Theatre and performance in Greater Manchester & other places.
Review of Free Your Mind at Aviva Studios, Manchester. When Neo chooses the red pill in The Matrix, and Cypher cryptically advises, “buckle your seat belt Dorothy, because Kansas is going bye-bye”, I’m not sure Neo expected to eventually end up in Manchester. Yet that is exactly where he pops up - as part of [...]
Laugh if you like, but this year I’m heading to Manchester International Festival for my summer holidays. Even if I felt inclined to jet off abroad, the traffic light system feels like too much of a lottery and, as a solo traveller, price hikes make even UK destinations unaffordable for now. Meanwhile, there are 'enhanced [...]
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 [...]
This year I saw over 240 pieces of theatre. From those, I've chosen my 10 favourite Manchester shows of 2019. As in previous years, I've focused on productions that either premiered in Greater Manchester or could only be seen here. So I've not included any shows that were passing through on tour or that were [...]
The Lowry, Salford. 27 October 2017. In ‘Superposition’ Chanje Kunda embarks on a voyage of self-discovery through scientific theory, lap dancing and personal reflection. Pondering her place in the universe, the laws of attraction and even her identity as a woman Kunda seeks insights from a particle physicist, a professor of philosophy and her son. [...]
The Lowry, Salford. 18 October 2017. Under glass, in the dark, spotlit, on display and moving. Clod Ensemble exhibit seven performers within glass jars and display cases. On their previous visit to The Lowry, the company took us on a journey around the vast spaces of the main theatre with 'An Anatomie in Four Quarters' [...]
Presented by Word of Warning, STUN + Z-arts. 30 September 2017. 'Emergency', Word of Warning's annual "day for the curious", features various performances, installations and experiences all in the space of 11 hours. This year there were 27 shows to choose from and it was more or less non-stop from the off. What's so likeable about [...]
Flare Festival at HOME, Manchester. 7 July 2017. By Simon De Winne/Tibaldus as part of Flare International Festival of New Theatre. Out of the darkness, the outline of Simon De Winne dancing comes in to focus. We can hear the effort in his amplified breathing and he moves around the space expansively and with abandon. [...]
What Is the City but the People? Well it might also be its weather, and the rainy city had threatened to live up to its reputation all day. As luck would have it, Piccadilly Gardens remained dry if slightly overcast - a fitting setting for Manchester International Festival 2017's opening event. The idea of ordinary [...]
Royal Exchange, Manchester. 19th June 2017. Written and Performed by Pauline Mayers. By the Mayers Ensemble 'How can you be an artist and not reflect the times?' Nina Simone. Inspired by those words, Pauline Mayers' What If I Told You challenges us to reflect on our times through her own story. There is to be no [...]
Circles & Stalls 