Once in a while something comes along to just blow your minds. Something that is so seamlessly in tune with every facet of the production, harmoniously joyful, that it stops becoming theatrical and turns into something quite magical. The Animals and Children took to the Streets is such a production. A conjuring cornucopia of captivating concoctions that leaves the viewer completely spellbound.
Annie is one of those musicals that most fans of the genre just love. The classic award winning Broadway musical, based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip, always has a special affection for fans, with stand out numbers such as “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard Knock Life”, any revival is sure to be the talk of the town. The smash-hit production of Annie, straight from the West End, is currently on at the Manchester Opera House for two weeks and our intrepid reporter went to find out what the fuss was all about.
So it’s goodbye to January, who departs with its usual lack of fanfare and it being the month that most people tend to go into some sort of self imposed hibernation, and hello to freezing February as we get set to batten down the hatches as the winter chill continues to rear its unwelcome ugly head. Never fear, dear readers, for we can warm ourselves by cosying up to the delights that wait in store for us in Manchester finest theatres and entertainment venues.
Saturday Night Fever is one of those bona fide classics. The film starring John Travolta was a gritty depiction of working class life in the Bay Ridge suburbs of the Bronx set to a genre defining soundtrack. That musical backbeat to the tribulations of Tony Manero formed the cornerstone of the phenomenon that would become disco. The stage version, currently on tour at Manchester Palace, therefore was a must see event for all those lovers of glitter balls, iconic white suits and some killer dance moves that Wigan Casino veterans would no doubt remember in their heyday.
Ahir Shah is one of those comics with a burgeoning reputation, his current show, Duffer, which I caught at The Lowry, was nominated for the 2017 Edinburgh Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (where else I hear you ask) and is a set that deals with the thorny subjects of mortality, religion and .. well Bohemian Rhapsody.