Steve TimmsYou may not be familiar with the 80’s genre known as ‘sophisti-pop’, though everyone remembers bands like The Blow Monkeys, Swing Out Sister, ABC, The Style Council, and Prefab Sprout. What united these apparently disparate artists was a winning...
Carmel ThomasonAhead of Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts coming to Lowry in April, Quays Life talks to actors Tom Chambers and Tachia Newall about bringing the iconic detective duo Morse and Lewis to the stage. Taking on the iconic role of the titular crime-solver...
Benjamin Britten knew what it was like to live as an outsider, and his Suffolk roots meant he had an instinctual understanding of the rhythms and power of the sea. Both are brought to the fore in his first opera, ‘Peter Grimes’. Written just after...
Before the curtain rises on this new production of The Marriage of Figaro at Lowry, we’re told the show has already been seen by more than 3,500 first time opera goers since premiering at Leeds in January. The Company is actively making its work...
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...
Diane ParkesSir David Bintley’s Cinderella remains one of the most popular ballets in BRB’s repertoire. As the company prepares to take this magical production on tour again in 2025, Diane Parkes talks to designer John Macfarlane to find out what it takes to...
Dave PorterThis play could not come at a more apposite moment. Next week not only marks Anti-Slavery Day but the subject of this production – abduction and enslavement in Sudan – comes at a time when the sub-Saharan country has been plunged into yet another...
Nigeria’s QDance Company embodies the youthful vibrancy of Lagos in its ambitious 90 minute show, Re:Incarnation. It starts with the rhythmic banging of a drum resembling a heartbeat as the dancers, huddled together pulse as one. From this...
Tricia Paoluccio plays Dolly Parton in a new musical Here You Come Again, which she co-wrote with Bruce Vilanch and Gabriel Barre. The show has been fully authorised by the real Dolly herself, with the UK version including some additional scripting...
There’s a Bluevolution happening in Salford this week. Don’t know what that is? Well, it’s what this experience is all about – discovering the world of art and entertainment as if it’s a world you’ve never seen before. Blue Man Group is a...