In the programme notes, Michael Morpurgo admits he was sceptical when first approached about staging his 25-year-old book, War Horse using puppets. The National Theatre was keen to find a vehicle to work with South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company...
Author Neil Gaiman‘s work has been successfully brought to both the big screen (with the animation Coraline) and the small screen (Good Omens) and now this Joel Horwood adaptation of his fantasy novel of the same name arrives on the huge Lyric...
The National Theatre’s fantasy adventure, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, arrives at The Lowry promising a magical Christmas. The stage adaptation brings to life the novel by author, Neil Gaiman whose childhood inspired the story. He tells...
Liz Ratcliffe laughs and cries at The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time which she finds to be a masterpiece of acting and choreography, wrapped in a high-tech set I enjoyed reading Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel, The Curious Incident...
It is easy to feel jaded as a reviewer, particularly when a play you’ve seen countless times pops up again on the season brochure. When it comes to refreshing an old favourite, star casting works. In Manchester we’ve recently seen Jodie Prenger...
Laura Wade’s comedy Home, I’m Darling is about one woman’s quest to live like the like perfect 1950’s housewife in 2019. But behind the gingham curtains, things start to unravel, and being a domestic goddess is not as easy as it seems. Quays Life...
The National Theatre’s Macbeth opens onto a post-apocalyptic world – dark, wet and drowning in ripped plastic. This doesn’t just feel like the aftermath of a bloody civil war, but the end of the earth as we know it. Rae Smith’s set design creates a...
Following a sell-out London run, the National Theatre’s radical reinterpretation of Macbeth goes on tour, arriving at the Lowry on 29 September 2018. Artistic director, Rufus Norris talks to Quays Life about anarchy, uncertainty and why the heart of...
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...
Carmel Thomason
Paul Thomason
Liz Ratcliffe