring their children or their grandchildren now. You get three generations of the same family, sat in the front row, all laughing at the same thing – that’s just so rare now.

“We’ve done a few [original] bits and bobs and people go, ‘Oh, I loved them when they did that’. And I say, ‘Well, they didn’t do that – we really did that!’. But it’s still very true to Morecambe and Wise.

“We’re in continual touch with the family, and they’ve been supportive of everything we do. They’ve seen the show, they know what we’re doing, they know what we’re including – and in fact, they’re coming to see it in Morecambe!”

In keeping with the spirit of authenticity, ‘Eric & Ern’ has already been put through the wringer of trial and error – and now stands “in the best shape it’s ever been”, according to Ian. That said, for the benefit of the audience, the pair insist there’s a line to be drawn between going through the motions and a faithful rendition.

“We’ve often talked about it,” Jonty says, “we were inspired by a live video of Eric and Ernie live at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon in the ‘70s. And we watched and watched and watched it and tried to do every mannerism, every little tick and be faithful to that, and of course we soon discovered that you’ve got a live audience in front of you that may not laugh at something that they got a laugh for at Fairfield.”

Jumping in, Ian draws an invisible string with his hand. “Tring to move your hand on a line literally drives you insane. [This show] is abandoning that,” he says. “That’s an impression, and what we’re doing is a portrayal – we’re portraying these ‘characters’. As actors, we’ve studied them as characters, and then added onto that is all the other information we’ve come up with.

“[Morecambe and Wise] were very different sorts of people, which works, because they’re a bit like me and [Jonty]. We’re like the ying and yang of each other, and I think Eric and Ernie were like the ying and yang of each other. That’s why they worked. That’s why we work.”

The pair have come far since their early golf club days, and their even earlier days in acting school where they were routinely asked if they were a double act (to which they would answer, in unison, ‘no’). Having since exploded as the UK’s most successful Morecambe and Wise duo, neither see themselves hanging up the jackets just yet.

“We are Eric and Ernie, for this set amount of time, and then after this, we’re still actors trying to do other things,” Ian says. He smiles: “But we never had a clue it would be this successful or last this long. This is our baby.”

“Without the talent of Morecambe and Wise, we wouldn’t be doing it,” Jonty nods. “We shine a light on that talent, and for that moment, that two hours that you’re in the theatre, we hope people forget where they are and all the horrible things that are going on in the world, and we take them away from that and they have a good old laugh.

“They were loved, so hopefully if we do a good job, we get a bit of that love from the audience. We’re very lucky in that respect: it’s wonderful to do.”

It must be an incredible feeling to get to perform with your best friend, too. “Yeah, it is,” Ian laughs. “He’ll be here in a minute!”

‘Eric & Ern’ is at Lowry, Salford from 24 to 28 March 2026.

The post “You get three generations of the same family, all laughing at the same thing – that’s just so rare now” – Jonty Stephens appeared first on Quays Life.

“I’ve lived an extraordinary life! I really have. I’ve done some amazing things and I’ve been very lucky,” says Cheryl.

Cheryl has so many stories to tell, and after trialling this format of event on cruise ships she is excited to bring it to Manchester and share her memories with audiences in an intimate setting. “Fans can expect honesty. I’m unfortunately to my detriment a very honest person!

“I’m giving it a try, opening at The Lowry, which is very nerve-racking, but I’m really looking forward to it!” However, Cheryl admits that she may struggle to include everything, “I can’t pack it all in!

“I’ll talk about Bucks Fizz, and I’ll talk about my TV days, but there will probably be things from an audience point of view I won’t talk about, so the QnA will be their opportunity to ask me questions that might not be on my list of things to talk about”.

Bucks Fizz won The Eurovision song context in 1981 with the feelgood hit ‘Making Your Mind Up’, which Cheryl says was ‘absolutely the highlight’ of her career. The group then went on to have three number one hits and oppportunities to play all around the world.

“It was wonderful, and we did everything first class! We flew first class, went to the best hotels, we were travelling in limousines, but what they didn’t tell us is that they would recoup that money out of royalties. I’m glad we didn’t know or we never would have done it.”

Although Cheryl has accomplished some incredible things, on this occasion she intends to take audiences through both the ups and the downs of her life. “There will be a lot of laughter. There will be a lot of laughter but also be prepared for tears.”

One of those sad incidents, she recalls, is when members of Bucks Fizz were injured in a coach crash in 1984, an experience that has stuck with her all these years later. “It’s like it happened to somebody else, but it was me that woke up in hospital. It’s really weird when something like that happens to you”.

After a successful career in the music industry, Cheryl ventured into the world of television presenting. “I left Bucks Fizz in the nineties because I was pregnant, and I thought I can’t have my kids and take them on tour and go around the country gigging, whereas TV was like a proper job,” she explains.

Cheryl then spent a lot of time in Manchester as television presenter, “I’ve got a lot of personal ties with Manchester, a lot. The Funny Side, My Secret Desire. A lot of BBC shows I did were filmed in Manchester.”

Cheryl is optimistic about this tour and willing to ‘take it nationwide’ if it goes well, she insists that the group is still where her heart is.

“I’d like to go all around the country. It would be nice to think I can expand on these three dates and do a proper tour. But I will still be fizzing, there’s no way this is gonna take priority, because Fizz is my happy place.

“Making Your Mind Up and Bucks Fizz opened so many doors to me and gave me so many opportunities that I am so grateful for. In the show at the Lowry, I can talk about them and relieve them. That’s the joy of it, that’s the joy of my career, that’s why I love it so much and I don’t want it to stop.”

Wearing Cheryl Baker is at Lowry, Salford on 25 March 2026.

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Now a West End and Broadway hit with numerous awards, it is hard to imagine the musical’s humble beginnings in front of an audience of 80 in Lowry’s Aldridge Studio space.

SpitLip the talented company behind this inventive show rose up through Lowry’s Artist Development programme over a 10-year funding and mentorship scheme that included supporting other projects and co-commissioning Operation Mincemeat.

Before that, the four creatives behind the company – David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts – cut their teeth performing sketch shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. And there is evidence of that background in the tight timing, high energy and carefully orchestrated chaos of Mincemeat.

The result is an exciting reinvention of the genre that will both delight musical lovers and win over those sceptics who say musicals are not for them.

Set in 1943, it is based on the bizarre true story of an MI5 mission to use a corpse as a decoy to fool Hitler and give allied troops a clear run into Sicily. It is one of those stories so strange you couldn’t make it up, and audiences will likely be familiar with it from the 2021 war drama starring Colin Firth.

Here the tale is told as a fast-paced, quick-witted comedy with five actors – Christian Andrews, Seán Carey, Charlotte Hanna-Williams, Holly Sumpton, Jamie-Rose Monk – taking on numerous gender-switching roles with lightening precision and clarity.  All the cast, except Monk, are reprising their roles performed in the West End and it is an exceptionally polished production with consistent high energy from the opening line to the curtain call.

It’s war time in a secret bunker, so the set is naturally pared back. However, Ben Stones seemingly simple set design, like the show itself, has more than a few surprises, with tongue-in-cheek nods to glitzier musicals, slick reveals and effective integration of Mark Henderson’s lighting design to evoke atmosphere without blinding.

There are some lovely harmonies in the music and some genuinely emotional moments that leave the audience spellbound. This fresh, clever, and funny musical is probably the best show you will see this year. It is certainly the best I’ve seen for a long time. Don’t miss it.

Operation Mincemeat is at Lowry, Salford from 16 to 28 February 2026. Age recommendation 5+

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Motionhouse is known for bringing its unique fusion of dance and circus to large-scale, bespoke entertainment. You might have seen them perform at festivals or at major events such as the opening show of Birmingham 2022 Festival or the National Lottery’s Big Eurovision Welcome event in Liverpool.

This new show, created for an indoor theatre space, has the same big-event feel, placing their performers in a space which combines multiple moving objects, fast-paced film projection and an absorbing soundscape.

The show, created by Finnan together with the company’s associate director Daniel Massarella and the dancers, is an artistic and physical response to society’s increasing polarisation and the crises populations face globally from natural disasters like wildfires and floods.

As Finnan explains in the programme notes: ‘The best of humanity is when we put the needs of others before our own’ and this forms the narrative arc for the show as the dancers follow a path from isolated darkness, eventually working together towards the light.

Act One ‘Decent into Darkness’ opens onto a frenetic, fast-moving world where dancers move around a blur of faces among London streets, transport, buildings and rooftops.

Simon Dormon’s fluid set sees the city projected onto a main backdrop and two 3D triangular wedge shapes which the dancers move and weave between taking us from a gamer’s bedroom to a city park to the rush of the Underground. The result feels like watching a series of video shorts, almost like dance for a Tik Tok generation.

There is so much to see that it is hard to believe they are creating this with only 7 dancers, who are such a phenomenal ensemble that they all deserve mention – Olly Bell, Llewelyn Brown, Dylan Davies, Alex Macnab, Blair Moore, Sophie O’Leary and Beth Pattison.

The circus skills come to the fore as the set moves to a series of geometric shapes, where two dancers battle to free themselves from a prison of plastic wrapping. This aspect feels unlike anything I’ve seen before.

Act Two ‘Finding the Light’ follows a clearer narrative. There is a much calmer feel to it, although the dancing and circus skills on display are no less impressive. Here the two triangles are transformed into a 4m high, 45-degree ramp which becomes a metaphor for the heights dancers need to scale to reach the light. They can only do this together in what becomes an emotionally moving scene of strength and trust.

We are left with a feeling of amazement at how these young dancers trust that they will be caught when they fall; trust the strength of the dancer on whose shoulders they stand, and trust as they form a human ladder that those who scale it are not going to lean on a part of their body to cause pain. It is an incredible spectacle of community, support and courage that leaves us with a feeling of hope in humanity. In what feels like an increasingly divided world Motionhouse has given us something wonderful.

Motionhouse Hidden was at Lowry, Salford on 30 January 2026 before continuing on tour.

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The show, which brings together agility, acrobatics, dance, digital projection and a shape-shifting set, is the Warwickshire-based company’s most ambitious theatre production so far – and, say the team, audiences have been responding brilliantly to its jaw-dropping feats and its important message.

Created by Motionhouse co-founder and artistic director Kevin Finnan together with the company’s associate director Daniel Massarella and the dancers, Hidden explores our sense of shared humanity and how, even in the darkest of times, people will come together to support each other.

“The reaction from audiences has been quite overwhelming,” Daniel says. “We’ve had standing ovations at every venue. When a work is being created you think it’s going in the right direction but it’s only when it’s in front of an audience that you really get to see its success.

“What is great about the work is that it’s not one-dimensional. You can take away from it however you are feeling on that day, or whatever has come out in the press or has happened in the world at that point.

“Hidden strips people back to their basic humanity, when all we have is each other and that’s the only way we can get through life’s challenges.”

The show makes bold use of projection, with performers interacting with moving images of land and cityscapes, speeding trains and digital screens.

“It’s the first time we’ve used this amount of projection and people are blown away by that,” says Daniel. “People are also blown away by the skill level of the company, it’s one of the ‘danciest’ shows we’ve done, integrated with the highest level of circus. So there’s something for everyone – some people like the digital, the gaming and the more cinematic experience and the more emotional people like that emotional draw, that it makes you feel something.”

Kevin was inspired to create Hidden after watching international catastrophes including floods, wildfires and war and seeing that with every disaster there is also resilience through human connection and kindness.

“Hidden is a show about us,” Kevin explains. “There are things that are very dark moments for people all around the world. And as well as this, within our own lives everyone encounters moments that are really truly dark.

“But then Hidden is the thing that comes through in the darkest moments – it is when people can be at their very best and come to work together and to be together. So, rather than worrying about ‘us’ and ‘them’, we help each other and support each other.

“As well as the darkness, we are seeing that element of support that is so often hidden – and we need to celebrate that and celebrate humanity and the very good people we can all be.”

Founded in 1988 and based in Leamington Spa, Motionhouse has built up a reputation for breathtaking outdoor spectacle and imaginative indoor productions. These visual and physical effects are the company’s way of telling its stories.

“When I make a show, all of the flying and the film, what that’s there for is to engage and make the show entertaining to a wide range of people,” Kevin explains. “But the reason to make the show is to connect with people as best we can.

“When someone comes up to me in tears and says ‘that moved me more than I’ve been moved in a long time’, even if it’s just one person on the tour, that’s the point. The fact that we are getting that in most venues on this tour is the whole point of everything we do.

“You come to the theatre to be together with the artists and share the experience and then hopefully after the show the audience will take something away. For me the most important thing is saying we are not alone and you can communicate – that is what we should all be doing.”

And the company promises there will be thrills for people familiar with Motionhouse and for those for whom Hidden is their first experience of the company.

“It’s not a dance show, it’s not a circus show, it’s not a film show. It’s combining all of those art forms. It’s like having a smoothie with very different flavours which ultimately makes a very nice cocktail.” says Daniel.

“When you come in having seen what we do before there is definitely a pressure and expectation there, especially for Kevin, because you always have to be better than your last show. But we did it, and the audience response speaks volumes for that.”

The team are looking forward to bringing the show to The Lowry in Salford

“The 2026 tour kicks off at the Lowry in Manchester in January,” Daniel says. “We’ve never been on the main stage of the Lowry before so we’re really excited about that.”

Hidden has already built up a strong reputation and has bookings into 2028 and Kevin promises all audiences are in for a treat.

“If you come and see any of our shows you will see a tremendous burst of exciting energy on the stage, you will see phenomenal dancers doing incredible things. It will be dynamic – there will be people flying through the air and all sorts of physical wonders and spectacle.

“Hidden is beautiful as well as powerful, engaging and fun. When you come away you will have had a wonderful evening where you have seen things that moved your heart and you will have seen things that made you joyful about who we are and what we can be.”

Hidden is at Lowry, Salford on Friday 30 January 2026 before continuing on tour.

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