My Brother’s Country, The Lowry, Salford Quays, Manchester, 26th–27th February 2015 My Brother’s Country portrays the tumultuous life of Fereydoun Farrokhzad, an Iranian singer, TV presenter, poet and political activist who was forced into exile after the 1979 Revolution and ultimately, it is believed, murdered by the Iranian Islamic State in 1992. The play spans […]
Theatre
Scuttlers, The Royal Exchange, reviewed by Fran Slater
Scuttlers, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, 5th Feb-7th March 2015 Inspired by the gangland style riots that disturbed the streets of Manchester back in 2011, Rona Munro decided to go further back in time to investigate some of their precursors. Focusing on the areas of Ancoats and the Northern Quarter that took the brunt of the […]
A-Bomb on Broadway, Nexus Art Cafe, reviewed by Emma Rhys
A-Bomb on Broadway, 1121 Collective, Nexus Art Cafe, Manchester, 2nd-7th February 2015 A-Bomb on Broadway is a performance-art piece carefully crafted and brought to life by the 1121 Collective – a new theatre company based in Manchester. With A-Bomb, this new amateur group have created a professionally staged and passionate piece of dynamic theatre and […]
Light, The Lowry, reviewed by Fran Slater
Light, Theatre Ad Infinitum, The Lowry, Manchester, 3-4th February 2015 A dance show without dancing, a play without words, or silent film brought to the stage? It’s difficult to define exactly what Theatre Ad Infinitum and George Mann’s Light exactly is, but that is not necessarily to its detriment. It is definitely something hugely original. Told […]
Spur of the Moment, HOME, reviewed by Fran Slater
Spur of the Moment, Deaf Dog Productions, HOME, Manchester, 15-17 January 2015 For the last few years the Re: play festival has sought to bring the best local fringe theatre of the previous 12 months back to the stage. Manchester’s thriving theatre scene features so many small venues and up and coming theatre companies that […]
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Lowry, reviewed by Fran Slater
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, National Theatre, The Lowry, Manchester, 18th December 2014 – 10th January 2015. It isn’t often that you can say that the stage itself stole the show during a theatre production, but in the case of The National Theatre’s adaptation of Mark Haddon’s Curious Incident you could […]
She Stoops To Conquer, The Lowry, reviewed by Sarah Jane Vespertine
She Stoops To Conquer, The Lowry, Manchester 9th-13th December 2014 The Northern Broadsides production of She Stoops To Conquer is, quite frankly, adorable. It’s a little bit Blackadder the Third crossed with Two Pints of Lager, largely camp and enormously entertaining. The ‘northernisation’ that Northern Broadsides do so well, moving the setting from the West […]
Slava’s Snow Show, The Lowry, reviewed by Peter Wild
Slava’s Snow Show, The Lowry, Manchester, 9th-13th December 2013 A shock haired man in a mustard coloured onesie stands gazing sadly out at the audience. The capaciousness of his outfit allows him to seemingly grow and shrink, albeit with possibly the saddest expression on his face ever worn by a man. Minutes pass. The man […]
People Zoo Pint-Sized, The Kings Arms, reviewed by Fran Slater
People Zoo Pint Sized, The Kings Arms, Salford, 4th-5th December, 2014 For their debut production, Manchester theatre company People Zoo chose to present three short plays from local writers. Each of Jumbo Shrimp, Let them Eat It, and Captain Awkward shared similar themes of awkward relationships, but other than that, the audience was treated to […]
Wuthering Heights, Contact, reviewed by Fran Slater
Wuthering Heights, Contact Theatre, Manchester, 26th-27th November 2014 I could start by saying that if you’ve ever wanted to see Wuthering Heights narrated by a horse, then this is the play for you. But I won’t. That would make very little sense to anyone. I could start by saying that fans of long, uncomfortable, and […]
The Bartered Bride, The Lowry, reviewed by Sarah Jane Vespertine
The Bartered Bride, Opera North, The Lowry, Manchester, 18th and 20th November 2014. The first and most striking thing about Opera North’s new production of Smetana’s The Bartered Bride is the stage setting. For a reasonably small space, the backdrop of gentle white clouds in a serene blue sky gives a feeling of space and […]
A Farewell to Arms, The Lowry, reviewed by Fran Slater
A Farewell to Arms, imitating the dog, The Lowry, Manchester, 13th-15th November 2014 Imitating the dog posit themselves as a theatre company that ‘tests theatrical conventions and brings high-end design and technical and thematic ambition to audiences at small and medium-scales.’ This was all on display during their adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s 1929 novel A […]
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Royal Exchange, reviewed by Emma Rhys
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Royal Exchange, Manchester, 30th October – 29th November 2014 Taking our seats around the stage, our eyes immediately settled upon the awaiting scene of Maggie and Brick’s bedroom: the setting of the onstage action for the duration of the play. As I took in the beautifully lit and sumptuous white […]
Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense, The Lowry, reviewed by Peter Wild
Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense, The Lowry, November 4-8 2014 What-ho! Welcome to this review of Perfect Nonsense, a play(full!) adaptation of PG Wodehouse’s third Jeeves and Wooster novel, The Code of the Woosters, that draws attention to itself as a manufactured entertainment for a large audience as seriously as anything Bertolt Brecht ever […]
The Dumb Waiter, The King’s Arms, reviewed by Fran Slater
The Dumb Waiter, Ransack Theatre, The King’s Arms, Salford, 6th-15th November 2014 As soon as the ticket collector led us down a narrow staircase and into a candlelit cellar, there was a sense that this adaptation of Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter (1959) might just be a little bit special. Waiting for us in a […]
Othello, The Lowry, a preview by Fran Slater
Everybody knows the story of Othello, right? ‘The green eyed monster’ and ‘the beast with two backs?’ Often seen as one of Shakespeare’s big four, this tale of jealousy, paranoia, and otherness features themes that have become no less relevant throughout the ages. In fact, almost exclusively among the Bard’s many plays, it could be […]
Secret Theatre: Show 6, The Royal Exchange, reviewed by Fran Slater
Show 6, The Lyric Hammersmith Secret Theatre Company, Royal Exchange, Manchester, 30th October – 1st November 2014. It’s difficult to really provide a plot outline for The Secret Theatre Company’s Show 6. In many ways, it was difficult to fathom exactly what the plot was. But I’ll try. Two ‘users’ of an unmentioned drug have […]
Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2), The Lowry, reviewed by Peter Wild
Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2), Royal Shakespeare Company, The Lowry, Manchester, 21st-22nd October 2014 You find us in The Lowry on consecutive nights watching the RSC’s production of Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 (the RSC currently in the midst of a six year journey through all 36 of Shakespeare’s play, their latest outing […]
The Events, HOME, reviewed by Fran Slater
The Events, an ATC Production, dir. David Greig, HOME (Number 1 First Street), Manchester, 22nd-25th October, 2014 Following the massacre of her multicultural church choir, village priest Claire (Derbhle Crotty) is struggling to deal with a multitude of mixed feelings and unanswered questions. Having witnessed a particularly brutal killing in the church’s music room, survivor […]
Iris, Three Minute Theatre, reviewed by Fran Slater
Iris, Manana Productions Three Minute Theatre, Manchester, 9th-11th October, 2014 Iris is the first play from Manana Productions, a new theatre company founded by writer and actress Rebecca-Clare Evans and director Natalie Kennedy. Based on real events, it is a hard-hitting and unflinching consideration of the effects of domestic violence that is likely to leave […]
Not I, Footfalls and Rockaby, The Lowry, reviewed by Iain Bailey
Not I, Footfalls and Rockaby, a Royal Court Theatre and Lisa Dwan production in association with Cusack Projects Ltd, at The Lowry, Manchester, 23rd-27th September 2014 This trilogy of late plays by Beckett is organised around three striking images. Not I has its lips, teeth and tongue isolated by a narrow horizontal column of light. […]
Romeo & Juliet, HOME (Victoria Baths), reviewed by Fran Slater
Romeo & Juliet, a HOME production at Manchester’s Victoria Baths, 10th September-4th October 2014 From the very second the show began, it was clear that this would be no bog-standard Shakespeare adaptation. Taking place in the one-hundred-and-eleven year old setting of Victoria Baths, Walter Meierjohann’s take on Romeo and Juliet really did make the most […]
Hamlet, The Royal Exchange, reviewed by Peter Wild
Hamlet, Royal Exchange, Manchester, 11th September-25th October, 2014 To begin with: an admission of my own ignorance. When, some months ago, I first espied the poster currently glorying the Royal Exchange, Maxine Peake, that brilliant, severe, intelligent actress last seen here by us as Strindberg’s Miss Julie, staring out from beneath a frowning forehead above the […]
War Horse, The Lowry, reviewed by Fran Slater
War Horse, adapted by Nick Stafford, in association with the Handspring Puppet Company (The Lowry, 23 July – 20 September 2014) After a previous successful appearance at The Lowry, The National Theatre’s adaptation of War Horse began a nine week run at the venue on Wednesday July 23rd. Based on Michael Morpurgo’s 2007 novel of […]
Icarus, The Lowry, reviewed by Fran Slater
Icarus, produced by Square Peg Theatre and directed by Michael White (The Lowry, 3-4 July 214) Icarus is the second production from physical theatre company Square Peg. They have a close relationship with The Lowry following their entry for the Pitch Party competition at the 2013 re:play Festival. Although they didn’t win on that occasion, […]
Billy Liar, The Royal Exchange, reviewed by Peter Wild
Billy Liar, Royal Exchange, Manchester, directed by Sam Yates (13 June-12 July 2014). It’s probably fair to say that – if you think of anything when you think of Billy Liar – you think of the 1963 John Schlesinger film starring Tom Courtenay, Julie Christie and Wilfred Pickles. Keith Waterhouse’s original novel, and its sequel […]
Angel Meadow, performed by ANU Productions
Angel Meadow, performed by ANU Productions, and directed by Louise Lowe, presented by HOME Manchester (Cutting Room Square, Manchester, 10-29 June 2014). Arriving at Cutting Room Square, a steward from Home ticks off names and asks if anyone would like to leave bags or coats in a large red box for the duration of the […]
Orlando, The Royal Exchange, reviewed by Sarah-Clare Conlon
Orlando, Royal Exchange, reviewed by Sarah-Clare Conlon Subheaded “a magical comedy about love and time travel” and featuring former Coronation Street actress Suranne Jones (who trod the boards very persuasively for the first time here in 2009’s Blithe Spirit), Orlando is likely to get plenty of bums on seats whether this and other reviews […]
The Seagull, The Lowry, reviewed by Emma Rhys
The Seagull – a play for writers, actors and lovers; and the Manchester Library Theatre Company’s final production before becoming part of the exciting new arthouse venue HOME, opening in spring this year and located at First Street North. The purpose-built venue will include a 500-seat theatre and five cinema screens, and promises to continue […]
1984, Liverpool Playhouse, reviewed by Simon Haworth
1984, Liverpool Playhouse (Headlong Theatre), tour continues Sherman Theatre, Cymru 5th – 9th November 2013, West Yorkshire Playhouse 12th – 16th November 2013 and Almeida Theatre, Islington 8th Feb – 29th Mar 2014 by Simon Haworth If rats in a trap ultimately await Winston Smith in the white walled, clinically lit personal hell […]
All My Sons, The Royal Exchange, reviewed by Simon Haworth
All My Sons, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, Runs till 26 October 2013, Tickets from £10-36 Talawasa Theatre Company’s version of All My Sons, directed by Michael Buffong, is very much in classical style. Arthur Miller’s script is treated with great respect. All those perennial Miller themes – fate and the human urge to control his […]
Macbeth, Manchester International Festival
Kenneth Branagh’s Macbeth is performed in a deconsecrated church in the back end of Ancoats, between empty office blocks, multi-storey car parks and the Toys’r’us superstore. The audience, of around 220, was called out in batches from the ticket office to the venue. Looking down from the 8 banked boxes, the audience can initially make […]
The Heretic, The Lowry, reviewed by Amy Kilvington
The description of Richard Bean’s The Heretic as a ‘hilarious comedy’ rings true in The Library Theatre’s current production. Eccentric characters, clever scripting and an original angle all contribute to the success of the play, which received much audience appreciation throughout. Telling the story of Dr Diane Cassell, the black sheep of the science department […]
Country Wife, The Royal Exchange, reviewed by Naya Tsentourou
The Country Wife – Royal Exchange, Manchester Naya Tsentourou It’s not often that Restoration comedy arrives in Manchester. When it does, however, the genre’s poignant social critique, its unconventional values, and its celebration of playhouses find in the city’s culture a perfect fit. Polly Findlay’s production of William Wycherley’s The Country Wife, first performed in […]
The Daughter-in-Law, The Lowry, reviewed by Howard Booth
Lawrence’s play The Daughter-in-Law is widely held to be one of the most important British plays written between the 1890s and the 1950s. Productions are not exactly ten a penny, so this one by Library Theatre at the Lowry was very welcome. Though excellent in some respects it did show that we still don’t have […]