@circlesandstalls.bsky.social
Mostly about theatre and performance in Manchester
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Manchester Theatre – Best of 2024
Welcome to my Circles & Stalls look back at 2024. As in previous years, this is very much a best of Manchester theatre list. So, it doesn’t include any shows that were passing through on tour o…
circlesandstalls.com
Here's my round up of my favourite Greater Manchester theatre this year. My top 10 shows + a few other things I really liked: circlesandstalls.com/2024/12/29/m...
Great to see campaigning, socially engaged theatre-making at @contactmcr.bsky.social with BLOCK THE BLOCK. Nathaniel McBride's play asks challenging questions around what power citizens have, if any, as Manchester is remade around us - & the script-in-hand performance had real impact. More please!
March 25, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Great to see campaigning, socially engaged theatre-making at @contactmcr.bsky.social with BLOCK THE BLOCK. Nathaniel McBride's play asks challenging questions around what power citizens have, if any, as Manchester is remade around us - & the script-in-hand performance had real impact. More please!
David Thacker's THAT CAN'T HAVE HAPPENED! at Salford's The Kings Arms is verbatim theatre at its most powerful. Staged simply, with emotionally rich, and often raw, performances - the production honours the harrowing, yet inspiring, stories of women who have survived domestic violence.
March 22, 2025 at 12:27 PM
David Thacker's THAT CAN'T HAVE HAPPENED! at Salford's The Kings Arms is verbatim theatre at its most powerful. Staged simply, with emotionally rich, and often raw, performances - the production honours the harrowing, yet inspiring, stories of women who have survived domestic violence.
Challengingly double-edged, Kellie Colbert's DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE thoughtfully conveys how relationships have the ability to make and/or break us. There's power in the show's restraint, it's often like a suppressed scream, & Colbert's face can say so much. From @warnmcr.bsky.social at Contact
March 14, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Challengingly double-edged, Kellie Colbert's DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE thoughtfully conveys how relationships have the ability to make and/or break us. There's power in the show's restraint, it's often like a suppressed scream, & Colbert's face can say so much. From @warnmcr.bsky.social at Contact
Reposted
REVIEW - Oldham Coliseum is in a celebratory mood with their new production THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY, directed by Amanda Huxtable, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2025/02/20/t...
The Engagement Party
Review of The Engagement Party at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oldham. It feels good to be heading to Oldham for a night out. The tram ride out from Victoria used to be a regular feature of my cultural li…
circlesandstalls.com
February 21, 2025 at 8:02 AM
REVIEW - Oldham Coliseum is in a celebratory mood with their new production THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY, directed by Amanda Huxtable, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2025/02/20/t...
Reposted
REVIEW - director Hannah Ellis Ryan's affection for BLITHE SPIRIT is obvious, but her production at Hope Mill Theatre takes enough risks to make it feel fresh as well as fun – and Karen Henthorn's Madame Arcati blows in like a gale. Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2025/02/17/b...
Blithe Spirit
Review of Blithe Spirit at Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester. Novelist Charles Condomine has invited a local medium and clairvoyant to his home, hoping to gather material for his next book. As they pre…
circlesandstalls.com
February 17, 2025 at 2:15 PM
REVIEW - director Hannah Ellis Ryan's affection for BLITHE SPIRIT is obvious, but her production at Hope Mill Theatre takes enough risks to make it feel fresh as well as fun – and Karen Henthorn's Madame Arcati blows in like a gale. Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2025/02/17/b...
REVIEW - Oldham Coliseum is in a celebratory mood with their new production THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY, directed by Amanda Huxtable, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2025/02/20/t...
The Engagement Party
Review of The Engagement Party at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oldham. It feels good to be heading to Oldham for a night out. The tram ride out from Victoria used to be a regular feature of my cultural li…
circlesandstalls.com
February 21, 2025 at 8:02 AM
REVIEW - Oldham Coliseum is in a celebratory mood with their new production THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY, directed by Amanda Huxtable, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2025/02/20/t...
REVIEW - director Hannah Ellis Ryan's affection for BLITHE SPIRIT is obvious, but her production at Hope Mill Theatre takes enough risks to make it feel fresh as well as fun – and Karen Henthorn's Madame Arcati blows in like a gale. Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2025/02/17/b...
Blithe Spirit
Review of Blithe Spirit at Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester. Novelist Charles Condomine has invited a local medium and clairvoyant to his home, hoping to gather material for his next book. As they pre…
circlesandstalls.com
February 17, 2025 at 2:15 PM
REVIEW - director Hannah Ellis Ryan's affection for BLITHE SPIRIT is obvious, but her production at Hope Mill Theatre takes enough risks to make it feel fresh as well as fun – and Karen Henthorn's Madame Arcati blows in like a gale. Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2025/02/17/b...
Strong women, working class bingo, dormant desires, Rachael Gooch's uninhibited singing, & who would have thought bubbles would bring such pure joy to a roomful of adults! No shortage of creativity & connections at @warnmcr.bsky.social's first SOCIAL EXPERIMENT at @contactmcr.bsky.social last night.
February 7, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Strong women, working class bingo, dormant desires, Rachael Gooch's uninhibited singing, & who would have thought bubbles would bring such pure joy to a roomful of adults! No shortage of creativity & connections at @warnmcr.bsky.social's first SOCIAL EXPERIMENT at @contactmcr.bsky.social last night.
Reposted
🧬 #SocialExperiment
A new gathering for #LiveArt & contemporary #performance — meet artists & others, take a few risks, maybe test out an idea…
A series of free, #informal evenings at @contactmcr.bsky.social — today we're showing five works from 6pm to about 9pm
wordofwarning.org/socialexperiment
A new gathering for #LiveArt & contemporary #performance — meet artists & others, take a few risks, maybe test out an idea…
A series of free, #informal evenings at @contactmcr.bsky.social — today we're showing five works from 6pm to about 9pm
wordofwarning.org/socialexperiment
February 6, 2025 at 10:50 AM
🧬 #SocialExperiment
A new gathering for #LiveArt & contemporary #performance — meet artists & others, take a few risks, maybe test out an idea…
A series of free, #informal evenings at @contactmcr.bsky.social — today we're showing five works from 6pm to about 9pm
wordofwarning.org/socialexperiment
A new gathering for #LiveArt & contemporary #performance — meet artists & others, take a few risks, maybe test out an idea…
A series of free, #informal evenings at @contactmcr.bsky.social — today we're showing five works from 6pm to about 9pm
wordofwarning.org/socialexperiment
Night People's SALOON IN BLOOM was a delight last night. Club kids, gambolling sprites, pleasure-seekers - to a beat-driven soundtrack, Daisy Howell & Aaron Howell enticingly shapeshifted back & forth through HOME's new arches. My highlight of PUSH 2025.
February 6, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Night People's SALOON IN BLOOM was a delight last night. Club kids, gambolling sprites, pleasure-seekers - to a beat-driven soundtrack, Daisy Howell & Aaron Howell enticingly shapeshifted back & forth through HOME's new arches. My highlight of PUSH 2025.
Isn't January meant to be quiet theatre-wise? Apparently not. Lots of festival happenings in Manchester this week with the wonderful FUTURE FLARES at Grosvenor East from tonight & the welcome return of PUSH (after its mysterious disappearance last year) at @HOME_mcr from Friday.
January 22, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Isn't January meant to be quiet theatre-wise? Apparently not. Lots of festival happenings in Manchester this week with the wonderful FUTURE FLARES at Grosvenor East from tonight & the welcome return of PUSH (after its mysterious disappearance last year) at @HOME_mcr from Friday.
David Thacker scatters the audience (at the King's Arms) among the shifting & uncertain perspectives of Brian Friel's FAITH HEALER - & with Colin Connor, Vicky Binns & Rupert Hill firing on all cylinders, powerfully evokes a shabby, rootless & unravelling world - where miracles might just happen.
January 19, 2025 at 10:14 AM
David Thacker scatters the audience (at the King's Arms) among the shifting & uncertain perspectives of Brian Friel's FAITH HEALER - & with Colin Connor, Vicky Binns & Rupert Hill firing on all cylinders, powerfully evokes a shabby, rootless & unravelling world - where miracles might just happen.
Reposted
Here's my round up of my favourite Greater Manchester theatre this year. My top 10 shows + a few other things I really liked: circlesandstalls.com/2024/12/29/m...
Manchester Theatre – Best of 2024
Welcome to my Circles & Stalls look back at 2024. As in previous years, this is very much a best of Manchester theatre list. So, it doesn’t include any shows that were passing through on tour o…
circlesandstalls.com
December 29, 2024 at 1:16 PM
Here's my round up of my favourite Greater Manchester theatre this year. My top 10 shows + a few other things I really liked: circlesandstalls.com/2024/12/29/m...
Here's my round up of my favourite Greater Manchester theatre this year. My top 10 shows + a few other things I really liked: circlesandstalls.com/2024/12/29/m...
Manchester Theatre – Best of 2024
Welcome to my Circles & Stalls look back at 2024. As in previous years, this is very much a best of Manchester theatre list. So, it doesn’t include any shows that were passing through on tour o…
circlesandstalls.com
December 29, 2024 at 1:16 PM
Here's my round up of my favourite Greater Manchester theatre this year. My top 10 shows + a few other things I really liked: circlesandstalls.com/2024/12/29/m...
REVIEW - Josh Seymour’s production of SPEND SPEND SPEND at the Royal Exchange is enjoyably effervescent & full of restless ingenuity. It’s all highly entertaining and helped in no small part by Lucy Hinds’ wonderful choreography. Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2024/12/29/s...
Spend Spend Spend
Review of Spend Spend Spend at Royal Exchange, Manchester. After winning £152,000 on the football pools in 1961 (the equivalent of over £4,000,000 today), Viv Nicholson famously declared “I’m going…
circlesandstalls.com
December 29, 2024 at 12:58 PM
REVIEW - Josh Seymour’s production of SPEND SPEND SPEND at the Royal Exchange is enjoyably effervescent & full of restless ingenuity. It’s all highly entertaining and helped in no small part by Lucy Hinds’ wonderful choreography. Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2024/12/29/s...
In the throes of a life-changing phone call, Jess Gough's spurned lover slowly unravels in @peripeteiatheatre.bsky.social's adaptation of THE HUMAN VOICE at the Kings Arms. A mesmerisingly raw & emotional performance from Gough, & Áron Gyenge's cinematic sound design heightens the dramatic tension.
THE HUMAN VOICE ☎️ opens tomorrow with Jess Gough in the role of THE WOMAN. This is a one-off night performance. Don't miss it!
Join us this December for three unforgettable nights of theatre featuring three different actors in the lead role.
Tickets
www.fatsoma.com/e/7danl39c/t...
Join us this December for three unforgettable nights of theatre featuring three different actors in the lead role.
Tickets
www.fatsoma.com/e/7danl39c/t...
December 12, 2024 at 2:16 PM
In the throes of a life-changing phone call, Jess Gough's spurned lover slowly unravels in @peripeteiatheatre.bsky.social's adaptation of THE HUMAN VOICE at the Kings Arms. A mesmerisingly raw & emotional performance from Gough, & Áron Gyenge's cinematic sound design heightens the dramatic tension.
Experiencing David Hockney's BIGGER & CLOSER (NOT SMALLER & FURTHER AWAY) at Aviva Studios is the perfect antidote to Manchester's grey winter months - with its ravishing saturated colour palettes, eye-opening landscapes, & constantly shifting perspectives - it's like imbibing a warm reviving tonic
December 10, 2024 at 5:14 PM
Experiencing David Hockney's BIGGER & CLOSER (NOT SMALLER & FURTHER AWAY) at Aviva Studios is the perfect antidote to Manchester's grey winter months - with its ravishing saturated colour palettes, eye-opening landscapes, & constantly shifting perspectives - it's like imbibing a warm reviving tonic
Manchester/Salford theatre this week is big on Christmas musicals - but there's also a dash of Jean Cocteau in the mix. Looking forward to seeing:
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET at HOME
THE HUMAN VOICE from Peripeteia Theatre at King's Arms
A CHRISTMAS CAROL from Hope Mill Theatre at The Lowry
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET at HOME
THE HUMAN VOICE from Peripeteia Theatre at King's Arms
A CHRISTMAS CAROL from Hope Mill Theatre at The Lowry
December 10, 2024 at 4:01 PM
Manchester/Salford theatre this week is big on Christmas musicals - but there's also a dash of Jean Cocteau in the mix. Looking forward to seeing:
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET at HOME
THE HUMAN VOICE from Peripeteia Theatre at King's Arms
A CHRISTMAS CAROL from Hope Mill Theatre at The Lowry
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET at HOME
THE HUMAN VOICE from Peripeteia Theatre at King's Arms
A CHRISTMAS CAROL from Hope Mill Theatre at The Lowry
REVIEW - Le Gateau Chocolat is the most fabulous of fairy godmothers in the sparkly & kind-hearted 'I WISH' at HOME, Manchester.
Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2024/12/03/i...
Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2024/12/03/i...
I Wish
Review of I Wish at HOME, Manchester. It’s a momentous occasion for “actual fairy godmother” Effie – she’s about to grant her grumblefillionth wish. Flicking through her magic memory book, s…
circlesandstalls.com
December 3, 2024 at 8:33 AM
REVIEW - Le Gateau Chocolat is the most fabulous of fairy godmothers in the sparkly & kind-hearted 'I WISH' at HOME, Manchester.
Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2024/12/03/i...
Full review at: circlesandstalls.com/2024/12/03/i...
Reposted
🔵 OPEN CALL FOR NEW NW DANCE — #Turn2025 will platform North West dancers & #dance makers next April at Contact #Manchester
🔵 TurnMcr.org
🔵 PARTNERS: hÅb/ @warnmcr.bsky.social, @contactmcr.bsky.social, Company Chameleon, Dance Consortia NW, Project Auske, @artscouncilengland.bsky.social supported.
🔵 TurnMcr.org
🔵 PARTNERS: hÅb/ @warnmcr.bsky.social, @contactmcr.bsky.social, Company Chameleon, Dance Consortia NW, Project Auske, @artscouncilengland.bsky.social supported.
November 29, 2024 at 11:56 AM
🔵 OPEN CALL FOR NEW NW DANCE — #Turn2025 will platform North West dancers & #dance makers next April at Contact #Manchester
🔵 TurnMcr.org
🔵 PARTNERS: hÅb/ @warnmcr.bsky.social, @contactmcr.bsky.social, Company Chameleon, Dance Consortia NW, Project Auske, @artscouncilengland.bsky.social supported.
🔵 TurnMcr.org
🔵 PARTNERS: hÅb/ @warnmcr.bsky.social, @contactmcr.bsky.social, Company Chameleon, Dance Consortia NW, Project Auske, @artscouncilengland.bsky.social supported.
Incredible production of Mike Bartlett's COCK at 53two. Clever, edge-of-your-seat theatre. Not a moment wasted - the whole thing tightly drawn together by director Rupert Hill - with fully committed performances that wring every drop of emotion, drama & comedy from the writing.
November 16, 2024 at 10:22 PM
Incredible production of Mike Bartlett's COCK at 53two. Clever, edge-of-your-seat theatre. Not a moment wasted - the whole thing tightly drawn together by director Rupert Hill - with fully committed performances that wring every drop of emotion, drama & comedy from the writing.
Here's my round up of my favourite Greater Manchester theatre this year. My top 10 shows + a few other things I really liked: circlesandstalls.com/2023/12/28/m...
December 28, 2023 at 5:01 PM
Here's my round up of my favourite Greater Manchester theatre this year. My top 10 shows + a few other things I really liked: circlesandstalls.com/2023/12/28/m...
Exciting week of theatre ahead, & looking forward to seeing:
Wayne Steven Jackson's AND HERE I FIND MYSELF at The Arden
KATHY AND STELLA SOLVE A MURDER! at HOME
OH DEER! by Aphids as part of Transform Festival
Manchester School of Theatre's production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' AN OCTOROON
Wayne Steven Jackson's AND HERE I FIND MYSELF at The Arden
KATHY AND STELLA SOLVE A MURDER! at HOME
OH DEER! by Aphids as part of Transform Festival
Manchester School of Theatre's production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' AN OCTOROON
October 11, 2023 at 7:55 AM
Exciting week of theatre ahead, & looking forward to seeing:
Wayne Steven Jackson's AND HERE I FIND MYSELF at The Arden
KATHY AND STELLA SOLVE A MURDER! at HOME
OH DEER! by Aphids as part of Transform Festival
Manchester School of Theatre's production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' AN OCTOROON
Wayne Steven Jackson's AND HERE I FIND MYSELF at The Arden
KATHY AND STELLA SOLVE A MURDER! at HOME
OH DEER! by Aphids as part of Transform Festival
Manchester School of Theatre's production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' AN OCTOROON
Theatre-wise this week in Manchester, looking forward to seeing:
DUAL دوگانه from Peyvand Sadeghian, & Two Destination Language's 40/40. Both at HOME
And also heading to Stoke-on-Trent for Claybody Theatre's SONG OF THE SYTCH at Spode Museum.
DUAL دوگانه from Peyvand Sadeghian, & Two Destination Language's 40/40. Both at HOME
And also heading to Stoke-on-Trent for Claybody Theatre's SONG OF THE SYTCH at Spode Museum.
October 2, 2023 at 5:08 PM
Theatre-wise this week in Manchester, looking forward to seeing:
DUAL دوگانه from Peyvand Sadeghian, & Two Destination Language's 40/40. Both at HOME
And also heading to Stoke-on-Trent for Claybody Theatre's SONG OF THE SYTCH at Spode Museum.
DUAL دوگانه from Peyvand Sadeghian, & Two Destination Language's 40/40. Both at HOME
And also heading to Stoke-on-Trent for Claybody Theatre's SONG OF THE SYTCH at Spode Museum.