Saturday, June 14

NEWS

Open-air theatre returns to Chester’s Grosvenor Park this summer
NEWS

Open-air theatre returns to Chester’s Grosvenor Park this summer

Open-air theatre returns to Chester’s Grosvenor Park this summer as part of a fantastic festival of fun including a pair of enchanting theatrical treats on the main stage. The 2025 Grosvenor Park season, presented by Storyhouse, will run from 28th June to 31st August. Friday, 4th July marks a return to the park for Jane Austen’s beloved classic Pride and Prejudice, celebrating the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth. Adapted for the stage by Deborah McAndrew and directed by Conrad Nelson, the sparkling and witty Regency tale won acclaim from both critics and Grosvenor Park audiences when it was premiered in 2021 and is back by popular demand. Prepare to be swept away by Austen’s most famous love story as spirited Lizzie Bennet and the brooding Mr Darcy find themselves entangled...
Join Us For Edinburgh Fringe 2025
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Join Us For Edinburgh Fringe 2025

North West End UK are once again heading to Edinburgh for this year’s Fringe festival from the 1st – 25th August and we are looking for additional reviewers to help us cover as many shows as possible in 2025. Could this be you? 2024 saw us review in excess of 200 performances across the many venues hosting the annual event and we want to do even more this year. Previous experience is not required, but we will ask you to submit an ‘audition’ piece in advance of the festival in order for us to establish your ability to construct a review. Due to the nature of the festival, we request reviews to be submitted to our editorial team within 24 hours of attending a show and we will provide full details on how to make your submissions and the format they should be written in. There is ...
The Greater Manchester Improv Festival 2025
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The Greater Manchester Improv Festival 2025

The first Greater Manchester Improv Festival will showcase the best of the region’s growing improv comedy and theatre scene. The festival will take place at the award-winning Kings Arms, Salford 6th-8th June 2025. With sixteen shows and four workshops (including a taster session for anyone wanting to try improv themselves) there's something for everyone. Tickets for all events just £5. "We have everything from improvised murder mysteries to musicals, showcasing new teams and seasoned festival acts," says Greater Manchester Improv Festival organiser Bron Edge, who also runs the award-winning Totally Improvised Company. "The Manchester Improv scene has exploded in the last few years so we decided it was time to bring together as many acts as we could fit into a weekend stuffed full of tal...
Win a signed Dr Who Clapperboard
NEWS

Win a signed Dr Who Clapperboard

53two is giving you a once in a lifetime opportunity to win a priceless Dr Who clapperboard, signed by 9 members of the cast! MUST END MIDNIGHT, SATURDAY 31st MAY 53two, Manchester's fully accessible and leading arts venue, is thrilled to announce an exclusive raffle, giving Dr Who’s immense fanbase the chance to win a genuine and extremely rare piece of Dr Who memorabilia. This clapperboard was used during the filming of season two, featuring the 15th Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa and was donated to them by their patron and star of Dr Who, Ruth Madeley. This priceless clapperboard is an iconic symbol of the show and represents a unique collector's item for enthusiasts of the long running BBC series. With added value being signed by 9 members of the cast; Anita Dobson, Jemma Redgrave, Varad...
3 nights of theatre celebrating the Workers Theatre Movement
NEWS

3 nights of theatre celebrating the Workers Theatre Movement

Playing at The Hope Street Theatre – Friday 6th, Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th June, 7.30pm. In the 19320 and 30s, all over Britain, working-class theatre groups sprang up all over Britain, under the umbrella of the Workers Theatre Movement. A production that celebrates the Workers theatre Movement and its upsurge of Cultural Activism will be showcasing at one of Liverpool’s best small City-Centre Theatres, the Hope Street Theatre. Included in the 3 nights are a one act play about a 30s Socialist Theatre group, “Unity” by Tom Mclennan, and 3 modern Living Newspapers by local actors, inspired by the work of these Socialist Theatre pioneers. The show – called “Workers Playtime” – can be booked via the Hope Street Theatre website and box office. Tickets £8/£6 from ww...
Bloody Marvellous: A Comedy Show about the Middle Ages to tour UK Fringe Festivals this summer
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Bloody Marvellous: A Comedy Show about the Middle Ages to tour UK Fringe Festivals this summer

Bloody Marvellous brings together Luke Connell’s academic and comedic personalities to offer something distinctive: a comic tour of the medieval world. Rather than the tired medieval themes of kings and battles, it is about medieval ideas, stories and inventions. Featuring props, songs and games, Bloody Marvellous introduces audiences to creatures like sea-centipedes and manticores, dogs with names like Havegoodday, and characters like Eilmer the flying monk. Luke shows off the old world’s taste in tourist tat, and tries to convince audiences that medieval medicine – with treatments involving things like dragons’ blood – was more exciting than the modern kind. The show will be performed at the Newcastle, Durham, Buxton and Greater Manchester Fringes in July before it hits the Edinburgh ...
The National Youth Music Theatre leads innovative new Birmingham partnership project alongside ambitious outdoor theatre finale of its 2025 Season
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The National Youth Music Theatre leads innovative new Birmingham partnership project alongside ambitious outdoor theatre finale of its 2025 Season

The National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) proudly announces FairGround, a bold and inclusive arts festival for children and young people from all backgrounds across the whole of Birmingham. Hosted at City Academy, FairGround will offer free creative workshops in partnership with other leading arts organisations and schools in the city. The festival is committed to providing tailored opportunities for participants that reflect the diverse needs and experiences of its participants. Among those opportunities will be specialist drama and music workshops for newly arrived children who attend CORE Hello - a groundbreaking education programme which supports children from around the world to integrate positively into Birmingham schools and the community. FairGround features a series of four creat...
Marina Abramović premieres most ambitious work of her career at Manchester’s Aviva Studios
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Marina Abramović premieres most ambitious work of her career at Manchester’s Aviva Studios

•Balkan Erotic Epic (9th – 19th October 2025) marks Abramović’s largest-scale performance work to date, featuring a cast of over 70 performers. •Rooted in the artist’s Balkan heritage, this bold new work combines dance, song, and ritual to explore desire, spirituality, and our connection to nature. •Merging elements of performative tradition with sensuality and eroticism, Balkan Erotic Epic reflects Abramović’s ongoing exploration of the body, sexuality, and the limits of human experience. •Tickets go on-sale to Factory International members on Thursday 22nd May and to general public on Thursday 29th May at www.factoryinternational.org   Factory International, the organisation behind Manchester International Festival and the city’s landmark cultural space Aviva Studios, wi...
Leeds Playhouse has announced a Premier League line-up for the world premiere of football play Through it All Together
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Leeds Playhouse has announced a Premier League line-up for the world premiere of football play Through it All Together

It’s a love letter to Leeds United’s eccentric former boss Marcelo Bielsa as Shobna Gulati and Reece Dinsdale play Sue and Howard, a Yorkshire couple navigating a diagnosis of dementia. As they deal with the traumatic aftermath of that news, they find comfort cheering on their beloved Leeds United as they returned to the Premier League during the Argentinian’s glory days in his first two years as he developed a style of flowing football that became known as ‘Bielsaball’. Shobna Gulati is best known for iconic roles including Anita in Victoria Wood's sitcom Dinnerladies and Sunita Alahan in Coronation Street. Shobna also portrayed Mari Hoff in the UK tour of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, and Ray in the West End production of Everybody's Talking About Jamie. Reece Dinsdale is a Yo...
Klezmer Klassica: the Men behind the Play with Music
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Klezmer Klassica: the Men behind the Play with Music

It’s always a boon when there is a recording available of a production you’ve attended and none more so than the recently attended Gideon – a play with music, a collaboration between Richard Fay and Daniel Mawson through their company Modalways CIC. Following the life of a magnetic musician and his family facing impossible choices, its factual narrative is accompanied by a delightful fusion of Klezmer, Czech folk, classical compositions, and jazz performed by a live ensemble. My interest was piqued when noting that the recording labelled as Volume 3 was accompanied by a not entirely related Volume 4, raising the obvious question as to what/where were Volumes 1 and 2? Well, a little bit of delving was to unveil a musical goldmine, but first of all we have to take a step back in time. ...