Red Dust Road – Review

September 16, 2019 Comments Off read Reviews, Theatre

I’m not sure exactly when the word “dramedy” entered the popular consciousness of people’s lexicon but it seems that dramedies have been around for a lifetime. Mixing comedy and drama has become vogue and that is certainly the case for the heavyweight production from HOME and the National Theatre of Scotland, Red Dust Road. A play that centres on the memoirs by Scots Makar Jackie Kay, it tells the story of Kay’s journey from being an adoptive mixed race child to her search for her real parents, bringing into sharp focus issues such as race, sexuality and parenthood.

Continue reading →

The Jumper Factory – Review

September 12, 2019 Comments Off read Reviews, Theatre

I personally blame Porridge. Their cute array of loveable rogues. Fletcher. Godber. Even the bad guy, Harry Grout, is played with a sentimental kitsch that has the audience guffawing in sentimentality. In fact there’s a whole host of dramas that give prison life a bit of sappy saccharine schmaltz. Think Shawshank Redemption. Green Mile. Heck, even Midnight Express is packed with maudlin idealism. So, when the Jumper Factory comes along, a play about what it really is like to be inside prison, it shatters our dewy-eyed illusions.

Continue reading →

One Night In Miami – Review

July 4, 2019 Comments Off read Reviews, Theatre

Recently HOME Manchester have been knocking it out of the park. They’ve received rave reviews for their summer festivities, with Incoming and Horizon festivals proving to be a hit with audiences and critics alike. Their latest offering – One Night in Miami – is hoping to be just as popular, which sees the imagined account of a fabled real-life event that sees four icons come together in a downtown Miami motel room.

Continue reading →

Freeman – Review

June 25, 2019 Comments Off read Reviews, Theatre

Incoming Festival 2019 is a celebration of the best emerging theatre companies from the UK and beyond and is currently showcasing a week of shows at Home Manchester. If anything sums up the spirit of this festival then it would be Strictly Arts – a young, black-led theatre company – and their production of Freeman, which examines the unspoken link between mental health and systemic racism. It was an evening of brutality intertwined with beauty that left the audience totally and utterly blown away.

Continue reading →

Miss Julie – Review

June 20, 2019 Comments Off read Reviews, Theatre

Hope Mill Theatre is one of those artistic establishments that are just too good to be true. Just off the beaten track, a hidden treasure for true theatre enthusiasts to find and rave on about for eternity. Their program often resonates with the audience and become firm favourites with those that extravagantly indulge in a good old fashioned stage production. Their latest offering is another sure fire hit, teaming up with Elysium Theatre Company and Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, they are reviving the August Strindberg’s classic tale of Miss Julie.

Continue reading →