SICK! Festival 2019 invited artists to produce work which asks the question: what is the value of life? Baby Fever is the response from Contact Young Company, in which a group of young people explore what success looks like. Carmel Thomason chats to...
It has been called Shakespeare’s problematic comedy and, even if the only information you had about it was the title, it’s not hard to see why. The idea of calling a woman a shrew is bad enough, without adding the idea of taming her into the story...
The Thunder Girls is a new show, premiering at The Lowry, that sold-out way before its opening night. It is inspired by Melanie Blake’s book of the same name, of which the action in the play is just a small taster. The novel follows the fortunes of...
Director Justin Audibert reimagines Shakespeare’s comedy ‘The Taming of the Shrew’, in a new production for the RSC where the women hold the power. He talks to Quays Life about playing with conventions to turn gender on its head. RSC The Taming of...
Shakespeare’s play ‘As You Like It’ ends with the wedding of four couples, including Rosalind and Orlando, with the ceremony overseen by the God of Marriage, Hymen. But how do you go about depicting a god onstage? The answer for the Royal...
Director, Kimberley Sykes talks about her playful and passionate version of Shakespeare’s much-loved romantic comedy, As You Like It. What has influenced your thinking around the production? Kimberley: “I think a big thing which has influenced...
It is easy to feel jaded as a reviewer, particularly when a play you’ve seen countless times pops up again on the season brochure. When it comes to refreshing an old favourite, star casting works. In Manchester we’ve recently seen Jodie Prenger...
Tabby McTat, the cat with the loudest of meows, is another of author, Julia Donaldson and illustrator, Axel Scheffler’s much-loved characters. The pair behind other children’s favourites like ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘Room with a Broom’ are master...
Playwright Daniel Kanaber talks to Carmel Thomason about his new play Under Three Moons, produced by Manchester Theatre Company Box of Tricks and written after a terrifyingly macho stag-do: Without giving away any spoilers, what is the story of...
We are giving away three pairs of tickets to Z Bo Jackson Dance Gala hosted by Pussycat Doll, Kimberly Wyatt at Manchester’s Palace Theatre on Tuesday 10 September 2019. From free runners to hip hop, ballet to street dance, the new Z Bo Jackson...
Carmel Thomason