Author: Kevin Bourke
Theatre Review: Curtains, Palace Theatre, Manchester
A musical whodunnit, penned by John Kander and Fred Ebb, the redoubtable team behind Cabaret and Chicago, and starring the likeable comedian Jason Manford who has come a long way from collecting glasses at Manchester’s Buzz comedy and music club, Curtains has, on the face of it, got a lot going for it.
Theatre Review: & Juliet, Manchester Opera House
Not so much a remix of Shakespeare as a thoroughly modern sequel, packed full of fashionable themes like female empowerment and gender fluidity, all set to, ahem, bangin’ tunes from some bloke you’ve probably never heard of even though they’ve sold in the high godzillions.
& Juliet: Miriam-Teak Lee talks about taking on the ultimate role
It’s by no means impossible that you’ve never heard the name Max Martin.
Theatre Review: Jerry Springer – The Musical, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Not that long ago, in 2006, when Jerry Springer – The Opera, Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee’s outlandish and provocative satire of over-the-top tabloid chat shows, first toured this country, outraged citizens (who in all probability hadn’t actually seen the show but knew in their hearts that they should definitely be outraged) demonstrated long and hard outside any regional theatres who had the balls to mount the show – sorry, this sort of stuff does seem to be catching after all.
Theatre Review: Amélie The Musical, Opera House, Manchester
I’ve pondered before in these pages on the apparently insatiable appetite of musical theatre producers for hit films that can be transformed into stage hits.
Theatre Review: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out: Scenes From the Luddite Rebellion, Royal Exchange, Manchester
There was no little irony in the fact that the press night opening for a play about the luddites should be delayed by a malfunctioning microphone.
“If you want to see the movie, see the movie.” Bob Gale talks to Northern Soul about Back to the Future – The Musical
Here’s the thing. The blockbuster film Back To The Future was first released in 1985, starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, a rock ‘n’ roll-loving teenager who is accidentally transported back to 1955 in a time-travelling DeLorean (ask your parents) invented by his friend, Dr Emmett Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd.
Review: A Drunk Pandemic, Manchester International Festival, Victoria Station
Even by the wild and woolly standards of Manchester International Festival, the Manchester cholera epidemic of the 1830s might be considered an unlikely inspiration for a project, let alone one for the first major UK project from a Tokyo-based art collective.
Review: The Book of Mormon, Palace Theatre, Manchester
Written by the South Park team of Trey Parker and Matt Stone with Avenue Q’s Robert Lopez, The Book Of Mormon arrives at Manchester’s Palace amid the sort of hype that has made it a very hot ticket indeed, with most of the fuss seeming to be about how ground-breakingly outrageous, but hilariously funny, the show is.
Theatre Review: Home, I’m Darling, The Lowry, Salford
Laura Wade’s Posh from 2010 was a riotous and righteous savaging of the English class divide.
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