Manchester
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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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I get excited everytime I ascend those stairs at Aviva. Not least because they’re sweeping and I enjoy a sweeping staircase. But because without fail I know now I’m going to be stepping into a space that’s going to transform into something exciting, engaging and immersive. With huge state-of-the-art projections and a revolutionary sound system, Bigger
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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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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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There was a point where I was attending film preview screenings on the regular. On one occasion, Sony brought out the big guns and took our phones off us until after the screening had finished, lest we use them for nefarious reasons. Last night wasn’t quite that extreme, but we were asked to put our
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Imagine me starting a blog post on a dark note. Well now you don’t have to. But when I lost my Dad, I had what was I’m sure a very common reaction to the life event and, indeed, my perspective on what we’re all doing here. What it’s all about and all that jazz. Part
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We three. Macbeth is synonymous with that opening scene with the ‘we three’. They swoop in, landing us into the story with a bang as they double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble… They drop a bombshell, but then they largely step aside as the main players take it from there. Not
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There’s something exceptionally special about stepping into the artist’s studio. In 2023, the exhibition, ‘From Moss Side to Marseille: The Art of Michael Brown and Eric Cantona’ launched at the National Football Museum. Whilst paying a visit, I was enthralled to discover that artist Michael Browne was in residence throughout, creating a new piece as
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At first I was afraid, I was petrified. Kept thinking I could never love an adapted stage version of one of my favourite films, by one of my favourite film makers, starring one of my favourite Hollywood leading men. And after spending 125 minutes (plus 20 minute interval) watching how Wise Children productions took this
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This timeless, powerful story takes you on a thrilling journey through the final 24 hours of Willy Loman’s life, filled with his memories, dreams, struggles and pitting a Father’s expectations against his sons’ realities. This powerful and moving story explores the sacrifices people make in pursuit of the ‘American Dream’. Heart-breaking and thought-provoking, it’s a timeless
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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
honorary manc 