Welcome to my best of Manchester theatre list for 2023!
As in previous years, I have focused on productions that either premiered in Greater Manchester or could only be seen here. Which means I’ve not included any shows that were passing through on tour or that were revivals from elsewhere.
It may seem an odd approach, but it’s one that makes sense to me. When I first started doing these annual round-ups there was a sense that, due to financial pressures, theatre outside of London was becoming increasingly homogenous, with an over-reliance on co-productions between various theatres and the same touring shows popping up on both sides of the Pennines and beyond – and as time has gone on, that trend has only accelerated.
So, celebrating Manchester-made work and productions that start their journey in the city region feels more important than ever.
I saw just over 140 shows this year. As a solo blogger I am never going to get to see everything in Greater Manchester and there is bound to be an element of personal taste in my choices – but then I’m not claiming that these are anything other than my favourite Manchester theatre shows of 2023.
Last year, I aimed for the usual top ten but ended up with a list of nine that just felt right. It’s back to a full complement of ten shows this year but it was a slight struggle to whittle down my fifteen-strong long list. So, in no particular order, these are my top Manchester shows of 2023 – with some additional mentions thrown in.
Beginning (Royal Exchange, February 2023).
Manchester is very lucky to have Bryony Shanahan, she has given the city some great shows in recent years. For my money, her staging of Simon Stephens’ Light Falls at Grosvenor East in November eclipsed the original Royal Exchange production in so many ways. However, her quietly assured direction of David Eldridge’s Beginning at the Exchange earlier this year delivered something totally absorbing, frustratingly messy, and all too believable – with two beautifully judged performances from Gerard Kearns and Erin Shanagher.
You can read my full review here.
Of All The Beautiful Things In The World (HOME, March 2023).
Set in Moss Side and inspired by Lorca’s The House of Bernada Alba, Yusra Warsama’s Of All The Beautiful Things In The World was a strikingly imaginative depiction of the struggle between a mother and her daughters, and their conflicting views of the world outside. A disorienting blend of family drama and fever dream – it was powerfully written (funny, furious and heartfelt), wonderfully performed, & arrestingly staged. Tickets were like gold dust in its final week – if ever a show was crying out for a second run, this is it.
Crave (53two, June 2023).
After the exhausting battles over Oldham Coliseum you’d have forgiven Chris Lawson for having a very long lie down. Instead, (with support from the indefatigable Hannah Ellis Ryan’s HER Productions), he dived into the world of Sarah Kane’s Crave. Lawson’s superb skills as a director (and his ambitious approach) were on full display – there was something almost musical in the way that his production adeptly orchestrated Crave’s broken voices and fragmentary stories, creating a tumultuous symphony – and his fine cast got under the skin of Kane’s poetic writing.
untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play (Royal Exchange, June 2023).
Kimber Lee’s award-winning (Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2019, International Award) untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play blazed brightly across the Royal Exchange’s main stage. Lee’s writing was frantic, funny, and ferociously determined to blow apart stereotypical depictions of Asian women in popular culture. Director Roy Alexander Weise kept the many scene changes smooth and never let the pace flag. As central character Kim, Mei Mac was a whirlwind of energy and emotions – and Lourdes Faberes’ monologue detailing Kim’s mother’s lifetime of struggle as an Asian woman in America hit hard.
R.O.S.E. (Manchester International Festival, July 2023).
It wasn’t always easy to get the best spot to see choreographer Sharon Eyal’s majestic dancers taking over the dancefloor (or bar top) in the dimly lit, dry ice shrouded New Century Hall, but it was fun trying. DJ Ben UFO kept energy levels high in between their appearances, and there was real excitement not just in watching the performers up close (slinky movement, expansive limbs and often melded together as if in stately procession) but also in seeing them plough lines in unison through the heaving crowd or clear space on the dancefloor with the supreme confidence of their movements. An exhilarating experience.
A View From The Bridge (Bolton Octagon, September 2023).
Lotte Wakeham’s strong programming at Bolton Octagon doesn’t shy away from risk-taking. In this stylish take on Arthur Miller’s classic play (a collaboration with Headlong), Moi Tran’s brutal beauty of a set cleared away the clutter of life – leaving the characters exposed. Dark mirrored surfaces dominated – the walls reflecting everything back in on itself, while the floor might as well have been thin ice. Powerful performances pulled you in (especially Jonathan Slinger’s Eddie and Kirsty Bushell’s Beatrice). Almost operatic in its intensity – director Holly Race Roughan’s production was fiercely focused and shattering to witness.
You can read my full review here.
Animal (Hope Mill Theatre, March 2023).
John Bradfield’s funny, tender, and unexpectedly revealing Animal (winner of Hope Mill Theatre’s Through the Mill Prize for new writing) followed David a 25-year-old gay man, with a wheelchair and round-the-clock care support, as he ventured online in search of sexual fulfilment. Developed with disability and LGBTQI+ activist Josh Hepple, Bradfield’s play revolved around a complex fully-rounded central character (a wonderfully rich and subtle performance from Christopher John-Slater) – and was incredibly insightful without feeling issue-driven.
You can read my full review here.
Intimate Apparel (Grosvenor East Theatre, March 2023).
Carla Henry’s production of Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel for Manchester School of Theatre was so thoughtfully put together. Staged in the round, Henry’s tight and elegant direction, brought to vivid life a slice of neglected history from turn of the century New York, perfectly showcasing the strong cast. Teddy Oyediran was just wonderful in the lead role as the resourceful seamstress with dreams of a better life – and the scenes between her and Jacob Bell (as fabric salesman Mr Marks) were a thing of delicate beauty.
Pornography (53two, September 2023).
Red Brick Theatre’s powerful revival of Simon Stephens’ Pornography maintained a clear-eyed focus on Stephens’ writing – highlighting the play’s strengths to such an extent that it left me wondering why this was the first professional UK production since 2009. Benefiting from a clutch of extraordinary performances (Isaac Radmore, Isabel Ford and Matthew Heywood – all on top form) – director Oliver Hurst created an unsettling vision of city life, swathed in a chilliness that seeped right into you.
You can read a my full review here.
Romeo and Juliet (Royal Exchange, October 2023).
Nicholai La Barrie’s Romeo and Juliet caught me totally by surprise. Despite a running time of three hours, it was spritely and often gripping (particularly during its first half). Jettisoning fair Verona in favour of somewhere “just beyond Cheetham Hill,” the production brought Shakespeare’s tale of “star-crossed lovers” bang up to date – and served it up with youthful enthusiasm. Although this was La Barrie’s directorial debut at the Royal Exchange, his work so confidently occupied its main stage, and feels so determined to explore the theatre’s full potential, that I can only hope efforts are underway to tempt him back. And David Judge’s quicksilver-tongued Mercutio was a delight.
You can read a my full review here.
My other Manchester highlights of the year were:
Nathaniel J Hall’s Toxic at HOME was a real step up for Hall and Dibby Theatre. An ambitious endeavour, it saw Hall collaborating with an impressive group of local creatives (including Plaster Cast, SHAR, Cheryl Martin & Tracey Gibbs). A willingness to push deeper into uncomfortable territory, and experiment with form, more than paid off.
Enthusiastically incorporating voices of local residents, and wonderfully framed by David Hall’s projections, Census from Malandra Jacks (at Contact) imaginatively documented and celebrated the community of Moston. Warm-hearted and thought-provoking, it was the sort of socially engaged theatre-making that we need more of and felt like a true labour of love.
Papergang Theatre’s A Bouffon Play About Hong Kong at HOME, was a total revelation. Exuberantly playing around with theatrical form, it was inventive and surprising. Yet there was also a meticulously sharpened edge to the satire & knockabout humour that flowed through it – it had real impact.
Also at HOME, Billie Collins’ richly poetic Too Much World At Once might have benefited from more ambitious staging, but there was no doubting the power of the writing. A touching coming-of-age story and visionary exploration of climate change, Collins’ narrative powerfully shapeshifts and soars.
Way back in January, Clodagh Chapman’s Ladyfriends [a period drama] at Hope Mill Theatre was the first show I saw in 2023 – and it was a perfectly timed (and much-needed) reminder of why I love theatre. It was a work-in-progress, and I never got to see the finished show, but Ladyfriends was a glorious collision of off-the-wall humour, quiet intimacy, noisy rebelliousness, and so so much more. A joy.
My top three shows not made in Manchester, were:
Rimini Protokoll’s haunting All Right. Good Night. at HOME. My personal highlight of this year’s Manchester International Festival, it was hugely imaginative, and very moving – and its 140 minutes somehow seemed to fly by.
Action Hero and Deborah Pearson’s wonderfully slippery The Talent (also at HOME). It was a work of contained genius – transporting, and increasingly disorientating, and Gemma Paintin was mesmerising.
Max Harrison’s gripping production of Philip Ridley’s Leaves of Glass at Hope Mill Theatre. Tense, unsettling and spiked with dark humour, it was powered by some strong performances – especially from a subtly shape-shifting Ned Costello.
If I had to choose a performance of the year, it would be Debra Michaels who was incredible in Tamasha’s excellent touring production of Mojisola Adebayo’s Afrofuturist space odyssey Stars, which I saw at Contact.
There’s been a lot of fuss about ENO coming to Greater Manchester, but Opera North continue to do great things at The Lowry. I especially enjoyed their recent boisterous and uplifting Falstaff, with Henry Waddington seeming to have the time of his life in the lead role – and Leslie Travers’ set designs were (as always) a total treat.
While I’m on the subject of The Lowry – I’ve said it before, but their dance programming is the gift that keeps on giving. There was a strong showing from contemporary Korean dance this year, and it culminated in the wonder that was Eun-Me Ahn’s shiny, youthful, joyous, tech-embracing, eye-popping, beautifully bonkers Dragons.
And a quick mention for Eleni Stamoulakatou’s Cuccetta which I saw as part of Manchester School of Theatre’s Liminal festival showcasing the work of their MA Performance students. Raw, intense, and expressive – it had me on the edge of my seat!
Anyway, goodbye 2023 – here’s to a new year, with the return of Atri Banerjee to the Royal Exchange with Phoebe Eclair-Powell’s Shed: Exploded View, Eve Steele’s new play Work It Out at HOME (with Sarah Frankcom directing and Katie Scott on design duties), and all the other theatre delights that 2024 has in store.
Images [from top] – R.O.S.E. by Johan Persson, Beginning by Helen Murray, Of All The Beautiful Things In The World by Tom Quaye, Crave by Shay Rowan, untitled f*ck m*ss s**gon play by The Other Richard, R.O.S.E. by Johan Persson, A View From The Bridge by The Other Richard, Animal by Piers Foley, Intimate Apparel by Sam Malone, Pornography by Shay Rowan, Romeo and Juliet by Johan Persson, All Right. Good Night. by Andrew Brooks, and Falstaff by Richard H Smith.
Circles & Stalls 