Saturday, February 21

Tag: HOME Mcr

The Last Picture – HOME Mcr
North West

The Last Picture – HOME Mcr

This may be a tale told by a dog, but it isn’t a shaggy dog story. It is a moving and perceptive tale about hate, shame, pain and ultimately humanity. In dangerous times, amidst the mess of human existence, light can shine, and there is hope. Storyteller Robin Simpson bounds onto the stage and tells us he is Sam, an emotional support dog trained to look after us all. He has been assigned to a Year 9 class, which means children aged 13 to 14. Catherine Dyson’s script is structured through a series of pictures described by Sam. We are invited to imagine these images sometimes from the kids' perspective, at times from our own, and even to envision how the people in those photos might have been feeling at the time. A swastika has been drawn on a locker, and even though the children mi...
The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical – HOME Mcr
North West

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical – HOME Mcr

You’ve heard of Hercules, you may have heard of Perseus, but do you know Percy Jackson, the demigod of the new world? A best selling book series, two movie adaptations and, most recently, a multi series Disney television show. And it’s a musical. “The gods are real, and they have kids. And those kids have issues”. Sixteen-year-old Percy Jackson is expelled from yet another school. Just when he thinks there’s no hope for a kid like him, he finds out that he is a half-blood. The future of the world hangs in the balance, as Percy and his friends embark on a difficult quest encountering monsters, gods and all sorts of chaos. The stage show takes Rick Riordan’s first novel, “The Lightning Thief”, and adds an electrifying soundtrack to engage all audiences, whether child, adult, or dem...
North by NorthWest – HOME Mcr
North West

North by NorthWest – HOME Mcr

Adapting a film for the stage is no mean feat, especially if the film is an MGM blockbuster of its time, by hugely successful, iconic director and producer, Sir Alfred Hitchcock. These are certainly big shoes to fill. A challenge taken on by multi-award winning director, Emma Rice, in the world première adaptation of North by Northwest. How would Rice’s theatre company, Wise Children, translate Hitchcock’s use of masterful focus, suspense and tongue-in-cheek humour to the stage? Well, the resulting show did not disappoint and was an absolute joy to behold! Visiting HOME in central Manchester was a privilege and a pleasure, vibrant and buzzing with energy on the outside, and, as the name suggests, warm and welcoming on the inside. A comfortable, modern, spacious auditorium, the perfect s...
One Punch – HOME Mcr
North West

One Punch – HOME Mcr

Everything can change in a moment, sometimes to devastating effect. Demonstrating that is the ambition of ‘One Punch’, a unique one-hour production from the John Godber Company in partnership with the charity One Punch Hull. Opening on minimalist staging, a square outlined with police tape symbolic of a boxing ring, our story is narrated by three NHS paramedics Corey (Ellis Basford), Sarah (Camille Hainsworth-Staples) and Jack (George Reid) detailing the stresses of their jobs. Setting the scene for the story ahead, it is clear from the beginning this is a cautionary tale. Our narrators smartly guide the audience through the oncoming scenes making up the events of this poignant but fatal day. The company of three performers switch through multiple characters as they tell the story of...
Miracle on 34th Street – HOME Mcr
North West

Miracle on 34th Street – HOME Mcr

This clumsy interpretation of the classic seasonal flick presents itself more as a school play than an actual musical. Forgettable songs, cracker-quality jokes and unembellished choreography feel like several lumps of coal in the stocking, delivered by the least convincing Santa Claus this reviewer has ever seen. Miracle on 34th Street follows Susan (Karis), a sceptical girl whose doubts about the marvel of Christmas have been handed down by her no-nonsense, workaholic mother, Doris (Jessica Joslin). When neighbour Fred (Matthew Hawksley) hears of Susan’s lack of belief, he makes it his mission to change this. A magical unveiling of Ciaran Bagnall’s charming toy shop set promises something wonderful, with floor-to-ceiling shelves brimming with teddy bears, footballs and rocking horse...
That Love Thing – HOME Mcr
North West

That Love Thing – HOME Mcr

This moving and entertaining piece follows the inner life of Peter, a man living with cerebral palsy, and his companion Michael, as they narrate the ups and downs of life with a serious disability. All the touchstones of Peter’s life – including his love of music and Shakespeare, his relationships with his unseen mother and brother, the travails of sex and dating, and his love/hate relationships with his various wheelchairs – are covered with wry humour. Just enough detail is given in each vignette for the audience to feel that the sketch is authentic and serious without overpowering the momentum of the show. Gradually we are introduced to main characters in Peter’s life – some real, some fictional, some perhaps both, including the Satanic Mr C.P., who appears to mock and torment...
After the Act – HOME Mcr
North West

After the Act – HOME Mcr

A new musical inspired by the nationwide societal impacts of Section 28, After the Act continues its winter tour with a penultimate stop in Manchester- long a welcoming city boasting one of the country’s largest LGBTQ+ populations. Ellice Stevens, Nkara Stephenson, Ericka Posadas and Zachary Willis deliver monologues from those who experienced the oppressive, anti-gay culture of the late 1980s as an ensemble, with Frew providing live music. The Conservative government’s law prevented schools and councils from “promoting” homosexuality. While the source material is discernibly moving, its delivery is drawn out by being overly verbatim: every single “um”, “er” and false start is unnecessary. Where this doesn’t result in anecdotes losing their focus, activity from the non-speaking cast ...
Nowhere – HOME Mcr
North West

Nowhere – HOME Mcr

Where do you go when the unbearable becomes persistent? This is just one of the initial questions asked by Khalid Abdalla in his profound and beautiful piece of theatre, Nowhere, currently playing at HOME, Manchester. It’s a question that, given the current situation in the Middle East, slaps you in the face and makes you pay attention to what is about to be said. What follows is a personal history of multi-generational activism; friendship, love and loss; personal and political protest; family legacy and our personal history. It is Abdalla’s own history that inspires this journey. The son and grandson of political prisoners, it is his involvement in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and the subsequent counter-revolution that shapes his journey. It is the stories of his forefathers and of...
WRESTLELADSWRESTLE – HOME Mcr
North West

WRESTLELADSWRESTLE – HOME Mcr

While you might not think Judo and racism are the easiest go-tos for a (sort-of) one-woman show, Jenni Jackson’s expert weaving of personal experience with community accountability in WRESTLELADSWRESTLE cracks the subject matter wide-open in an approachable way, inviting us in to listen and learn. The piece, at its core, is built off the universal desire we have as humans to assert ownership over our own pain: at least if we can decide when and how it happens, we can be somewhat prepared. Out of this, we learn anecdotal stories, as well as news snippets of traumas that have occurred to women when they simply weren’t prepared. So: Jenni prepares us. What we learn, among other things, is how to get people out of our house when they start to act aggressive. Bringing her ‘girl gang’ onstage...
Two of Us – HOME Mcr
North West

Two of Us – HOME Mcr

It seems somehow apposite that this play about the last meeting of Paul McCartney and John Lennon should be staged just as a certain well-known group from Manchester is about to reunite.  Not just because of the massive debt that Oasis owed the Beatles but because Lennon and McCartney were in some ways like a pair of warring brothers only with more wit and talent. Throughout the seventies, until John Lennon was murdered, they would both be constantly asked if The Beatles were going to reunite. There is a story that even after Lennon’s death the remaining three were offered a fortune to get back together but they all turned it down as they said without John it wouldn’t be The Beatles. On an April night in 1976, Paul makes a surprise visit to John’s apartment in New York. Lenn...