Moses Kabunga“I hope you have not become robots but humanised” (or in Cocteau’s native tongue “J’espère que vous n’êtes pas devenu des robots mais humanisé”) comes the call from the grave. This was Jean Cocteau’s message filmed in 1962 – a...
Carmel ThomasonIt has been called Shakespeare’s problematic comedy and, even if the only information you had about it was the title, it’s not hard to see why. The idea of calling a woman a shrew is bad enough, without adding the idea of taming her into the story...
Georgina WellsA word of warning: if you’ve got a flight booked anytime soon, I wouldn’t recommend going to see the accident did not take place. YESYESNONO’s show – acclaimed at the Edinburgh Fringe and now on at HOME as part of Orbit Festival – uses the premise...
Martin ThomassonKimberley Sykes is clearly on a mission to take control of theatre in the northwest. Her production of Maxine Peake’s Beryl has just opened at Bolton’s Octagon theatre, and now here she is, directing the RSC’s touring production of As You Like It...
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...
Yorkshire 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...
Every 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...
This 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...