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I hope Nathaniel Hall won’t mind me adding in those brackets. But it’s quite integral to my blog post, because you see I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Toxic before. It premiered at HOME in the October of 2023, and I went, I saw, I felt and I duly did write. But when I was
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No shame, long-time lover of this classic piece here. That had potential for issues. I’m so in love with it, can I possibly see anyone else in the roles? Will it bring with it, an interpretation that I’m blind to the benefits of because I love the televised Play for Today 1977 version so terribly
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If something comes to under the banner of ‘winner of the Shelagh Delaney new writing award’, you know that it has to be something special. Rayla Clay (and the following day), written by Drayla Kasheen, and directed by Roni Ellis, is something special. I have to remind myself that this is new writing, which has
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I start off by by damning the very brilliant Manchester Film Festival. Damn you very brilliant Manchester Film Festival ,for opening your 11th edition with a feature that was guaranteed to leave me a blubbering mess, but that I knew I’d have to bear witness to as I’m ‘doing it for the blog’. See also
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When little, on a family holiday to Austria, my Dad, a professional pianist, wanted to take me to Mozart’s birthplace in Salzburg, now housing a museum to the incredible composer. It was sadly not to be for, upon arrival, we were told that I was too young to gain entry (lest I maraud around, climbing
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Art is food for the soul. There are different ways you can feel connected to art, if you feel so inclined, of course. There’s no pre-requisite for how you’re supposed to react or indeed feel when you experience a piece of art. That’s if you feel anything at all. And there are levels of immersion,
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This week has been rich. Rich in reminders of what keeps me living in Manchester, nearly 25 years after moving here. And it will be no surprise to regular readers (hi mum) that a mainstay of these reasons is the cultural offerings the city bestows. Over the last week, I’ve been lucky enough to experience
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How do you say goodbye when words were never there?Arjun’s father never learnt to sign, and now that he’s gone, Arjun must find his own way to honour him. In a world where ancient traditions meet modern reality, Arjun embarks on a deeply personal and visually mesmerising quest to create a farewell ritual for his
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It feels a treat. Plays at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester feel like they’re not there by accident. They’re there by design. I know what I mean and I’m sure frequent flyers of this theatre’s offerings will do so too. By the time you’re sat in the round looking down, ready to see how
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It’s that time again, the popular PUSH festival has returned to HOME for a biennial celebration of North West creative talent. As HOME reliably (and accurately) tell us, over two weeks (our) stages, screens and spaces will be dedicated to showcasing fantastic works from around the region, as well as offering opportunities for creatives to
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Let’s start on a positive before I get lambasted for the abhorrent festive oversight I’m about to confess to. Christmas films I have seen (not exhaustive or including, to my shame, those afternoon ones on Five where top exec who relocated to city returns home to twee town she grew up in, for Christmas, falls
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The football pools. I was too young to partake at their peak but that doesn’t take away memories of the pools man knocking on the door every week and the parental mad dash to find the coupon, and random shouting out of numbers, each corresponding to a fixture that weekend…each a prediction of a score
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It’s Wednesday afternoon, in Manchester. I’m fresh from the office, taking a late lunch to catch a matinee show described as a love letter to Birmingham, exploring Black masculinity through Beyoncé lyrics, techno raves and the deeply intimate relationship between a man and his barber. And I already know this particular lunch break is going
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I was a little devilish last night. Provocative, even. But for the greater good, you understand. Seated in that glorious cavern that is 53two, underneath the arches on Watson Street, I scrambled to get a pre-performance shot of the set, uploaded to my Instagram (I don’t deal in shortening names – no Instas, no Maccy
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I have to admit there have been times when commuting, I’d have longed to be put out of my misery. But that’s not for now, that’s for my local rail service feedback form. I’m a so-called Agatha Christie fan. I say so-called because in all these years, I’ve not read this book and I’ve not
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There are some subjects which require careful handling. Careful execution. But there is also the challenge and requirement to deliver information, share experiences, provide insight in a way that commands attention and draws in engagement. In this fast-paced world we live in, there’s a lot competing for our attention… Performance theatre and the arts is
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Use the noun shrew — at your own risk — to refer to a woman who is argumentative, nagging, and ill tempered. Vocabulary.com Now then, eh? Shakespeare you scallywag with your seemingly misogynistic titles for your plays, you. And your themes of gender hierarchy and ideas that the woman should always be submissive to the man. Who
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As I sat in a beautiful space, having taken my place ‘in the round’, easing into the latest production to grace the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, I was privy to an unexpected and potentially earth-shattering statement. Reader, it threatened to swipe the metaphorical rug from beneath my very feet as I heard the line
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Three weeks since my last trip into theatre land. I’ve been gadding in foreign climes, being all la-di-dah and that. And I’m back. And I’m back at the ultimate cat pub, The Kings Arms. Coming in a close second is the Blind Beggar in the East End, synonymous not only with me going on two
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Jesus Christ Superstar indeed. I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Hoping for a more sophisticated, somewhat less basic lead in to a blog post review of my theatrical experience of a production in the Greater Manchester area? I choose childlike exuberance on this occasion. My regular reader will be more than au fait with the
honorary manc 