Review of 42 Balloons at The Lowry, Salford. On seeing an online video of Larry Walters flying in a lawn chair over Los Angeles held aloft by a load of balloons, Jack Godfrey didn’t just think OMG - his overriding thought was “THIS IS A MUSICAL!” Six years later, Godfrey has written that dream into [...]
Tag: Theatre
A Taste of Honey
Review of A Taste Of Honey at Royal Exchange, Manchester. “Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.” At times, director Emma Baggott’s sure-footed revival of A Taste of Honey feels as if it is summoning up the ghosts of Shelagh Delaney’s Salford. In its opening moments, Nishla Smith’s stylish jazz singer [...]
Shed: Exploded View
Review of Shed: Exploded View at Royal Exchange Theatre. Partly inspired by Cornelia Parker’s artwork Cold Dark Matter, Phoebe Eclair-Powell’s Bruntwood Prize winning Shed: Exploded View is fragmentary. Like Parker’s dazzling installation, it deconstructs the familiar. Inviting us to view a seemingly random selection of domestic interactions from a different perspective, in a new light. [...]
In The Time Of Dragons
Review of In The Time of Dragons at The Edge. For its new musical In the Time of Dragons, The Edge artfully creates a sixties nightclub vibe - with a dressing room in one corner, piano in the other, lamplit cabaret tables along one side, and big neon sign. The Blue Angel obviously doesn’t like [...]
The Gap
Review of The Gap at Hope Mill Theatre. From teenage bedroom to a communal lounge in sheltered housing, Jim Cartwright’s The Gap follows two friends across half a century of ups and downs. It’s quite a coup for Hope Mill Theatre - not just bagging the premiere of a new Cartwright play, but also securing [...]
Animal Farm
Review of Animal Farm at Bolton Octagon. No green fields, not even a blade of grass, in director Iqbal Khan’s atmospheric and bruising Animal Farm at Bolton Octagon. A backdrop of mud-streaked corrugated iron and animal skulls suspended from hooks overhead suggest instead a place of industrial slaughter. An opening sequence of loud banging, constrained [...]
Manchester Theatre – Best of 2023
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 [...]
Lost and Found
Review of Lost and Found at Aviva Studios. Waiting for the show to start, down in the stalls, Aviva Studios’ ingenious folding yellow seating was keeping a surprising number of young audience members entertained. Any budding interest in auditorium design is quickly forgotten however when a noisy gaggle of gulls emerges – swooping down the [...]
Brief Encounter
Review of Brief Encounter at Royal Exchange, Manchester. The sound of passing trains may rattle around the auditorium, but a relaxing glow emanates from Milford Junction’s refreshment room. Overhead, designer Rose Revitt’s elegant metal arches and solid station clock set the scene nicely for the Royal Exchange’s new production for Brief Encounter. Polished wooden flooring [...]
Romeo and Juliet
Review of Romeo and Juliet at Royal Exchange, Manchester. Jettisoning fair Verona in favour of somewhere “just beyond Cheetham Hill”, director Nicholai La Barrie relocates Romeo and Juliet, while also bringing Shakespeare’s tale of “star-crossed lovers” bang up to date. High street fashions, Mancunian accents, and youthful swagger offer some reassuringly familiar reference points for [...]