Theatre through the eyes of a Manc
Light Falls marks the end of an era at the Royal Exchange Theatre. It is Sarah Frankcom's final directorial piece as Artistic Director, before becoming the director of LAMDA. She began her tenure at LAMDA by cutting audition fees by 75%, showing just what a fantastic asset she is to the theatre industry. She will... Continue Reading →
The Witching Way is a concept album by Ali and the Celestial Seasonings. It tells the story of W, a millennial born and raised a witch. She is the kind of woman you might bump into at Affleck's Palace on an afternoon. It depicts how W loses and finds herself again, as she is suddenly... Continue Reading →
In the words of house Stark, "Winter is coming". The dark evenings are closing in, and it's time to dig out the winter woolies again. The annual Christmas market stalls are springing up around Manchester and the mood is turning festive. What better way to escape the cold winter weather than watching some theatre? With... Continue Reading →
The nights are drawing in and the weather is getting colder. Starbucks are selling pumpkin spiced latte and the local scallies are already setting off fireworks. Autumn is certainly well under way. October is the perfect time of year to watch a play, and there are many excellent shows on offer in Manchester this month.... Continue Reading →
Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre are no strangers in allowing women to play Shakespeare's most famous characters. In 2014, they received critical acclaim when an androgynous Maxine Peake played Hamlet, although the central character remained male. In the first play of their Autumn/Winter season, the Royal Exchange have fully switched the gender of Macbeth, changing Shakespeare's... Continue Reading →
With parliament suspended, and a no-deal Brexit looking more probable than ever, you could be forgiven for thinking that the country is going to the dogs. Our democracy is under threat. The Amazon Rainforest is on fire, as the effects of climate change are already becoming apparent. These are truly depressing times that we live... Continue Reading →
Sub-titled "Scenes from the Luddite Rebellion", this play has no relation to the song of the same name by The Smiths. What we get is a fascinating history lesson about the Luddite Rebellion and how the rise of the machine in the Industrial Revolution devastated the livelihoods of the working-classes, when their jobs were replaced with... Continue Reading →
Falling smack bang in-between the Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter seasons, August is usually considered as a fallow month for theatre productions, as people flock to the Edinburgh Fringe for their theatre fix. In Manchester, there's no rest though, with plenty of great shows available throughout the month. Here are a handful of suggestions for what theatre... Continue Reading →
When I heard that the Royal Exchange had selected Hobson's Choice as part of its spring/summer season, I was excited to see that it would a version adapted by Tanika Gupta. I have been a fan of her work for quite some time, and I was eager to see what she could do with Harold... Continue Reading →
