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Ishy gets his big break

SNOOKERED, (UCO Studio)
ISHY Din will not be a name known to theatregoers, but just wait!

The Tamasha Theatre/Coliseum joint discovery is a former taxi-driver who still occasionally does a shift in his native Middlesbrough.

His ear for dialogue has been honed over several “ordinary” jobs and, since 2004, in writing plays for radio. This year he will also be a playwright in residence at Manchester’s Royal Exchange.

So he is no beginner, but this is Din’s

Date published: 06/02/2012

Greatest Con in Schools Exposed

The Friday Thing: FORGET maths, English and history.

Some schools (probably most of them) have been signing pupils up for GCSEs in things like jam-butty making, pencil sharpening, nose picking and painting finger nails because most of the, shall we say not-so-bright children who sit at the back of class texting their friends instead of learning, can actually pass exams in...

Date published: 03/02/2012

Consider yourself exhausted by show’s frantic pace

OLIVER!, Palace, Manchester, to March 10

POOR Lionel Bart: his tragedy was that he wrote about 20 songs that stand against the greatest tunes in any musical. Then he went and put them all in one show, and never managed to do it again.

It is, in one way, quite sad to think that producer Cameron Mackintosh has now produced more versions of this one show than Bart...

Date published: 02/02/2012

Faultless performance from nation’s sweetheart

KATHERINE JENKINS, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.

IT is easy to see why this record-breaking, multi-platinum selling mezzo-soprano has quickly become one of the nation’s sweethearts.

She appeared on stage last night looking stunning in a range of fabulous dresses, bravely singing songs of heartbreak and love — less than a month after splitting from her TV...

Date published: 02/02/2012

Classic tale lacks magic

‘Beauty and the Beast’, Lowry, Salford
Birmingham Royal Ballet calls on such a pool of dance and production talent, from director and choreographer David Bintley down, that rarely does one of the company’s shows fail to please.

This time the work pleases, but fails to go that extra step towards delight.

This Bintley work from 2003 rode the wave of...

Date published: 25/01/2012

Two’s tedious company

TWO, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Just as Walter Greenwood documented the bleak existence of lower-class living in Love on the Dole and the fun of it in Saturday Night at the Crown, Farnworth playwright Jim Cartwright has done the same thing with Road and with this play, like Crown, set in a traditional boozer.

Greenwood celebrated the rumbustious life of...

Date published: 24/01/2012

Xuefei reigns in music of Spain

Halle Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
THE Halle played host to one of the world’s finest classical guitarists as Beijing-born Xuefei Yang took centre stage for a performance of Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez.”

The UK-based musician wowed the audience with her precision and feeling.

Bury-born conductor Stephen Bell led the orchestra...

Date published: 23/01/2012

At the first stroke we’ll be on atomic time...

THE FRIDAY THING
THIS New Year’s Eve there was more than usual resonance to the passage of time at least as far as we in the UK are concerned. Greenwich Mean Time (the much loved GMT) may soon be no more.

Inevitably the French and the Germans want to see the back of GMT and have joined the Americans in trying to replace it with time defined by a linked collection of 400...

Date published: 06/01/2012

Waltz through the Viennese classics

New Year Celebration, the Halle Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.
IF there is one thing guaranteed to lift the spirits and get the New Year off to a grand start, it’s a concert of Viennese music.

And last night’s offering by the razor sharp Halle Orchestra and its special guest, Lesley Garrett, was no exception.

This fine set of musicians cavorted...

Date published: 04/01/2012

Nostalgia rules amid disco, divas and Abba

Sounds of the 70s, Halle Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall
YOU always expect 70s nights to be fun, but this concert was a real cracker.

Four vocalists combined under the name of Capital Voices fronted an orchestra which was out to join in the spirit right from the start.

Clad in brightly-coloured bell bottoms, slinky jumpsuits, stripey skinny ribs jumpers and airy-fairy...

Date published: 03/01/2012

The weighty issue of obesity

THE FRIDAY THING: IT’S probably not the best time of year to ask, but how’s the weight today?

Couldn’t face another mince pie or roast potato? Got a few more bumps and lumps you’re trying to hide under that new Christmas woolly? Well you’re not alone.

The trouble is that although we can see we are getting fatter, most of us are in denial....

Date published: 30/12/2011

The name’s Barry, John Barry

Bond and Beyond, Halle Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
TOP-CLASS musicians teamed up with the versatile vocals of Mary Carewe to bring a tribute to movie music maestro, John Barry.

Last night’s concert was enjoyed by an appreciative full house at the Bridgewater Hall, who turned out to hear the Halle Orchestra give life to some of the best-loved music from...

Date published: 30/12/2011

Christmas feelgood factor

The Halle’s Christmas Cracker, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
THIS latest festive offering from the splendid Halle Orchestra was just the ticket for the festive season with carol after carol and Christmas hit after Christmas hit spilling forth from the stage under the accomplished baton of Stephen Bell.

It doesn’t matter how often some of the nation’s...

Date published: 28/12/2011

The Messiah, Uppermill Civic Hall

Saddleworth Male Voice Choir performed Handel’s Messiah to a full-house at Uppermill Civic Hall.

For those wanting a traditional large-scale performance the evening didn’t disappoint.

The ranks of the SMVC were swelled by ladies drawn from choirs around and all were equally committed to the enterprise.

They had been well trained by the director of...

Date published: 21/12/2011

Songs of the season

Halle Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
A MIX of the traditional and the new formed the basis of this year’s Christmas Carol Concert from the Halle Orchestra and its three choirs.


Conductor Timothy Redmond and presenter Petroc Trelawny combined forces with almost 300 voices, the hall’s organ, and the orchestra for a Christmas extravaganza to get the...

Date published: 19/12/2011

Smoke police send out wrong signals

THE FRIDAY THING: RECENT warnings from me that the health lot’s declaration of open war on smokers would lead to a knock on the door in the night by the Puffing Police and the removal of your kids and your dog if there was a trace of cigarette smoke anywhere in the house have surely come a gigantic step closer to reality.

In preparation for home visits with their...

Date published: 16/12/2011

From Russia with passion

Russian Classics, Halle Orchestra, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.
IF this exciting concert from the Halle’s Christmas and New Year programme is anything to judge by, then the next couple of weeks promise to bring something very special.

With just four pieces performed throughout the evening, this class set of musicians gave a tremendous performance under the...

Date published: 16/12/2011

Steele brings out the nice-guy in Scrooge

SCROOGE, Lowry, Salford (to January 7)
REAL royalty one week, stage royalty the next. Tommy Steele takes over the Lowry main stage from the Royal Variety crowd and offers a Quays Christmas whose pedigree is long-established.

Bill Kenwright’s production has been a Christmas staple for years, and Steele — 75 on Friday — has appeared in it half-a-dozen...

Date published: 14/12/2011

Comic tale fails to find focus — until it’s too late

You Can’t Take it With You, Royal Exchange, Manchester
Royal Exchange Christmas productions have a bit of a reputation for being patchy, but usually this happens year to year, not in the same show.

This zany comedy comes with the pedigree of Kaufman and Hart, who wrote for the Marx Brothers and won a Pulitzer Prize for this in 1937.

It’s a slightly...

Date published: 13/12/2011

The Courteeners, Apollo, Manchester

I CAN’T say I’ve ever seen a lead singer face a barrage of shoes being launched at the stage mid-song.

But fans of Middleton musicians The Courteeners are an enthusiastic bunch and were more than ready to get the weekend started yesterday on the first of a three-night stint.

A year since their triumphant homecoming gig at the MEN Arena, the indie rockers...

Date published: 09/12/2011

Spence cranks up camp factor for Cinders

AFTER the disappointment of last year’s “Snow White”, when two performers damaged the show badly but one managed by his quiet brilliance to save it, hopes weren’t too high for this latest big-scale city panto.

But he’s back, and this time comedian Tam Ryan — who triumphed in the comedy role last time — doesn’t have to work so...

Date published: 08/12/2011

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