Category Theatre Venues

Frankly My Dear UK talks to Matthew Eames, the brains behind The Lowry’s innovative PAY WHAT YOU DECIDE season

When The Lowry launched their Pay What You Decide (PWYD) season back in January 2017, it seemed like a bit of wacky idea. Instead of paying for a ticket in advance, audiences are asked to decide how much they want to pay for the performance at the end of the night. Sounds a little risky right? Yet it’s a risk that seems to have paid off...

Pier Eight Restaurant at The Lowry. Photo Credit: Percy Dean

With its range of hearty dishes and contemporary setting, Pier Eight is the perfect setting for a pre-show meal or special occasion

Since starting Frankly My Dear UK back in 2014, I’ve been lucky enough to review over 100 productions at The Lowry. Yet apart from a few pre-show drinks, I had never actually eaten there...

WHAT I FELT WHILST UNDER YOU is a tender examination of what it means to be masculine in the 21st century

Following their five-star, sell out run of smash hit CONSTELLATIONS, Wonderhouse Theatre Company return to Hope Mill Theatre with WHAT I FELT WHILST UNDER YOU, a new play by award-winning, Manchester based, writer David Gregan-Jones.

WHAT I FELT WHILST UNDER YOU tells the story of Marie, a thirty-something mother of two who returns home unexpectedly one evening to discover her husband’s s...

Shocking, gripping and thought-provoking, PARLIAMENT SQUARE is a powerful play about the fallout of political protest

It’s fair to say that playwright James Fritz is riding on a high. His debut play FOUR MINUTES TWELVE SECONDS was nominated for an Olivier Award before transferring to London’s West End and his follow-up play ROSS & RACHEL opened to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2015...

Michael Kiwanuka’s new album LOVE & HATE signals a new and more sophisticated phase in the artist’s career

Five years after the release of his debut album HOME AGAIN, Michael Kiwanuka makes a welcome return to the music scene. Following a number of sell-out dates in May, including a night at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the British singer-songwriter takes his critically acclaimed second album LOVE & HATE out on the road for seven new shows – and it certainly packs a powerful punch.

Arriv...

AUSTENTATIOUS is a Regency treat is guaranteed to delight Austen novices and die-hard fans alike

Fresh from six sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and a monthly residency in London’s Leicester Square, AUSTENTATIOUS heads out once again with a brand new UK tour. 

Performed by some of the country’s quickest comic actors, AUSTENTATIOUS is an improvised comedy play spun in the inimitable style of Jane Austen...

EDWARD GANT’S AMAZING FEATS OF LONELINESS by People Zoo Productions. Photo: Tom Barker

Bold, bizarre and a little bonkers, EDWARD GANT’S AMAZING FEATS OF LONELINESS! captures the peculiar atmosphere of the Victorian freak show

In 1881, the famed and enigmatic impresario Mr Edward Gant presented his renowned travelling show for the final time: a bizarre evening of grotesquery, black comedy and mystery...

When you visit the theatre to see a show you have booked it can still be a bit daunting. Perhaps you’ve seen the play performed by a different troupe. What if it doesn’t live up to that performance? What if it’s no good and you’ve paid a lot of money for your ticket? And that’s a show you know your going to watch. You know roughly what the performance is going to be about.

Now attend the theatre and not have a clue about what you will see…but this time you haven’t paid for the ticket...

We don our best Sherlock gear in an attempt to find out more about HUSH HUSH at The Lowry

Here at Frankly My Dear UK, we love a good mystery so when we heard about The Lowry’s HUSH HUSH performance, we instantly set out to find out more. 

Billed as a “secret performance”, HUSH HUSH forms part of The Lowry’s Pay What You Decide (PWYD) season. Instead of paying for a ticket in advance, audiences are asked to pay what they think the show is worth at the end of the performance...

Photo Credit: Michelle Owen-Williams

Beverley Knight cements her place as one of Britain’s greatest soul singers on her I LOVE SOULSVILLE tour

Since the release of her debut album THE B-FUNK in 1995, Beverley Knight has been riding on a high. Widely labelled as one of Britain’s greatest soul singers, the three time MOBO winner has a whopping eight studio albums to her name, has starred in two West End shows and even has an MBE for her contribution to British music...