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...
More than 400 years on, Hamlet is still one of the most complex characters in English literature and one of the most coveted stage roles. In the last ten years we’ve seen David Tennant in the role with the RSC, and elsewhere star casting saw Jude...
In 2009, Hollie Steel was the little girl with the big voice, who won a place in the final on Britain’s Got Talent. Now, aged 19, she is the star of a new children’s Christmas show from Salford-based company, Colour the Clouds, the first festive...
It’s hard to imagine The Gruffalo as a little-known story. Axel Scheffler’s illustrations for Julia Donaldson’s children’s book are instantly recognisable. Even if you haven’t read it, you can’t escape the mythical creature who has since become an...
Declining Solo is a new multi-media show, written and performed by Katherina Radeva and Alister Lownie. The show explores questions of identity, belonging and culture by focusing on the emotional impact of geographical separation on the parent-child...
Anyone who ever visited Hartlepool will know the tale of the Hartlepool Monkey. Legend has it, during the Napoleonic Wars of the early nineteenth century, a French ship got caught up in a storm off the north-eastern coastal town. The ship’s mascot...
Hedda Gabler is a gift of a part that can be played by a star name or make one of the actor playing her. The last time I saw it staged, Amanda Donohoe was Ibsen’s anti-heroine in Braham Murray’s production at The Royal Exchange. I remember the...
Have you seen the Stick Man? I must be the only person in the theatre who hadn’t, which is why I massively under-estimated this character’s popularity when the show first visited the Lowry a year or so ago. As I was to learn from my nephew – his...
Carmel Thomason