The Lowry Archives - North West End UK

16Dec

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Stick Man – The Lowry

Freckle Productions’ stage adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s beloved Stick Man is a delightful treat for families, bringing laughter, joy, and a touch of magic to The Lowry. With live music, clever puppetry, and plenty of fun songs, this energetic performance captures the heart of the original story while adding its own unique theatrical touch! The talented cast of three delivers a captivating performance, effortlessly switching between characters, instruments, and puppeteering. Their enthusiasm is infectious, drawing the audience into Stick Man’s adventurous quest to reunite with his “Stick Lady Love” and their children. The puppetry is particularly inventive, with a combination of props, movement, and creative staging breathing life into Stick Man and his ever-chan...

A Christmas Carol: The Musical – The Lowry

13Dec

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

A Christmas Carol: The Musical – The Lowry

When the December review list lands in my inbox I have to confess to my spirits lowering, the plethora of pantomimes do nothing to lift my festive mood and there are always a significant number of variations on ‘A Christmas Carol’ on offer. However, having battled the seasonal traffic to get to The Lowry my Scrooge like mood was quickly lifted by this delightful musical version of the old redemption story, sending me home smiling and full of seasonal joy. Although this production is being staged in the beautifully proportioned 420 seat Quays Theatre at the Lowry, it is the estimable duo of William Whelton and Joseph Houston from Hope Mill Theatre that are the creative powerhouses behind it. Following a decade of success showcasing musical revivals from their Ancoats home, they have cros...

4Dec

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Come From Away – The Lowry

Come From Away, is uplifting and heartwarming and now playing at The Lowry in Salford, the show takes audiences on a remarkable journey through the emotional and transformative events surrounding 9/11. Set in the small Canadian town of Gander, Newfoundland, the show tells the true story of how the residents opened their hearts and homes to 7,000 stranded airline passengers and crew after their flights were grounded due to the terrorist attacks. From the moment the show begins, the energy is infectious. The ensemble cast, which is central to the musical’s success, effortlessly shifts between multiple characters, portraying both the bewildered passengers and the compassionate townspeople. The seamless transitions highlight the remarkable storytelling of Come From Away, where each cast mem...

16Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: The Magic Flute – Lowry

Opera North’s English Version of Mozart’s two-act opera hints at the fantasy but lacks the magic necessary for the classic fairy tale rescue of a princess by a handsome prince. Tamino (Egor Zhuravskii), a young prince, is being pursued by a terrible dragon and in his attempt to escape he passes out and is unknowingly saved by three mysterious Ladies (Charlie Drummond; Katie Sharpe; Hazel Croft). As they depart to alert the Queen of the Night (Naomi Quant) to his presence, Tamino regains consciousness only to meet another strange figure, that of Papageno (Emyr Wyn Jones), the bird catcher, who also works for the Queen, and deceitfully claims to have defeated the monster. He is punished when the three Ladies return by having his tongue sealed with a magic spell. Tamino is presented with a...

15Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Ruddigore – Lowry

Jo Davies’ 2010 production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s fast-paced comic opera is dusted down for a well-deserved airing by Revival Director James Hurley, with the action reset in the 1920’s and the era of silent movies proving the perfect setting for moustachioed villains and cloak-swirling, whilst not missing out on some updated lines to have a dig at prime ministers old and new: now, whose name might rhyme with lettuce… Rose Maybud (Amy Freston) is an innocent village girl who lives her life by a book of etiquette which only serves to hinder any burgeoning relationship with tongue-tied suitor Robin Oakapple (Dominic Sedgwick), much to the disappointment of the village’s professional bridesmaids (Chorus of Opera North led by Gillene Butterfield). Robin ropes in his foster brother,...

Blue Man Group: Bluevolution World Tour – The Lowry

3Oct

By Nicky LambertNo Comments

North West

Blue Man Group: Bluevolution World Tour – The Lowry

Blue Man Group are a long established (since 1987) group of performers with their own unique brand of entertainment, the main feature of which is their phenomenal drumming. They always appear as a trio and are completely silent, in that they do not speak a word throughout the whole performance. Their current world tour, “Bluevolution” features a female drummer who provides them with excellent support but also gets her moment in the spotlight. I have seen Blue Man Group on the television and I wasn’t really sure how they could make their act stretch to a full ninety minute show (there is no interval) but they have crafted a wonderful evening’s entertainment, full of fun and joy and I was so sorry when it came to an end. The Blue Men mingled with the audience before the ...

26Sep

By Jan MellorNo Comments

North West

King Arthur – The Lowry

I had never seen a production by the theatre group “Le Navett Bete” before. The theatre group decided on this name- as it loosely translates to “The Daft Turnip” and that being unusual, unique and fun- mirrors this talented theatre group impeccably. The show was being shown in the more intimate theatre at the Lowry and as we entered, we were met by an impressive backdrop/set of castle turrets, gothic windows, crenelations, scaffolds and towers (great work Fi Russell), and the opening scene of the three squires Edgar, Osbert and Dave in stocks and singing their woes. The audience (first two rows) had been given. latex fruit and vegetables to throw at these men and the audience loved it. As the three released themselves from the stocks – singing “I want to break free” we...

23Sep

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

War Horse – The Lowry

Since its stunning debut on the Olivier stage at the National Theatre in 2007, War Horse has been performed worldwide to over 8 million people at 7,500 plus performances; it is comfortably the most successful show that the NT has ever produced. Now in 2024, new audiences have the opportunity to follow the adventures of Joey, the eponymous War Horse, in a new production that will tour the UK for the next year, and once again, wherever they get to see it, adults and children alike will gaze in wonder at this startling theatrical achievement. Based on the 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo - a man who disproves the adage you should never meet your heroes - we follow Joey from a Devonshire farmyard foal, through the nightmare of the Somme in 1917 to his eventual bittersweet reunion with Albert ...

24Jul

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

A Chorus Line – The Lowry

In 1975, choreographer Michael Bennett turned taped interviews with Broadway dancers into a pioneering musical by giving a voice to those historically-unsung background performers. Having enjoyed a return to Curve, Leicester, A Chorus Line begins its summer tour at The Lowry. As part of the final audition stage for an upcoming production’s ensemble, seventeen hopefuls pitch themselves- and their talent- to director Zach (Adam Cooper) whose final casting decisions will cut their number down to eight. The pieces runs without an interval to mimic the real-time duration of the audition. Collective ambition is energetically established thorough the opening song I Hope I Get It. Sitting through every auditionee’s introduction (name, age, a bit about themselves) after this may border on ted...

Why I Stuck A Flare Up My Arse For England – The Lowry

9Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Why I Stuck A Flare Up My Arse For England – The Lowry

There is something faintly absurd about spending loads of money to watch 22 players kick a football round a pitch, and I speak from experience going all the way to Istanbul to watch my team do exactly that. So, I know what footballing passion is all about, but like all fans I was bemused by the bizarre photo of an England fan who stuck a lighted red flare up his backside before the last Euros final at Wembley. Alex Hill was also inspired by the lengths some thick fans will go to try and give the national team a boost, so he created his own totally fictional character Bum-flare Man to look at what happens when football becomes the only thing you have in your life In reality Bum-flare is actually called Billy, and like so many of the tiresome morons who follow England home and away he ...