Leslie Kerwin visits the exhibition and meets curator, Zoe Watson to find out how she shining a spotlight on the shared thrill of live performance.

It was Émile Durkheim who first coined the term ‘collective effervescence’. The sociologist was fascinated by the sacred, powerful force of a crowd united by a shared anticipation: the rise from a pew, the soar of a football, the second before a performer sings. In the Lowry’s latest art exhibition, the eye of the spotlight is this time turned on the audience for an experience as unearthly as it is mind-twirlingly meta.  

Put together over several years by curator Zoe Watson. ‘Curtain Up’ is a multi-sensory exhibition that twists between several rooms. A maze of paintings, photographs, cinema, and participatory sculpture, the exhibition is a scrawling love letter to everyone who has ever had their heart swelled by a performance – or had the hairs on their neck stand on end. It features the work of a string of artists – including brand new works from Manchester-based artists Chris Paul Daniels and Rowland Hill, and award-winning German artist Ulla von Brandenburg – and sprawls across settings as diverse as red velvet theatres to clattering nightclubs.  

‘Curtain Up’ is much like a carnival ride: calm upon clambering onto, and quick to tilt into a brightly-lit frenzy of dreamlike sensation. The entryway galleries are carefully-placed to create a sense of wonder, featuring immense and somewhat liminal pieces from Bridget Smith and Ulla von Brandenburg that pull you into a theatre only minutes from opening its doors. A series of paintings by Denzil Forrester and Joy Labinjo bridge the rose-tinted nostalgias of community centre performances and thumping nightclubs, and the historic importance of local performances spaces is charmingly captured by collage artist Abigail Reynolds.  

Mere feet away from the soft whimsy of childhood memories, the deeper crevices of ‘Curtain Up’ unveil an edgier, moodier response to the theme of crowd anticipation. Chris Paul Daniels’ ‘Give Yourself a Round of Applause’ is a monologue built from the back-of-the-mind thoughts and feelings of a theatre audience, whose 15-minute film features footage sourced from the North West Film Archive. Meanwhile, Rowland Hill presents her biggest and most impressive installation to date: ‘Relic’, a dizzying audio-visual experience built from 14 years of documenting the Loughborough Fair – one of the oldest surviving medieval charter fairs – and uniquely, involves audience members in the piece itself during an unforgettable 12-minute loop.  

“All of these were artists I’d been following for a very long time, so I was really familiar with their work when I was thinking about the concept of the show,” says Watson.

“I realised that being in the Lowry sort of shapes the show. Every day, I’m seeing people come in and out of the building, and at different times of the day, there’s different activity in the building. But there’s always people in the space: that always inspired and influenced the show.  

“It’s a celebration of people, and a celebration of coming together collectively to experience things. I hope that people realise the power of that, and really protect these spaces that do amazing performances and things.”  

Diverse, nostalgic, and with an unshakeably ‘curiouser and curiouser’ feel, ‘Curtain Up’ is a delightfully meta experience built upon a unique and deeply human concept. With its mix of static and moving installations, this is an exhibition best digested slowly.

Remember to feel the anticipation – and enjoy the knowledge that you’re sharing it with your fellow visitors too.  

 Curtain Up is at Lowry, Salford, from 18 April to 21 June 2026.  

The post Curtain Up – exploring the thrill of the live performance appeared first on Quays Life.

Having taught herself to read as an infant, Matilda (Madison Davis) is leagues apart from the rest of her television-obsessed family. Mr Wormwood (Adam Stafford) is an engine-stuffing, motor meddling, Vinny Gambino-esque secondhand car dealer, and his wife Mrs Wormwood (Rebecca Thornhill) is just as eyebrow raising, if you don’t buy that she really is ‘just practising’ with her World Amateur Flamenco Competition partner Rudolpho (Ryan Lay) in the living room. Matilda’s brother Michael (Samuel Leon) is the supposed brains of the family – yes, he’s apparently got one. Somewhere.  

Life for Matilda goes impossibly further south after her parents enrol her in her new primary school, Crunchem Hall. A concrete jungle ruled over by an ex-Olympic hammer throwing champion, Agatha Trunchbull’s (Richard Hurst) reign of terror is defined by her motto BAMBINATUM EST MAGGITUM: children are maggots. Her hatred of children puts her at odds with reception teacher Miss Honey (Tessa Kadler), a woman forever trembling with her own self-doubt, whose insecurity belies a deep fascination with her strange new student. Miss Honey and Matilda have a lot to learn from each other – they may also have far more in common than they realise.  

‘Matilda: The Musical’ is indescribably brilliant. At just shy of two-and-a-half hours long, this performance would be a mean feat for any seasoned actor – let alone a cast dominated by children under 12, who share roles between shows. Sharp, assured, and yet deeply, shyly vulnerable, Madison Davis as this particular Matilda is everything every child imagines when growing up reading the original book. Bruce Bogtrotter (Brodie Robson) is a standout act for his lead in ‘Revolting Children’, and Sana Lennon as Lavender is a delight to watch skittering across the stage – an especially incredible debut for the only cast member without any formal theatre training.  

Miss Trunchbull is cocky, cruel, and hilariously, brilliantly camp from beginning to end, and Miss Honey quietly sneaks the audience’s hearts as she is forced to confront her own demons. Esther Niles as Mrs Phelps plays a much bigger role than in the original story, and is for a long time Matilda’s only support – a heartwarming watch, and comforting anchor in a story so chaotic from scene to scene.  

‘Matilda: The Musical’ makes interesting strays from the original book’s story, perhaps explained by Dennis Kelly’s screenwriting background in gritty dramas and surreal comedy. The biggest change is the decision to cut back on Matilda’s telekinetic powers, which she originally develops as a toddler because her brain is so large, it pushes the extra energy out of her eyes. Instead, much of the play is driven by Matilda’s dogged sense of justice, and her frustration at the state of her life – “Nobody but me is going to change my story,” after all. For a change so drastic, it is a shift that only sharpens the show’s edge: this is a Matilda that is entirely self-driven, and far more relatable than her aloof, superpowered inspiration. To see this tiny girl abused is a vastly more disturbing watch.  

However, with so much of the plot hinging on Matilda’s telekinesis, powers eventually do play a role in the second act – I only wish they had been introduced slightly earlier than the infamous newt scene. Shockingly for a performance already eclipsing the average theatre runtime, the show could benefit from an extra scene or two to fully flesh out this part of its story. Time may be well spent in the way it introduces characters, settings, and songs, but the introduction of her powers felt slightly out of left field: ‘Oh, so she does have powers in the end – wait, the show’s nearly over!’  

In all, ‘Matilda: The Musical’ is nothing short of out-of-this-world entertainment. This show embellishes an intergenerational classic with a surreal, dreamlike retelling, and is a fantastic showcase of the brilliance of the UK’s youngest theatrical talent. Brilliantly staged, beautifully scored, and with a blindingly talented cast both big and small, if you’re on the fence about tickets, treat yourself – sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty.  

Matilda the Musical is at The Palace Theatre Manchester from 26 March until 25 April 2026 before continuing on tour.

The post Matilda the Musical: Review appeared first on Quays Life.

“There’s a script?”

“Not tonight there’s not!”

Ladies and gentlemen, we hope you’re having a lovely evening – and if you’re not sharing a bed with your appropriately-aged best friend, how could you be? In celebration of the comedians’ 100th birthdays, the UK’s leading Morecambe and Wise tribute act has returned after a sellout tour in 2022. Now at Lowry, Salford for a limited-edition run, ‘Eric & Ern’ guarantees a night of love, sunshine and laughter for fans old and new alike.

After a sparkling debut at the Edinburgh Fringe (or technically, their five-minute skit at the Stage Golfing Society’s ‘70s Night in 2002), Jonty Stephens (Eric Morecambe) and Ian Ashpitel (Ernie Wise) have brought the UK’s greatest variety show back from the grave – and even brought in their own Eddie Braben-inspired jokes as a bonus. In a glittering new remaster, the 2026 tour spills over with treasures from the ice cream van, to Mr Memory (‘Arsenal!’), and more, all delivered with a fondness palpable from beginning to end.

“The diehard Morecambe and Wise fans, who grew up with Morecambe and Wise, all bring their children and grandchildren now,” Stephens remarked in a Quays Life interview earlier this month – and reader, include your reviewer in the latter category. At 22, I’m just past the vintage of the dynamic duo, but that doesn’t mean the joy of watching Morecambe play the ‘right keys in the wrong order’ was in any way diminished. Charming, innocent, with the odd poke at pettiness, my first impression of this Morecambe and Wise was somewhere near Bert and Ernie after a sherry too many – and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction.

Stephens and Ashpitel are a delight to watch as they skip onto the stage, and are brilliant in their rosy revival of a bygone era of comedy. Childish, twitching, and unwavering in his commitment to jumping to the wrong conclusion, Stephens’ Morecambe is forever fizzing with nervous energy. Ashpitel’s Wise, meanwhile, remains the proud peacock of the pair, swanning under the spotlights with an unshakeable charm – which quickly goes down the pan at the slightest breath of wind towards his hairline. The new dynamic duo know their inspirations back-to-front and inside-out, and are uncanny in their apparent ability to read each other’s minds; no wonder an audience member asked if they were about to propose!

And like every great Morecambe and Wise act, there is – as ever – an unfortunate stooge to be used, abused, and bemused, and West End performer Olivia Fines fits the bill perfectly. Having performed “across the world, and in Stockport”, Fines’ brilliant vocals make her a class act on stage, as does her willingness to join in the fun of her hapless hosts. Her rendition of ‘Where are the Clowns’ is beautifully soulful – oh Olivia, if only you would just look behind you!

Stephens and Ashpitel’s ‘Eric & Ern’ is what you get when you put the souls of two old men inside two little boys inside two middle aged men with a dream. The jokes stack, the personalities rival, and the delightful charm of golden age comedy is beautifully revived.

‘Eric & Ern’ is a sprawling banquet of jokes both old and new, and leaves no stone unturned in its tribute to Britain’s greatest dynamic duo. “If you liked this show, we’ve been Morecambe and Wise – and if you haven’t, we’ve been Mike and Bernie Winters!”

We loved it!

Eric & Ern is at Lowry, Salford fro 22-28 March 2026.

Read our interview with stars Ian Ashpitel and Jonty Stephens.

The post Eric & Ern: Review appeared first on Quays Life.

What begins as a bitter Brit Awards rivalry quickly descends into all-out war when second-place Oasis announce their next single will land a week before Blur’s. Dressed-down, and proudly, aggressively Northern, the working-class Oasis are the rock star shadow of Blur’s Southern, middle-class ‘problem drinker musicians’, who are now facing a looming CD-sale crisis. With the threat of being overshadowed by their ‘Gunchester’ rivals, Blur brings forward their release date, and in a blaring rush of bombshell interviews, packaging crises, and fizzing, electric resentment, the Battle of Britpop explodes into being.  

Straight from the mind of John Niven and expertly directed by Matthew Dunster, ‘The Battle’ is a grinning two fingers after Oasis’ grand reunion last summer, and a welcome throwback to a moment in music we’re unlikely to witness again. Part biography, part drama, and total comedy from beginning to end, ‘The Battle’ wades through the six weeks leading up to Oasis and Blur’s joint release date in a retelling as razor-sharp as it is mischievously neutral to both sides. Ahead of ‘The Battle’s’ opening night, Niven knew he’d be faced with the “stupid question” on everyone’s minds, to which he said simply: “It’s music, not football. You don’t have to pick a team. [And] if you can’t get the beauty in all that stuff, I don’t know what to tell you.”  

In a story where both sides are as hilariously trash-talking as the other, Paddy Stafford is a standout act as the swaggering, tongue-gnashing Noel Gallagher. Explosively offensive and raucously witty, the boy from Burnage dominates his every scene, and is a magnetic watch from beginning to end. Mathew Horne (Gavin and Stacey, Bad Education) as Blur’s Andy Ross is a manager forever teetering on the edge, and Will Taylor as Graham Coxon drunkenly staggers his way to crowd favourite by the show’s finale.  

Beyond four-letter outbursts and swigs of spirits, all that plunges the bands further into rivalry is the rumour-mill frenzy of the press – a fact poked at between scenes with the use of real radio clips from the era. Between dizzying bursts of music video, real presenters including Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq are reduced to slapdash cartoons that bathe the stage, in a move as comical as it is tongue-in-cheek. A brilliant way to sneak extra time for building the more inventive stage setups.  

In its retelling of ‘mostly real events’ in the Oasis-Blur clash, ‘The Battle’ isn’t afraid to go beyond the limits of history to possibilities more exciting. With the show dicing up a sparkling line of wit and anxiety, it’s inevitable there’ll be a finale that hits hard. In a pinball frenzy of scenes from melodramatic to bizarre, ‘The Battle’ at last explodes into its own identity as a performance that stands on its own two feet. Far from a play-by-play of history, this is a show for the nineties teens who, in that fateful August in 1995, saw the war between Oasis and Blur and bought a CD from both. A real trick shot of a performance.  

The Battle is at The Opera House, Manchester from 17-21 March 2026

The post The Battle: Review appeared first on Quays Life.

“Every year we did a show for the Stage Golfing Society. They did a ‘70s variety show and asked if I would do Eric Morecambe,” Jonty Stephens says. Sat buttoned up and thickly-bespectacled in the Lowry theatre bar, he could break into the act at any moment. Next to him, equally crisp with an easy grin, fellow actor Ian Ashpitel perches on his seat.

“And I said, well, I need an Ernie,” Jonty carries on. “And I looked over at the bar – it was the summer, and Ian had his shorts on because we’d been playing golf – and I saw his little, short, fat, hairy legs like Ernie Wise and thought, ‘he’s perfect’.”

Ian and Jonty have known each other for 43 years, only a year less than the original Morecambe and Wise. Self-confessed ‘anoraks’, the pair have built a joint career in bringing comedy’s greatest dynamic duo back to life. Following a string of sellout West End plays and an Olivier nomination, a special run of their latest show ‘Eric & Ern’ will come to the Lowry theatre this March, in celebration of the comedians’ 100th birthdays this year.

Cramming in classics from ice cream-police sirens to Mr Memory, ‘Arsenal!’, ‘Eric & Ern’ also teases a smattering of original material, based on the work of original joke-writer Eddie Braben. With the flick of a curtain and a guaranteed grand piano (if you know, you know), the show promises to bring love, sunshine, and laughter as it skips its way to the Salford stage for both old and new fans alike.

“The comedy and the writing is good,” Ian says. “It’s excellent, it’s timeless. It wasn’t cruel or horrible, it wasn’t crude, it wasn’t political. It looks easy and funny, and it should do.”

The original run of the show was a sellout, to rave reviews cheering nostalgia-done-well. With a list of gleefully manic, mischievously smug performances behind them, ‘Eric & Ern’ shapes up to be a variety act revived, promising a song, a dance, a string of gags, and if past performances are to be believed, a mystery stooge ripe for humiliation. “If this is living in the past,” one reviewer said of the 2022 run, “it is certainly a fun place to be.”

“It’s an exciting thing,” Jonty says. “The die-hard Morecambe and Wise fans, who grew up with Morecambe and Wise, bring their children or their grandchildren now. You get three generations of the same family, sat in the front row, all laughing at the same thing – that’s just so rare now.

“We’ve done a few [original] bits and bobs and people go, ‘Oh, I loved them when they did that’. And I say, ‘Well, they didn’t do that – we really did that!’. But it’s still very true to Morecambe and Wise.

“We’re in continual touch with the family, and they’ve been supportive of everything we do. They’ve seen the show, they know what we’re doing, they know what we’re including – and in fact, they’re coming to see it in Morecambe!”

In keeping with the spirit of authenticity, ‘Eric & Ern’ has already been put through the wringer of trial and error – and now stands “in the best shape it’s ever been”, according to Ian. That said, for the benefit of the audience, the pair insist there’s a line to be drawn between going through the motions and a faithful rendition.

“We’ve often talked about it,” Jonty says, “we were inspired by a live video of Eric and Ernie live at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon in the ‘70s. And we watched and watched and watched it and tried to do every mannerism, every little tick and be faithful to that, and of course we soon discovered that you’ve got a live audience in front of you that may not laugh at something that they got a laugh for at Fairfield.”

Jumping in, Ian draws an invisible string with his hand. “Tring to move your hand on a line literally drives you insane. [This show] is abandoning that,” he says. “That’s an impression, and what we’re doing is a portrayal – we’re portraying these ‘characters’. As actors, we’ve studied them as characters, and then added onto that is all the other information we’ve come up with.

“[Morecambe and Wise] were very different sorts of people, which works, because they’re a bit like me and [Jonty]. We’re like the ying and yang of each other, and I think Eric and Ernie were like the ying and yang of each other. That’s why they worked. That’s why we work.”

The pair have come far since their early golf club days, and their even earlier days in acting school where they were routinely asked if they were a double act (to which they would answer, in unison, ‘no’). Having since exploded as the UK’s most successful Morecambe and Wise duo, neither see themselves hanging up the jackets just yet.

“We are Eric and Ernie, for this set amount of time, and then after this, we’re still actors trying to do other things,” Ian says. He smiles: “But we never had a clue it would be this successful or last this long. This is our baby.”

“Without the talent of Morecambe and Wise, we wouldn’t be doing it,” Jonty nods. “We shine a light on that talent, and for that moment, that two hours that you’re in the theatre, we hope people forget where they are and all the horrible things that are going on in the world, and we take them away from that and they have a good old laugh.

“They were loved, so hopefully if we do a good job, we get a bit of that love from the audience. We’re very lucky in that respect: it’s wonderful to do.”

It must be an incredible feeling to get to perform with your best friend, too. “Yeah, it is,” Ian laughs. “He’ll be here in a minute!”

‘Eric & Ern’ is at Lowry, Salford from 24 to 28 March 2026.

The post “You get three generations of the same family, all laughing at the same thing – that’s just so rare now” – Jonty Stephens appeared first on Quays Life.

“Salford is always the other city,” she says. “It has a confusing, complex identity that is often squashed, forgotten, or associated with negative things, because it is quite a complex place.”

The twinned history of Manchester and Salford’s manufacturing, engineering, and the arts give way thanks to the split of the River Irwell, from which has grown two separate identities that define the two cultures – or not, according to many. Now back in Salford, Emily is once again exploring the veins of their background, and – alongside fellow artist Chris Alton – is recapturing Salford’s identity, one stitch at a time.

“I make banners for quilts, and a lot of it is about celebrating identity,” Emily says. “We wanted to work with a Salford audience to create a banner and pick out areas of that that offer identity from a past history, while looking forward and trying to figure out what it means to be from a very specific place.”

The Salford Voices banner exhibition comes from a collaboration between the artists and the residents at the Broughton Community Centre, and marks the centenary of Salford’s city status. Nine banners are now on display at the Salford Museum and Art Gallery until this summer, with each piece providing references to local history, landmarks, greenery, and community.

One banner in particular – larger than the others – is set to be a cultural centrepiece in the museum. “There’s a rose-ringed parakeet on the left-hand side,” Emily says, “to celebrate and represent the recent migrants in Salford who have made it their home. And just like the rose-ringed parakeet, there’s a book that represents Salford being the first city to have a library.”

Throughout the project, the residents were taught textile and sewing techniques while contributing their own ideas on what makes Salford, Salford. Following a period of what Emily describes as “weird warmup activities” – including drawing one piece in a group or with one’s eyes closed – they noticed key themes appearing time and time again. “From all the group activities that we’d done, we came up with the key ideas that kept re-emerging,” they say.

“Then Chris worked on the design, and we presented it to the group to make sure everyone was happy with it, and then we began sewing together.”

Work on the banner project went forward alongside a host of other projects celebrating the anniversary. The wider Salford Voices exhibition, created by Art with Heart, includes a special Centenary Celebration Book which will be specially displayed with the banners, where visitors can write and reflect on what they think Salford may look like a century into the future.

Following the enthusiasm of the Broughton Community Centre residents, Emily says their reactions only cemented their view that the arts are “a fundamental part of being human”.

“Everyone should be given permission to be creative on the daily, as regularly as they want,” they say. “More often than not there’s people that had a love [for art] as a child, and then just haven’t been given the space – or haven’t felt they have permission – to continue.

“This group was largely quite creative, but many in different ways that they wouldn’t see as ‘art’ – there were a lot of crocheters and knitters. There was one person who used to sew quite a lot, but hadn’t done so in years, and had really lost the confidence and felt like it wasn’t something she could do anymore. It was really nice to see her get back into it and build that confidence back up.”

Far broader than the effect the project has had on the Broughton Community Centre residents is the affect it will have on other Salfordians who come to visit. Thanks to access consultant Ada Eravama, steps have been taken to ensure the exhibition is accessible for people with visual impairments through texture displays and audio descriptions influenced by the residents’ input. When the exhibition finishes in early May, the banners will be toured across the region to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.

Given the ever-present flurry around Salfordian heritage, it’s easy to wonder what crowds may be encouraged to consider at the exhibition. According to Emily, however: “It’s open to interpretation.

“I’d like it to be a space for [Salfordians] to reflect on their identity in their community, who makes up the city, and about how diverse and unique it is. I want them to try and think about the people around them, because as the banner says, there’s strength in community.

“It’s very vibrant and full of lots of different colours and textures, so hopefully people could bring a bit of colourful joy with them as well.”

Art with Heart’s Salford Voices Exhibition at Salford Museum and Art Gallery is free and drop in – running from Saturday 21 February to Sunday 10 May 2026.

The post Artist Emily Simpson on capturing Salford’s complex and diverse identity in textiles appeared first on Quays Life.

In ‘Kind of Love’ by Stewart Campbell, teenagers across the country are still making out, making up, and making mistakes – who cares if Parliament still can’t decide on the gay age of consent?

On a lads trip to Ibiza, gay teenager Steffan (George Bellamy) is on the town with his straight best mate Typey (Tom Ryder), who is broadly okay with the gays, as long as those German ones at the karaoke bar don’t try anything. Despite his loving girlfriend Gemma (Rachel Burbridge) waiting for him at home, Typey has no problem letting his eyes and hands wander to another girl at the hotel, causing an immediate conflict when Steffan spills to Gemma back home.

Not without relationship difficulties of his own, Steffan tries to savour a fire-and-ice relationship with ‘straight’ classmate Jay (Ben Goulding), who shares a bed with Steffan, but definitely isn’t gay because sometimes they top and tail.

As the tension boils between Gemma and Typey and Steffan and Jay, pettiness and resentment twist into a web of lies and deceit between them. But when tragedy strikes on the way home from a night out, the teenagers must choose whether to leave their childhood behind them, or continue down their own dark spirals until they lose themselves completely.

‘Kind of Love’ is nostalgic in a way that only indie productions can be – and not least for the Take That and Leonardo DiCaprio posters slathered across the walls. With a purposefully minimalist set, earnest monologues, and musical scene changes, ‘Kind of Love’ feels like stepping back into GCSE Drama to the days of Bertolt Brecht and DIY props.

The script occasionally veers into slightly ham-fisted territory, with some chunks of unnatural dialogue or sing-songs (“Homophobia, it’s a disease; you can’t love who you want to love in times like these”), but much like wine and emotional maturity, many aspects of the show do improve with time: the major plot points of the second act are as gripping as they are well-planned, and there is a clear confidence shift in terms of staging decisions later on. The later fight scenes are brilliantly timed and coordinated, and a particularly abstract scene with Steffan and Jay on separate beds becomes meltingly intimate despite their distance.

Even the most wobbly scripting moments are carried fantastically by the professionalism of the cast. Even through Typey’s most frustrating moments, Tom Ryder (Waterloo Road, The Bay) brings a real charm to the role. The stubborn, ignorant, yet somehow endearing Typey is the lad everyone who has been to secondary school will recognise; full of mannish bravado, with flashes of the insecure boy beneath. Ben Goulding and George Bellamy are equally adept, and Rachel Burbridge punches above her weight in an impressive professional debut. All four share a palpable enthusiasm and talent for the stage, and are a real delight to see in action.

Tense, dramatic, and speckled with intimacy, ‘Kind of Love’ is as unapologetically teenage as it is timeless.

Kind of Love is at Hope Mill Theatre from 24 February to 1 March 2026.

The post Kind of Love: Review appeared first on Quays Life.

In the sparkle of the stage, Mitzi del Bra is a drag queen down on the town – and down on her luck. With both the crowds and the years starting to pass her by, she finds herself at a loss after a call from her ex-wife, who demands she come to the remote town of Alice Springs to meet their nine-year-old son. Now out of costume as Anthony ‘Tick’ Belrose, Tick takes his old friend Bernadette Bassenger – a transgender woman grieving her lover – and rival queen Felicia Jollygoodfellow to perform at his ex-wife’s casino, though doesn’t tell them the real reason for their visit.  

Thundering through rural Australia on a school bus christened ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’, the trio soon find themselves face-to-face with a host of bizarre characters, with some far crueller than others. But after Priscilla breaks down in the middle of the Simpson Desert, the three must find a way to keep moving forward– and see if they can make their own dreams come true on the way.  

Famously difficult to do well, ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ is the blueprint of jukebox musicals. With timeless classics ranging from ‘Shake your Groove Thing’ to ‘Hot Stuff’ thrusting camp upon the audience from the get-go, Priscilla surpasses itself with a surprisingly insightful commentary on the changing generations of drag – delivered easily through the trio’s messy spats on the value of lip-syncing versus singing.
Adele Anderson’s (Fascinating Aida) solos and duets as Bernadette are masterclasses in classy-but-camp, while Nick Hayes’ vocals prophesise a glittering future for Felicia’s singing career. Also a treat was the young Harper Etienne as Tick’s son Benjy, whose unbelievable duet with his father (Kevin Clifton) had the crowd in a manic frenzy – a true delight to watch.  

The ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ musical comes just more than 30 years after the release of the original film, which was based on the lives of three real-life drag queens and became a worldwide sensation. Now considered a cult classic, the original Priscilla was far ahead of its time with its portrayal of LGBTQ+ culture, and the musical, in many ways, remains far ahead of ours. As hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people have skyrocketed over the past five years – rising by 88% among transgender people in particular – it has become increasingly rare to see scenes of bigotry given the same weight and horror that Priscilla affords. The music cuts, the stage stills, and we are left to stare; queer people are adored until the sun rises, Bernadette says – and we in the audience must sit with the characters through every second past dawn.  

‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ is a tremendous rendition of a tremendous film, and comes to the UK at a time where queer culture needs desperately to be more embraced. The musical is an electric cocktail of debauchery and depth, with a clattering ego that’s rare to encounter outside of Canal Street’s smokiest balconies. Classy, flexible, and sharply polished, ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ is the queen of the Palace Theatre.  

Priscilla Queen of the Desert is at the Opera House, Manchester from 19-28 February before continuing on tour. Age guidance 14+

The post Priscilla Queen of the Desert: Review appeared first on Quays Life.

Spread across six rooms in the Malmaison Hotel, Piccadilly, Dante or Die’s ‘I Do’ follows the final 10 minutes before a wedding from six different perspectives. The mother of the bride struggles to decide on both her hat and her relationship to her unfaithful ex-husband, while their daughter fears nothing more than becoming just like them. Her husband-to-be struggles with the mounting pressure of marriage, while his best man’s last-minute speech slowly falls to pieces. Add a messy troupe of bridesmaids and groomsmen, plus a pair of ailing grandparents, and we have a colourful cocktail of disasters waiting to happen – garnished perfectly, of course, by the trainee cleaner, moving silently from room to room.

Created by Daphna Attias and Terry O’Donovan with writing by Chloë Moss, ‘I Do’ is one of the most unique productions to grace the theatre scene. The audience is split into six groups, each marked with its own buttonhole rose, and guided from room to room as the final 10 minutes repeat and rewind. Guests watch the action unfold from whatever space they can carve out for themselves, whether that be stood in the corner, sat on the bed, or even squashed in the bath, and the line between viewer and voyeur quickly becomes blurred. Each room rings a new scenario, and with it, a new piece of the puzzle to slot into place, bringing the flurry of dramatics and excitement from a spectacle to a snapshot of a cast weighed down with their own individual anguishes and struggles.

Tying it all together is the nameless cleaner, played fantastically by Rowena Le Poer Trench. Never speaking, never judging, and never turning down the volume in her tinny earbuds, she cleans as many emotional messes as she does physical ones. Lo Poer Trench perfectly embodies the frazzled uncertainty of a trainee forced to go beyond their job description by difficult customers, with no manager to turn to whatsoever. Her time is spent tidying up scandal, sometimes hilariously – as in the bridal suite – and sometimes – as with disabled grandfather Gordon (Geoff Atwell) – with devastating tenderness.

Following the carnival of chaos and dramatics, Atwell’s scene in Room 112 comes as a sucker punch to the performance so far. In one of the most painful and human scenes of ‘I Do’, Atwell delivers a masterful performance as a lively family man who – likely as the result of a stroke or accident – can no longer move or speak independently, and is being helped to dress by his wife (Fiona Watson). Frustrated by his own struggles, and by other wedding guests’ discomfort around him, it’s all he can do to cry the second he finds himself alone. Between his expressions, gestures, and even how he finds a way to play pranks through his limitations, Atwell’s performance may be startlingly familiar to anybody with a loved one of a similar experience – and soon becomes one of the most endearing scenes of the production.

With every group starting with a different scene, the end of the round gives every audience a different send off. A clue to the true order of events can be found in the finale, where the audience gathers in the corridor to watch the actors rush from room to room in the minutes before the marriage. In whatever order you experience it in, ‘I Do’ is a surreal carousel of emotions, with a great depth belying its soap-like dramatics and plot twists. Heart wrenching, hilarious, and absolutely unmissable, ‘I Do’ is an event in and of itself.

I Do Dante or Die is at Malmaison Manchester Piccadilly from 19-22 February 2026.

The post I Do by Dante or Die: Review appeared first on Quays Life.

Created by artists John-Paul Brown and Sophy King, ‘The Guardians of Living Matter’ is a multi-sensory exhibition spread across several distinct rooms. Set in a research lab in the distant future, visitors are invited to explore the work of two environmental scientists as they study the lifeforms slowly invading their offices. Cheery Post-it notes are peppered across the space as bizarre, otherworldly tendrils break through the walls. Bolstered by low soundtrack of birdsong and electricity that echoes from room to room, a gigantic, glowing web of real fungus gazes down from the ceiling, watching and reacting to your presence through machines.

Despite the visions of apocalypse that may surface from such a description, The Guardians of Living Matter finds itself far from the likes of ‘The Last of Us’ and ‘The Girl with All the Gifts’. Rather, its vision of a sentient fungal takeover brings with it a degree of optimism for a world where the climate crisis, finally, seems to have cooled down, and scientists can now experiment with a new, post-climate field of environmental research. Much like a parent picking up after their toddler, the new fungal lifeform has stepped in to magically fix the disaster, while humanity is relegated to the proverbial naughty step to think about what it’s done.

In the wake of ongoing concern over AI and the environment, Brown and King have chosen to shift the narrative to what could happen if the two worked alongside each other instead. In a conscious effort to remain carbon-friendly, every material from the exhibition is repurposed from across Manchester – and will be repurposed again after the exhibition ends in March. The mycelium statue was built with discarded tree branches, and the fungus grown over the course of 8 months with the help of gardening experts in Hulme. All the materials are available to be touched, held, and examined on a special sensory wall, alongside a vast array of literature that visitors can use to learn more about the Earth’s fungus.

For Brown and King, the sense of reassurance is a central tenet of the piece. With stories of climate disaster and environmental decline dominating headlines for decades, ‘The Guardians of Living Matter’ tackles climate exhaustion head-on by raising questions about collaboration, beauty, and the manifestation of hope. In this reality, AI has become a low-carbon, non-destructive tool for change and protection, and a world where humanity is overpowered by both nature and its own creations is allowed to be beautiful. It’s a delight to wander through the space knowing this is the vision of Brown and King’s optimistic future – and more delightful still to wonder how your own optimistic future would look in comparison.

‘The Guardians of Living Matter’ is unique, conceptual, and charmingly earnest in its hope for the future, and promises a different experience with every visit. This exhibition is a daring ‘what if?’ in a world often weighed down by climate pessimism, and a real treat to explore and uncover. A fantastic visit.

The Guardians of Living Matter is at the Lowry, Salford, until 29 March 2026.

The post The Guardians of Living Matter: Review appeared first on Quays Life.