Culture
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I last went to the circus in Great Yarmouth circa 1985. Obviously this was a remarkable feat considering I hadn’t yet been born. Ok, I’d been born a bit and enough to remember the thrills, spills, gasps and heart-stopping happenings that went on – and that was before we’d set foot in the ‘big-top’. My…
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Penguin Pride is winging its way to Manchester next week, with a wonderful line-up of LGBTQ+ writers, poets and performers to celebrate the city’s incredible diversity. Taking place at Z-Arts on Thursday 23 August, poet and playwright Toby Campion hosts this special event which will showcase some of the UK’s most exciting queer talent. Presented in partnership…
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I read an article once which gave a rundown – nay, a gallery, of last meal choices from death row. It was brilliant. It was food porn. It was deeply inappropriate to enjoy the article. And this is my confession, I do often think about what gastronomic decision I’d make on death row. I’m not planning…
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It’s always an exciting thing to attend a world premiere production of…well anything, really. Not least when you get to see it before it hits Edinburgh Fringe audiences. Certainly not least when you’re not getting to Edinburgh Fringe yourself (although, fear not as there is plenty to entertain on our good own Mancunian doorstep of course). And…
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Billed as Sting’s personal, political and passionate musical, this was a ship that I wasn’t prepare to let sail by without an inquisitive look. On a tour of UK and Ireland, The Last Ship sailed into the Quays last night, making its debut at The Lowry theatre. I have already used two puns both based…
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A (by no means exhaustive) list of popular films and programmes that traumatised me as a child: Dumbo E.T.* Born Free Dot and the Kangaroo Watership Down They all have one thing in common – creatures and animals in challenging and sad situations. *Ok, technically E.T. was an alien but he’s pretty much in that category. The…
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Families, who’d ‘ave ’em? I think all of us, in on sense or another. The play is a co-production between HOME and Glasgow Citizens. Their last, Endgame, I was also fortunate to see, and too was directed by Citz Artistic Director, Dominic Hill: HOME is where the Art is – Endgame Back to Long Day’s…
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My late father was a musician and, at 16, the youngest at that time to be accepted into the Royal College of Music in London. We were blessed with many stories and anecdotes from my Dad’s life as a professional musician, over the years, but I remember two life tips he gave me in particular:…
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And people say she’s just a big pair of tits. (David Brent). Yes, I’ve said tits in a blog post. But there’s no point being polite as the Theatre Company I had the good grace to see perform this evening are called Shit Theatre. Although for polite publications it’s written Sh!t Theatre. I’ve already written…
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This is a tale of mother/daughter relationships. Of course it is set against a backdrop of one of the most important and harrowing world events in history. However, Diane Samuels’s play is, I believe, a story of human relationships, specifically between mothers and daughters; both biological and nurtured. 2018 marks the 80th anniversary of the Kindertransport,…
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I like to think of myself as a touch bohemian. I’ve been to Matt and Phred’s more than 10 times, I’ll have you know. And not only when the free pizza offer is on. To be fair, I’ve also gone international with my fondness for jazz and its clubs, for example paying a visit to New…
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Walking into HOME theatre on Thursday night, my plus 1 and I discussed the subject matter of the production we were about to see; that of the Falklands War. Both of a similar age (he 15 months older – devil is in the detail), we both agreed that the Falklands was one of the first…
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Coming home from The Lowry theatre last night, my designated plus 1 in theatre and basically life, told me the story of the snail and the ginger beer. It’s a little like the owl and the pussycat. Well actually nothing like it. The snail and the ginger beer was the court case Donoghue v Stevenson, which…
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I last wrote about this topic (in more detail)in my dissertation in the year cough cough etc. You understand my entire dissertation wasn’t based on Michael Douglas but a small portion of it. I don’t have a degree in Michael Douglas. I focussed on the femme fatale on film and how feminist theory has been…
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I’ve been commuting since I was 12 years old, getting the bus to school, 2.9miles away (that 0.1 is very important given that it disqualified me from the free bus pass that the elusive and illustrious 3 mile commute brought you). Buses gave way to trains once starting uni and then work, and I seriously…
honorary manc 