When we meet Noel Lynch he looks like your average 50-something man, but like novelist, Maeve Binchy who created him, he’s a born storyteller. And as he takes us back 25 years, we are about to find out, all is not always as it seems. Noel rewinds to...
It’s the summer of 1912 and on a farm in rural Devon a drunken Ted Narracott (Gwilym Lloyd) has spent his mortgage money on a young foal, a mixed-breed that is neither rider nor plough horse. For his wife, Rose (Jo Castleton) it’s another useless...
It feels a natural progression these days for popular children’s books to make their way to the stage, especially when the author is Julia Donaldson. Tall Stories, whose previous productions at the Lowry include Donaldson’s The Gruffalo and Room on...
Rudyard Kipling’s collection of short stories, ‘The Jungle Book’ has been enchanting children for more than 100 years. Today most people know his famous characters, Mowgli, Baloo and Shere Khan, from the Disney adaptations – a cartoon...
At the toss of a coin the company decides on stage which of two actors will take the crown as Elizabeth I and who will lose her head as Mary Stuart. This device, more a spin than a flip, is magnified on screens around the auditorium, while Juliet...
One of the great beauties of circus is its ability to cross boundaries of language, age and, for many of us, what we might imagine is physically possible. In the Little Mermaid, the multi-talented Metta theatre team use their circus skills to push...
In the last nine years Ballet British Columbia has been reimagined under the vision of artistic director Emily Molnar, to become Canada’s leading contemporary dance company. In that time the company has supported the development of 45 new works from...
Fairy tales and war are strange bedfellows, so setting the timeless romance of Cinderella in the London Blitz of 1940, already suggests this may be a magical story, but not as we know it. Fans of Matthew Bourne’s innovative New Adventures company...
The 10th anniversary revival of Kneehigh’s musical adaptation of Noël Coward’s Brief Encounter has been one of the most anticipated theatrical events this year. And in many ways, a story about longing is all the better for the wait. Embracing the...
Dance: Sampled is exactly what the title suggests – a taster of different dance styles from several dance companies. It is a chance to see some of the finest dancers from across the globe for a fraction of the price and to discover new acts and...
Carmel Thomason