Category Theatre

Intense, gritty and powerful, Ann Marie Duff and Louise Brealey shine in HUSBANDS & SONS

Marianne Elliott makes a welcome return to the Royal Exchange with HUSBANDS & SONS, a major co-production with the National Theatre starring Anne-Marie Duff and Joe Armstrong.

Adapted for stage by the National Theatre’s Associate Director Ben Power, HUSBANDS & SONS interweaves three singular D H Lawrence plays (A COLLIER’S FRIDAY NIGHT, THE WIDOWING OF MRS HOLROYD and THE DAUGHTER IN LAW) into one standalon...

CHIP SHOP CHIPS is a funny and warm-hearted play which will leave you with a full belly and a smile on your face

Seven years after her collaboration with Box of Tricks on LETTING IN AIR (2009), acclaimed playwright Becky Prestwich makes a welcome return to the stage with her new play CHIP SHOP CHIPS.

Set during the grand reopening of Booth’s Fish & Chip Shop, CHIP SHOP CHIPS is a funny and nostalgic tale of family, love and the nation’s favourite food...

Lee Nelson attempts to move away from the chavvy south London wide-boy act which made his name in his latest stand-up tour Suited and Booted.

Best known for his BBC Three show Lee Nelson’s Well Good Show, as well as his high profile pranks such as invading Kanye West’s headline set at Glastonbury, Nelson may have swapped his usual tracksuit and baseball cap for a smart two-piece but his loutish and seemingly unintelligent comedy is as evident as ever.

Nelson, played by comedian Simon Brodki...

Genevieve Barr and Arthur Hughes star in THE SOLID LIFE OF SUGAR WATER. Image: Patrick Baldwin

THE SOLID LIFE OF SUGAR WATER is an intimate portrait of loss, hurt and recovery

Following its premiere at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Jack Thorne’s new play THE SOLID LIFE OF SUGAR WATER heads to Royal Exchange this week as part of a national tour. 

Directed by Amit Sharma, THE SOLID LIFE OF SUGAR WATER tells the story of Phil and Alice, a young couple trying to understand their relationshi...

Shrek The Musical, A Girl Is A Half Formed Thing and Paddy McGuinness all head to The Lowry this month

The Lowry has released details of its upcoming shows with a whopping 29 shows performing at the award-winning venue during February.

From musicals and plays to stand-up comedy and live music events, The Lowry certainly has something for everyone this month. We’ve picked out a handful of the best shows for you to catch below.

Shrek The Musical

Direct from the West End, SHREK THE MUSICAL tak...

Actress Jessica Forrest chats to Frankly My Dear UK about new play CHIP SHOP CHIPS

Three years after her explosive exit as Lianne Holliday in HOLLYOAKS, Jessica Forrest is set to make her stage debut with CHIP SHOP CHIPS, a funny and nostalgic new tale of love set over fish and chips.

The 25-year old actress from Pendle, has appeared in a number of TV shows over the past few years including HOLLYOAKS (2010-2013), ITV’s CORONATION STREET (2014), Sky Arts’ THE CRUISE (2014) and BBC’s DANI’S CAST...

Raw, real and relentless, WIT is a beautiful play full of grace and redemption

Following his production of THINGS OF DRY HOURS back in 2007, Raz Shaw makes a welcome return to the Royal Exchange to direct WIT, the Pulitzer prize-winning play about a 50 year old professor dying of cancer.

Written by American playwright Margaret Edson, WIT tells the story of Vivian Bearing (Julie Hesmondhalgh) a renowned academic of metaphysical poetry being treated for stage IV metastatic ovarian cancer...

Fast-paced, slick and funny, Move Over Moriarty makes a welcome return to the stage

Following the success of Inspector Norse and Withering Looks, satirical comedy duo LipService return as Holmes and Watson in a reprisal of their cult classic Move Over Moriarty.

Written by Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding, Move Over Moriarty follows super sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his dim sidekick John Watson as they investigate the Garibaldi Biscuit Affair, a case as impenetrable as a London pea-souper...

Smart, silly and wickedly funny, Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel is fully deserving of its huge popularity

Improvised comedy (or ‘improv’ as it is otherwise known) has always had a bit of a bad reputation in the UK. Despite continued efforts to revive the genre, many ‘off-the-cuff’ improv productions can easily become meandering and flabby. One troupe that have truly mastered the art, however, is the team behind Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel.

Austentatio...

The Original CALENDAR GIRLS and the cast of new musical THE GIRLS. Image Credit: Matt Crockett

Gary Barlow & Tim Firth’s long awaited new musical THE GIRLS premieres at The Lowry

Following its short preview run at Leeds, Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s long awaited new musical THE GIRLS heads to The Lowry, Salford this week for its world premiere.

Based on the award-winning film and play Calendar Girls, THE GIRLS tells the story of a brave group of women who decide to appear nude for a Women’s In...