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...
The 2022 premiere of Carlos Acosta’s production of Don Quixote for Birmingham Royal Ballet, although acclaimed for its authentic reimagining, was impacted negatively by the covid times in which it opened. Four years on, and this revival is firing on...
There is much to admire in this semi-staged version of Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte by English National Opera at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. Indeed, if we didn’t know the same performers had recently opened a much more lavish, circus-themed staging at...
There’s a true sense of the hero returns as Operation Mincemeat opens its first ever world tour at Lowry’s Lyric Theatre. Now a West End and Broadway hit with numerous awards, it is hard to imagine the musical’s humble beginnings in front of an...
It is wonderful to see Manchester’s Royal Exchange start its 50th anniversary season on such a high. Tickets for its opening show ‘Road’ by Jim Cartwright have already sold out for the entire run. Although don’t lose hope if you want to...
It is a rare treat to see Barnum live. The 1980’s musical is rarely staged, both for the scale of it and the difficulty in finding a leading man who can not only sing, dance and act, but can also wow the audience with death-defying circus...
Irish choreographer, Michael Keegan-Dolan can be thought of as something of a rebel in the dance world. In the programme notes he describes his relationship with ballet as ‘complicated’. He was thrown out of ballet school more than once before...
When Motionhouse’s co-founder and artistic director, Kevin Finnan says Hidden is the company’s most ambitious production to date, we know to expect something spectacular. Motionhouse is known for bringing its unique fusion of dance and circus to...
Murder at Midnight is Torben Betts’ follow-up to his highly successful Murder in the Dark. In the programme notes he tells how the idea emerged after producers at Original Theatre company asked him to write another that could form a series of...
Carmel Thomason