Bromance has arrived at The Lowry for a two night residence with a unique show that rivals Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty which was playing in the adjacent theatre last night.
Bromance is the debut show from Britain’s hottest young acrobats, winners of the 2013 Circus Maximus Award and 2014 Total Theatre and Jackson’s Lane Award for Circus at the Edinburgh Festival.
Relationships are the heart of Bromance, where handshakes become handstands and backslaps become backflips. Audacious, touching exhilarating, and with a great soundtrack, this is a tour-de-force of cutting edge physical heroics, wittily exploring male companionship and its limits.
Everyone is familiar with the story of Sleeping Beauty. However, Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty is slightly darker than the Disney version most of us grew up with and it has a few little twists thrown in for good measure (vampiric, winged fairies, a puppet baby and a tattooed avenger - see what I mean?!) Those familiar with this dance company's productions will recognise this as one of his trademarks.
As soon as the curtain goes up, we are immersed into a gothic world of splendour - the set is lavish and sumptuous. Even the footlights have gothic wings.
If you are looking for a light-hearted, easy to grasp performance this is definitely not something you should see. Yorgos Karamalegos’ ‘Home’ is a theme-filled, hard-thinking poetic landscape performance.
I am greeted by a stage which looks like a set in process of being built, wires everywhere, lights on the floor. A rack of clothes in one corner, like a messy dressing room or backstage area. Marc Willams’ work as the Lighting Designer was something to applaud. So many different uses of lights to add depth to the performance.
Commissioned for English National Ballet in 2014 to commemorate the centenary of the Great War, Lest We Forget is both a reflection and an emotional journey into the lives and dreams of the millions of people who were dragged into the conflict. Liam Scarlett, Russell Maliphant and Akram Khan courageously explore the unbearable uncertainty about the future of these men and women. Each has a particular take on the permanent fear of an attack, the emptiness that followed the departure of the loved ones and the new roles taken up by spouses, daughters and sisters at home, as men left to the trenches.
Dark…Comical…Revealing…
A spectacular play based on the novel of the same name by English author Daphne De Maurier - a best-seller which sold 2,829,313 copies between its publication in 1938 and 1965, and has never gone out of print. The novel is remembered for the character Mrs Danvers and the fictional estate Manderley, and its opening line:
“Last Night I dreamt I went to Manderley again” - by the second Mrs de Winter.
Christmas has arrived in Manchester with Miracle on 34th Street stopping off at the Opera House as part of its seasonal tour of the UK. But is this a happy beginning to Christmas? Sadly despite a stellar effort from a talented cast this show does not bring the festive cheer it promises.
Based on the classic movie released in 1947 and called “The Big Heart” during the early planning stages the 1994 remake starring Richard Attenborough is probably the best known version of this story.
This is a stand-up comedy show for people who like stand-up comedy shows by a man that does stand-up comedy.
Depending on your opinion, that man is either “a comedian on the up” (The Times), “a comedian I’ve never heard of” (Audience Member) or “a very clever boy” (Nish Kumar)
This is Nish’s first solo tour. You may have watched him support Milton Jones or David O’Doherty, or seen him on Comedy Central’s The Alternative Comedy Experience curated by Stewart Lee, Live at the Comedy Store and Stand up Central. Or BBC 3’s, Live at the Edinburgh Festival and Sweat the Small Stuff.
THE BFG
by Roald Dahl, adapted for the stage by David Wood.
What a delightful show! It is very rare that I will laugh loudly in a theatre audience, but last night I was howling with the rest. I have been less than complimentary in my thoughts about previous productions at The Octagon, and so, it's only right and fair that I should be full of praise for this, a play that is designed to delight and entertain both adults and children alike and is the perfect piece of family entertainment.
Very loosely based on The Revenger's Tragedy by Thomas Middleton.
This was possibly the weirdest play I have ever sat through. In over 40 years of theatre-going I have, quite naturally, seen my fair share of the strange and bizarre; but last night's offering goes straight to the number 1 slot.
Last Night The Hoff Sang My Life
...as the national tour of Last Night a DJ Saved My Life pumped up the volume at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.
When I heard that David "the Hoff" Hasselhoff was doing a jukebox musical featuring the 80s/90s club classics I grew up listening to and with a scene that sees him donning his Baywatch lifeguard costume once more; I was expecting it to be cheesier than a four cheese pizza with extra cheese and grated cheese on top - and it didn't disappoint.
The National Theatre’s multi award-winning production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, adapted by Stockport born Simon Stephens from Mark Haddon’s best-selling book, returns to The Lowry to complete its year-long tour, which started its life on the road in Salford last Christmas.
The central character of the story is Christopher Boone brilliantly portrayed by Joshua Jenkins. Christopher, a young man has been labelled as he suffers from the controlling condition of Asperger Syndrome. Mark regrets that the phrase Asperger Syndrome ever appeared on the cover of the book, due to its leading to an often misguided debate around whether Christopher is a correct representation of someone with the condition?
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