North West Reviews

Writer/Director: Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon Reviewer: Alisha McCracken Toruk - The First Flight, written and directed by Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon and inspired by James Cameron’s Avatar, is the latest Cirque du Soleil show to hit the stages of the UK. It tells the story of a natural disaster threatening to destroy the sacred Tree of Souls, and as ...

Creator: Adam Zane and And Mike Lee Director: Adam Zane Reviewer: Marie Smith #BeMoreMartyn trended on Twitter in the hours after the announcement of Martyn Hett’s death at the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017 – and in this play, Hope Theatre Company shows exactly what that phrase means. They asked eight of Martyn’s closest friends to talk all about ...

Book:  Melvyn Bragg Music and Lyrics: Howard Goodall Director: Douglas Rintoul Reviewer: Helen Jones Writer Melvyn Bragg wrote his original novel The Hired Man in the 1960s.  He used his grandfather as the basis for the story of an ordinary working man in Cumberland towards the end of Victoria's reign.   Newly married John Tallantire and his wife Emily are at ...

Writer: Joshua Harmon Director: Daniel Aukin Designer: Paul Willis Reviewer: Dave Cunningham Although the title of Joshua Harmon’s play is a single word it has a double meaning. Admissions refers to the process by which students gain entrance to educational establishments and also to the way characters in the play are compelled to admit to opinions they would rather conceal. The ...

Writer: Jon Brittain Director: Donnacadh O'Briain Reviewer: Dave Cunningham Although Rotterdam has only recently started to tour, Jon Britain wrote the play some years ago. It would be great to report that the need to be tolerant of the wishes of other people- one of the themesof the play- has now been absorbed into our culture. Unfortunately, the homophobic attack suffered ...

Writer: Harriet Madeley Director: Max Barton Reviewer: Jo Beggs Shocking, brutal violent crimes. They happen in a moment, but for those they leave behind – perpetrators or victims – there’s a lifetime of anger, hurt and wondering how life could have been different. But when Writer Harriet Madeley stepped into the world of a group of people whose lives had ...

Directors: Charlotte Mooney & Alex Harvey Reviewer: Jay Nuttall The examination of the inter-generational is the driving force of Ockram’s Razor’s new show. A company specifically interested in aerial work their shows lie somewhere between physical theatre and circus with simplicity running through its core. This Time is a piece that wants to explore different ages, bodies, and the idea ...

Music, Book & Lyrics: Trey Parker, Robert Lopez & Matt Stone   Directors: Casey Nicholaw & Trey Parker   Reviewer: Jay Nuttall   The hype around The Book of Mormon in Manchester is huge. Posters flood the city advertising its eleven-week run over the summer at The Palace Theatre. For any theatre-goer decanted to Mars over the last few years ...