In this age of extremes, I often find myself at the sharp end of funding squeezes, local authority cuts, and am continually alarmed by the devastating demise of arts in our state schools. As you can imagine, it truly depresses me. So, I was delighted to be invited to a soft-launch of the National Youth […]
Bat Out of Hell is the first big musical to be staged at the theatre and it’s a night of delirious entertainment. It’s a tale of unrequited love from different sides of the track, with a parent determined to keep them apart. Story wise, it is post-apocalyptic Peter Pan. Jay Scheib’s totally electrifying production re-imagines the jukebox […]
Jonathan Harvey’s new play at Liverpool Everyman Our Lady of Blundellsands is savagely funny – the theatre legend talks about reviews, what makes a good play & more
He produced Cats, a musical featuring an animatronic singing pig, and even put a real helicopter on stage, and the one thing he can’t wrap his head around is transgender people playing classic roles? Back once again, then, to Sir Cameron Mackintosh, who is receiving widespread backlash for calling it “gimmick casting” to cast a […]
An actual show at the theatre. Wow indeed. Financially, theatre is unviable. Yet at the Barbican in London right now, it’s never looked so enticing, beautiful and well produced. Helmed by three-time Tony-winning director Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes is the real deal. Cheeriness is contagious, folks. It has been a long time coming, but Cole […]
On reading the words ‘Manchester International Festival’, you know you’re in for quite the experience. I mean, it’s not everyday you get the opportunity to attend a biennial international arts festival, during a pandemic, with a specific focus on original new work. There is more free, outdoor public art than ever before and the city […]
The Mono Box has always prided itself on supporting freelancers creatively – providing opportunities that are lacking or less accessible in the industry. For 8 years, we have run workshops and events for actors, directors and writers as well as, more recently, designers and movement directors. Training never stops but we also prioritise the importance of […]
July 2021. UK Theatres are in limbo. By now, of course, you know the latest facts, because you live in them. In no particular order, over 62% of British adults are now fully vaccinated. And 84% have had one dose. But the Indian or Delta variant (which is ultra-infectious, so infectious that one person may infect […]
Northern Stage’s newish artistic director Natalie Ibu – who took up her post in the middle of the pandemic – has impressed with her inclusive strides since taking up post in November 2020; during the second national lockdown. It’s true that Ibu has undeniably put the work in. But for all she has already achieved […]
Manchester International Festival (MIF), returns from 1-18 July with a vibrant programme of original new work from across the spectrum of visual and performing arts and music by artists from over 20 countries. The reasonably amazing lineup includes Angélique Kidjo, Akram Khan, Arlo Parks, Aaron and Bryce Dessner, Boris Charmatz, Cerys Matthews, Christine Sun Kim, Cillian […]
