Theatre
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*(full title – The Fit Prince (who gets switched on the square in the frosty castle the night before (insert public holiday here)) Walking into the lovely Hope Mill theatre space after enjoying the lovely Hope Mill theatre bar space, I was met with an open coffin (empty at this stage, I should fiercely stress)…
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It all got a bit meta on Wednesday night. Checking out the flyer at the venue for the theatre show I was about to watch, there was me, telling me (and others) that I want you to see it for yourself and feel the sucker punch I did. Was I caught up in another time…
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honorary manc Rounding up some happening highlights from Manchester this month Soul Safari – Macharia at Contact theatre Coming to Contact this Friday 17 April, artist Macharia blends her own music with Kenya coastal and Kikuyu folk traditions. The show, performed in Swahili, Kikuyu and English, combines music, storytelling and audience interaction, exploring themes of…
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I think this is my third time seeing this brilliantly delicious Noel Coward play. First in this very theatre, the Royal Exchange, in 2011 BHM (before honorary manc) with Simon Robson and Imogen Stubbs). The second was in 2022 with Nigel Havers and Patricia Hodge (blog here). And my hat-trick was realised back at the…
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Deliciously witty, sparky, tongue-in-cheek and coquettish. The Constant Wife is all of these things. Kara Tointon is all of these things. The dapper dialogue is all of these things. And I liked it very, very much. 1927. Constance is a very unhappy woman. “Nonsense” says her mother “she eats well, sleeps well, dresses well and…
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honorary manc Rounding up some happening highlights from Manchester and Salford Alfreda at The Lodge, Manchester We start straightaway and today – the weekend isn’t over until it’s over, and this one is no exception. Alt -pop phenomenon, Alfreda, is kicking off her tour tonight, March 15, in, where else, Manchester, at The Deaf Institute…
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Continuing the wonderful partnership that is English National Opera (ENO) with Greater Manchester, last night saw the first of two performances of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s comic production Così fan tutte. Now, readers, this translates to Thus Do All (Women). And in this context, what it is that all women supposedly do is not the best. Ferrando and…
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You couldn’t write it. But thank goodness someone did, both in terms of the original source and idea, and some 70-odd years later, when, in 2019, some clever creatives decided to turn an incredible tale into an art form. This production could have let the annals of history do the heavy lifting. It could have…
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There is nothing finer than a good farce. And this was a fantastic farce. A bloody, violent, raucous ‘with references to drugs’ farce, but a great farce, with humour at the forefront. It’s New Year’s Eve in a quiet corner of Kent and a killer is in the house… We meet Jonny ‘The Cyclops’ –…
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Right, let’s get it over with. Oh no it isn’t and it’s behind you. I’m doing that for both my sake and yours, to remove any temptation to pepper the blog post with panto puns throughout, and so that we can get to the crux of the matter. Rumplestiltskin from The Big Tiny theatre company…
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It’s been an emotional week. I don’t think I’m alone in having an unconditional love for animals, whereas my love or actual like for humans is (with exceptions) deeply conditional. Having had more trips to the vet that one would like this week (although an amazing vet – shout-out to MCR vets on The Quays),…
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Where shall we start. I had a really lovely, enlightening, informative, heart-warming and entertaining afternoon last Friday in Stockport. Less a frequent flyer than I used to be, this was my first time at the impressive Stockroom, the shared community-focused space which offers up areas for reading, studying, meeting, coffee-drinking, eating, exhibitions and, that day,…
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I was sat next to a very nice lady at last night’s performance. She turned to me during the interval to ask how I was enjoying it so far. Really enjoying it, I said. I’ve never seen an opera by composer Benjamin Britten before. She responded that he is her favourite operatic composer. I can…
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It’s been a month of quiet contemplation. Not to go too deep on a Thursday and stray away from the task in hand, but seeing friends deal with losses and feeling their pain both personally and empathetically, leads to existential thoughts. There are both positives and negatives to this, the former being strength and resilience…
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Foolish decisions I made in my youth (heavily censored – the actual 3am rumination stuff, I’m not ready to talk about…) In the grand scheme of the fictional murder mystery genre, it’s time for my confession (there’s always a inexplicable full explanation confession – ‘not guilty’ as a response doesn’t appear to be a viable…
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Right I’m going to hang myself out to dry here. But it’s for the greater good. I don’t know why, I don’t know how. But I missed IDEAL the first time around…. Johnny Vegas stars as Moz, Manchester’s longest serving weed dealer, in a dope opera of epic proportions. Starring some of the hit BBC…
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It was really really really really really really good! That’s 6 reallys from a 5 year old. And in a world with much competing for little ones’ attention, that’s no mean feat. Get ready to sing, dance, and celebrate with your favourite CBeebies stars – the ultimate CBeebies House Party Live! is coming to Lowry, Salford… and you’re…
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Diana, Princess of Wales, punctuates my memories on occasion. Sporadically, but meaningfully. Occasion 1 – one of my earliest memories is of a humble plastic flag. A Union Jack plastic little flag on a plastic white stick, provided to me in 1981 to fervently and obediently wave inside my childhood home. 2 and a few…
honorary manc 