Theatre Through the Eyes of a Manc
I never thought that I would ever enjoy watching an opera. I had many preconceptions about opera and thought that I would hate the experience of going to see one. This is the first opera I have ever seen so I am a complete novice. Thanks to being introduced to opera through Opera North's Tosca, I... Continue Reading →
Christopher Marlowe's plays, Tamburlaine Part One and Two, depict the military conquests and spectacular rise to power of a tyrant. Sadly, this is a subject we are all familiar with in the 21st century. 400 years after Marlowe penned the plays, director Michael Boyd has condensed the two texts, turning them into a single, epic,... Continue Reading →
The Mysteries is a series of six one-act plays rooted around different locations in England, depicting a day in the life of their inhabitants. Two plays are staged each night, with 'Eskdale' and 'Manchester' being performed on the night I attended. As soon as you enter the studio, you feel like you are part of... Continue Reading →
If you take a walk down Manchester's Market Street, you will not fail to notice the street pedlars, pushing their mobile carts. Selling everything from fidget spinners to balloons and umbrellas, these mysterious street vendors are an integral part of Manchester's high street. In Water Seeds Not Stones, Elmi Ali, a writer, poet and spoken... Continue Reading →
Arthur Miller's psychological tragedy, Death of a Salesman, is familiar to anybody who has studied it as part of the GCSE curriculum. Its examination of the fragility of dreams, success and the decline of mental health, causes the play to remain relevant decades after it was written. In this production, Don Warrington returns to the... Continue Reading →
In 1664, when Moliere's Tartuffe was first performed, religion was dangerous. European Christians were split between Catholic and Protestant faiths and several religious wars were waged. This was the time of the Catholic Spanish Inquisition, where Protestants were persecuted because of their beliefs. In England, the monarchy switched back and forth between Catholicism and Protestantism, resulting in religious turmoil. Similarly... Continue Reading →
Earlier this year, Rash Dash Theatre blew me away with their radical reworking of Chekhov's Three Sisters at the Royal Exchange Theatre. They now return to Manchester, in collaboration with Unlimited Theatre, to present a revolutionary new production, written by Rash Dash members Helen Goalen, Abbi Greenland and Unlimited Theatre's co-founder, Clare Duffy. Future Bodies... Continue Reading →
Queen Margaret is the first play in this year's Autumn/Winter season at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. Margaret of Anjou appears in four of Shakespeare's history plays, including the immensely popular Richard III. She has more dialogue than any other female character in Shakespeare, even Rosalind. However, because her story is fragmented across several... Continue Reading →
OthelloMacbeth, directed by Jude Christian, brings together two of Shakespeare's most popular tragedies into a single two-hour play. These plays are condensed into two parts, the first being Othello, with Macbeth forming the second half of the production. The main motive behind compressing these plays is to provide a retelling of Shakespeare's tragedies, and inviting... Continue Reading →
