Theatre through the eyes of a Manc
Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights has long been considered a Gothic masterpiece; a romantic love story that transcends time. However, it is a novel that I have always struggled with. Unlike many others, I find it difficult to detect much romance in the book. I certainly don't identify Heathcliff as a tragic, romantic hero. Personally, Heathcliff... Continue Reading →
In 1880, a conference was held in Milan that had serious repercussions for the deaf community and its impact is still being felt to the present day. At the International Congress on Education of the Deaf, a law was passed that banned sign language from being taught in schools. Oralism was seen as a superior... Continue Reading →
"Discuss the role of the Rake in Restoration comedy" - This was a university assignment I had to write last year. After studying the drama produced during this period, I wrote about William Wycherley's The Country Wife, Etherege's The Man of Mode, and Molière's Misanthrope. Despite Restoration comedies celebrating sexual liberty, the plays written by women have... Continue Reading →
Those familiar with Hope Mill Theatre would have seen a baby grand piano in their bar area, which has an important history. It was donated by a remarkable lady called Barbara. Music was an important part of Barbara's life and a piece of sheet music was found inside the piano stool. Written and performed by... Continue Reading →
It's February! January Blues are in the past and Dry January is over. It's time to launch into a new month with a spring in your step. There is so much exciting theatre on offer this month in Manchester, my diary is already full. The city is proudly hosting the musical premiere of my favourite... Continue Reading →
Remember those painfully embarrassing sex education lessons in school? The ones where boys went in one room, and girls went into another to be taught about "girly stuff". Remember how unbelievably useless they were? Most people end up learning about puberty and sex through trial and error. Thankfully, Ugly Bucket Theatre are here to put... Continue Reading →
Ugly Bucket Theatre are a company of physical theatre performers that take the guise of clowns. These are not demonic, phobia-inducing clowns, like Pennywise, they are purely a group of highly skilled comics with painted faces. Their unique branch of physical comedy combines slapstick humour with techno dancing, to deliver an explosive examination of Bost-Uni Plues. No,... Continue Reading →
Wolf Hours is an audio-visual performance from Ben McGarvey, known artistically as Minute Taker. Performing his superb live music soundtrack alongside filmed videos, the show explores the psyches of gay men at different points in time. I first watched Wolf Hours at Sale Waterside Arts last year, as part of their Refract Festival, and it... Continue Reading →
Tania Camara's Oreo is named after the racial term and challenges the idea of whitening oneself to achieve success. It explores what it means to be authentic to yourself, expressed through the medium of performance art. For the duration of the piece, Camara doesn't utter a single word, yet skilfully manages to convey a profound... Continue Reading →
We live in an age of media globalisation, instantly bringing news from around the world to your fingertips. Sadly, the side effect of this overload of information is a sense of detachment and deniability. It is possible to be confronted with statistics that, globally, over 200 million women have experienced female genital mutilation (FGM) and... Continue Reading →
