By Royal Appointment may be Daisy Goodwin’s debut play, but don’t let that confuse you as to the talent and experience that has gone into this new production about the late Queen and her dressers. Although she is new to stage writing, Goodwin is a...
Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures has grown a strong following at Lowry with innovative takes on classics like Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. The company’s latest production the Midnight Bell, which premiered in 2021, comes to...
Theatrical experiences are rarely all good or all bad. Sometimes a reviewer wants to rave about certain aspects of a production, while other features leave him cold. So it is for me with this physical theatre adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s 1891...
Driftwood arrives at Lowry for the end of its tour to a sell-out audience, such is the anticipation of seeing Tim Foley’s latest work. The emotional two-hander is the second play from the Bruntwood Prize winner, whose Electric Rosary was staged at...
I’ve never felt drawn to the work of Jane Austen (whose modest output totals six novels), for various reasons. Middle class characters who do little except play the harpsichord, and visit other people’s houses, seems a narrow seam to mine. Rom-coms...
The success of The Crown tells us there is plenty of dramatic opportunity in any story about the late Queen as well as a healthy audience for it. Recently Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) too has been getting more attention from dramatists, being the...
Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman is a dramatic opera steeped in folklore, telling the tale of a cursed sea captain doomed to sail the oceans until he finds redemption through the love of a faithful woman. The story follows the Dutchman, who can...
Every Britain’s Got Talent hopeful who’s had their dreams shattered by the forked tongue of Simon Cowell need look no further than Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944) for comfort. Who cares what the critics may say? Go for it anyway. Or as Florence...
There are so many songs in this production, at times it seems like the characters barely have time to break into dialogue. This frantic take on Shakespeare’s romantic comedy takes a full-throttle approach to adaptation, with gags galore, pratfalls...
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...
Carmel Thomason
Martin Thomasson
Steve Timms
Liz Ratcliffe
Dave Porter