Jumpers for Goalposts - Altrincham Garrick

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

Pride in Trafford - something for all ages

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.

Strictly favourites dancing their way to The Lowry

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.

Electric Rosary - Royal Exchange Theatre

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.

Cartwright classic heading for The Lowry

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.

A ballet to fall in love with - Casanova at The Lowry

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.

Bourne is back - Sleeping Beauty returns to The Lowry

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 return to The Lowry

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.

George's Marvellous Medicine - Altrincham Garrick

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.

Definitely not for the tots - macabre fairytale comes to Sale

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

Just what the doctor ordered - Dahl classic at the Garrick

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.

Piaf - Lauriston Studio Altrincham Garrick

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.

Nora A Doll's House - Royal Exchange Theatre

IT’S really depressing when you think about it.

Just how an adaptation of Ibsen’s classic, still has relevance today, a play about the way women are still expected to play a certain role in society and are forced to dilute their dreams and aspirations or abandon them altogether.

Stef Smith’s engaging and thought provoking adaptation makes us question just how much has changed for women in our society by flitting between 1918, when women of a certain age were first allowed to vote, 1968 and 2018.

This piece works quite brilliantly because it reminds us how far we’ve progressed and how far we still have to go before full gender equality is achieved.

While this may sound like heavy going, it’s not. While this play is sure to fuel a debate or two over a post performance drink it certainly isn’t an evening of man bashing even though Thomas, the husband figure played by William Ash, is incurably condescending.

His control over Nora/Christine reduces over time and you’re sure to find yourself rooting for her as she thinks about fleeing her domestic prison.

In this adaptation the role of Nora is shared between three very different actresses. Different in the sense they Yusra Warsama, Jodie McNee and Kirsty Rider bring something very different to the part.

This is very thought provoking, intelligent theatre that remains true to the spirit of a play that’s more than a century old and director Bryony Shanahan and a gifted and close knit cast ensure not a single word of Stef Smith’s dialogue is wasted.

Highly recommended - theatre with a brain and a heart.

Until April 2. Star rating - ****

Tickets are available from www.royalexchange.co.uk.

Photo - Helen Murray

Time to grow up - remembering the teenage years at the Waterside

THE Waterside Arts Centre in Sale presents Sleepover, on March 25 at 6pm and 8.30pm.

The play, set in 1990, explores the highs and lows of being a teen and tickets are available from 0161 912 5616 or www.watersideartscentre.org,

Still making music 40 years on - Ian Mc Nabb bound for Waterside

LEAD singer of The Icicle Works, Ian Mc Nabb, brings his latest tour to Sale’s Waterside Arts Centre on March 11 at 7.30pm.

Ian formed The Icicle Works in 1981 in Liverpool and the band were soon established as one in a long line of exports from that famous musical city, acts ranging from Echo and the Bunnymen to OMD and Dead Or Alive.

And of course the most famous acts of all, The Beatles.

For tickets, call 0161 912 5616 or visit www.watersideartscentre.org

Music icon at the Waterside - well sort of

THE Waterside Arts Centre in Sale presents An Evening Without Kate Bush on March 26 at 7.30pm.

A critically acclaimed show, it takes an alternative look at the music of a woman who tasted success for the first time when she was just a teenager, with the haunting classic, Wuthering Heights.

For tickets call 0161 912 5616 or visit www.watersideartscentre.org

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - Altrincham Garrick

WHEN the criminal Randle Patrick Mc Murphy is admitted to a cheerless psychiatric hospital, he doesn’t simply rock the boat.

He capsizes it.

This American classic, from the pen of Ken Kesey, has lost none of its power to shock, move or captivate in a stage adaptation that certainly succeeds in capturing the spirit of the original, rather wonderful novel.

Mc Murphy, in a bid to avoid a jail sentence, pleads insanity and ends up in a grim institution presided over by one of contemporary literature’s most horrendous baddies, the notorious Nurse Ratched.

She hides behind a veneer of care and compassion. In reality of course, she has no concept of either is particularly cruel to the stammering Billy, knowing exactly which buttons to press when it comes to making him feel guilty when this sad and sympathetic character has a glimpse of normality courtesy of the rebellious new arrival Mc Murphy.

In him she finds a formidable adversary, as he reminds his fellow patients what it feels like to live again, organising a number of events that fly in the face of the hospital’s draconian rules. For those of you who are new to this tale I won’t be a party pooper. Let me just say Mc Murphy’s antics lead to a number of unforgettable scenes on the Garrick stage.

Director Joe Meighan must have thought all his birthdays had come at once when Joseph Morgan auditioned for the role of Randle P Mc Murphy. Morgan brings a freshness and an individuality to the part immortalised on the big screen by the legendary Jack Nicholson.

Matthew Spilsbury is simply outstanding as the towering Chief Bromden, offering us a heart breaking reminder of the appalling treatment meted out to the native Americans in ‘the land of the free.’

Returning to Ratched, I really admire Madeleine Healey for the way she resisted the temptation to take the pantomime villainess route when playing the role and I challenge anyone not to be moved by the scene with Billy - an excellent Charlie Gallagher - in which she crushes him by re-visiting the character’s innate sense of guilt.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is yet another triumph for this theatre’s dynamic and exciting young actors group, the Garrick Ensemble.

This a production not to be missed. Boy, how I wish I could write like Ken Kesey.

Flawless - in every respect.

Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk. Star rating - *****

Photo - Martin Ogden

IT’S the ultimate irony – only a blind man sees The Creature as a human being in Frankenstein.

The rest of the world in which he strives to survive sees him as a freak, incapable of thought or feeling and the children he comes into contact with pelt him with stones.

Sadly, we still live in a society obsessed with appearances which gives Mary Shelley’s classic chiller a resonance that still rings true today.

This timeless tale also offers a salutary reminder, if it was needed, of scientists trying to ‘play God.’

In 30 years of reviewing amateur theatre I can’t remember a performance as deeply affecting as that of Rhys Nuttall who plays The Creature.

Now I challenge anyone in the audience not to be moved by Nuttall, as he totters to his feet in the opening scene and begins a life of unmitigated torment and rejection.

It may only be January but I can say this performance will not be bettered on the amateur stage for many years to come, for both its searing intensity and unbridled physicality.

The scenes in which The Creature learns to speak and read and appreciate the great works of literature thanks to the patient and kindly De Lacey, his only friend in the world are beautifully played by Nuttall and Hugh Everett are perfectly played.

This exceptional and deeply disturbing production by Barry Purves transports us to a world that whips away our collective comfort blanket, a world where the sun never seems to shine. Bad productions just aren’t in this man’s DNA, are they?

Nick Dear’s adaptation refreshes Shelley’s wonderful novel and while it gives the original a contemporary feel it also remains faithful to it.

The production contains a very disturbing scene of sexual violence.

You simply must not miss this production which will move you and scare you. But the scariest thing for me was how people reacted to The Creature, for me that was the truly monstrous thing.

Once again the Garrick delivers – and then some. Quite brilliant.

Until January 22. The box office is on 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk

Star rating - *****

A Streetcar Named Desire - Altrincham Garrick

DIRECTOR John Cunningham and his cast take the audience on an emotional journey in a captivating and at times touching and deeply moving production of this American classic.

Unless you don’t have a heart, it’s impossible not to be affected by what unfolds on stage, in this absorbing piece of theatre from the pen of the great Tennessee Williams.

Watching the play is draining at times, so goodness knows what performing it must be like for a tight knit and talented cast who make it their mission to make sure not a word of the wonderful Williams dialogue isn’t wasted.

Blanche goes to stay with her sister, Stella, in the seedily seductive French quarter of New Orleans where she finds her sibling living in a dingy two bedroom flat with her husband, Stanley. It’s a strange set up because the family has known the meaning of the word ‘affluence’ in the past and mystery surrounds just what happened to the former family home.

Stanley quickly resents having Blanche around, with what he sees as her dubious past and irritating airs and graces. She compares the self-proclaimed king of his castle to an ape, branding him ‘common.’ But that really is an insult to our closest relatives.

While I was naturally repulsed by the way Stanley treats his visitor and women in general, maybe I’m being a little too 21st century about it and ignoring the fact there were and surely still are many men like him who make the lives of those around them utterly miserable.

Cunningham’s accomplished direction has drawn out fine performances from Matthew Banwell as Stanley and Kathryn Worthington and Fiona Primrose as Blanche and Stella, who evoke an authentic and endearing sisterly bond on stage.

I also liked Paul Cuddy as Mitch, one of Stanley’s poker player pals who is by far the most gentlemanly of a motley crew. Cuddy ensures you feel for Mitch as he attempts to woo Blanche as she toys with his affection.

Don’t miss this memorable production of an all American classic. Exceptional.

Until November 20. The box office is on 0161 928 1677 or online at www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk. Star rating - ****

The Shape of Things - Lauriston Studio

IF there was such a thing as a degree in emotional cruelty and how to be a control freak, the cold and scheming arts student Evelyn is sure to walk away with first class honours.

And the way in which she turns her doting lapdog boyfriend Adam from bumbling dweeb to fashion conscious cool dude is deeply, deeply disturbing when her real motivation for doing so emerges near the end of Neil La Bute’s exceptional and thought provoking play.

Like probably the majority of the audience, I was repulsed and yet fascinated by and drawn to Evelyn, mainly in the hope she would pay for her actions.

Altrincham Garrick’s intimate Lauriston Studio is the perfect setting for this wonderful piece which is a feast for the intellect while at the same time, not being smugly intellectual.

The play covers everything from society’s obsession with physical perfection to love and relationships, minus the slushy stuff. Love hurts, the old saying goes. But after sitting through this I’m certain it should I’m sure you agree, come with a Government health warning.

I had a chance meeting with director Geoff Holman at the theatre’s box office recently and he waxed lyrical about his very gifted young cast.

Sam Evans as Adam, Annie Rogers as Evelyn, Sophie Cain as Jenny and Daniel Molnar as Philip give performances of a professional standard, thanks to both their considerable talent and that of Holman, who I’ve always rated as a very capable occupant of the director’s chair.

All four actors are engaging and believable and I hope for very selfish reasons they don’t plump for a career on the professional stage.

Make sure you don’t miss this, the Garrick’s best production of the season so far.

Photo by Martin Ogden.

Book tickets on 0161 928 1677 or online at www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk.

Star rating - *****