Carmel ThomasonEverybody knows Postman Pat’s bright red van. Now fans can see it for real as some of the original sets and props from the popular animation series go on display for the first time. To mark the 40th anniversary of the children’s TV favourite...
Su Pollard reveals a grittier side in one-woman show, Harpy written for her by award-winning playwright Philip Meeks, that throws a light on mental illness and loneliness among the elderly. How would you describe the show to someone who hasn’t seen...
Growing up I remember being fascinated by an apocryphal tale about a young boy who fell in love with a penguin on a school trip to Edinburgh Zoo. He sneaked it home in his backpack only for it to be discovered swimming in the family bath tub by his...
Mr Popper’s Penguins tells the story of a man who dreams of Antarctic adventures only to find a penguin delivered to his front door. The children’s fantasy tale originated as a book and won Hollywood’s heart when it was turned into a film starring...
Moses KabungaGrowing up in the 1980’s I remember the arrival and subsequent demise of much of the ‘must have’ technology that tantalised us all back then. So, I hotly anticipated FaxFiction, a performance of new short stories by six writers, incorporating now...
Georgina WellsMeraki Collective’s dance theatre work Kill a Witch or Die Trying, is performed as part of Waterside Art’s Refract festival. Their patchwork of movement and spoken scenes in response to the issues of sexism, misogyny and maltreatment of women...
Nathaniel Hall contracted HIV when he lost his virginity aged 16. Fifteen years on he’s written a play, ‘First Time’ about his experience. How did you find out you were HIV positive? I got ill while on holiday with my parents. I was 16-years-old and...
Lorraine Worsley-CarterArt with Heart’s roving art gallery, The Golden Years Caravan, extends a warm welcome wherever it parks, and we caught it as it rolled-up for the final day of its tour at Waterside Arts, as part of 10-day festival, Refract19. The experience...
Liz RatcliffeI feel lucky to have been at the debut performance of Wolf Hours, Minute Taker, aka Manchester-based Ben McGarvey, superb soundtrack to a series of short-film clips, made by a variety of film makers. The show is designed to give a depiction of the...
With her body, a tightwire and a physical composition that draws on the Japanese rope art of Shibari, Hanna Moisala’s WireDo tells a mesmerising story of stepping out into the unknown. Moisala is a Finnish tightwire dancer and has...