Manchester
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The world of music, in particular our own very special part of that world, here in Manchester, was recently rocked and hugely saddened by the news that hugely acclaimed, simply stunning, vocalist, Denise Johnson, had passed away. Best known for the two albums she recorded and toured with Primal scream in the 90s, Screamadelica and…
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This was my first visit to the cinema in months and since lockdown. As it was a sole visit in a reviewing capacity, it mattered not that I was socially distanced. Other measures taken were a groovy one way system and hand sanitiser stations. Elbows flailing to their hearts content, I settled down (extra points…
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There’s light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel, my friends. We all know the worries and concerns for the theatre, and indeed arts and entertainment industry as a collective. But as 4 July becomes some sort of D-day, a heralding of freedom, venues who have been left out of the loop…
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I last wrote about the wonderful Northern Chamber Orchestra when I visited the rather lovely Stoller Hall for the first time, back in May 2018 – https://honorarymancblog.com/2018/05/18/the-northern-chamber-orchestra-mozart-and-elgar-and-beethoven-oh-my/ Yes I was rather taken with the acoustics of the environment and hall, and I’m not going to pretend to go down the ‘but was it the location…
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I will be honest, and I don’t mean this to be offensive to any film that is based on a true story about real people, with real life events and feelings, but I generally, and admittedly cynically, run a mile from anything that has a whiff of ‘feel-good’. But I’ll happily (yes i can do…
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I’ve only been to the basketball once in my life before (I know, shame.on.me.) Started off low-key at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, with the Brooklyn Nets. I had no clue what was going on. Not entirely helped by being in the nosebleed section. See, I know basketball words. One minute there was seemingly some…
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As a child i was terrified of the poem, The Lion and Albert, by Marriott Edgar. Set at a ‘famous seaside place called Blackpool’, it was all literally a bit close to home for me (growing up in a small village about 3 miles out….) It still haunts me. Anyway, I’ll just leave that here…
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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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Charlie Chaplin. He was instrumental in my phonics education. He was. And clearly on my cultural radar, and thus important to me, at a very young age (thank you mum and dad). 5 years old and engaged in a word game with my parents. The rules being thus – say the initials of a famous…
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It’s something we’ve known for a long time – there’s a lot of talent in our region but it’s not just the household names I’m talking about. Thanks to a project called The Twenty, people who dwell in the city of Salford will be provided with the exciting opportunity to turn their creativity into a…
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Queen and Slim is Crash, meets Bonnie and Clyde, meets True Romance. But most of all it’s Queen & Slim. Read my view of Queen & Slim on my sister blog What the Projectionist Saw – https://whattheprojectionistsaw.wordpress.com/2020/01/30/review-queen-and-slim/ Copyright: Universal Pictures Opening in cinemas across Greater Manchester from 31 January 2020 including https://www.myvue.com/film/queen-and-slim Home MCR https://www.everymancinema.com/film-info/queen-slim
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If you haven’t yet heard that Back to the Future The Musical (no less) is coming to Manchester’s Opera House on 20 February 2020, great Scott, you’d better make like a leaf and get outta here! Yes, I did that homage and I’m very proud of my little self… Starring Olly Dobson as Marty McFly…
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Gourmet pizza restaurant Croma and I have two things in common. The first is that pizza is an incredibly important part of our lives. The second is that this year marks our 20th year living in Manchester! To celebrate, I’ll be justifying ever single trip out and drink drunk with ‘it’s my 20th anniversary’. For…
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Whilst works, appreciation, opinions and afforded gravitas come in all shapes and sizes, art should be inclusive and HOME is bringing this ethos to life by celebrating the amazing talent of Greater Manchester. In the first region-wide exhibition of its type, HOME welcomed submissions from all across all 10 boroughs, for the inaugural Manchester Open…
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2020 heralds 75 years since the liberation of the Nazi death-camps. On Monday 27 January, Manchester Jewish Museum will mark Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD), with two premieres of musical and theatrical performances, staged at Manchester Central Library. Songs of Arrival During the afternoon, music by acclaimed Israeli composer Na’ama Zisser,the first to introduce cantorial music into…
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I’m cough years old but a good pantomime won’t fail to touch even the most jaded, cynical, grown up of adults. And this was no exception. In fact, and at the risk of over-exuberance (although at the time of writing I’ve had a 12 hour cooling off period) I’d say this was the bar by which pantomimes…
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I’m currently trying my hand at screenwriting (under the excellent tutorage of Scriptwriting North), love a regular visit to HOME and dip my toe in the world of film both here and over at What the Projectionist Saw So battling my way through a frankly annoying barrage of emails in my inbox about Black Friday,…
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Will Self has written his memoir, Will, and we should all rejoice. Almost as much as I rejoiced when he took part in the Geordie Jumpers sketch on Shooting Stars. Yes I know his incredible back catalogue of daring and original writing and I bring Geordie Jumpers into it (oh just Google it and thank…
honorary manc 