One reviewer described this show as âbrilliantly bonkers.â I shall strive to be similarly generous, but I give you fair warning: I expect to fall some way short. To begin at the beginning⊠We are gathered to witness the birth of Diktat, a strongman...
In case youâre so pressure-cooker busy you donât have time to read the rest of this review (cue scream-face emoji), Iâll come straight to the point: This Opera North production of Verdiâs âFalstaffâ is simply splendid. Shakespeareâs Sir John...
The Drifters formed in 1953 and the band is still going strong, with another UK tour this year. How do they do it? Well, the Driftersâ Girl, whose story is told in this new musical, holds the key. The Driftersâ Girl refers to the late, Faye...
Some stories are so strange you couldnât make them up, and others, like the seventeenth century tale of the crown jewels heist, become even more absurd with time. Simon Nyeâs comedy revolves around the unlikely but true story of an attempt to steal...
Tanika Guptaâs adaptation of Great Expectations is daringly bold, transposing the action from Dickensâ usual festering slums to Bengal at the turn of the century undergoing partition courtesy of Lord Curzon and the British Empire. Along the way...
Thereâs a definite buzz at Manchesterâs Palace Theatre for the launch of the new Jesus Christ Superstar UK tour. The musicalâs 50-year history gives the show its own superstar status, and this production, from Londonâs Regent Park Open Air Theatre...
âAre you a fan of Ben UFO?â a friendly young woman asks as we walk into New Century Hall. I confess Iâm not and make it worse by adding, âI have heard of him.â This is true (I think) but makes me about as cool as my dad would have been if heâd told...
Manchester Academy was packed out with a noticeably diverse audience on Thursday night for Find Your Eyes, a piece produced by Factory International for MIF and centred on creative powerhouse Benji Reid. Reid defines himself as a âchoreo-photolist,â...
In many ways Romeo and Juliet, bursting with the passion and energy of youth, feels like the perfect ballet for an innovative company like Sir Matthew Bourneâs New Adventures to stage. And if you think there are no new ideas to be mined from...
There has, of course, been much debate about The Factory, not least of which is that it is no longer called The Factory. I have passed this strange, white, contemporary carbuncle developing on the side of a new concrete block on the banks of the...
Martin Thomasson
Carmel Thomason
Dave Porter
Georgina Wells
Simon A. Morrison