The Lowry Archives - Page 7 of 11

<strong>Opera North: Orfeo ed Euridice – The Lowry</strong>

19Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Orfeo ed Euridice – The Lowry

First recorded in April 2021 for BBC Radio 3 when Covid restrictions prevented live performance, Opera North present a concert performance of one of Gluck’s key works in his reinvention, in conjunction with librettist Calzabigi, of opera for his own time, as part of their wider celebration of the Orpheus myth which makes up their autumn season. Orfeo’s (Alice Coote) wife Euridice (Fflur Wynn) is dead, and a chorus of nymphs and shepherds mourn her. Orfeo is inconsolable but Amore (Daisy Brown) appears to tell him that Jupiter has taken pity on him and will grant him safe passage to the underworld where he can return Euridice to the land of the living. There is one condition however: he must not look at Euridice until they have reached the light of day. If he does, he will lose her again...

<strong>Opera North: La Traviata – The Lowry</strong>

17Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: La Traviata – The Lowry

Director Alessandro Talevi’s production is much aided by Madeline Boyd’s sumptuous set and costume design as it relishes its traditional 19th Century roots. At its heart lies a love story which draws upon Alexandre Dumas the Younger’s real-life doomed love affair with well-known courtesan, Marie Duplessis. We open with Violetta (Alison Langer) aided by her friend Flora (Victoria Sharp) hosting a lavish party where she is introduced by Gastone (Gavan King) to his friend, Alfredo Germont (Nico Darmanin), a fervent admirer, who is more concerned for her failing health than her escort, Baron Douphal (James Cleverton). When Alfredo declares his love for her she wonders if he could be the one amidst her desire to be free to live her life. A year on and Alfredo (Oliver Johnston) and Violett...

<strong>Bombay Superstar – The Lowry</strong>

10Nov

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Bombay Superstar – The Lowry

Phizzical: Belgrade Theatre Coventry and New Wolsey Theatre brings this Bombay/Bollywood style Musical to The Lowry Theatre for five nights only. Artistic Director Samir Bhamra stated that Bombay Superstar was dedicated to his mum whose love for Bollywood cinema flowed between their veins. Bhamra witnessed many Bollywood films growing up where he saw larger than life stars unite people through their onscreen stories, inspiring him to create his 50th project in the hope to unite audiences in an era where people need to unify again. It seems that most of the influential Bombay Superstar of the 1970-80s inspired his storyline specifically the flamboyant Rajesh Khanna of the early seventies. The story of Bombay Superstar tells the tale of a naive 16-year-old girl whose mother dies and go...

1Nov

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

The Shawshank Redemption – The Lowry

The 1994 screen version of 'The Shawshank Redemption' consistently tops the IMDB rankings as their most popular movie of all time, but this tale of Andy Dufresne, a banker wrongly convicted of killing his wife was a slow burner on its initial release, only achieving the preeminence it now enjoys in cinematic history over the ensuing thirty years. A similar glacial timeframe forms the backdrop to the story, being set over a two decades in the hellish surroundings of Shawshank prison in Maine and following Dufresne through his suffering and eventual vindication; a story of hope and a triumph of positivity under the most trying of circumstances. The film, based on the 1982 novella by Stephen King has become so pervasive in modern culture, that there will have been few attending the caverno...

19Oct

By Hazel BumbyNo Comments

North West

Blood Brothers – The Lowry

I love Blood Brothers and have to admit Mrs Johnstone is role I dream of playing one day. With more drama than any soap, this wonderful story is set in the exciting City of Liverpool with a move to Skelmersdale later in the show. Set between the 50’s-70’s, it tells us of a young woman who met a ‘fella’ and got pregnant and in those days, children without marriage was frowned upon, so very quickly they wed…. She went on to have several children with him before he left her, and she no longer looked like ‘Marilyn Monroe’ who he had always likened her to. He left her pregnant “with seven hungry mouths to feed and one more nearly due”. Only one more turned into two more mouths… The lady she cleaned for hatched a plan and as she couldn’t have her own child, Mrs John...

Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical – The Lowry

28Sep

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical – The Lowry

It’s moving, touching and filled with stirring harmonious songs; Fisherman Friends - The Musical is not your usual ‘film to stage’ production! Directed by James Grieve; the Fisherman Friends Musical follows the same plot as the popular 2019 movie - a true story about a group of Cornish fishermen who are discovered by Danny (played by Jason Langley) a former A & R man for Island records which leads to the group recording a demo and eventually onto performing on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. This musical tugs at your heartstrings far greater than the movie and there are moments when emotions run high and moments when it becomes quite reflective and somber. It runs at quite a fast pace and although it’s 140 minutes in length; it keeps your attention throughout and the appearance...

Girl from the North Country – The Lowry, Salford

21Sep

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Girl from the North Country – The Lowry, Salford

The term 'jukebox' musical conjures up images of women of a certain age cavorting to Abba tracks in the Greek sunshine or the high pitched falsetto of Franki Valli in 1960's America. However, despite emanating from this rather dispiriting genre, 'Girl from the North Country' is a very different beast from 'Mamma Mia' and 'Jersey Boys', proving that this type of musical can have literary and artistic merit as well as providing first class entertainment. The first surprise is that it is based around the music and lyrics of Mr Robert Zimmerman, a.k.a Bob Dylan, the poster boy of the 1960's counter culture being the last person you would expect to see lending his name to such an ostensibly commercial enterprise. Curiosity is piqued even more when Conor McPherson is added to the mix as write...

14Sep

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

And Here I Find Myself – The Lowry

There’s an added edge to tonight’s show. We will hear repeatedly how the past feels condensed into a moment that has only just happened. Under the shadow of the very recent death of the Queen, with two major shows in full swing in the Lowry’s larger theatres this theme will probably resonate far more strongly than may have been expected. Created and performed by Wayne Steven Jackson, we are guided through milestones of Wayne’s life, trying to navigate the world and its expectations of conformity, despite the apparent relaxation of attitudes towards LGBTQ+ rights. Suddenly facing 40 and having failed (through surrogacy) to become a father, Wayne has a choice to make – keep pushing towards ‘ticking the boxes’ (marriage, family, career etc.) or reject these rules and forge his own path. ...

28Jun

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

Cluedo – The Lowry

Colonel Mustard, with the dagger…in the theatre? Out of the box and on to the stage, family favourite boardgame Cluedo rolls up for an evening so fun it’s lethal. The plot is based on that of the 1985 film Clue: the 6 familiar suspects show up at Boddy Manor having all been mysteriously invited there, where a revelation from their host sets in motion a sequence of surprising events. Direction from Mark Bell, of The Play That Goes Wrong fame, gives cause for excitement for all the farcical comedy fans this show is designed to attract. However, Sandy Rustin’s vanilla script limits this adaptation to the appeal of a second-hand game with the instructions missing. There is chucklesome physical humour, most regularly delivered by the floundering Reverend Green (Tom Babbage): his being ...

26May

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

Rambert Dance – The Lowry

Rambert is a contradiction of dance. Britain’s oldest dance company, created at the turn of the 20th Century, with a 40year legacy of some of the best examples of modern, contemporary dance within the dance world. Whilst Rambert is putting the finishing touches to a new tour of an adaptation of Peaky Blinders, tonight we have a company exposed (almost literally in one piece), showcasing three pieces of pure dance, stripped of any in-depth narrative, instead a celebration of the art form they have dominated for decades. Our first piece, Eye Candy, choreographed by Imre and Marne van Opstal, is an exploration of modern beauty standards and its positive and negative impact on us. Dancers wearing specially designed body suits to give the impression of nudity (minus private parts) kick an...