Author: Jennifer Roberts

GREAT EXPECTATIONS – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE MANCHESTER

16th September 2023

Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations has been adapted by Tanika Gupta and is directed by Pooja Ghai, in this co-production between the Royal Exchange Theatre and Tamasha. Dickens’s classic story of a working-class boy becoming a gentleman still resonates today. Pip’s longing to move beyond his station, Miss Havisham’s desire for revenge against the men who have wronged … More GREAT EXPECTATIONS – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE MANCHESTER

OUTSIDE IN – REVIEW – GREATER MANCHESTER FRINGE

27th July 2023

Outside In is a 50-minute one-woman show by Ilaria Passeri. It is presented at Gullivers, Manchester for the Greater Manchester Fringe 2023. Ilaria is a storyteller. Outside In is a selection of stories for adults chronicling times in Passeri’s life where she has felt as if she’s looking outside in, from her time as a Brownie to ill-fated … More OUTSIDE IN – REVIEW – GREATER MANCHESTER FRINGE

WHAT HAPPENED TO CONNIE CONVERSE? – REVIEW – GREATER MANCHESTER FRINGE

27th July 2023

What Happened to Connie Converse? is presented by Idol Complex Productions for the Greater Manchester Fringe. Co-written by Róis Doherty and Xenia Lily, directed by Rosa Graham and Róis Doherty, the show performed at the King’s Arms in Salford.  The play is based on the ‘true-ish’ story of one of the first American singer-songwriters, Connie Converse, … More WHAT HAPPENED TO CONNIE CONVERSE? – REVIEW – GREATER MANCHESTER FRINGE

BUZZING – REVIEW – GREATER MANCHESTER FRINGE

14th July 2023

Debbie Bird’s Buzzing is a raw, honest account of sexuality in middle age. It is directed by Mark Farrelly and has been touring since its debut at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019. Fresh from an Ann Summers party, Julie downs a glass of white wine and lists all the men she’s been fantasising about. Her favourite barista, … More BUZZING – REVIEW – GREATER MANCHESTER FRINGE

NOAH’S FLOOD – REVIEW – MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

11th July 2023

Noah’s Flood is a co-production by Slung Low and Manchester Collective for Leeds 2023 and Manchester International Festival (MIF). It is directed by Slung Low’s Artistic Director Alan Lane and conducted by Nicholas Chalmers, with the Animal Chorus directed in rehearsals by Ellie Slorach and Charlie Perry. Featuring performances from the Hallé Youth Ensembles and Ingram … More NOAH’S FLOOD – REVIEW – MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

GOOD GIRL – REVIEW – GREATER MANCHESTER FRINGE

10th July 2023

Good Girl by Rhiannon Jenkins is a sixty-minute one-woman show presented by Thunderbolt Comedy. Starring Jenkins herself and with direction from Chris Griswold, Good Girl is some of the most fun I’ve had in a theatre.  Jenkins greeted me personally as I entered, complimenting me on my dress. Jenkins’ own dress, a satin red number, was very quickly … More GOOD GIRL – REVIEW – GREATER MANCHESTER FRINGE

KAGAMI – REVIEW – MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

3rd July 2023

Kagami is presented at Versa Manchester Studios for Manchester International Festival 2023; an augmented reality concert directed by Todd Eckert, featuring the late Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. I had no idea what to expect from Kagami when I walked into the warehouse-like Versa Manchester Studios. I previously saw a show with virtual reality headsets which was a … More KAGAMI – REVIEW – MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

THE FAGGOTS AND THEIR FRIENDS BETWEEN REVOLUTIONS – REVIEW – MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

30th June 2023

The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions is presented at the HOME Theatre, Manchester as part of Manchester International Festival 2023. The reclamation of the F slur is intended not to be provocative, but deliberate, loving, and joyful – this review will use it in the same way.  Based on the 1977 book of the same … More THE FAGGOTS AND THEIR FRIENDS BETWEEN REVOLUTIONS – REVIEW – MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

GREATEST DAYS – REVIEW – PALACE THEATRE, MANCHESTER

21st May 2023

On tour ahead of its film adaptation this summer, Greatest Days doesn’t quite deliver on its titular promise. Billed as ‘The Official Take That Musical’, Greatest Days is a rebrand of The Band which premiered in Manchester in 2017. It’s not to be confused with Never Forget, another Take That jukebox musical, which is about the forming of a Take That tribute band. Greatest Days follows a group of … More GREATEST DAYS – REVIEW – PALACE THEATRE, MANCHESTER

NO PAY? NO WAY! – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE, MANCHESTER

19th May 2023

Co-Artistic Director Bryony Shanahan’s last hurrah at the Royal Exchange is a political farce that feels as though it was written directly from today’s news. No Pay? No Way! is a translation of a 1974 Italian play Non Si Paga! Non Si Paga! by Dario Fo and Franca Rame. The English translation by Marieke Hardy debuted in Sydney, … More NO PAY? NO WAY! – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE, MANCHESTER

STARS: AN AFROFUTURIST SPACE ODYSSEY – REVIEW – CONTACT MANCHESTER

10th May 2023

Presented by the Contact Theatre, STARS is a multimedia Odyssey that takes you through being Black, being a woman, and being a Black Woman and lands you amongst the stars.   STARS: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey by Mojisola Adebayo is produced by Tamasha and the Institute of Contemporary Art. It is directed by Gail Babb and S. Ama Wray, … More STARS: AN AFROFUTURIST SPACE ODYSSEY – REVIEW – CONTACT MANCHESTER

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE

31st March 2023

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is the second Tennessee Williams play programmed at the Royal Exchange Theatre in the last six months, after The Glass Menagerie’s success in September last year. It is directed by co-artistic director Roy Alexander Weise, who will also direct the International Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting winning play Untitled F*ck … More CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE

THIS TOWN – REVIEW – CONTACT MANCHESTER

24th March 2023

Contact and Derby Theatre presents a striking representation of struggle and hope in a forgotten-about, working-class town in Northern England. This Town is performed by the playwright Rory Aaron, and Kate Ireland, and directed by Cheryl Martin. It is showing at Contact, Manchester, a venue that champions young people aged 13-30 from the staff to the … More THIS TOWN – REVIEW – CONTACT MANCHESTER

BEGINNING – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE MANCHESTER

23rd February 2023

After a slew of big, brash, and loud plays being staged at the Royal Exchange, Beginning’s will-they-won’t-they style of rom-com feels like a cosy night in.  David Eldridge’s Beginning is revived at Manchester’s Royal Exchange, after a run at the National Theatre in 2017. The play is a beautiful two-hander directed by Artistic Director Bryony Shanahan, who has … More BEGINNING – REVIEW – ROYAL EXCHANGE MANCHESTER