Equity general secretary Paul Fleming travelled to Manchester for crunch talks with the Arts Council over the future of jobs at Oldham Coliseum At a press conference on the doorstep of Arts Council offices immediately after the high stakes talks, Mr. Fleming said he thinks a deal is close, but going too slow to save… Continue reading Time against Oldham Coliseum
Month: March 2023
Looking For Me Friend
Victoria Wood, much loved comedienne, writer and entertainer, got her big break on the TV talent show New Faces in 1974 which led to an incredible career that lasted until her early death from cancer in 2016. On the way, she gathered a huge following of fans who have kept her memory alive—and Looking For… Continue reading Looking For Me Friend
Love It If We Beat Them
This new political drama by Rob Ward, billed as football, politics and the labour of love, is set in spring 1996. Football-wise, this certainly hits the spot, as it was that Newcastle United Premier League season when Kevin Keegan was manager and the team could do no wrong. In the politics area, Tony Blair, with… Continue reading Love It If We Beat Them
Top Girls
Five women—spanning several centuries of history—walk into a restaurant… So not the standard set-up for a joke, but a timely revival of Caryl Churchill’s 1980s dissection of Girl Power. The infamous five are there to celebrate the very modern Marlene’s appointment as managing director of Top Girls employment agency. As they all relax into their… Continue reading Top Girls
Their Finest Hour
With the sounds of trains rattling ominously overhead, the small stage at Waterloo East is the perfect setting for a play that scales great heights, but all from the attic of a dearly missed grandfather. Steve Darlow’s ambitious script chronicling the adventures, experiences and sacrifices of the RAF during WW2 is bookended with a family… Continue reading Their Finest Hour
Rose Bruford Masters Queer Performance
Rose Bruford College now offers a course in Queer Performance. At postgraduate Masters level, this trailblazing course is the only one of its kind currently available and will be delivered through distance learning and in-person events on both a full- or part-time basis allowing participants to continue making work whilst studying. Delivered by queer artists,… Continue reading Rose Bruford Masters Queer Performance
The Cunning Little Vixen
This particular staging of The Cunning Little Vixen—directed by Sir David Pountney in 1980 as part of a Janáček season performed by Scottish Opera and the Welsh National Opera—has gained the reputation of an enduring classic. For Rupert Christiansen, former opera critic of The Daily Telegraph, Pountney’s version “skilfully treads the fine line” between “sentimentalized,… Continue reading The Cunning Little Vixen
Liverpool improv festival
Liverpool’s first ever festival of improvisation takes place April 21-22 at Unity Theatre, 1 Hope Place. Across two days will be 12 shows including two world premières and four workshops. There is a mix of established artists and companies and those who are new and emerging. All the work is improvised and draws upon numerous art forms including… Continue reading Liverpool improv festival
Hey Duggee in Salford
The Hey Duggee interactive stage show comes to The Lowry, Salford March 24–26. It’s the first-ever stage adaptation of the CBeebies series, which brings Duggee and friends to life through puppetry and storytelling. It has been adapted for the stage by Vikki Stone (#zoologicalsociety – Royal And Derngate, Romeo And Duet – ITV) and Matthew… Continue reading Hey Duggee in Salford
Blue goes live
On the 30th anniversary of its completion Neil Bartlett directs a live version of Derek Jarman’s seminal film Blue in Brighton, Margate, Manchester and London. Blue was Derek Jarman’s final film. Completed in May 1993, just months before his death, it is his testament. For 74 minutes, an unchanging screen of celestial blue is accompanied by voices which… Continue reading Blue goes live