Category Theatre Venues

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...

Alexander O’Neal may be in his sixties but he still has what it takes to entertain an audience

Alexander O’Neal’s heyday may have been in the 1980s but his extensive back catalogue and abilities as a live performer is still capable of drawing in the crowds.

The American singer-songwriter first shot to fame in the 1985 with hit single Saturday Love and has since released 14 UK top 40 singles including If You Were Here Tonight, Criticize, Saturday Love, (What Can I Say) To Make You Love Me ...

Slick, sassy and superbly performed, Alexandra Burke excels in The Bodyguard

Few people can handle the power ballad classic I Will Always Love You like Whitney Houston, but Alexandra Burke is certainly one of them.

The three-time Brit nominee and X-Factor winner steals the show as Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard, belting out hit after hit in the award-winning musical.

Based on the smash-hit 1992 film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, The Bodyguard tells the story of superstar Rachel Ma...

INTO THE WOODS L-R Michaela Bennison (stepsister) & Gemma Page (stepmother) Photo: Jonathan Keenan

Matthew Xia delivers a musical Christmas cracker at Manchester’s Royal Exchange with INTO THE WOODS

“Into the woods, into the woods!” And into the woods we certainly went!

Setting the scene for Sonheim’s amalgamation of fairy tales is Tony Award winning stage and costume designer Jenny Tiramani who has turned Manchester’s Royal Exchange round stage into a magical forest, both outside and inside...

Smart, stylish and scintillatingly witty, Opera North’s production of KISS ME KATE is not to be missed

This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub

Following their five-star production of Carousel in 2012, Opera North returns to the world of Broadway with a brand new production of hit musical Kiss Me, Kate.

Written by Samuel and Bella Spewack, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, Kiss Me, Kate revolves around the tangled love lives of theatre actor/producer Fred Graham and his leadi...

Gwen Dickey stars in new soul music spectacular Soul Legends

This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub

If Soul Legends is anything to go by, Salford just can’t get enough of that sweet soul music.

Created by the producers of Magic of Motown, Soul Legends is a two hour music spectacular which promises more soul classics than any other production...

Photo Image: Jonathan Keenan

Arthur Miller’s THE CRUCIBLE is brought to life in new production directed by Caroline Steinbeis at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre

2015 is the centenary year of playwright Arthur Miller’s birth and director Caroline Steinbeis has brought his Broadway production of THE CRUCIBLE to Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre.

Written in 1953 by Miller as an indirect and ingeniously shrewd way to speak out against McCarthyism and the anti-Communist enquiries in America,...

This review was originally written for The Public Reviews

When Annie first burst onto Broadway in 1977, the brassy American musical won over hearts of theatre goers across the world with a record six-year run at the Alvin Theatre, scooping a Tony Award for Best Musical. Over 38 years later, the award-winning musical is continuing to thrill audiences in a stunning new production on tour in the UK starring Craig Revel Horwood as the tyrannical Miss Hannigan.

Set in 1930s New York during The Great...