Blog Archives

PERSUASION is a fresh, bold and enjoyable reinterpretation of Austen’s final masterpiece

Following the bold reinterpretation of Aeschylus’s THE SUPPLIANT WOMAN, Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre’s Spring/Summer season continues to reshape and breathe new life into classic texts with its latest production of Jane Austen’s PERSUASION.

Written by Austen 1817, PERSUASION tells the story of the young Anne Elliot, who lost her chance at love when her family persuaded her to refuse an offe...

This review was originally posted on The Reviews Hub. 

Based on the 1998 hit movie starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, The Wedding Singer tells the story of Robbie Hart, a wannabe rock-star stuck as a singer on the wedding band circuit. When his fiancée dumps him at the altar, it’s down to the sweet-natured Julia and her best friend Holly to lure Robbie out of the dumpster and bring back into the limelight...

The 2017 tour sees the Red Hot Chilli Pipers reinvent hits from artists such as Coldplay and Queen

Over the past fourteen years, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers have grown to become the most famous bagpipe band on the planet. Formed in 2002, the Scottish group has played with rock band The Darkness, opened the popular T IN THE PARK music festival, won the BBC talent show WHEN WILL I BE FAMOUS? and have sold out tours across the world including the UK and the USA.

For those who have never heard of th...

Andy Moss as Sam Wheat in GHOST THE MUSICAL. Photo: Matt Martin

Timeless and touching Bill Kenwright’s reimagined production of GHOST THE MUSICAL is impressively faithful to the movie

When GHOST was first released back in 1990, it caused a real rumble. The American romantic fantasy film starring the late Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, was an outstanding commercial success, breaking box office records and earning Goldberg an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress...

Award-winning playwright Deborah McAndrew talks to Frankly My Dear UK about her love for CYRANO DE BERGERAC

As part of their 25th anniversary year, Northern Broadsides join forces with the award-winning New Vic Theatre to present an exciting new adaptation of CYRANO DE BERGERAC.

Originally written by Edmond Rostand in 1897, the classic romantic comedy tells the story of a brilliant poet and swordsman named Cyrano who is deeply in love with his beautiful, intellectual cousin Roxane...

Billy Ocean performs tracks from the new album as well as his greatest hits as part of his Spring Tour

Billy Ocean’s heyday may have been in the 1970s and 1980s but the 67-year-old singer songwriter still knows how to entertain a crowd.

Born in Trinidad in 1950, Ocean is the biggest black recording star Britain has ever produced...

This review was originally posted on The Reviews Hub. 

The story of a household living in fear of tyrannical father may seem a little dated in today’s liberated society but Bill Naughton’s subtle comedy Spring and Port Wine feels surprisingly resonant today as it did in 1959.

Set in the Greater Manchester town of Bolton, Spring and Port Wine tells the story of the Crompton family. Rafe Crompton rules his wife Daisy and their four children with a rod of iron but times are changing...

Silver Lining at ETT and Rose Theatre. Photo by Mark Douet

Despite the strong cast, SILVER LINING feels mechanical in its comedy

SILVER LINING takes place in the upper day room of the Silver Retirement Home in Gravesend. Storm Vera is battering the country and freak floods has prompted the evacuation of all riverside properties. But as five elderly ladies wait patiently in the retirement home for help to arrive, it soon becomes clear that they have been forgotten about...

This review was originally posted on The Reviews Hub. 

It’s safe to say that Grease is one of the most globally recognised and successful musicals of all time. Since its opening on Broadway in 1971, the smash-hit musical has enjoyed astounding success on Broadway and London’s West End, has toured throughout the world and has been seen by more than 12 million people in the UK alone...

Bill Kenwright’s latest touring production of EVITA is as fresh, provocative and absorbing as ever

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s award-winning musical EVITA may be almost 40 years old but in a world where the news is dominated by politics and unlikely ascensions to power, the biographical pop opera feels eerily relevant than ever before.

EVITA tells the story of Eva Peron, the second wife of former Argentine dictator Juan Peron...