Theatre and performance in Greater Manchester & other places.
Review of Even These Things at Royal Exchange, Manchester. When an IRA bomb exploded in Manchester city centre on 15 June 1996, the force of the blast caused the Royal Exchange to shift several inches, leaving the building precariously misaligned with its foundations, and resulting in the theatre within having to relocate for two years. [...]
Review of Return To The Forest at Aviva Studios, Manchester. An evening at the theatre or a visit to a museum? Return To The Forest blurs the boundaries from the moment you step through its doors. A gallery space awaits, with objects on display. You can look but don’t touch. After politely wandering around, pointing [...]
Review of Private Lives at Royal Exchange, Manchester. On honeymoon in the south of France, Amanda discovers that her first husband Elyot is staying in the hotel suite next door, celebrating his recent marriage to new wife Sibyl. It is hard not to feel that Amanda’s description of the situation as a “little unfortunate”, fails [...]
Review of Road at Royal Exchange, Manchester. Telegraph poles have sprouted within the Royal Exchange’s Great Hall, a van sits abandoned near the toilets, and a chippie awaits around the corner. Selina Cartmell’s revival of Jim Cartwright’s Road pulls you into its chaotic, clammy embrace as soon as you step through the main doors. Gradually [...]
Review of The Engagement Party at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oldham. It feels good to be heading to Oldham for a night out. The tram ride out from Victoria used to be a regular feature of my cultural life. Then the Coliseum closed, and I’ve not been back to the town centre on an evening since. [...]
Review of Blithe Spirit at Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester. Novelist Charles Condomine has invited a local medium and clairvoyant to his home, hoping to gather material for his next book. As they prepare for the séance, he and his latest wife Ruth jadedly exchange jibes about their previous relationships. Although their new maid’s shortcomings are [...]
Welcome to my Circles & Stalls look back at 2024. As in previous years, this is very much a best of Manchester theatre list. So, it doesn’t include any shows that were passing through on tour or that were revivals from elsewhere. It’s exclusively focused on productions that either premiered in Greater Manchester or could [...]
Review of Spend Spend Spend at Royal Exchange, Manchester. After winning £152,000 on the football pools in 1961 (the equivalent of over £4,000,000 today), Viv Nicholson famously declared “I’m going to spend, spend, spend”. True to her word, she and her husband Keith indulged in a giddy blur of expensive cars, jewellery, furs and partying. [...]
Review of I Wish at HOME, Manchester. It’s a momentous occasion for “actual fairy godmother” Effie - she’s about to grant her grumblefillionth wish. Flicking through her magic memory book, she recollects some of the big dreams she has made come true over the years. Peering at us over her diamante Dame Edna-style spectacles, Le [...]
Review of Frank 4 Sophie 4 Eva at 53two, Manchester. Frank wants sex, Sophie doesn’t. Their marriage is on the rocks, and we’re introduced to them as they arrive for their first session with a relationship therapist. Even though they are both in their 40s, they squabble childishly, and any hope of finding a middle [...]
Circles & Stalls 