Royal Exchange Theatre Archives

26Oct

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Romeo & Juliet – Royal Exchange Theatre

In over 40 years of watching and reviewing theatre, I've seen a lot of Shakespeare, some very good, some indifferent and some very bad. The best productions manage to make even the most well known phrases in the canon sound both newly minted and instantly understandable, whilst giving the story a fresh context and relevance to the particular audience it seeks to entertain. The new production of Romeo & Juliet at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester does both of these and much more, ranking amongst the best I have seen in recent years at this lovely venue. Director Nicholai la Barrie firmly embeds his tale of the 'star crossed lovers' in the inner city streets of Manchester, his Verona does not feature the palazzo's and palaces of 16th century Italy instead it is the rain soaked...

Great Expectations – Royal Exchange Theatre

14Sep

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Great Expectations – Royal Exchange Theatre

With three competing press nights in Manchester theatreland this evening, I chose the opportunity to visit the venerable old Royal Exchange building in St Anne's Square to review their opening offering for the Autumn/Winter season, an adaptation of Charles Dickens 'Great Expectations' which like the character of Estella had great beauty but lacks a little heart. This is one of Dickens most oft adapted novels, only 'A Christmas Carol' and 'Oliver Twist' beat it for popularity and already in 2023 we have had two versions of Dickens tale of class mobility and class intransigence served up, Steven Knight gave us his spiky television adaptation earlier this year and Eddie Izzard's extraordinary one woman show was a huge success in London over the Spring, This ubiquity means that writers are...

No Pay? No Way! – Royal Exchange Theatre

18May

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

No Pay? No Way! – Royal Exchange Theatre

There is an extremely fine line between success and failure when producing a farce. When done badly, it can quickly degenerate into a series of mistimed entrances and exits with improbable scenarios and absurd coincidences that leave the audience confused and bored. Fortunately, Director Bryony Shanahan knows exactly what she is doing, and with ‘No Pay? No Way!’ has produced a sparklingly funny version of this 1974 play by veteran political writers Dario Fo and Franca Rame. Antonia (Samantha Power) has just nipped to the local supermarket to pick up the weekly shopping, where she finds herself in the middle of a riotous protest following the doubling in price of food and groceries. She takes advantage of the situation to ‘liberate’ some groceries and persuades her friend Margherita (Ka...

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof – Royal Exchange Theatre

30Mar

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof – Royal Exchange Theatre

Director Roy Alexander Weise brings his bold and original vision of Tennessee Williams' 1955 Pulitzer Prize winning play to the demanding environment of the spaceship stage of the Royal Exchange, resulting in a production that sheds new light on the superb writing, packing race, misogyny and sexuality into the steamy Mississippi brew. Considering it is widely regarded as Williams' defining work, 'Cat' has had surprisingly few appearances over the last twenty years, with some of his other writings gaining more exposure and subsequent critical praise. The fact he penned the play in the repressive Conservative atmosphere of 1950's America meant exploring the latent homosexuality of the central character Brick (Bayo Gbadamosi) - and the effect it has on his relationship with his spirited w...

23Feb

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Beginning – Royal Exchange Theatre

A romantic comedy concerned with meeting and falling in love in a modern city, may conjure up images of Renee Zellweger and Meg Ryan romping through a fairytale version of New York or London in your mind's eye. However, any expectations of 'Bridget Jones' or 'When Harry Met Sally' should be firmly set aside before watching 'Beginning'; this production is something far more interesting and substantial to kick off 2023 at the Royal Exchange Theatre. The premise is deceptively simple; Laura (Erin Shanagher) and Danny (Gerard Kearns) are the last couple left standing amidst the detritus of her housewarming party, initial mutual attraction is made plain from the outset but the opportunity is missed, with the jeopardy of the next two hours 'will they or won't they get it on' played out in re...

<strong>BETTY! – A sort of Musical – Royal Exchange Theatre</strong>

9Dec

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

BETTY! – A sort of Musical – Royal Exchange Theatre

As we left the Royal Exchange this evening following the World Premiere of 'BETTY! - A sort of Musical', I understood the necessity of the subtitle in attempting to describe this show. 'Betty' is part musical, part sketch comedy and all heart, a Winter warmer that is both funny and completely bonkers but lacks the consistency to make it a real Christmas cracker. Director Sarah Frankcom and Maxine Peake have further developed their long standing working relationship with both each other and this Mancunian theatrical institution, 'BETTY' is their eighth project working together. This time round they have enlisted composer and songwriter Seiriol Davies to tell the story of Baroness Betty Boothroyd, the redoubtable first woman Speaker of the House of Commons and her extraordinary rise to p...

Electric Rosary – Royal Exchange Theatre

29Apr

By Angela KellyNo Comments

North West

Electric Rosary – Royal Exchange Theatre

This week the Royal Exchange welcome the exhausted nuns from St Graces Convent to the stage in Tim Foleys award winning production ‘Electric Rosary’. Winner of the 2017 Bruntwood Judges Prize, this innovative production depicts the scenario when two very different worlds collide and ‘technology’, in its finest form, is introduced to a struggling Convent. Writer Tim Foley must be applauded for creating a very thought-provoking concept. Originality in abundance and a fascinating mix of a sense of ‘old school’ religion, a sense of sci-fi, and the issue of what faith means in the future, it is certainly like no other play around. In addition, it is also full of laugh out loud moments. Director Jazz Woodcock-Stewart ensured the cast carried out an exceptional role in combining the fairly se...

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 reach...

The Almighty Sometimes – Royal Exchange Theatre

3Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

The Almighty Sometimes – Royal Exchange Theatre

Back in February 2018 the Royal Exchange Theatre showcased the world premiere of Kendall Feaver's The Almighty Sometimes. It had won the Judges Award at the 2015 Bruntwood Award for Playwriting and well deservedly. Anna is eighteen, working and lives at home with her mum, Renee. One night, after meeting him at a party, she brings home Oliver. At twenty-one he's a few years older but they had been at the same school and he had been taught by her mum. Anna likes and trusts him with her secret. She has been seeing a psychiatrist since she was 11 and is on a combination of medication to control her mental health issues. Although her illness is never named, through the play it becomes obvious how serious her mental illness is. But as Anna is beginning to embrace adulthood, she also begins q...

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

1Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

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...