Bryony Shanahan Archives - North West End UK

Nora: A Doll’s House – Royal Exchange Theatre

10Mar

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Nora: A Doll’s House – Royal Exchange Theatre

Even though he resembled everyone's idea of a Victorian gentleman, Ibsen's radical 1879 study of a woman's place in a patriarchal, middle class Norwegian society, is often cited as a crucial accelerant to the nascent female emancipation movement at the end of the 19th century. It is therefore fitting that in the week we celebrate International Women's Day, that writer Stef Smith has adapted it to ' Nora: A Doll's House', examining how one of the most famous characters in theatre would have fared in three different time periods. The result is complex, confusing and frustrating in equal measure. We meet Nora as three separate entities simultaneously on stage. Nora 1918 (Kirsty Rider) cuts a frustrated figure, married and caged at the end of World War One as the suffrage movement is reachi...

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart – Royal Exchange

At Christmas the Royal Exchange usually stages a classic musical to bring us some festive cheer with Sweet Charity, Guys and Dolls and Gypsy being recent successful offerings. It is therefore something of a radical departure this year to find the new team of Artistic Directors (Bryony Shanahan and Roy Weise), plumping for a play based around Scottish folk ballads to entice theatregoers away from pantomime, hearth and home. As I made my way to my favourite theatre, braving monsoon conditions, drunken office parties and the questionable attractions of the Manchester markets, I was intrigued by this quirky choice. I left three hours later, exhilarated, charmed and slightly confused by this uneven but undeniably captivating piece of theatre. We are presented with the eponymous Prudencia Har...

Up to 65% of Royal Exchange Theatre’s staff in Manchester face redundancy

Today the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester has had to take the heart braking decision to scale back their organisation as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic. These situations are becoming far too regular an occurrence in our industry. A statement posted on their website earlier today reads:- “The impact of Covid-19 on the Royal Exchange Theatre is monumental, and we have been working incredibly hard to ensure the survival and the future of our theatre. The Royal Exchange is heavily reliant on the income earned through ticket sales, fundraising, food and drink and venue hire. Over recent years we have been successful in reducing our dependence on public subsidy, which now equates to less than 25% of our £10 million annual turnover. As such, the impact of lockdown and our ...