What a year it has been for Lucy O’Byrne. After becoming the first classical singer to get to the final of BBC1’s The Voice, she’s now back in Salford in one of the most iconic musical roles for the Lowry’s Christmas show, The Sound of Music. And...
There are many stories that have an element of shock value, but few that are so deeply shocking they stay with you a lifetime. William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies is one of them. It is decades since I read the novel as a young teenager yet I...
When even the smallest of theatre venues seems to rely on the draw of a household name to put bums on seats at panto time, it is a real credit to Oldham Coliseum that it fills the auditorium on the quality of the show alone. This is in large part...
You don’t need to be a child of the 40s to know the music of the Glenn Miller orchestra. You might not be aware that Miller won the first ever gold disc for Chattanooga Choo Choo and went on to win another 30 more, but you will associate his music...
The pile of trophies stacking up for Jersey Boys says it all – 57 major awards at the last count. To be fair, I’m not sure if there is anything left for it to win. This panel awarded the UK tour the MTA Brynteg award for best musical at last year’s...
It is a testament to the size of Manchester’s theatre going public that many big shows are now making their way to the region not once, but twice on a national tour. Last year Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Barnum played at the Palace Theatre...
As someone who travels a lot by train, the idea of a play about travelling 21000 miles of rail naturally appealed. I think that the concept will attract a lot of people. Writer and performer Hannah Butterfield has come up with a gem of an idea, but...
Manchester International Festival makes a fantastic cultural contribution to the city in commissioning events that bring together top talent from across the globe. But, sometimes it is good to be reminded of the extraordinary talent we have right...
The emerging urban gang culture of Victorian Manchester is a gift for dramatists who are only really beginning to scratch the surface of these complex and fractured lives. Last year, HOME staged the immersive and challenging, Angel Meadow, on the...
There’s something for everyone at The Lowry this Christmas, and for little ones the show of choice is We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. My two-year-old nephew had spotted the posters, and although it wasn’t a story I was familiar with, he recognised it...
Carmel Thomason