21/05/15 - 'Cuddles' at the Royal Exchange

With so many brilliant productions running back-to-back in the main theatre of the Royal Exchange, it can be easy to forget the 90-seater studio that the venue also offers allowing smaller, often touring, performances an intimate theatre space within the beautiful building.  Despite being a regular visitor, I had ashamedly overlooked some of the performances on offer in favour of the larger shows.  However, the advertising for Arch 468's Cuddles very much intrigued me and so, with a midweek day off, I ventured into the studio for what turned out to be a truly unique piece of theatre.

12/05/15 - Pitch Perfect 2 and Q+A with Anna Kendrick

No one wins competitions, right?  That's what I always thought, so you can imagine my surprise when I ended up winning the opportunity to head down to London for an advance screening of Pitch Perfect 2 with Stylist magazine followed by a Q+A with the film's star Anna Kendrick hosted by comedian Sarah Millican!  After a long and laborious coach journey down from Manchester (apparently I get really travel sick - who knew?), we began our time in London with some intense sight-seeing, hitting every landmark possible in a few hours before heading to the swanky Mayfair Hotel for the screening itself.  The venue was beautiful - we were greeted for a drinks reception in the Crystal Room which was incredibly impressive and full of excited chatter as the winners mingled and sipped free wine.

08/05/15 - How To Build A Girl by Caitlin Moran

Caitlin Moran has been making quite a stir recently.  From a regular column in The Times, to a career as a bestselling author, to most recently co-writing Channel 4 sitcom Raised by Wolves, her particular brand of candid and unashamed feminism seems to be everywhere and I for one could not be happier.  As a big fan of her work, I was therefore very glad to be able to spend a couple of hours in her presence on her recent tour.