Category The Lowry

This review was originally written for The Public Reviews

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical Oklahoma! may be 67 years old but it’s still as refreshing and thrilling as the day it was written. The award-winning musical has been revived in a brand new touring production directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Set at the turn of the twentieth century, Oklahoma! tells the story of two young cowboys Curly McLain (Ashley Day) and Will Parker (James O’Connell) who compete...

This review was originally written for The Public Reviews

More than thirty years after The Bradshaws was first broadcast as a short story on Manchester’s Piccadilly radio station, the fictitious family are still going strong as they embark on a new UK tour called Goosed.

For those who aren’t familiar with the show, The Bradshaws is a fictional family created and voiced by comedian and musician Buzz Hawkins...

This review was originally written for The Public Reviews

Believe it or not, 30 Million Minutes is actually Dawn French’s first ever solo tour. The Queen of British comedy may have been entertaining audiences since 1982 as one half of successful female double act French and Saunders, but it’s taken 32 years for the award-winning comedienne to take to the stage on a solo tour. Thankfully, she still has what it takes when it comes to making people laugh.

Open, honest and incredibly funny, 30 ...

This review was originally written for The Public Reviews

Opera North’s new production of Verdi’s La Traviata may have been 15 years in the making but it’s certainly worth the wait.

Fiercely passionate, profoundly moving and devastatingly tragic, La Traviata is widely considered the most popular opera of all time and is arguably Giuseppe Verdi’s best work. It is based on Alexander Dumas’ autobiographical tale La Dame aux Camelias about his affair with Marie Cuplessis who died aged 23 ...

This review was originally written for The Public Reviews

It’s hard to believe that Al Murray’s The Pub Landlord has been in business for 20 years. Striding about stage with pint-glass in hand and a quarrelsome grin on his face, Murray’s witty, double-edged satire is as fresh as ever, as Britain’s favourite publican embarks on a brand new national tour ‘One Man, One Guvnor’.

The one man, two-hour show sees The Pub Landlord back on a mission to solve the nation’s issues and to build ...

This review was originally written for The Public Reviews

More than three decades after Spandau Ballet topped the charts, Tony Hadley is back on the road for a nationwide solo tour with a full orchestra… and boy does he sound good.

Hadley first shot to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of pop/romantic band Spandau Ballet. The group sold more than 20 million albums in their heyday, with eight top ten hit singles to their name including: Chant No...