“If the war ends, I’ll be fucked!” says Mother Courage in Anna Jordan’s new adaptation of Brecht’s 1939 Mother Courage and Her Children. And this pretty much sums up the tone and message of the play: a gritty, profanity-rich treatise on war as a brutal, de-humanising capitalist enterprise benefiting the elite at the expense of … More Mother Courage and Her Children – Royal Exchange
1n 1998, Kenneth Alan Taylor directed A Different Way Home at Oldham Coliseum, with Roy Barraclough taking on the challenge of playing the two siblings, Leslie and Maureen. Taylor reports loving the play from the moment he first saw the television version. Bringing it back to his home theatre twenty one years later and playing … More A Different Way Home – Oldham Coliseum
Slapstick is a joyous piece of daftness that should be on everybody’s Christmas ‘to see’ list. Five prodigiously talented Dutch musicians (Werelband) fill the stage with madcap sketches invoking a number of stage and screen traditions – but with just enough quirkiness to make it all feel entirely fresh. The pre-set establishes the mood. As people … More Slapstick – HOME
“Totally awesome” was the verdict of my 11-year old companion on Doctor Dolittle at the Lowry Theatre. His sister (aged 8) responded with an even more succinct “Wow!” For a family Christmas show, this feels like ‘mission accomplished’ for the Lowry Theatre. And rightly so. The story of a gauche doctor who decides that his … More Doctor Dolittle – The Lowry
The Royal Exchange takes its Christmas obligations seriously. Last year, they treated us to the delights of a jazzed-up Guys and Dolls and now they are looking to put a smile on everyone’s face with Mel Brooks’ hilarious show, The Producers. And it works wonderfully (most of the time.) The familiar story of a failing … More The Producers – Royal Exchange
Nathaniel Hall is HIV positive. He was diagnosed two weeks after his 17th birthday, following his first sexual encounter. It took him 14 years to tell his mum. And yet, barely a year later, Nathaniel Hall stands in front of a packed audience at Waterside to tell his story. And it is delightful and devastating … More First Time – Waterside
In a previous life (well, some decades ago), I spent several frustrating years enmeshed in an abstract academic study of the political concept of ‘community’. Every political theorist I examined seemed to have a different notion of ‘community’ and to be using it to support a different political end. Turns out I should have just … More The Mysteries – Royal Exchange
A Hundred Words for Love is the sequel to the beautiful Team Viking – James Rowland’s moving story of his friend’s Viking funeral. It features some of the same characters and is presented in the same simple and direct manner. Rowland himself is an accomplished writer and storyteller and has a real talent for connecting … More A Hundred Different Words for Love – HOME (Orbit Festival)
I am sitting in Pot Kettle Black in Manchester city centre. The cafe is full. We are all wearing wireless headphones and clutching smartphones which have been handed out a few minutes earlier. Strains of Norah Jones seep through the ambient cafe sounds and then we hear Terry’s voice through the headphones. I can’t at … More User Not Found – HOME (Orbit Festival)
In Arthur Miller’s text, Death of a Salesman opens with a gentle flute melody. Not so in Sarah Frankcom’s production. As the lights go down in the Royal Exchange, a bone-jarring clash of cymbals and drums heralds the start of the performance, establishing a real sense of foreboding. And appropriately so – this is … More Death of a Salesman – Royal Exchange
