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What are you watching at the moment, any recommendations? Television has always been the mainstay of what was known as the ‘watercooler moment’. With the amount of content at our literal fingertips, there’s more to discuss than ever before. It’s the ultimate topic to fill a silence, share a bond and a viewing tip or…
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I’m often drawn to starting my blog with a pithy or whimsical anecdote. Not so, this time. I feel inclined to do away with the preamble, the “how does this relate to me”s, the “int Manchester/theatre/art/food/drink (delete as appropriate) great”s of it all. Three couples. Thirty years. Mothers and daughters. Lovers, partners, husbands and wives.…
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Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be, goes the old witticism. Last night was pure nostalgia. A knowing nostalgia. A trip back to a 90s televisual treat none of us really expected was coming. But come it did, as Drop the Dead Donkey marks the 30th anniversary (yes 30) with The Reawakening! Starring the original…
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At the top of the world lives the Snow Queen who is supposed to control the weather.But the seasons aren’t behaving. The world is getting warmer. And it hasn’t snowed for years….Lumi gazes up at the stars and worries about the world. The adults don’t seem to have noticed that the seasons aren’t behaving, or…
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Who doesn’t love a good old ghost story? And none more-so than one from writer, M.R. James, who some consider ‘the grandfather of British horror’. A factor that separates him from many of his predecessors is that when he started writing in this genre (his first collection published in 1904), he chose to set his…
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As my previous post will speak to, I love short shorts – and I love the North West. Heck, when I heard there was the chance to see the two concepts brought together as one at Manchester Film Festival, I was up those horrendous (but very pretty) stairs to The Mews as quick as my…
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Well I was going to start off with saying leave your wellies in the wardrobe, but given the weather this week, maybe give that directive a moment’s pause. But no matter the weather; wind, sleet or shine, today sees two fantastic festivals kick off in Manchester, namely Manchester Film Festival (MANIFF)and ¡Viva! Spanish & Latin…
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I have a few stock phrases I’m only too conscious that I find myself rolling out time and time again. You see, I’m a bit funny with texture (context:food)I don’t like how it tastes of wet (context:also food)I’m not really into fantasy(context books, film, tv, theatre…) Just me. But I’ve realised I was when I…
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As Opera North say, La Traviata is perfect for opera newbies as well as diehard opera fans. And I would wholly support this. I guess I would be placed in the middle lane in that I really do enjoy opera, have seen a respectable number of different productions but have yet to reach double figures.…
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Wednesday night I entered a veritable dreamscape, just off Oxford Road. No, silly, not Kro. Immersive can mean different things when it comes to art and theatre. It was Wednesday night, raining hard, I had a sore throat and I had 11 work hours under my belt. I was simply a joy. I was too…
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It’s 1934 in the heartland of America and we meet a group of wayward souls who cross paths in a time-weathered guesthouse. Standing at a turning point in their lives, they realize nothing is what it seems. But as they search for a future, and hide from the past, they find themselves facing unspoken truths…
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My partner and I moved recently. From suburbia to ‘urbia’. From a house to an apartment. I think like a lot of people about a lot of life choices, a penny dropped, at some point, over the pandemic. I won’t speak for my partner, Actual Manc, but have sought his blessing to light-touch invade his…
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year…. Fringe.Is.Back. And not just any old Fringe. Greater Manchester Fringe. All that creativity, talent and in all those exciting and unique spaces around Manchester. The Greater Manchester Fringe Festival returns for its 11th year, in its original summer slot from Friday 1st until Sunday 31st July. Over…
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So we’re all about 50 stone heavier having thrown ourselves while-heartedly into the apparent food festival that is Easter. A blur of hot cross buns, simnel cake and chocolate, we’re tired and all need something a little more…stationary. A little less feeding frenzy, a little more ‘feet up (oi metaphorically, not on the seats), lights…
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There’s a rich history of films centred around the ‘stranger visits town’ trope. Sometimes that trope is literal; a mainstay for many a Western. Sometimes, that stranger is coming from somewhat further afield, swapping out a small town for Earth itself. Starman, Superman, E.T. Close Encounters of the Third Kind – the list is pretty…
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This week was monumental. After what felt like a long, long dark winter, the sun set AFTER 6pm. Today is also monumental as Manchester Film Festival 2022 throws open its literal and metaphorical doors to us Mancs, honorary and actual, and all those visiting our fine city. From 12 – 20 March, over 130 films…
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Having visited this year’s Manchester Open Exhibition and seen for myself the breadth of artistic talent on display, I can only imagine what a difficult job it would have been. But someone had to do it! The judging has taken place and last night, HOME announced the 5 winners of the Manchester Open Awards 2022!…
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Before we start, HOME is one of my favourite spaces in Manchester. I just wanted to say that. I haven’t professed any feelings for the place itself in quite a while, given the frequency I visit. I don’t take it for granted, especially given the recent enforced absence (I’m over using the C word). So…
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There was a certain excitement stroke cockiness as I strode, yes strode into the Lowry last night. I’ve been to the Lowry before. I’ve seen Nigel Havers on stage before. I’ve seen Nigel Havers in a play at the Lowry before. I’ve seen a production of Private Lives in Manchester before. But never had all…
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Can it be two years since the inaugural exhibition? And what a two years it’s been. Well let’s not go into that, but the first Manchester Open Exhibition was so super, I even walked away with a purchased piece. A piece that soon began to take on layered and multiple meetings in the 12 months…
honorary manc 