Theatre Review: KING LEAR – Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

King Lear by PurpleCoat Productions

Following their five-star production of HAMLET and sell-out performances of TWELFTH NIGHT, Liverpool’s PurpleCoat make a welcome return to Manchester with their innovative re-imagining of KING LEAR.

Widely considered William Shakespeare’s bleakest tragedy, KING LEAR tells the story of the jealous and ageing King of Britain who greedily divides his kingdom between his three daughters based on who loves him most...

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FDA Celebrates a Spectacular Summer of Cinema

FDA Summer of Cinema

Spectacular line-up of feature films set to be released in UK cinemas this summer

Film fans are in for a treat this summer with a whopping 175 new films to be released between June and August.

From family favourites such as THE BFG, ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE and THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS to action-packed blockbusters such as STAR TREK BEYOND, JASON BOURNE and SUICIDE SQUAD, film fans will be spoilt for choice this summer when it comes to movies.

Summer typically marks a peak in cinemagoing by fam...

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Theatre Review: The Mighty Walzer – Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester

The Mighty Walzer Royal Exchange Theatre

Elliot Levey as Oliver Walzer in THE MIGHTY WALZER at Royal Exchange Theatre. Photo: Jonathan Keenan

THE MIGHTY WALZER is a fresh and modern adaption of a great comic novel

Howard Jacobson’s semi-autobiographical comic novel THE MIGHTY WALZER, has been adapted into a new stage adaptation directed by Jonathan Humphreys.

Written by Jacobson in Australia in the 1990s, THE MIGHTY WALZER is a riotous Manchester tale of growing up, sex and ping pong...

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Theatre Review: Millionaires Anonymous – Salford Arts Theatre

Millionaires Anonymous at Salford Arts Theatre

Dark, edgy and surprisingly funny, MILLIONAIRES ANONYMOUS takes a hilarious look at our never-ending lust for the green stuff

This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub. 

It is often said that money doesn’t buy you happiness and if Stewart McDonald’s new comedy play is anything to go by, the proverb certainly appears to be true.

MILLIONAIRES ANONYMOUS tells the story of six lottery winners who have lost their money to drink, drugs, sex and booze...

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Comedy Review: Fast Fringe with Justin Moorhouse – The Dancehouse, Manchester

Justin Moorhouse Fast Fringe

FAST FRINGE is a ridiculously fast-paced show that is as funny as it is frantic

If FAST FRINGE is anything to go by, the 2016 Greater Manchester Fringe Festival looks set to be a cracker! The two-hour comedy show opened the month-long festival at Manchester’s The Dancehouse last night, cramming more comedy and variety acts than into one bill than you thought possible.

Hosted by GM Fringe patron Justin Moorhouse, FAST FRINGE is a ridiculously fast-paced showcase of comedy and variety acts...

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THE 39 STEPS (The Lowry) Review

The 39 Steps Tour

Olivia Greene as Pamela and Richard Ede as Hannay in THE 39 STEPS. Photo: Dan Tsantilis

Fast-paced, well-polished and sublimely executed, THE 39 STEPS is still in spiffing form

Considering THE 39 STEPS is now in its 10th year, the award-winning production is still in spiffing form. After nine years in London’s West End, Patrick Barlow’s hilarious adaptation is back on tour and is as bonkers and as brilliant as ever.

Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps [DVD][1939 version starring Ro...

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Comedy Review: JAMES VEITCH – Dot Con, The Lowry

James Veitch Dot Con

Dot Con is a topical, fast-paced and witty comedy show about scamming the scammers

Email spam is still a big business. In 2013, 60% of emails sent were either spam or scam, resulting in innocent people being relieved of around $6 billion of their hard earned cash. So one bold, brave and bored comedian decided to do something about it.

For the past four years, James Veitch has been responding to as many scam emails as he can, from unclaimed insurance bonds to close friends marooned in a foreign...

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Theatre Review: ROCK OF AGES – The Lowry, Salford

Rock of Ages at The Lowry

SMTC’s production of ROCK OF AGES entertains but is a little rough-around-the-edges

The tail end of the big, bad 1980s was a time of big bands, big egos and even bigger hair. It was also was the age of the power ballad – those air-guitar anthems that you can’t help but rock along to...

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Theatre Review: BIRD – Royal Exchange, Manchester

BIRD at Royal Exchange Theatre

BIRD is an extremely bold play with excellent cast performances

BIRD, the winner of a Judges award in the 2013 Bruntwood Prize for playwriting, premiered at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre last night. Welsh writer Katherine Chandler brings us the story of Ava and Tash, two best friends fighting their way through the care system with only each other as support.

Ava (Georgia Henshaw), about to turn sixteen on the cusp of adulthood and about to become homeless, after three years of seperati...

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Theatre Review: The Hollywood Special Effects Show – The Lowry, Salford

The Hollywood Special Effects Show at The Lowry

The Hollywood Special Effects Show is interesting but ultimately fails to match up to its intended audience

If you’ve been to the cinema this year, chances are you saw a film that contained special effects. Almost every modern film features some form of special effects (SFX), whether its make-up prosthetics or CGI graphics. No surprise then that the team behind THE HOLLYWOOD SPECIAL EFFECTS SHOW decided to bring the glitz, glamour and gore of Hollywood to the stage.

THE HOLLYWOOD SPECIAL EFF...

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