07/06/19 - The Book of Mormon at the Palace Theatre

Queuing on a rainy Manchester morning may not sound like a very appealing prospect, but when there are discounted preview tickets for The Book of Mormon on offer, you’ll find people are quite happy to get a bit wet.  Although I wasn’t as eager as the first who arrived at 5am, I joined the already lengthy queue outside the Palace Theatre an hour before the box office opened.  The weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of those in line, many taking the opportunity to make friends with their neighbours and to chat with the excited cast members who had come down to mingle with the fans. 

The same palpable energy was felt again a week later when we took our seats for the show.  The packed theatre was buzzing with people eager to see the Broadway and West End smash for the first time in their own city.  The Mormons had finally arrived in Manchester.

07/04/18 - Spring Awakening at Hope Mill Theatre

There are some pieces of art – a book, a song, a film – that come to you at exactly the right time.  They speak directly to you and it feels, to quote Alan Bennett, “as if a hand has come out and taken yours”.  Even as you change and grow away from the person you were when you had that initial reaction, these works stay with you.  They shape who you become, your development intrinsically linked to having had that experience just when you did.  Looking for Alaska by John Green was a big one for me.  As was the early music of Taylor Swift.  And Spring Awakening.

05/09/17 - Pippin at Hope Mill Theatre

While I am far from an expert, it's rare for me to head to the theatre to see a musical that I have absolutely no preconceptions of - I tend to be familiar with at least a couple of the songs if nothing else!  For this reason, I was very excited to head over to Hope Mill Theatre for the first preview of their latest in-house production, Pippin, without knowing much about it at all.

22/08/17 - 'Greyhounds' at the Kings Arms

Manchester is an incredibly creative place and the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival is a shining example of all the exciting things the city has to offer.  Running throughout the month of July, this year's was the biggest and the best yet with hundreds of productions taking place in a plethora of venues and I was lucky enough to attend Time & Again Theatre's sold out production of Greyhounds at the Kings Arms in Salford.

Picture credit: itslauracrow