Carmel ThomasonWhoever said you can get too much of a good thing never saw Jason Manford in pantomime. The Salford-born comedian takes the lead at Manchester Opera House for the fourth consecutive Christmas alongside his popular panto sidekick and Britain’s Got...
Cathy CrabbA camp old time was had of it at the Opera House with Top Hat. A flighty on its shoes show with classic Irving Berlin songs and a stellar cast of triple threats. Jerry Travers (Phillip Attmore), a Broadway sensation, helps an old boy out by coming...
Why can’t every show be like Slava’s Snowshow? Creating a childlike sleeping fantasy of elation and melancholy, played out by fools. Lots of people, me included, say they hate or fear clowns. But that’s only when those clowns are hiding behind make...
I think it would be good if one day a pop group musical could make us all believe in ourselves and go out into the ether changing our world for the better. And today, I will carry that through and try and be the best me that I can be. Because Here...
This ghost story, directed by Matthew Dunster and written by Danny Robins, has enjoyed huge audiences and many rave reviews. A leap of faith is necessary to believe what happens, although it is directed and acted the best it could be. Two hapless...
Dave PorterIt turns out that nostalgia is what it used to be. That’s certainly the case with this show which depicts an imaginary meeting between a triumvirate of comedy – Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe and Bob Monkhouse – backstage in a dusty dressing room of a...
A new musical is waiting to sweep you off your feet Bollywood style at the Opera House this week as the venue hosts the UK premiere of Come Fall in Love: the DDLJ Musical. For those who don’t know what DDLJ stands for, it is short for the 1995 Hindi...
All the hype over the past few weeks is true – A Knight’s Tale is a firework of a show. And I mean literally at points. Figuratively it zings, glitters and explodes. Faux leathering their way through one jukebox banger after the other, the...
For many in the audience at Manchester Opera House this week, the trip to Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat won’t be their first. But don’t pass up a chance to see this tour because you think you know what to expect, because Director Laurence...
Cast your mind back to the days before streaming platform playlists. If that’s before your time, the staging will give you a hint. Tom Rogers and Toots Butcher’ set places the action within a big box of blank tapes that frame the stage. Yes, we’re...