Theatre through the eyes of a Manc
As a heavy metal fan, I must admit that watching beatboxing is way out of my comfort zone. But as a theatre blogger, how could I resist the opportunity to see one of my favourite books, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, given such a radical interpretation? This was a show I couldn't miss. Stupidly, I booked tickets for... Continue Reading →
Cyclist Beryl Burton is undoubtedly one of the greatest British sporting athletes of all time. Over her lengthy career, she smashed records across multiple cycling disciplines. She was the Best British all-rounder for 25 successive years, she won over a hundred cycling titles, received an MBE, and her record breaking time of completing the 12... Continue Reading →
Wuthering Heights is a literary classic harking back to the Romantic period in the nineteenth century. It has since become embedded into British culture and most people end up having to study it at some point. This was reflected by the number of school classes and young adults in the audience watching The Lowry's sold... Continue Reading →
When I cast my mind back to sex education in school, the only things we were taught was how to put a condom on a banana and about the menstrual cycle. Lucy Danser's blistering play If This Is Normal shows how woefully inadequate this is in preparing teenagers for adulthood, and how talking about sex... Continue Reading →
Having been plagued by Covid setbacks, it's really nice to finally get the chance to watch Jessica Swale's stage adaptation of The Jungle Book at Oldham Coliseum. Back in 2020, the company were only six days into rehearsals when the pandemic hit and lockdowns closed theatres across the country. Over two years later, The Jungle... Continue Reading →
Based on Victor Hugo's novel, the stage musical adaptation of Les Misérables has undoubtedly become a cultural phenomenon. Now entering its 37th consecutive year on the West End, it has been seen by over 120 million people across the world. It even got a major Hollywood adaptation, but the less said about that, the better...... Continue Reading →
Take a look around The Lowry on this sold-out press night and the evergreen popularity of Disney's 1971 film, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, is clear to see. There are multiple generations in the audience, including many children experiencing their first live theatre production. With its catchy songs, written by the Sherman Brothers, naturally the film would... Continue Reading →
Played in its entirety, Handel's Alcina is three and a half hours long. Thankfully, Opera North have heavily edited the opera to under three hours in length. However, this doesn't make its complex plot any easier to follow. Like The Tempest, Handel's opera is set on an enchanted island. The island belongs to a sorceress, Alcina,... Continue Reading →
Verdi's Rigoletto features one of opera's most famous pieces of music, 'La Donna e mobile', which is recognisable the world over, even if you've never seen an opera before. Other than that, I knew relatively little about Rigoletto, as I have never watched it before, and I make a rule of never reading the programme... Continue Reading →
Bizet's Carmen is the perfect opera for beginners, because of how familiar the music is. Even those who are completely new to opera will instantly recognise this opera's iconic songs 'Habanera', 'Les Toreadors' and the 'Toreador Song'. Conducted by Antony Hermus, hearing this famous music performed by a live orchestra really is something else. After two years... Continue Reading →
THE PLAY'S THE THING 