Monday, March 16

North West

MÁM – The Lowry
North West

MÁM – The Lowry

According to the director and choreographer of this scintillating piece of art, Michael Keegan-Dolan, “A mám is a pass through the mountains. It’s a geographical structure that encourages people to go a certain way.” He goes on to say it can also mean an “obligation”, adding, “Sometimes as artists, you feel this obligation to do something, even if you can’t really say why.” This is an artistic endeavour of the highest quality. It is an imaginative combination of dance, theatre and music. Taking you on a journey through love, despair, longing, and joy. It is both intense and free, structured and loose, disparate and unifying. It starts with a devilish figure holding a concertina, facing a child. He takes off his mask, and the dancers start creating a beat, and the movement begins. ...
Quiz – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse
North West

Quiz – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

Quiz has become one of those modern plays that feels instantly familiar, and yet still thrilling, and James Graham’s sharp, playful script proves a perfect fit for the Altrincham Garrick Playhouse in this brilliantly executed production by the Garrick Ensemble at the Playhouse. Based on the infamous “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” coughing scandal, this production leans fully into the spectacle of television, celebrity and courtroom drama, while never losing sight of the human stories at its core. Tom Broughton delivers a compelling performance as Charles Ingram, capturing both the awkwardness and quiet determination of a man thrust into the harsh glare of public judgement. Melanie Beswick is equally impressive as Diana Ingram, offering a nuanced portrayal that balances vulnerability w...
Girls Night – Heswall Hall
North West

Girls Night – Heswall Hall

Girls Night by Louise Roche and directed by Helen Roberts is a night of laughter, music and emotions.  Five friends meet up for a night at a karaoke night club to celebrate the present, they reminisce about the past and secrets are revealed.  Sharon (Becky Harton) died young and acts as the ghostly narrator with angel wings filling in the details about her four closet friends and their lives.  Twenty years after her death her four friends gather at the karaoke night club to celebrate the engagement of Sharon's daughter Candy-Rose. Sharon speaks directly to the audience about how she has watched over her friends and gets the audience involved in singing along. Anita (Tia Gill) was picked on at school because of her depressive episodes, but her friends never discussed this ...
The Ghost of Graves End – Unity Theatre
North West

The Ghost of Graves End – Unity Theatre

Step back in time and delve into the creepy yet comedic story 'The Ghost of Graves End’ written by Robert Farquhar and directed by Lucy Thatcher. Poet Charles (Greg Jones) is unknowingly seeking employment via his overly zealous fiance (Georgia Chadwick) when she thrusts upon him a rather intriguing position as a tutor. A new opportunity which Charles soon comes to realise, may be more than he bargained for. A peculiar and strange pupil William (Chadwick), a collection of odd happenings and all too real dreams makes this a collectively creepy watch. However, to keep the show more light hearted and fun, comedy is cleverly interwoven throughout the scenes, characters and storyline. Deliciously dark and wickedly witty, audiences are kept engaged by the frantic atmosphere and ever changi...
Murder at Midnight – Blackpool Grand Theatre
North West

Murder at Midnight – Blackpool Grand Theatre

A New Year's Eve like you've never seen before arrives at the Seaside this week. As the clock strikes midnight, murder and chaos ensue, posing not only the question of whodunnit but who even died? Playwright Torben Betts returns with the follow up to his 2023 hit Murder in the Dark, delivering this murder-mystery satire of cockney gang culture, dark comedy and drama all rolled into one. Promising a thrilling night out, and despite some killer moments, the play was rather lazily written offering nothing unique nor exciting than what we have seen before. The plot, centring around the Drinkwater home on New Year's Eve, was vague at best. That said, it is very easy watching littered with amusing moments throughout. Take the play for what it is, don't take it in any way seriously and it is a...
The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals – AO Arena
North West

The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals – AO Arena

For the 5th year running 12,000 people packed into the AO Arena to witness some of the best musicals from West End and touring companies. Hosted once again by Manchester’s own Jason Manford this was the biggest production to date. Opening with the unmistakeable The Lion King, and Circle of Life, the arena was transported to the African savanna, a stunning opening to a stunning treat for musical theatre fans. Ava Brennan followed with an emotional version of As Long As He Needs Me from the current West End revival of Oliver. This was followed by a powerful medley from Miss Saigon who had brought their entire touring cast to Manchester led by Seann Miley Moore, the Engineer whose performance of American Dream will live long in this reviewer’s memory soaring high above the stage. Tak...
Clementine – Theatr Clwyd
North West

Clementine – Theatr Clwyd

The internet generation has an obvious infatuation with period drama adjacent shows, and there seems to be a never-ending conveyor belt of production to feed this appetite. Bridgerton and the new “Wuthering Heights” adaptation are just around the corner, and as an Austen fan myself, I’m always intrigued by a show that gives a nod to a fairytale-like bygone era. Enter Lady Clementine. A hopeless romantic, with neither sense nor sensibility. If Charlotte Lucas was chronically online and high on opium; our heroine prances around the stage lamenting her lowly life without love. Clementine is turning 27, has no husband and no prospects. She has til midnight to turn her life around and instead of turning inward, she's asking for guidance from the universe. An hour of non-stop frolicking an...
The Execution of Private Slovik – 53two
North West

The Execution of Private Slovik – 53two

It is well known that, in response to potential harm, the human body can go into fight-or-flight mode. It is a physiological survival mechanism, and some people choose to face the danger, whilst others will run away. This play concerns the true story of Private Eddie Slovik (Jamie Peacock), who was the only American soldier to be executed for desertion in the Second World War. Indeed, he was the first to face that punishment since the American Civil War. We are presented with a moral dilemma. Do we see Slovik as a flawed man, with a difficult upbringing, who froze at the vital moment and wanted, like many would in the middle of a war, simply to run away and back to his sick wife? Or do we see him as a cog in an army machine that should simply obey orders for the good of the natio...
Murder at Midnight – The Lowry
North West

Murder at Midnight – The Lowry

The latest outing from writer Torben Betts is a gleefully farcical affair that never once pretends to be believable. From the opening moments where the audience is faced with the aftermath of what is described by a policeman as murderous ‘carnage’, Murder at Midnight announces itself as broad and proudly and knowingly over-the-top.  The decision for our theatregoers tonight is not whether any of what they witness makes sense but if they are willing to go along with the foolishness. If they do, there is a great deal of fun to be had. Resistance will result in the play’s relentless absurdity becoming quickly wearing. The vague plot centres around the home of Jonny Drinkwater, a local gangster, on New Year’s Eve, where a series of events will lead to a body count that rivals a Tara...
The Bodyguard – Palace Theatre
North West

The Bodyguard – Palace Theatre

The Bodyguard returns to the Palace Theatre Manchester under the direction of Thea Sharrock, bringing with it all the high-stakes drama and musical spectacle audiences have come to expect from this stage adaptation of the Warner Bros. film. With a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and a stage book by Alexander Dinelaris, charged with delivering drama, romance, and some musical theatre’s most challenging songs, the production faces inevitable comparison to its celebrated origin. The story centres on Rachel Marron, an internationally adored singer whose fame places her in serious danger. When anonymous threats escalate, former Secret Service agent Frank Farmer is brought in to protect her. Initially resistant to the intrusion, Rachel clashes with Frank’s rigid professionalism, yet as the thre...