Lorraine Worsley-CarterReceiving a programme presented as a school exercise book truly set the scene for Emma Rice’s second production with her Wise Children theatre company. Malory Towers. Photo by Steve Tanner As we file into the auditorium, we are minded that we are...
Martin ThomassonYorkshire cyclist, Beryl Burton (1937-1996), has a strong claim to being the greatest sporting hero Great Britain has ever produced and yet, as Kimberley Sykes’s production of Maxine Peake’s biographical piece makes us painfully aware, she remains...
Moses KabungaEvery now and again an event comes along that stops you dead in your tracks. It either shifts your perception of what you thought was true; or reminds you that you’ve taken something for granted for too long. On this night, in Manchester, that event...
Georgina WellsThis year, HOME’S Orbit Festival explores the ‘prevailing divide’ between people and how it can be conquered. I doubt that there’s a show in the programme that could be more joyfully effective at bringing an audience together than Paul O’Donnell’s...
Liz RatcliffeI was so looking forward to Macbeth at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. A female, Lucy Ellinson, was going to be playing the lead, and I thought that this would provide an exciting perspective on the play. I have seen many productions of...
9 to 5 the Musical tells the story of three workmates pushed to boiling point by their sexist and egotistical boss. A 9 to 5 film or production would not be complete without our irrepressible Dolly Parton herself and we are treated to a visual link...
Circa – Humans is the brain child of Yaron Lifschitz. Creator. Artistic Director. Empresario. A native of Australia, this is his Salford helping of jaw-dropping, mind-numbing, acrobatic excellence. Tonight’s offering sees his troupe of skilled...
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is definitely flavour of the month. She’s an award winner. She has writing credits on the fantastically successful Killing Eve. Fleabag is now a hit BBC TV show in its own right and she’s co-written the next James Bond film, No...
Carmel ThomasonAt the opening of his Mythos trilogy, Stephen Fry welcomes the audience and informs us that what we are about to watch is not a play, it’s not a show, it’s something much older – it’s the ancient art of storytelling. Of course, in 2019 there are a...
It’s hard to create new work – sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s brave for theatres to commission new work – sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s hard to review a piece written/devised to honour a dear friend...