The Lowry Archives - Page 3 of 15

Thick and Tight: Natural Behaviour – The Lowry

12Jun

By Helen JonesNo Comments

North West

Thick and Tight: Natural Behaviour – The Lowry

Thick and Tight were established in 2012 by Rambert trained friends Daniel Hay-Gordon and El Perry. Since then their combination of LGBTQ+ friendly dance, mime and cabaret performances have been wowing audiences across the UK and into Europe. Now out with their latest show Natural Behaviour, they have put together a collection of performed portraits of both human and non-human life forms. They open with a short five minute piece entitled The One Horseman of the Apocalypse, Here Daniel and El share the stage as a bright orange pantomime horse with a blond combover and a red tie. Light-hearted, surreal and fun, it will be impossible to listen to the seventies track Disco Inferno in the future without picturing this horse. Annie Edward’s segment Ode to the Last Nightin...

7Jun

By Helen JonesNo Comments

North West

Liz Richardson: Local – The Lowry

As the deviser, writer and performer of Local, Liz Richardson, takes the audience on a very personal trip into her own past. A forty something mum living in the Peak District, the announcement by her parents that they are putting the family home in West Cumbria up for sale, prompts a trip back and a reflection on who she was and how living there shaped her. Examining how it feels to be local and how it changes when you move away, Liz Richardson catches up with her old headmaster and a couple of friends to explore their thoughts and experiences as well. Her arrival back at the family home and being back in her childhood bedroom with its view of the hills of the Lake District, triggers memories and emotions that are normally suppressed in the practicality of everyday life, but...

3Jun

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Dear England – The Lowry

When James Graham originally staged ‘Dear England’ back in June 2023 at the National Theatre, England football fans were daring to dream that their wait over half a century for a tournament victory was finally at an end. English hearts were once again broken at Euro ‘24 by an 86th-minute Spanish goal in the final, the wait for a trophy from our men’s national football team will now enter its seventh decade at the World Cup in the USA next year. Set against this backdrop of perceived failure, Graham has fashioned a superb piece of theatre that examines the effect that ‘fifty-nine years of hurt’ have had on our national psyche, through the lens of our national game and the redemption journey of one man, Gareth Southgate. Our jumping-off point in the narrative is Wembley Stadium in the Sum...

30Apr

By Harry AltyNo Comments

North West

Death of a Salesman – The Lowry

Despite Arthur Miller’s classic play Death of a Salesman first debuting on stage over 75 years ago, this Trafalgar Theatre and Raw Material production at The Lowry helps to demonstrate how the themes of the piece still resonate with a modern audience. This slick interpretation boasts a stellar cast, combined with effective staging, light production and set design resulted in audiences being transported to 1940s Brooklyn. Our story focussed on the Loman family, led by patriarch Willie who is expertly portrayed by David Hayman as the titular salesman. David Hayman expertly traverses this complex role and when combined with Andy Arnold’s meticulous direction and staging, creates a seamless demonstration of a deteriorating man. The piece presents Willie as a character of duality, wit...

23Apr

By Jan MellorNo Comments

North West

Boys from the Black Stuff – The Lowry

I was born in the 60’s, so remember clearly and with fondness, the series by the infamous Liverpudlian writer Alan Bleasdale – “The Boys from the Black Stuff”- the Black Stuff being the tar that a high number of men spent tarmacking the expanding roads of Britain in their days of employment. The first showing of the iconic programme was aired on BB2 – then a channel that had low ratings/viewers- on 10/10/82 but through its immediate popularity with viewers, moved to the main channel of the day – BBC1. The series depicted the stark reality of how working-class families were devastated by the lack of employment opportunities (more than 3 million people through this decade were unemployed – the highest figure for over 50 years) in this difficult decade. Alan Bleasdale told the story ...

Peter James: Picture You Dead – The Lowry

17Apr

By Kathryn GortonNo Comments

North West

Peter James: Picture You Dead – The Lowry

Opening night at the Lowry Theatre’s Lyric Theatre welcomed a full house and a palpable buzz of anticipation as the stage adaptation of Peter James’s Picture You Dead took to the stage. Known for his 20 gritty, pacey crime thrillers about Detective Superintendent Roy Grace and the spin off TV series Grace - James has built a devoted following through his Roy Grace novels, and this latest adaptation brought that dark, intriguing world vividly to life. I have been an avid James ‘ … Dead’ book reader for years and was excited to see it on the stage as I am not a lover of the TV series finding it flat and lack lustre. The plot is of a struggling couple (the Kiplings) buying a painting from a car boot which turns out to be a lost old master from the 18th century. ...

9Apr

By Angela KellyNo Comments

North West

Little Women – The Lowry

The novel 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott is still amongst one of the most popular novels today. Following the incredible success of the Greta Gerwig film in recent years, it’s safe to say that a stage version of Little Women would have a lot to live up to. Adapted by Anne-Marie Casey and directed by Loveday Ingram, taking on the March Sisters and their story was a brave undertaking. For those unfamiliar with the story, it centres around the March Sisters: Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy and takes place around the civil war. It tells the tale of their life with their mother at the helm as they are together at home and how at some point they all realise that nothing ever stays the same. With Jo March as the central character, the story moves on to highlight her own challenges about bein...

9Apr

By Codie WrightNo Comments

North West

The Koala Who Could – The Lowry

"In a wonderful place, at the breaking of dawn, where the breezes were soft and the sunshine was warm, a place where the creatures ran wild and played free ... A Koala called Kevin clung to a tree." As a family, we are big fans of going to see our favourite bedtime books on stage (Mog the Forgetful Cat, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, The Tiger who Came to Tea), and Rachel Bright & Jim Field write the most wonderful modern books with positive messages and catchy rhymes, so we knew we were in for a treat. Our story follows Kevin, the clingy Koala and “King of the staying-still-Kings!”, as he sits in the safety of his eucalyptus tree and watches his friends enjoy playing in the outback. Kevin is played flawlessly by Christopher Finn, who also takes on several other characters, includin...

Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) – The Lowry

19Mar

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) – The Lowry

After its 2018 debut at The Tron, Glasgow, Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) enjoyed a stint in the West End as well as a nationwide tour. With ballgown and boombox at the ready, this musical medley of classic meets comedy ventures out to entertain once more. This irreverent adaptation of the Austen novel is delivered by 5 actors soon to portray servants in a “proper” performance of it: think play-within-a-yet-to-start-play. They are tired of being the unsung heroes and so take on the leading roles in their own loud, rough and ready interpretation. Unwavering passion from an all-female troupe ensures that the utmost humour is squeezed out of every interaction, every song, every gesture. Emma Creaner delights as a pompously charismatic Charles Bingley, later slaying the audience as hi...

19Mar

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Handbagged – The Lowry

Moira Buffini’s Handbagged has been revived and brought back to the stage and is currently at The Lowry as part of its UK Tour. Directed by Alex Thorpe; this revival is as sharp, funny, and thought-provoking as ever. Exploring the imagined private conversations between Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher, the play deftly balances political satire while exploring power, duty, and legacy from these two iconic women in UK’s history. The brilliance of Handbagged lies in its unique dual-casting, with two actors playing each of the leading figures at different points in their lives. Morag Cross delivers a commanding performance as the older Thatcher, bringing both steely determination and flashes of vulnerability to the role. Emma Ernest, as the younger Mags, captures the rising polit...