Theatre and performance in Greater Manchester & other places.
Review of Beginning at Royal Exchange, Manchester. Laura and Danny lock eyes across the room at a house party, and when the last guests have all left, there they are. Just the two of them – with all the empty bottles, plates of leftovers, and a fresh cigarette burn on the carpet. David Eldridge’s ‘Beginning’ [...]
After a break for the last two years, my ‘best of’ list is back! As in previous years, I’ve only 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 [...]
Review of Let The Right One In at Royal Exchange, Manchester. Tickets for front row seats for Let The Right One In come with the printed warning “risk of blood splatter” - and wherever you sit, the Royal Exchange’s latest show delivers plenty of spills, thrills and shivers. In perhaps its most shocking twist though, [...]
Review of Nora: A Doll's House at Royal Exchange, Manchester. You wait what seems like forever for an opportunity to see a production of ‘A Doll’s House’, and then three Noras come along at once – all on the same stage. Stef Smith takes Ibsen’s classic drama, and gives it a time-travelling, hall of mirrors-style [...]
Royal Exchange, Manchester. “It starts with a girl called Elle, she’s not your average leading lady as well, she has a heart the size of the moon, she’s far from been brought up with a silver spoon, in her gob” Centre stage, and swigging from a bottle of beer, Lauryn Redding sets the scene within [...]
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 [...]
18 April 2019. Royal Exchange, Manchester. "You are invited to attend a Surprise Leaving Party for Amy Waters (Postwoman Extraordinaire) at Albion Close Community Centre". 'Guests' find themselves seated at big round tables. There's plenty of bunting and balloons, and the organisers make sure you've got your silly pointy hat on and party poppers at [...]
When Leeds Playhouse announced the formation of its first young company in April last year it was a bit of a wake up call for me. The Playhouse were looking to support a group of young people to collaborate in "making and producing bold and socially resonant work", as well providing opportunities for them to [...]
Royal Exchange, Manchester. 20 - 22 July 2018. CO:LAB is the Royal Exchange's annual festival showcasing works-in-progress by "the next generation of North West theatre-makers". The weekend-long event is part of the theatre's Open Exchange talent development programme and it provides local artists with an opportunity to test out their work in front of a [...]
Royal Exchange, Manchester. 9 & 19 July 2018. After a recent stint on the Royal Exchange's main stage as a spinning Winnie in Sarah Frankcom's production of Happy Days, Maxine Peake is back again, although this time as the writer of Queens of the Coal Age. Taking us deep underground, her play reimagines the true [...]
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Theatre and performance in Greater Manchester & other places.
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Theatre and performance reviews in the Greater Manchester area
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