Up the Bunting

Theatre Pop @ Bar Pop, Manchester

Reviewed by Matthew Dougall September 2017

At a time when the Fringe scene in Manchester is surprisingly quiet, as the summer's madness fades and the Autumn seasons haven't really kicked in yet, Wildcat and Lipstick Thespians chose to capitalise on this by presenting their latest collaboration.

They also chose a little known and highly underused venue too. The basement theatre at Bar Pop on Canal Street. More widely known as a night-club and cabaret venue, it has very limited lighting capacity, but being centrally located and easy to find, it does make for a sensible choice when looking for Fringe venues.

How the Other Half Loves

by Alan Ayckbourn at Lowry, Salford

Reviewed by John Waterhouse September 2017

How the other half loves is one of the best known and most performed of the 70 plus (and counting!) plays written by Alan Ayckbourn, and as with so many of his works, it uses the device of interrelating three couples in broadly middle-class surroundings. Having opened in the West End in 1970, this play is not so much dated as a time capsule both of early 70’s life and attitudes, as well the kind of issues upon which comedy was typically then based.

The Addams Family at Lowry Theatre

Reviewed by Matthew Dougall August 2017

Aria Entertainment in association with Music And Lyrics have brought the creepy and kooky clan, complete with singing and dancing dead ancestors, to Salford's Lowry Theatre. This is fast, fun, slick, and highly entertaining, and even before the first note was sung, the augurs were good as an impressive and versatile set by Diego Pitarch greeted us, cleverly lit throughout with a subtle but clever lighting design including one of the best dry ice sequences I have seen (Ben Cracknell).

The Addams Family have been around and in our cultural consciousness for many years, in the form of newspaper or television cartoons, and then a TV series and finally on film. Their creator Charles Addams first showed the world his characters way back in 1938. Few of us therefore could be unfamiliar with who and what these ooky people who delight in the macabre were. It is therefore full credit to the Casting Director, James Orange, for finding a cast who were simply perfect.

The Wizard of Oz at Stockport Plaza

Performed at Stockport Plaza

Reviewed by Matthew Dougall August 2017

A pantomime in August? Oh yes there is! Regal Entertainment Ltd's latest production sees the famous and familiar story of a young girl from Kansas travelling over the rainbow in a twister and finding herself in the magical land of Stockport, sorry Oz! [or, as the best line from the show states - the place of wannabe Mancunians!]

Bring on the Bollywood at Oldham Coliseum

by Phizzical Theatre Company

Reviewed by John Waterhouse July 2017

This is a show that delivers everything it says on the packet; a colourful, vibrant musical celebration of everything associated with the Bollywood phenomena, pleasing to the eye and leaving a feel good factor.

Dirty Dancing at Palace Theatre

Performed at Palace Theatre

Reviewed by Matthew Dougall July 2017

Dirty Dancing, The Classic Story On Stage, by Eleanor Bergstein hit Manchester's Palace Theatre last night, but it didn't just hit the board, it scored a bull's eye.

I have seen various incarnations of this Musical over the years, but this one for me, has to be the definitive version. If the only 'fault' I can find with this production is that I could see the cast enter through a black curtain behind the set revealing the stage left wing, then director Frederico Bellone, his team and cast have done an absolutely sterling job!

Forever Changes at 53two Theatre

by Dave Jones

Reviewed by John Waterhouse July 2017

Billed as ‘A gripping, pacy probe into the impact of domestic abuse’, Forever Changes actually offers much more than just a graphic portrayal of violence in the home. Over the course of an hour, it packs in a very varied and interesting insight into the causes and effects of an often hidden social issue, using music, imaginative staging and powerful performances.

Dave Jones’ play looks at the issue from various aspects, with both the victim and perpetrator being allowed to separately give their side of the story alongside the investigating police and the victim’s mother whilst dramatizing the central relationship through set piece mini-scenes. What sets Forever Changes apart from most plays of this genre is the way live music, often blended with dialogue, enhances the changing mood throughout the performance creating real tensions and alleviating the need to show the actual violence.

The Father at Oldham Coliseum

by Florian Zeller

Reviewed by John Waterhouse June 2017

The strap-line ‘a powerful and moving play about the devastating impact of dementia’ basically says it all. The acclaimed French playwright Florian Zeller has captured the internal angst of a terrible disease perfectly, whilst sensitively showing how the other concerned parties are affected. Credit must also be given to Christopher Hampton for a smoothly-flowing translation. The play does not attempt to offer any answers; how could it? Instead perhaps, it enables those of us with no direct experience of sufferers to be a little more sensitive to the condition, giving powerful insights into the complex and varied mental states of victims of dementia.

Out of Order by Ray Cooney

Performed at Opera House

Reviewed by John Waterhouse and Charles Britten May 2017

They say a week is a long time in politics, but in Ray Cooney's brilliant farce Out of Order, a few seconds is all it takes to transform a situation - almost invariably for the worse.

For those familiar with the traditions of Whitehall farce, Out of Order is might seem almost a users’ manual of standard devices, from the dignified man losing his trousers (wearing sock suspenders of course), unexpected guests presenting a potential crisis to an almost non-stop opening of doors as the situation gets ever more complicated but this doesn’t matter when we are carried along with action, right from the very beginning. This is one which does not have a slow build-up, grabbing us from the start.