Gizza 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...
Itâs been a long time coming. Ever since Yosser Hughes strode onto the screen in 1982 and into television drama history, with his brilliant, heartbreaking catchphrase âGizza jobâ, people have been urging Alan Bleasdale to bring Boys from the...
It is 1997. A train leaves Scotland bound for London. On board, John Josana, a journalist, is reading a book about Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for many years). The train is crowded. A tall man with a backpack takes the seat...
A brand-new stage version of multi-award-winning Malorie Blackmanâs novel Pig Heart Boy comes to Lowry, Salford. Quays Life met the cast to find out more about bringing this important story about organ donation to the stage. Based on Malorie...
Driftwood arrives at Lowry for the end of its tour to a sell-out audience, such is the anticipation of seeing Tim Foleyâs latest work. The emotional two-hander is the second play from the Bruntwood Prize winner, whose Electric Rosary was staged at...
âThe Mothâ, by Paul Herzberg, was originally filmed as a 10-minute piece to camera, as part of a series of short films from Elysium Theatre Company called âThe Covid-19 Monologuesâ. The film was seen around the world, winning several awards...
Iâve never felt drawn to the work of Jane Austen (whose modest output totals six novels), for various reasons. Middle class characters who do little except play the harpsichord, and visit other peopleâs houses, seems a narrow seam to mine. Rom-coms...
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...
Richard Wagnerâs The Flying Dutchman is a dramatic opera steeped in folklore, telling the tale of a cursed sea captain doomed to sail the oceans until he finds redemption through the love of a faithful woman. The story follows the Dutchman, who can...
If I were to begin this review by telling you the stars of Birmingham Royal Balletâs revival of Cinderella are John Macfarlaneâs design and David Finnâs lighting (here honoured and adapted by Peter Teigen), you might infer that I was being...
Steve Timms
Sarah Hemming
Martin Thomasson
Carmel Thomason
Liz Ratcliffe