Fringe

  • I think if we were asked to write a list of our triggers, well apart from the very act being very triggering, I bet we wouldn’t automatically be able to put a comprehensive list together. The thing with triggers, is that we don’t always know what our personal ones are. Until they pop up and

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  • Natalie Patuzzo invited the Guinness Book of World Records to witness this incredible feat but even they didn’t believe it was possible. More fool you, the Guinness Book of World Records. More. Fool. You. What happens when one performer attempts the impossible? In Every Single Sound In The World (Work InProgress), Natalie Patuzzo embarks on

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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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  • GM Fringe – Picking

    There was a particular line and theory in this one-woman show at Gullivers pub that spoke to me. I knew I did this, I knew it was a terrible habit but one that I didn’t have the bravery to break because what of the consequences? Was it worth the repercussions if I had the audacity

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  • It’s taken me a few days to write this – mostly because I wanted to give it the due attention it deserves. So much was lovely and joyous and poignant and funny and sad and lovely again about this play, which I saw last Sunday night. And there was much to be moved by. For

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  • We are never one thing, we are human.This play is dedicated to the immigrant women who have been here for decades, who are pushed into the shadows…I see your grace. Yusra Warsama- writer and director Of All The Beautiful Things In The World takes the Lorca classic The House of Bernarda Alba as inspiration, exporting

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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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  • Straightaway, my takeaway on this play is how there are some incredibly talented actors in this country and there is largely a huge disconnect between talent and plaudits. Much of this, of course, as in life, is to do with how commercially viable a vehicle is. And I get that. Not everything is for consumption

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  • Review: Insane Animals

    It’s true to say that I didn’t always know what I was watching last night. But I know that I liked it. Like the camp space landing that it depicted (are there any other kind?), the show launched itself on stage through plumes of smoke and a cacophony of noise, and with the arrival of

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  • The press release promised a run-down B&B which doubled as a swinger’s club, a gambling man, a fortune teller and an elderly deviant. My immediate thoughts turned to Benidorm. It’ll be leopard print, ‘bosoms’, nudge nudge wink winks, Carry On Abroad (at home), that glorious feature length film that took the cast of Are You

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  • I won’t repeat my love for fringe theatre all over again (I’ll just casually leave this here – Review – Talk to Yourself at The Kings Arms and actually probably will repeat it in this review anyway). One reason for my love of fringe theatre which I’m not going on about again (am) is the

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  • I’ve documented my love for fringe theatre before. On the one hand you get to see experimental, exciting, no-holds barred productions and on the other hand, you get to see theatre which feels real, familiar, gritty, passionate… Our Kid, written by and starring Taran Knight, falls into the latter category and is all these things

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  • Those who have already discovered this award-winning arts festival will be thrilled to hear that Refract is back for its third edition in and around Sale, this July. Those who haven’t yet discovered Refract – you’re in for a treat. Running from Thursday 18 July to Saturday 27 July, this unconventional 10 day festival, curated

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  • The ideal short – film, story, play should leave the audience wanting more without needing more. Celebrating 10 years of theatre production and story telling, 20 sell-out seasons and 120 world premieres, JB Shorts have brought something extra special to those glorious arches of 53two. On until 30th March, JB Shorts Reloaded brings six JB Shorts

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  • The marvellously titled Bag of Beard Theatre had me at… …it’s a Millennial Withnail and I… when telling me about their show Renaissance Men, coming to 53two on 19 and 20 April. Fresh from sell out shows at the Old Red Lion Theatre, Islington, this is Manchester’s (and surrounding areas of course – in fact

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  • There is a lot being done to raise awareness of male mental health at the time of writing, which is both joyous and tragic. Joyous that those afflicted or potentially afflicted are being offered support, reassurance, an outlet, and above all else, a message that they are not alone. Tragic that the above is all

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