Quadrophenia - a ground breaking ballet.
THE Lowry presents Pete Townshend’s Mod ballet Quadrophenia from July 15-19.
For any pop pickers out there, you may be interested too know Quadrophenia is the only album by The Who written exclusively by Townshend and it was released in 1973.
Bookings can be made on 0343 208 6000 or online at www.thelowry.com.
The Queen will see you now - Anne Reid as Her Majesty.
THE world premiere tour of By Royal Appointment holds court at The Lowry from August 6-8.
An extremely strong cast includes Anne Reid - pictured - Caroline Quentin and James Wilby.
Anyone interested in booking tickets should call 0343 208 6000 or you can book online at www.thelowry.com.
Just in case you’re wondering, Reid plays Queen Elizabeth II.
Not to be missed - Liberation at the Royal Exchange.
AS a teenager I can remember watching Boys from the Blackstuff on TV and being both shocked and angered by what I saw on the big screen because, having grown up in safe, suburban south Trafford I had no idea people lived like this.
It was deeply thought provoking and anger inducing and I felt exactly the same watching the world premiere of Liberation at the Royal Exchange.
The piece, which comes from the pen of Ntombizodwa Nyoni, takes us back to the Pan African Congress and the version of the event that took place in Manchester in 1945.
Delegates from all over the continent met to discuss how a brighter and more prosperous future could be secured for peoples still living with the appalling exploitation that was part and parcel of colonialism.
Nyoni’s script stirs up a variety of emotions while, at the same time, not seeming to play upon them and the most remarkable thing for me is that this, thematically, is a play of epicc proportions and yet, interval included, it’s just over two hours long.
I am not going to single out individual performances as this assumes there were bad ones which is simply not the case. The performances are beyond acting with each performer actually becoming the person they are playing, which is thanks to their considerable talent and the talent of director, Monique Touko.
In terms of my favourite characters it has to be the boxer Len Johnson, an athlete of mixed race whose mother has to endure the most appalling racist attacks at the hands of racist thugs.
I enjoyed this production immeasurably and I hope it attracts the audiences it undoubtedly deserves, more so than it did the day after press night, which I was unable to attend.
Brilliant, top quality theatre. Do not miss it.
Until July 26. Tickets are available from 0161 833 9833 or www.royalexchange.co.uk.
Star rating - *****
AS a lifelong fan of indie music with a dash of early David Bowie and a sprinkling of soul, I approached this show somewhat uncertain of the timeless classics Carole King wrote and co-wrote.
A quick flick through the programme before the show and so began my education, for she and husband Gerry Goffin produced songs like factories churn out cars and when the couple divorced, her creative juices carried on flowing.
This show tells how a determined teenager, encouraged into teaching by her parents, defied them a chose a ccareer path that enabled her and Goffin to produce brilliant numbers ranging from Will You Love Me Tomorrow to that sure fire floor filler The Locomotion to Up On The Roof, immortalised by the velvety voiced quartet, The Drifters.
Madeleine Healey is so good as Carole I would willingly pay good money to hear her sing a bus timetable and there’s a natural chemistry between her and Ronan Pilkington as Goffin, who is equally vocally gifted.
Their acting is also first rate, especially during the couple’s domestics, fuelled in part by Goffin’s struggle to come to terms with what he saw as the changing face of pop music.
I just can’t give the kids what they want anymore and all that.
Any musical that has Mark Goggins as its musical director is sure to be beyond good.
But how ca I not mention Joseph Meighan? As the Garrick’s artistic director, he’s taken a company already renowned and respected to the next level regarding the standards of productions here and this, his latest production, is sure to further his reputation as one of the most exciting and dynamic directors around.
I reviewed for the first time at the Garrick in September 1987 when I was so much younger, slimmer and had a full head of hair.
This season has, for me, been the company’s best to date and I plead with you not to miss this high class evening of musical theatre.
Until June 29. Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk.
Star rating - *****
Photo by Martin Ogden.
Dear England - photo by Marc Brenner.
THERE have been so many dashed national hopes connected to the England football team, a play about former manager Gareth Southgate initially filled me with a lukewarm enthusiasm.
Even if this study in decency and dignity was the most successful man to run the national side since Sir Alf Ramsey.
For the benefit of those who has lived under a stone for the past 59 years, Sir Alf was the only gaffer to lead the team to victory when they won the World Cup in 1966.
But any misgivings were soon dispelled as a frank, funny and a times thoughtful play unfolded, an epic piece of theatre courtesy of the National Theatre.
It’s a piece from the pen of a writer called James Graham who has succeeded in going beyond the stereotypes surrounding the so called beautiful game.
Despite their ridiculous salaries and expectations from a public baying for success on the pitch, these are real human beings too.
But the play never becomes a sob story even though Marcus Rashford, played by Jade Carmichael, gives us a flavour of what life is like growing in a one parent family when he tells it how it was to the sports psychologist Pippa Grange, played by Liz White.
As Southgate, Gwilym Lee certainly gives us a flavour of Southgate and Ryan Whittle is perfect as an awkward Harry Kane, a striker who prefers to express himself with the ball at his feet rather than via the spoken word.
If I have a criticism this play is probably 15 minutes too long but that said, Dear England is one of the most entertaining, thought provoking and uplifting pieces of theatre I’ve seen for a very long time.
Until June 29. Tickets are available from 0343 208 6000 or www.thelowry.com.
Star rating - *****
OF all the subjects I’ve ever studied, Law, an integral part of a journalist’s training, was by far the driest and most difficult.
The good news here is if the legal speak starts sapping the concentration, welcome relief comes courtesy of Robert Crumpton and Beverley Stuart-Cole as the football pundits passing an opinion or two on a court trial involving the wives of footballers Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy.
Crumpton plays a blinder - please forgive the pun - when he briefly plays Wayne Rooney and Jamie Vardy by conveying their unmistakable mannerisms while not remotely resembling either soccer star.
Neither of these portrayals are flattering. But both are hilarious.
Based on transcripts from the actual trial, we see Rebekah Vardy standing accused of leaking details of Coleen Rooney’s private life to the national press via social media.
While Parissa Zampanour and Lauren Brown are extremely watchable as Vardy and Rooney, the feuding wives, its impossible to really empathise with either of them as this is a play that transports us to an alien world, a world which will forever attract nothing more than a morbid curiosity from mere mortals like me.
John Keen is equally good as Hugh Tomlinson QC, convincing as the silver tongued barrister who spends most of act one analysing Rebekah Vardy’s testimony with the microscopic precision with which his character’s profession is inextricably linked.
But in an age in which social media is an important part of so many people’s lives, plays like this are very, very relevant.
Until June 7. Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk.
Star rating - 3.5 out of 5.
Photo by Martin Ogden.
My kinda town - Janette Manrara in Chicago. Photo by Becky Le Brun.
STRICTLY Come Dancing’s Janette Manrara will makes her debut in a musical when she plays Roxie Hart in Chicago.
Janette, one of the team of professionals and presenters on Strictly, will play Roxie Hart in the iconic musical and she expects it to be a real razzle dazzle of a show.
Chicago is at The Lowry from August 25-30 and anyone interested in booking tickets should call 0343 208 6000 or visit www.thelowry.com.
The Royal Exchange Theatre.
THE world premiere of Liberation will take place at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester from June 27 to July 26.
With a cast that includes Call The Midwife’s Leonie Elliott, the play remembers the impact of the Pan African Congress in shaping the lives of the people living there.
Elliott played Nurse Lucille Anderson in Call The Midwife, the hugely popular medical drama on the BBC.
Anyone interested in booking tickets or finding out more should call 0161 833 9833 or visit www.royalexchange.co.uk.
ALEXANDRA Burke will play the role of Morticia Addams in Addams Family - The Musical at The Lowry from August 12-16.
She’ll be joined on stage by Lesley Joseph, whose long list of credits include the hugely popular TV comedy, Birds Of A Feather.
Anyone interested in booking tickets should call 0343 208 6000 or visit www.thelowry.com.
LENNIE Small, one of modern literature’s most famous misfits, is a grown man with the hopes and fluffy dreams of a small child.
Unfortunately for him though, he’s also trapped in a country in the grip of the Great Depression, surrounded by fellow characters who are, by and large, unable or unwilling to make sense of behaviour they simply dismiss as crazy.
Luckily for Lennie he has George, his unofficially appointed parent and guardian to look after him, a man who frequently indulges his roses around the front door fantasy and his deep seated hopes of a happier future.
By rights, Joseph Meighan’s production should be re-named the Pete Brassington Show for he is perfect as Lennie in this stage version of Steinbeck’s classic novel.
Brassington’s performance makes you care deeply about the plight of him and George, played by Michael Gallagher, and if you’re coming to the story for the first time, you’ll be hoping for a happy ending.
Lennie finds a sort of kindred spirit in Crooks, forced to eat, sleep and fill his spare time in his own living quarters away from his fellow workers because he’s black. Garrick debutant Joseph Jacobs delivers a deeply affecting performance that’s sure to bring a flurry of future roles for a gifted actor.
Both he and Lennie are treated as outsiders.
I also liked Natalie Boyd as Curley’s sort of flirty wife, a woman dreaming of escaping the austere life on a ranch for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.
For me, Of Mice and Men works better a novel. But that said, this for an audience, is an absorbing, poignant and tragic watch.
Until May 18. Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk.
Star rating - 3.5 out of 5.
Photo by Martin Ogden.
A Little Gem of a play - photo by Martin Ogden.
WHEN the writing and the acting is as good as this, you simply don’t want plays like Little Gem to end.
Elaine Murphy writes from the heart and her script is at times deeply emotional while she doesn’t seem to overtly play on your emotions.
Particularly moving was Kay’s battle with grief as she struggles to come to terms with the death of her husband.
Murphy writes like a painter painting pictures to the extent that you’re there to share her anguish, thanks in no small part to a very fine piece of acting by Tracy Burns.
But Burns is hilarious when as Kay she embarks on a mission to spice up her life in the bedroom.
Watching this play you’re sure to experience the whole gamut of human emotions, like when Amber is forced to grow up fast while still seeking some sort of solace by cuddling the furry toys on her bedspread.
The role is perfect for Chloe Arrowsmith who really made me care about Amber and her uncertain future. Equally empathetic is Kathryn Worthington as Lorraine, struggling to come to terms with an ex husband riddled with problems.
The audience is sure to care deeply about all three women, hoping their strong family ties give them the will to survive.
Director Meg Brassington’s flawless production has left me keen to find more of Murphy’s work and this at times intense and warmly witty play is an ideal choice for the Garrick’s little Lauriston Studio.
As Trafford swelters, the good news is the Lauriston Studio’s air conditioning system is in full working order.
Yet another reason for audiences not to miss this Little Gem of a production.
Until May 4. Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk.
Star rating - 4.5 out of 5.
OVER the years I’ve endured numerous shows and films dubbed as having a strong family appeal, only to be deeply disappointed by what turns out to be cringeworthy, forgettable dross.
The Worst Witch, the musical inspired by Jill Murphy’s hugely popular characters and a score with a hum along mass appeal, certainly breaks that mould and is sure to leave children in the audience spellbound.
No pun intended.
We’re in a school for wannabe witches and with its sprinkling of gasp inducing special effects and engaging and likeable student characters, The Worst Witch provide a welcome dose of theatrical escapism in our troubled world.
Director and choreographer Kathleen Valentine’s rehearsals must have been sessions of unmitigated and unbridled enjoyment, working as she did with actors as talented as Helen Horridge aka the school’s principal Miss Cackle.
For me though, the most memorable performances come from Megan Sorrel, Paige Cunliffe, Georgina Brame, Sasha Carillo, Izzy Stuart Cole and Jo Myers as her pupils who had so much fun not acting their own age. I had a great deal of fun watching them, especially when they conspire to counter a plot to take over their school.
Sarah Reilly is also a revelation as Miss Bat.
Until April 17. Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk.
Rating - 3.5 out of 5.
Photo by Martin Ogden.
WHEN I was growing up in the 70’s, dinner parties always had a certain mystique for me and I couldn’t wait to be old enough to be invited to one, oblivious to the fact that adulthood can bring with it a whole new set of pressures.
I often wondered what happened at these child free get togethers, what was said, what was eaten and what was drank.
They were particularly in vogue in the 70s, the era of Harold Wilson, power cuts and the three day week.
When it comes to Mike Leigh’s hilarious comedy Abigail’s Party, they were an excuse to get sozzled, show off and pretend to be some much more sophisticated than they really are. Throw some flirting into the theatrical mix and you have a piece that feels as funny as it did when it was first performed nearly 50 years ago.
The so-called mod cons have changed and people have remained the same.
Kym Marsh is an example of inspired casting as the host, Beverly, quietly forcing her guests to have another drink and brilliantly browbeating her hen pecked husband, Lawrence. The chemistry between Marsh and Lawrence, played to perfection by Graeme Hawley, is convincingly perfect.
Kyle Rowe and Yasmin Taheri are hugely entertaining as guests Tony and Angela, Rowe giving us a hilarious impression of a rabbit caught in headlights as the social situation around him becomes more and more bizzare.
In fact, all the cast give us a masterclass in comic timing and reminds us this beautifully observed play falls into the timeless category.
Make sure you don’t miss the RET’s production of the season so far.
Until May 24. Tickets are available from 0161 833 9833 or www.royalexchange.co.uk.
Star rating - ****
Photo by Johan Persson.
Company - Sondheim’s masterpiece.
STANDING on Piccadilly tram stop a few weeks ago there was a poster for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which seems to have been touring the country since time immemorial, along with other shows that have an instant box office appeal.
All these musicals have their place of course and they’re a great way of introducing children to the theatre by showing them entertainment doesn’t have to be screen shaped.
But in nearly 40 years as a reviewer I’ve only ever seen one production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, at the old and much loved Library Theatre in Manchester.
Sondheim uses his wit and genius to remind us the course of true love never ran smooth and relationships are built on compromise and accepting your partner, warts and all.
After seeing SAMT’s production, I fell in love with this brilliant show all over again with a talented company largely rising to the vocal challenges posed by an at times vocally taxing score.
It’s Robert’s birthday and apart from their presents his small army of friends have decided to club together to find him a partner and hopefully a future wife.
All of them are involved in a relationship of some kind and they feel Robert, or Bobby as he’s affectionately known, is missing out.
Tim Wood is quietly charismatic and engagingly likeable as the lone bachelor in question and I also really enjoyed Adam Garnett and Victoria Lewis whose good humoured sniping takes an equally harmless physical turn.
Eilidh Pollard is in show stealing form as Amy and I thought her character’s pre wedding nerves were so intense they would lead to spontaneous combustion during one of my favourite songs in the show, Getting Married Today.
Vikki Bullar seizes the opportunity to vocally shine when Joanne sings The Ladies Who Lunch, a number fused with perfectly targeted spite,
This is all a major achievement for director Edward Prophet and a company that has consistently proven there’s no such thing as forbidden musical territory for them.
While Sondheim’s scores are intricate and clever and demand audience’s attention, there’s nothing elitist about them and SAMT’s production is so good you’ll leave the theatre wanting more.
Anyone interested in booking tickets should visit samtheatre.co.uk or visit facebook.com/SAMTheatre.
Star rating - ****
Photo by Derek Stuart Cole.
IT’S not often you meet an Alfie Byrne, a man on a mission to share his deep seated love of culture with the passengers on his bus, allowing him to enjoy a sort of cult status as he takes the ‘r’ out of routine.
Alfie is a conductor on a well used route into 60’s Dublin. I can remember a driver who used to treat my journey as if he was piloting a plane to far flung, sun kissed shores.
But Alfie, the leading character in this moving, life affirming musical is far more than a culture junkie, as he battles draconian church leaders to bring a production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome to the amateur stage.
Our vulnerable hero is living a lie in far less enlightened times and the performance of Conor Collins, one of the best I’ve seen in 30 plus years of reviewing productions at Altrincham Garrick, ensures we the audience warm to him and are desperate he achieves his hopes and dreams.
Collins and his fellow cast members also make full use of a script which is written from the heart and avoids the predictable cliches and the cringeworthy.
I really liked Tom Broughton as Alfie’s ally in chief, Robbie Fay and Madeleine Healey who appears out of nowhere to spur Alfie’s theatrical dream. Will Teller also has quite a presence as Carney.
With no persuasion needed I would willingly watch this again thanks in no small part to director Barry Purves, equally accomplished at directing as he is to design.
In my previous life as a reviewer for the Messenger I was reluctant to give productions five stars too often because it can rener such adulation meaningless, but it would be churlish not to do so here.
I reviewed my first production here in 1987 - for me this is the best season yet.
Until March 30. Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk.
Star rating - *****
Photo - Martin Ogden.
ALTRINCHAM Garrick presents the musical comedy A Man of No Importance at its Lauriston Studio from March 25-30 at 7.30pm.
Set in 60’s Dublin, its the story of bus conductor Alfie who wants his amdram theatre group to stage the Oscar Wilde play Salome, in the face of stiff opposition from church leadeers.
With the help of an unexpected ally, he sets out trying to turn his theatrical dream into reality.
Anyone interested in booking tickets should call 0161 928 1677 or you can book online at www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk.
TOM Chambers is to play Inspector Morse in House of Ghosts at The Lowry from April 7-11 2026.
Fans of the much loved TV series won’t need reminding the part of the cerebral and cultured detective was played on the small screen by Manchester actor John Thaw.
Anyone interested in booking tickets should call 0343 208 6000 and you can also book online at www.thelowry.com.
David Hayman as Willy Loman.
DAVID Hayman - pictured - takes on the lead role of Willy Loman in Death Of A Salesman.
Andy Arnold, the production’s director, describes Arthur Miller’s masterpiece about the human cost of chasing the American dream as one of the greatest plays ever written and even though I’ve seen it several times it is still deeply affecting.
The ending in particular is the emotional equivalent of being hit by a truck - twice.
Death Of A Salesman is at the Lowry from April 29 to May 3 and tickets are available from 0343 208 6000 and you can also book online at www.thelowry.com.
Dear England in rehearsal.
FOLLOWING a 10 week run at the National Theatre, James Graham’s Olivier award winning play Dear England hopes to score success at The Lowry this summer.
James Graham’s piece covers a range of football matters, from former England manager Gareth Southgate to the pressures of playing elite level sport and the importance of the game in our national psyche.
Dear England is in Salford from May 29 to June 29.
Anyone interested in booking tickets should call 0343 208 6000 and you can also book online at www.thelowry.com.
Photo by Marc Brenner.
KYM Marsh - pictured - will play the role of Beverly in Mike Leigh’s classic Abigail’s Party at the Royal Exchange Theatre from April 4 to May 17.
This marks her RET debut and Marsh will be joined by a strong cast that includes Graeme Hawley.
For tickets and further details call 0161 833 9833 and you can also book online at www.royalexchange.co.uk.
Photo - Nick James.