Carmel ThomasonThe new tour of The Bodyguard explodes onto the stage at Manchester’s Palace Theatre, with a start that needs no phones-away announcement. The echo of a gunshot does that job – now everyone is paying attention. Seconds later flames rise from the...
My first ever stadium gig as a child was watching the late Tina Turner at Gateshead International Stadium in 1990. It was billed as a farewell tour – which of course it wasn’t. Much to the delight of her fans, this born performer was back at the...
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...
This year sees Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Red Shoes. Yet, for many fans of the company this will be the first opportunity they’ve had to see this double Olivier award-winning dance show. When Bourne first...
Susanna marks the fourth collaboration between Leeds based Opera North and Phoenix Dance Theatre. It is a combination of art forms that still feels experimental yet is clearly emerging into something new, elevating both storytelling formats. It...
Tickets for the upcoming run of Miss Saigon at the Palace Theatre, Manchester (4-8 August 2026) went on sale today, Friday 14 November 2025, following the stunning success of the current tour. If you intend to go, hurry up and get a ticket...
Martin ThomassonJust before the curtain goes up on this latest revival of Phyllida Lloyd’s 1993 production of Puccini’s La Bohème, Howard steps forward to remind us what a marvellous gift to the region Opera North is – providing employment for over 130...
Leslie James KerwinA great joy of theatre is allowing us to step into different worlds. Deafinitely Theatre is the first professional deaf-launched and led theatre company in the UK and its new production of Eloise Pennycott’s award-winning play, presents an...
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...
Dave PorterHow does a person end up sleeping rough in a hostel and spending their days camped out on a park bench asking strangers for loose change in exchange for a swift rendition of Danny Boy? More specifically, how does a woman fall so much lower rather...