It’s behind you - a scene from The Gruffalo
THE Gruffalo returns to The Lowry in Salford from July 30 to August 21..
Each performance last 55 minutes and the show is suitable for youngsters aged 3 and over.
Performance times vary and tickets are available from 0843 208 6000 or www.thelowry.com.
IF you thought the WI was all jam and Jerusalem, Calendar Girls – The Musical is sure to shatter that particular misconception.
The production, currently playing at Altrincham Garrick, also provides a much needed antidote to these gloomy times. Even Victor Meldrew’s grumpier twin brother would enjoy this. If he had one of course.
When one of their group loses a husband to cancer, her best friend and fellow WI member comes up with an idea to raise funds for research into this appalling illness and it’s a fundraising idea that can be summed up in one word – unique.
She persuades the women, many of whom are embarrassed by the bodies, to pose for a nude calendar.
But it’s all done in the best possible taste, to pinch a catchphrase from the late, great comedy genius Kenny Everett.
There’s nothing seedy about this show at all. It’s an uplifting tale of love, friendship and the most unlikely camaraderie. All of human life can be found at the WI.
Created by Take That’s Gary Barlow and Tim Firth, it’s also about women of a certain age re-discovering their sex appeal. You don’t have to be a stick insect to be sexy.
Musically, the score is a mixed bag, with the best numbers saved for the second half. But the acting here is exemplary and you the audience member, will find warming to the characters requires very little effort.
You’ll want to live in the picture postcard Yorkshire Dales among warm and friendly people like this and experience at first hand the extra dry wit for which the inhabitants of this fabulous county are famous.
By far the best performances come from Sarah Kirk as Annie, grieving the death of her husband John and Dawn Flint as her friend of 40 years, Chris. You’ll laugh and cry with them and feel like you’re watching two real pals, so engaging they are together.
But I also like Charlie Tomlinson as Chris’s husband Rod and it’s impossible not to warm to Adam Byrne’s Danny, drawn to the rebellious new girl at his school.
Celia Bonner is quite brilliant as the retired schoolteacher Jessie, putting people in their place with classic put downs.
It somehow feels wrong to single out individual performances as all the actors excel here, even those with relatively small parts.
A tribute then, to director Joseph Meighan and musical director Mark Goggins who ensure the exciting season at the Garrick ends on a spectacular high.
You couldn’t make it up is the only way to describe the true story that inspired Barlow and Firth’s show.
Trafford has a long and proud tradition when it comes to producing top quality musicals and this raises the bar even higher.
Not to be missed.
Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk. Star rating - *****
SALE Nomads presents the adult panto Cinders 2022: A Space Oddity at the Sale Nomads Theatre, Friars Road, Sale, from June 17-19 at 7.30pm.
For tickets visit salenomads.org.uk/upcoming.
THE iconic Stockport housewife and cleaner to the stars Mrs Barbara Nice will present an evening of her comedy greatest hits when she comes to the Waterside Arts Centre in Sale on June 25.
Barbara, who also reached the semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent, will also treat the audience to new material she wrote on the bus, as well as taking a look back at 25 years in comedy.
She said: “I am super excited and can’t wait to perform my Comedy Playground show at Waterside Arts! Audiences can of course expect the usual family fun and hilarious antics!”
The performance begins at 7.30pm and tickets are available from 0161 912 5616 or watersidearts.org.
The wow factor - Derren on stage
DERREN Brown, master of illusion and mind control, returns to The Lowry with his Showman tour this July.
He toured with the UK with it last year to great critical acclaim and Derren said:
“ I think it’s had the best response of any show I’ve done. It’s lovely to know, and a happy thing to read people’s responses right after a show on Twitter, but ultimately, in order to do it night after night, I can only really be concerned about the relationship between me and the particular audience in front of me”.
Showman is at The Lowry from July 5-16 and tickets are available from 0343 208 6000 or www.thelowry.com.
It’s a mystery - Morse and Lewis played by Jonathan Black and Andrew Higson
WHEN I discovered John Thaw was to play another TV detective I expected him to be something like Jack Regan, who I idolised as a child when I sat glued to The Sweeney in the 70’s.
This was a man straight out of the boot in the door and ask questions later school of policing. But Inspector Morse was a world away from the much loved maverick from the Flying Squad, cultured, considered, cerebral and with a deep seated love of classical music.
It takes a lot of guts and no amount of talent to play a character so inextricably linked with an acting icon like Thaw. But Jonathan Black certainly succeeds here and doesn’t try to impersonate the late stage and screen great.
Black has quite a presence and the way he reprimands his sidekick Sergeant Lewis for his verbal faux pas is genuinely funny. Andrew Higson plays the part perfectly and the chemistry between the two very different men certainly comes across.
The duo are asked to investigate the dubious death of a young actress playing Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. All of a sudden the company finds itself embroiled in a real life tragedy as fingers of suspicion are pointed and cupboards release their skeletons.
I’ve seen Sarat Broughton in countless productions at the Garrick and her performance as Ellen Underwood is her best yet and Jacque Hamilton also impressed me as the old soak actress Verity Carr, an actress who has been there, done it and bought enough t-shirts to open her own t-shirt shop.
My only criticism of Alma Cullen’s play is it is something of a slow burner in places. But this in an engrossing and intriguing tale all the same.
Who can resist the chance to play detective?
Until May 28. Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk. Star rating - 3.5/5.
Photo - Martin Ogden
ONE lady in the audience she was in tears by the time Fiona Primrose was bowing to the audience at the end of the evening.
While this deeply unusual piece of theatre didn’t have me reaching for my handkerchief, it certainly takes us on an emotional journey.
Ross and Rachel isn’t a case of love hurts. More a case of it should come with a Government health warning.
This engrossing single hander may be inspired by the off and on romance of their namesakes from the TV show Friends, but that’s where the comparisons well and truly end.
If you turn up to the Lauriston expect a night of cosy camaraderie and witty jokes that were a hallmark of the hugely popular 90’s sitcom, you’ll be disappointed.
This is an evening of raw emotion, from jealousy to devotion or rather taking devotion to whole new depths.
Fiona Primrose plays both characters and her gender swapping is as effortless as it is engaging. While in character she has a few sips of wine but she certainly deserves a glass or two of the real thing afterwards for putting so much into roles that are anything but carbon copies of their small screen namesakes.
How frustrating then, for both her and her director Carole Carr, for there to be just 12 of us in Altrincham Garrick’s fabulous little studio space on Wednesday night to watch a play she’s evidently nurtured with so much love and care.
But I’ve often found that to be the case as a reviewer, with certain people shying away from plays and shows they’re not quite sure of.
Ross and Rachel is very different, absorbing to the point of being hypnotic and well worth the ticket money.
Enjoy this piece of top quality, brilliantly acted theatre.
Until May 22. The box office is on 0161 928 1677. Star rating - ****
Photo - Martin Ogden
THREE much loved stars of stage and screen, Hayley Mills, Paul Nicholas and Paula Wilcox will be packing their bags and heading for The Lowry this autumn to appear in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Mills starred in one of my all-time favourite films, Whistle Down the Wind, the gentle and moving story of a group of children who mistake an escaped German POW for Jesus Christ and speaking of today’s casting announcement she said:
“I am delighted to join the company, as this beautiful story of love and the importance of new beginnings receives a new life as a fantastically feel-good stage play. Tales that warm the heart and lift the spirit are a much-needed tonic at this time and I am thrilled to be visiting so many of the UK's beautiful towns and cities as part of the production's exciting journey, later this year.”
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is at The Lowry and tickets are available from 0343 208 6000 or www.thelowry.com.
Team spirit - Jumpers for Goalposts
JUMPERS For Goalposts will, on the evidence of Monday night’s performance, attract a different, younger audience.
For far too many years Altrincham Garrick has been seen as a safe night out for older people and the appointment of artistic director Joseph Meighan, a dynamic and adventurous twenty something, is about to change that misguided perception.
A quiet revolution is taking place on Barrington Road and it feels so exciting and exhilarating to be part of it.
But this theatre isn’t working hard to get the message across that the Garrick is a is a theatre for everybody. All power to their elbow, say I.
Jumpers for Goalposts follow the misfortunes of Barely Athletic, a five-a-side team largely made up of gay men who struggle with the basics of the beautiful game.
This doesn’t stop Viv, their straight talking coach with a very short fuse, encouraging her clueless charges to try to win the league in which they play.
It’s certainly a league with a difference – one team plays in drag!
The play takes place in the club’s dressing room, an ideal backdrop for writer Tom Wells to delve into the private lives of the players, including a burgeoning relationship between Danny and Luke.
Danny carries a secret that he feels unable to share with the child like Luke, a lovable geek and a study in social awkwardness.
Joe Meighan, who directs this engaging, absorbing and heart-warming comedy must have thought all his birthdays had come at once when Dan Ellis and Mason Lockwood turned up to audition for these roles.
If anyone was ever born to play these parts it’s these two actors and Lockwood, who gets the funniest lines as Luke, displays a sense of comic timing that is simply second to none.
Beverley Stuart-Cole is highly believable as Viv, Sebastian Farrell is also enjoyable as the team’s token straight man Joe, aka the keeper who couldn’t catch a cold and Lewis Sewell is perfect as the crackpot Beardy Geoff.
Throughout the production the cast convinces the audience they’re watching a real football team, complete with the personality clashes you find in all organisations, sporting or otherwise.
They say football is a game of two halves and that old adage can certainly be applied to Jumpers for Goalposts, with the best one liners saved for the second half.
While this play contains some strong language it’s in context and gives the play a realistic feel. It’s sure to strike a chord with anyone whose set foot inside a sports club’s dressing room while not alienating those who haven’t.
Great fun, with a dash of poignancy thrown in.
Until May 14. Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677. Star rating - ****
In aid of The George House Trust.
Photo - Martin Ogden
SALE Waterside and Gorse Hill Studios are gearing up for a celebration of LGBTQ arts and culture with an exciting, challenging and dynamic programme of performances and exhibitions.
The events take place at the WAC and Gorse Hill from May 17-21.
Darren Adams, manager at the WAC, said everyone connected to the event said this year’s programme offers people a reminder of what unites rather than divides us during what he described as “five days of fun.”
Darren said:
“We are really thrilled with this year’s line-up for Pride in Trafford. There is a real sense of ‘coming together’ weaved throughout the programme – not just because all the events are live in person, but in terms of the themes, the artists and the collaborators involved.
“Through their work, all our performers celebrate inclusivity, love, diversity and togetherness and one thing that really stands out and encapsulates this year’s programme is that our differences can unite us and that it is something to embrace and celebrate. We cannot wait to see the community back celebrating Pride in Trafford for five days of queer joy, fun and pride.”
The fun begins with the unveiling of the now famous rainbow flag outside Sale Town Hall on May 17 and anyone interested in finding out more should visit prideintrafford.org.
Further information is also available from 0161 912 5616 or watersidearts.org.
Photo - Jason Lock.
Summer treat for dance fans - Anton and Giovanni in action
STRICTLY Come Dancing’s judge Anton du Beke and the show’s current champion Giovanni Penrice are bringing their critically acclaimed show, Him & Me to The Lowry on June 26.
The duo will be serving up a treat for dance fans topped with a helping of light-hearted fun.
With his unwavering smile and infectious humour, du Beke wins my award for The Most Cheerful Man on TV.
If such there was such a prize, of course.
Anyone interested in booking tickets should call 0843 208 6000 or visit www.thelowry.com.
Breffni Holohan as the mysterious Mary
A STRUGGLING convent whose nuns even lack the money to mend its perpetually leaking roof finds the most unlikely of saviours in a play that’s simply one of the most original to be seen on the Manchester professional stage for a very long time.
When Mary joins the leaderless order she instantly shows a dedication to the most menial of tasks that can only be described as super human.
That’s because Mary, with her fixed and softly sinister smile, isn’t human at all. She’s a robot.
And the floor of the convent ends up so clean you could eat your dinner off it. Minus the plates and the cutlery.
Tim Foley’s remarkable piece, which won the RET’s Bruntwood Playwriting Competition in 2017, is sure to pose a number of questions among audience members as they make their way home or enjoy a post performance drink.
I wondered while watching this if it was a play about the irrelevance of religion to many people today. After all, the nunnery in which the string of bizarre events take place seems physically far removed from that of the masses who seems to be raging against the machines in some sort of latter day Luddite Rebellion.
But this doesn’t feel like a play that’s anti-religion.
The nuns world may be dark and dystopian but Foley expertly provides some light relief courtesy of some wonderful one liners, a gift for Breffni Holahan who plays Mary, forever wearing a fixed, softly sinister smile.
Scripts as good as this are a gift for actors and Holahan delivers her lines with laser guided precision. She looks, sounds and moves like a robot, telling it how it is.
Electric Rosary should have been performed five years ago which only goes to show the best things come to those who wait. Unmissable.
Until May 14. Tickets are available from royalexchange.co.uk. Star rating - ****
Photo by Helen Murray.
Give us a song - Little Voice in action
THE Lowry is staging a modern day northern classic in the shape of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice from June 6-11.
With the captivating warmth of a contemporary fairytale, Jim Cartwright’s musical play tells the story of an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent for impersonating some of the world’s greatest divas, from Judy Garland to Shirley Bassey.
Seasoned theatregoers and newcomers are certain to enjoy this and if ever we needed a dose of ‘feel good’ theatre, it surely has to be now.
Performance times vary and tickets are available from 0843 208 6000 or www.thelowry.com.
NORTHERN Ballet returns to The Lowry with its production of Casanova from May 18-21.
Choreographer Kenneth Tindall said Casanova was the first ballet he’d produced for NB, adding that the creative team had “worked hard to tell the story behind the legend.”
Performance times vary and tickets are available from 0343 208 6000 or www.thelowry.com.
MATTHEW Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty will return to The Lowry from November 22-26.
The dynamic and exciting choreographer said the project to bring his version of the Tchaikovsky classic to the stage was initially a daunting one.
“Ten years ago, I fulfilled a long-held ambition to complete the trilogy of Tchaikovsky ballets following my Nutcracker! in 1992 and Swan Lake in 1995. It’s no secret that this particular ballet was a daunting task and one that I approached with trepidation.
“ It did, however, turn out to be a richly rewarding experience with the entire creative team on glorious form and, in my opinion, it remains one of New Adventures greatest achievements. I look forward to new generations of dancers rising to the varied challenges of this much-loved production and bringing its magic back to audiences throughout the UK.”
Tickets are available from 0343 208 6000 or www.thelowry.com.
CANDOCO, a dance company featuring performers with and without disabilities, are bound for Salford with two productions, Set and Reset/Reset and Shelter on May 10 and 11.
This is an exciting and dynamic company that prides itself on challenging any preconceptions concerning the art form in which they work and this is a must see, for dance fans and those who are still to be converted. Take it from one whose seen and reviewed their work before.
For tickets call 0343 208 6000 or book online at www.thelowry.com.
WHILE I’m not one of those irritating people who witter on about ‘the good old days’, it was really refreshing to see children completely immersed in a form of entertainment that wasn’t screen based.
And big kids like me enjoyed it, too.
I been reviewing theatre for 30 years and this was the first time I’d ever seen - well, I’m not going to spoil the surprise for you.
This production is also a triumph for the director/designer Sean Duvall for has designed a set that smacks of fairytale charm and a talented team of puppeteers who successfully transport the audience to a world in which anything is possible.
Poor George - played by an engaging Andy Withers - has his school holiday ruined when his grouchy old grandma comes to stay at his family’s farm.
She really is a grump, snarling her orders at George and his oh so patient parents, played by Michael Gallagher and Christine Perry.
Withers is an engaging and likeable George and instantly won over the youngsters in the audience as he hatches a plan to put the old battle axe well and truly in her place.
The panto season may be eight months away but this show has that well known staple ingredient of the panto. Audience participation.
But take comfort folks - the jokes are an awful lot better.
Hannah Collman, far, far, far younger than the role she is playing, is really good value as Grandma, perfectly capturing her mannerisms and with a voice that could, quite easily, curdle milk.
The world may be a bad place at the moment so what better than 90 minutes of good, clean fun to whisk us away from these unprecedented times?
Until April 24. Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk. Star rating - 3.5 out of 5.
Photo - Martin Ogden.
THE Waterside Arts Centre in Sale presents Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber on April 9 at 7.30pm.
The show is suitable for the over 12’s and tickets are available from 0161 912 5616 or www.watersideartscentre.org.
Image - Russ Francis Photography
ALTRINCHAM Garrick is serving up an Easter treat when it presents the Roald Dahl classic George’s Marvellous Medicine from April 7-24.
George’s half-term holiday plans are thrown into turmoil after his gran, who delights in making his life a mystery, comes to stay.
But our hero has a cunning plan up his sleeve.
Performance times vary and tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk.
The production is suitable for children aged five and over.
Photo - Martin Ogden.
WHEN Emily Leeland sings Piaf in this warts and all portrayal of the iconic French star my top lip quivered with emotion and my insides turned to jelly.
More than once.
Leeland is also every inch the diva in Pam Gems’ captivating play, not holding back when it comes to getting exactly what Piaf wants. Top of Piaf’s list are a career and a man, a man who can live up to her exacting demands. She gives a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘high maintenance.’
What makes Piaf’s story so captivating is it’s a story of success against all odds, how a young girl abandoned by her mother and raised in a brothel ended up having an audience with a US President.
For me, there were echoes of Evita, reminding us that yes, it’s still possible to triumph in the face of adversity.
You should feel very jealous of anyone lucky enough to have a ticket for tis because director Charlie Tomlinson and his creative team serve up a theatrical treat here. The production is just over two hours long and it feels like you’ve been in the theatre no more than around 20 minutes.
But Leeland’s performance is by no means the only one to enjoy here. Olivia Riley is seriously funny as Piaf’s long suffering and loyal friend Tonie with the two actresses establishing an effortless camaraderie from the start.
The velvety voiced Steven Finney is excellent as the plain speaking nightclub owner Louis Leplee and I can’t wait for the next production in which he has a bigger singing part.
Sam Evans is sure to have you swooning as the silky smooth French singer Charles Aznavour.
This is a production that simply must be experienced. A joy and a major triumph for all concerned.
Star rating - ***** Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk. Good news - the Garrick is planning to put on a Saturday matinee to meet demand for tickets. Call the box office for details.
Photo - Martin Ogden.