Everybody loves a good musical at Christmas, and the Royal Exchange seasonal production is always eagerly anticipated. In 2017, we saw the wonderful Guys and Dolls given a jazzy Harlem twist, and in 2018 we were treated to The Producers – that delicious celebration of irony and bad taste. This year the Exchange has gone … More Gypsy – Royal Exchange
Lady of Jazz showcases Michaela Bennison, who holds the stage for nearly ninety minutes as fictional American jazz singer, Honey Grey. Her story starts in 1920, just as membership of the Klu Klux Klan rises to 100,000, and is a deeply personal story of a deeply troubled time. The narrative is punctuated by songs, both … More Lady of Jazz – Hope Mill Theatre
An alcoholic mother (Christine) narrates her own death and, in her final moments, wants only to know where and how her three grown-up children are. Playwright Simon Stephens grants her this wish, and, in this gentle and understated drama, transports her and the audience briefly into the lives of daughters Jess and Ashe, son Steven, … More Light Falls – Royal Exchange
Depression is an invisible but brutal and debilitating illness. Often accompanied by profound shame, it can generate a level of hopelessness and despair which makes the mundane business of normal life feel simply impossible and/or intolerable. Author Matt Haig knows all this only too well, having himself been plunged into depression at the age … More Reasons to Stay Alive – HOME
“To be a Luddite in 1812 was to resist the kind of progress that wanted to dash you against a cliff face.” (James Yeatman and Lauren Mooney – creators of There Is A Light That Never Goes Out) The term ‘Luddite’ has typically been used as colloquial shorthand for ‘backward-looking’; for stubborn and pointless resistance … More There is a Light That Never Goes Out: Scenes from the Luddite Rebellion – Royal Exchange
The Hired Man is billed as “A serious musical” and is certainly a far cry from the lavish, feel-good offerings of Andrew Lloyd Weber, with their opulent sets, casts and orchestras. In tone and feel it’s more akin to its contemporary, Les Miserables, though the scale and ambition of both the storyline and its theatrical … More The Hired Man – Oldham Coliseum
Written in 1888, August Strindberg’s Miss Julie is a searing portrayal of the psychological and emotional contortions demanded by 19th century social expectations. As a narrative, it is simple enough – an inappropriate sexual liaison between an aristocratic woman and a servant has tragic consequences. But what is utterly compelling is the raw struggle between … More Miss Julie – Hope Mill Theatre
The Royal Exchange has a true crowd-pleaser on its hands with Hobson’s Choice. Full-blooded characters, a wonderfully comic script and just enough poignancy and social commentary to give the whole thing substance – all this is sandwiched between opening and closing sequences buzzing with colour, music and dance. It is utterly engaging from start to … More Hobson’s Choice – Royal Exchange
When Lydia was 19 and abroad, she was violently assaulted in the course of a robbery. Having been beaten and ‘stripped’ at gunpoint, she made her way home, told her three childhood friends that she was “absolutely fine” and proceeded to withdraw into her parents’ attic to sew. And sew. dressed explores Lydia’s relationship with clothes … More dressed – HOME Mcr
Judy and Johnny are “terribly”, “appallingly” happy in their 1950s house, complete with bright yellow kitchen, jazzy wallpaper and vintage fridge. In her swirling, candy-striped skirt and tightly coiffured hair, Judy skips lightly around the kitchen, dutifully taking the top off Johnny’s breakfast egg and inviting him to choose between home-made marmalade and home-made lemon … More Home, I’m Darling – Lowry
