Theatre and performance in Greater Manchester & other places.
Review of Habibti Driver at Bolton Octagon. It’s fitting that Shamia Chalabi and Sarah Henley include an Arabic term of endearment in the title of their new play, because love and affection are the bedrocks of comedy drama Habibti Driver. Taxi driver Ashraf often refers to daughter Shazia as his ‘habibti’, although their relationship is [...]
HOME, Manchester. There can't be many shows that can lay claim to transforming an ancient Mesopotamian ruler into an unlikely ear-worm but cult cabaret duo Bourgeois & Maurice's first foray into full length musical theatre has left King Gilgamesh's name lodged on random repeat in my head now for five days and counting. Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh. [...]
Royal Exchange, Manchester. “Terror made me cruel; and finding it useless to attempt shaking the creature off, I pulled its wrist on to the broken pane, and rubbed it to and fro till the blood ran down and soaked the bedclothes...” Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights. Like director Bryony Shanahan, writer Andrew Sheridan hadn't read Emily [...]
The Lowry at The Welcome Inn, Salford. News that an asteroid is on a collision course with Earth, would undoubtedly focus the mind. Whether, as the end of the world approaches, most people would choose to channel that heightened state of mental alertness into pondering some trivia questions down the pub is certainly open to [...]
King's Arms, Salford. On a family break to Haven Holidays, Ann finds herself unexpectedly falling for good-looking barman Danny. His charming smile and shiny shoes attract her attention but it's their shared taste in music, including a love of Shakin' Stevens, that seals the deal. It was, she says, a "match made in heaven". Three [...]
HOME, Manchester. PUSH Festival 2020. Katie isn't contagious, she isn't permanently attached to her wheelchair, and she doesn't sleep in it. That she has to clarify this might seem incredible but responding to ridiculous and insensitive questions has become a regular occurrence for Katie Staples ever since she took possession of a set of wheels. [...]
HOME, Manchester. PUSH Festival 2020. When archaeologist Nuala unearths a skeleton, she finds herself increasingly drawn to the person it once was. That neat collection of bones buried face down in the ground so many years ago are all that is left of a small frail girl. As she pieces together details about who she [...]
HOME, Manchester. PUSH Festival 2020. Bost-Uni Plues? I peg your bardon! Ugly Bucket Theatre explain the misheard origins of that title later in their show but you won't need a degree in linguistics to guess what it's all about. Using accounts of real-life experiences, three cheerful clowns launch themselves into an effervescent, knockabout exploration of [...]
HOME, Manchester. PUSH Festival 2020. Her grandmother's many tales of an idyllic Malaysian childhood fascinated Nishla Smith as she herself was growing up. So much so, she recorded hours and hours of them. Using music and song, Smith revisits those stories but gives them a darker twist as she tries to make sense of the [...]
HOME, Manchester. PUSH Festival 2020. "Only when I'm dancing can I feel this free", someone once said, and for those whose recorded voices emerge from Sound Cistem's speakers that certainly feels true. They talk excitedly of hitting their stride on the dance floor, feeling warmed up, freed up and flowing. Such sweet sensations are hard-won [...]
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Theatre and performance reviews in the Greater Manchester area
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