It’s hard to imagine The Gruffalo as a little-known story. Axel Scheffler’s illustrations for Julia Donaldson’s children’s book are instantly recognisable. Even if you haven’t read it, you can’t escape the mythical creature who has since become an...
Eva Peron is reported to have once said: ‘My biggest fear in life is to be forgotten’. Well, if she was as ambitious as Madalena Alberto portrays, you could be forgiven in thinking the former Argentinian first lady has aligned the stars for this...
Beautiful – The Carole King Musical is on its first UK tour and stops at the Palace Theatre, Manchester for the festive season. It’s an unexpected treat for its star, Bronté Barbé who gets to spend both her birthday and Christmas at home in...
Everyone loves a good underdog story. Throw in cute kids, catchy tunes, a real-life pooch, and you’ve got a tale to leave no heart-string un-pulled. Writer, Debbie Isitt knows how to pen a winner. Currently working on the fourth installment of her...
When the founders of a theatre night are writers on the country’s top serial dramas, it’s not surprising JB Shorts is a formula that runs and runs. Now in its 18th season, the evening of six new 15-minute plays by top TV writers, has become a...
Declining Solo is a new multi-media show, written and performed by Katherina Radeva and Alister Lownie. The show explores questions of identity, belonging and culture by focusing on the emotional impact of geographical separation on the parent-child...
Anyone who ever visited Hartlepool will know the tale of the Hartlepool Monkey. Legend has it, during the Napoleonic Wars of the early nineteenth century, a French ship got caught up in a storm off the north-eastern coastal town. The ship’s mascot...
Hedda Gabler is a gift of a part that can be played by a star name or make one of the actor playing her. The last time I saw it staged, Amanda Donohoe was Ibsen’s anti-heroine in Braham Murray’s production at The Royal Exchange. I remember the...
Have you seen the Stick Man? I must be the only person in the theatre who hadn’t, which is why I massively under-estimated this character’s popularity when the show first visited the Lowry a year or so ago. As I was to learn from my nephew – his...
The music of The Band needs no introduction – covering three decades of Take That hits, each one instantly recognisable. Neither do its young stars, the winners of TV talent show Let It Shine. So far, so predictable. Then Gary Barlow throws a curved...
Carmel Thomason