Know your theatre: Clonter Opera Theatre, Congleton Clonter, sometimes called ‘the Glyndebourne of the North’, is on a working farm in the Cheshire countryside, not far from the Jodrell Bank radio telescope. Clonter began as informal gatherings in a barn, with seating on bales of straw. Today the venue has a 400-seat theatre (though a former hen house is still part of the backstage facilities), and a well-established programme of events. Clonter notably showcases young operatic talent, but also jazz and folk. Front of house now offers sufficient accommodation for the entire audience to enjoy a meal under one roof, either before or part-way through the performance (ordered from the house caterer or your own picnic), which is something even Glyndebourne cannot offer. Expect to meet the Cheshire set in full cry (especially after imbibing during a long interval) as your fellow opera-buffs, but this stage frequently offers future international stars in the making, so it can be worth it... Address: Swettenham Heath, Trap Rd, Congleton CW12 2LR Phone: General inquiries and box office: 01260 224514 (10am-4pm Mon-Fri and performance days). The theatre is large, the building boasting separate rooms of various sizes, allowing it to function as a theatre and for corporate hires and schools use throughout the year. The theatre website offers a range of accommodation choices for long-distance visitors. Disabled visitors are well catered for Facilities: Parking: There is a drop-off point outside the theatre entrance, and free parking. Eight bays close to the main entrance can be reserved for those with reduced mobility. Online box office: Go here if you haven't booked online at Clonter before, or here if you have. You need to open an account for online booking.

Know your theatre: Opened in 1887, the Coliseum was one of the oldest British theatres still operating, and was much loved by its loyal supporters – perhaps more so since its demise in March 2023. Once a circus, in the 1930s it was briefly a cinema before becoming the members-only Oldham Repertory Theatre. It was said to be one of the most haunted theatres in Britain, and a famous stage death occurred there in the 1940s. By the 1950s-60s the resident company helped to form the careers of Coronation Street stars Jean Alexander, Pat Phoenix, Roy Barra-clough, William Roache and local girls Barbara Knox and Anne Kirkbride. In 1978 it became the Arts Council and local authority-supported Oldham Coliseum, offering a mix of professional productions of its own and other touring shows, It was famous for its massively-popular annual pantomime. Plans for a new building were scrapped in late 2018 and the withdrawal of an Arts Council "NPO" grant in late 2022 led to the theatre's closure in March 2023. Plans are supposedly in place for a smaller replacement within three or so years, which might not retain the name. Coliseum Theatre, Oldham (closed Mar '23) Address: Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Fairbottom Street, Oldham OL1 3SW Phone: Facilities: Parking: Some on-street metered parking. Bradshaw Street car park is nearby, with a concessionary rate after 6pm. More information here Online box office:

Know your theatre: Theatre architect Frank Matcham's masterpiece sits on a windy street back from the prom, on an awkward corner site that was once a circus. Built between December 1893 and July 1894 at a cost of £20,000, today it is known as "Matcham’s masterpiece", a glorious, Grade II* listed, 1,100-seater four-level wonder of ornate gilded plasterwork. The Grand is one of several Matcham masterpieces, but for Blackpool he was asked to design “the prettiest theatre in the land”. There might be arguments about that (Matcham's Buxton Opera House anyone?), but as well as being beautiful it had innovations such as cantilevered tiers, which needed fewer pillars and offered unobstructed views. The theatre had been successful until the 1930s, but then faced competition from talking pictures. Outside summer seasons it also had to operate as a cinema. The vast, nearby Opera House in 1938, and later the arrival of TV, put the theatre into financial decline. Popular summer farces in the 50s and 60s couldn’t sustain it year-round, but thanks to Jeffrey Finestone of the Victorian Society, it was listed as Grade II* in 1972 and demolition plans proposed months later were rejected. After tortuous negotiations and time as a bingo hall, the Friends of the Grand, with Blackpool Council, bought the theatre in 1980 and it reopened with an Old Vic performance of The Merchant of Venice , with Timothy West and Prunella Scales. Vast amounts of fund-raising have produced a couple of major restorations since then, and the "Glorious Grand" is now the UK’s National Theatre of Variety, and Lancashire’s top touring-show theatre. Grand Theatre, Blackpool Address: 33 Church Street, Blackpool, FY1 1HT Phone: Box office 01253 290190. Theatre administration: 01253 290111 Facilities: As a late-Victorian theatre in a busy town, the Grand has the usual run of bars and a place for coffee and light snacks (Matcham Court Bar), but no restaurant. The theatre has relationships with a number of nearby chain restaurants, which sometimes offer deals on food for theatregoers. The theatre has baby-changing facilities and disabled loos (rear stalls). Assistance dogs are welcome. Parking: Online box office: The nearest car park to the Grand is West Street car park. The theatre offers a special parking ticket at this site only (£2.50, 5.30pm-12.30am, which is car park closing time), available only with a show ticket. Tickets can be purchased at the time of booking or on the evening at the box office. Go here and follow the booking route to your show choice

Know your theatre: Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool The Royal Court is the largest producing theatre in the Liverpool City Region, an historic art deco Grade II listed building, extensively modernised and refreshed. The theatre has developed its own unique style, producing eight plays a year, mostly comedies and musicals with a Liverpool theme, and a largely local cast and crew. Pre-show dining, cabaret-style stalls seating and a range of drinks are served before and after the show – a feature of a night out at the Court. The site has been at the heart of Liverpool culture for nearly 200 years, first as Cookes New Circus in 1826, renamed the Royal Court Theatre in 1881 but destroyed by fire in 1933. Rebuilt as an art deco showpiece, it reopened in 1938, with exemplary acoustics and sightlines and the largest revolve outside London. Astaire, Gielgud, Richardson, Olivier, Yul Brynner, Margot Fonteyn and Ken Dodd all appeared here; Judi Dench made her acting debut here in 1957 and is a patron of the theatre trust, having supported the £12m restoration campaign that over the past decade has created new foyer space, provided lifts to all parts, a 150-seat basement venue and new technical facilities, bars and toilets. Further improvements are still in the works. Address: 1 Roe Street, Liverpool, L1 1HL Phone: General inquiries: 0151 702 5890. Box office: 0151 709 4321 ​ ​ As we suggested above, a main feature of the 1,100-seat Royal Court is its auditorium layout. There are traditional seating rows in the circle and balcony, but cabaret-style seating in the stalls, at which meals are served for many of the shows (arrive an hour early minimum if you have ordered such). The Royal Court prides itself on its friendliness and social atmosphere, and apart from its local approach to theatre runs several groups, including a community choir, a playwriting group and even a gardening group to keep theatre planting tidy. There are extensive youth attractions too, including a youth theatre company. Facilities: Parking: Nearest parking is St Johns Shopping Centre car park which is £5.00 after 6pm for up to six hours. If not travelling by car, the theatre is close to Lime Street station and next to the Queen Square bus station. Timetables can be found here Online box office: Tickets can be bought online by finding the show here and following the links ​

Know your theatre: Contact Theatre, Manchester The most unusual-looking theatre building you’ll ever come across, Contact has undergone more radical changes of direction than your average performing arts organisation. Built as the performance space for Manchester University Drama Department, it was briefly used by the ‘69 Theatre Company before that became the Royal Exchange Theatre Company. In 1972 the building became home to the Manchester Young People’s Theatre, aka Contact, a sadly now little-remembered repertory company under the likes of Richard Williams, that presented many of Alan Bleasdale’s stage successes and gave young actors such as Mark Rylance and Rick Mayall early roles. The set-up later changed again to take Contact back to its young people's theatre roots, and a rebuild in 1999 produced the highly-distinctive current ventilation chimneys. Now fully open again after a £6.5m re-vamp in 2020, the emphasis is even more on young people doing it for themselves. Contact’s aim is to enable young people to change their lives through the arts as well as enabling audiences of all ages to experience new shows. Contact is the leading national theatre and arts venue to place young people at the decision-making heart of everything. Young people aged 13-30 lead the organisation, working alongside staff in deciding the artistic programme, making staff appointments and acting as full board members. Pic: Joel Chester Fildes Address: Contact Theatre, Devas Street, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6JA Phone: Box office 0161 274 0600 (Mon-Fri 10am-5pm), General inquiries 0161 274 0646. Facilities: This fascinating - not to say quirky - architectural edifice near the university has a main 320-seat auditorium (Space 1) and an 80-seat studio. The redevelopment has produced new performance spaces, a new recording studio, an arts and health development space, new offices for organisations to hire and a new café/bar. The work also contributed to the building's emphasis on sustainable development: Contact is reckoned to be in the top one per cent of the North West's most environmentally-friendly buildings. Parking: Contact doesn't have its own parking, but visitors can use the university car park, which is directly outside and subject to charges. Online box office: Go here and follow the booking route to your show choice

Know your theatre: The most beautifully-located profes-sional theatre in the UK, Theatre by the Lake traces its origin to 1948 and a team of theatre enthusiasts who created a 225-seat mobile theatre to take live performance around post-war Britain. The convoy of trailers arrived in Keswick for the first time in 1961, but by 1975 was unfit to tour, so the company successfully took up residence by Derwentwater. In 1996 the convoy was uprooted one last time, to be replaced by the current permanent structure, the last theatre built in Britain in the 20th Century and the first to be built – at a cost of £6.5m –with the help of the national lottery. The theatre opened in August 1999 with Charley’s Aunt . There are two stages, a 400-seat main house with a central rake that has excellent sight lines, and a 100-seat studio. The main house is large for its seating capacity, high and wide, with a stage capable of holding big shows. In the main house the company presents a busy programme of now mainly wide- appeal co-productions (partnering with theatres including Bolton Octagon and Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough) throughout the year and a wide-ranging series of studio shows. TBTL also hosts a variety of festivals and visiting companies. The theatre has a loyal local audience, alongside the many tourists who enjoy a night of theatre after tramping the fells. Theatre by the Lake, Keswick Address: Theatre by the Lake, Lakeside, Keswick, Cumbria CA12 5DJ Phone: Box Office: 017687 74411 (9.30am-7.30pm/6pm non-performance nights). Admin: 017687 72282 (9am-5pm). Catering: 017687 81102 (9am-9pm). Also available by email . The theatre is currently closed but expects to reopen in autumn 2021. Facilities: A modern theatre with modern sensibilities when it comes to loos and disabled facilities. Avoid the main theatre side seats if you can, despite their lower cost. The adjacent restaurant is open 10am-3pm daily, and a tourist attraction in itself, with views across the lake. When the theatre reopens allow plenty of time to dine as service can be slow – though there is that view to look at... Parking: The theatre is located off Lake Road and is indicated on brown tourist signs throughout the town. Lakeside car park (Allerdale Borough Council, pay and display) is next to the theatre, and in summer gets very busy, so allow plenty of time to park. Charge is £1 from 7pm-7am. Before 7pm charges vary. Go here and follow the booking route to your show choice. Online box office:

Know your theatre: Built for £95,000 by public subscription and opened in 1967, the Octagon was the first professional theatre built in the North West after World War II – one of very few 'in the round'. Particularly associated with local playwrights Bill Naughton and Jim Cartwright, the Octagon today offers a wide range of repertory productions and co-productions mixing classics and lighter material. When the theatre's future was threatened in 1999, 12,000 people signed a petition to 'Keep theatre made in Bolton', and succeeded. The theatre closed in 2018 for a £12m renovation and officially reopened, after Covid delays, on July 6 2021, with a production of The Hound Of The Baskervilles . The revamped building has a new roof, electrics and plumbing, is more environmentally friendly, has greatly improved accessibility, new restaurant, bar and back stage facilities. The Octagon's main space seats up to 390, its studio space 100. The main house has the best sight lines of any theatre – that's probably a fact. Octagon Theatre, Bolton Address: Octagon Theatre, Howell Croft St, Bolton BL1 1SB . Phone: Box Office: 01204 520661 (Mon-Sat, 9am-6pm, opt 2; applies also to group bookings). You can also contact info@octagonbolton.co.uk with general inquiries and boxoffice@octagonbolton.co.uk with booking inquiries. Facilities: The new theatre has an extensive cafe/bar area (open Tue-Sat, 10am-4pm) breakfast served until noon), extensive facilities for disabled patrons, new seating and studio and classroom spaces. Parking: Nearest car park: Octagon NCP multi-storey (BL1 1TN). Free street parking (some disabled bays) in Le Mans Crescent after 6pm, (limited spaces). Online box office: Go here for what's on and follow the show links for tickets. Access 24 hours.

Know your theatre: Wales’ largest producing theatre opened in 1976 next to County Hall, in a complex opened by the Queen. The theatre has a proud history of major productions with star international names. Theatr Clwyd productions are seen throughout the year both in Wales and on UK tours. Appointed as artistic director in 2023 Kate Wasserberg, formerly artistic director of new-writing company Stockroom and Cardiff's The Other Room, is overseeing an ambitious, £35m redevelopment project to create a large extension at the front, including a new three-storey foyer and restaurant, bar and cafe. The building has three performing spaces and a multi-purpose function room, and though the redevelopment will massively upgrade facilities, the theatre spaces won't be changed. The main Anthony Hopkins Theatre is a single-raked tier seating up to 569, with five wheelchair spaces. The Emlyn Williams Theatre is a flexible studio space for 147-250. Studio 2, built to TV broadcast standards, can hold up to 120 for performance events and is used as a second rehearsal space. The theatre also has a small cinema (capacity 113) and a large function room used for gigs (capacity 240). Theatr Clwyd Address: Raikes Lane, Mold, Wales CH7 1YA Phone: General inquiries and box office: 01352 344101 (line open 10am-6pm) Facilities: The theatre complex is large, containing theatre spaces and other events and refreshment facilities. The theatre website is here . Disabled visitors are well catered for with wheelchair access to all floors, disabled parking spaces, an induction loop for hearing aid users, some "relaxed" performances when audience movement and noise are acceptable, and facilities for visual impairment. See here for details. Parking: Once in the Mold area prominent signage points you to the theatre complex. Currently, an underground car park is closed but parking is available on a tiered open air car park. Avoid parking immediately in front of the building. Online box office: Go here if you haven't booked online at Theatr Clwyd before, or find the show on the website and follow the bookings link. Email box.office@theatrclwyd.com with queries.

It's a Mother****ing Pleasure with FlawBored Blackpool Grand new season Shed: Exploded View Cavalleria Rusticana & Aleko Examining the Guildford Poltergeist The Gap Drop the Dead Donkey: The Reawakening! The Salon The Sequel Welcome to Theatre Reviews North ​ We're a small group of professional theatre reviewers from local, regional and national newspapers and journals, bringing you news and reviews from across the region in a daily theatre news blog ​ Enjoy reading - love theatre! Latest reviews... Joan Davies 2 days ago Shed: Exploded View Robert Beale 2 days ago Cavalleria Rusticana & Aleko Robert Beale 3 days ago The Gap Linda Isted 4 days ago Drop the Dead Donkey: The Reawakening! Read more reviews Latest news... It's a Mother****ing Pleasure with FlawBored 16 minutes ago Blackpool Grand new season 1 day ago Examining the Guildford Poltergeist 2 days ago The Salon The Sequel 5 days ago Read more news

Know your theatre: There was a time in the Seventies when the Palace, on the corner of Oxford Road and Whitworth Street, was a sad, shambling place without much of a future. A chap named Bob Scott and his team poured millions into extending the stage-side area and restoring the Edwardian interior and today, several owners later, Ambas-sador Theatre Group acknowledges its position as the North's major first-run theatre. Many of today's major musicals began their touring days here – mega hit Hamilton , opening November 2023 is the latest - and the Palace has played host to Houdini, Pavarotti, Nureyev, Nicholas Nickleby, Les Mis and hundreds more. Rather unfortunately, this history-laden, 1,955-seater’s exterior looks (by common consent) like a gigantic public convenience, thanks to its less-than-attractive cream tiles. But its interior has been well maintained and there’s no doubting its pre-eminent position on the English touring theatre circuit. Palace, Manchester Address: Palace Theatre, 97 Oxford Street, Manchester M16FT Phone: Box Office 0844 871 3019, Groups 0333 009 5390, Access bookings 0800 912 6971 Facilities: The Palace is one of the ATG chain's major first-run theatres, playing host to the biggest names and touring shows. The mainly Edwardian interior is beautiful but can feel cramped, and has bars and a bistro but like all Edwardian venues, too few loos. There are also several nearby restaurants and cafes. Parking: Some on-street parking – metered until 8pm, like most of the city – other-wise there is a large, multi-storey car park behind the theatre in Whitworth Street and a couple of ground car parks behind nearby buildings. Online box office: Go here and follow the link to your show.

Know your theatre: The Royal Northern College of Music is the biggest and arguably best music conservatoire in the country. Built in 1972 in Oxford Road’s academic quarter in Manchester, and since considerably expanded, it was always planned as an arts centre as well as an educational institution, so has many concerts by students and touring performers, and its student opera productions have turned up many future stars. Facilities include a big concert hall with theatre-style technical kit, a recital room and two theatres, the 650-seat RNCM Theatre and a smaller subterranean studio theatre. The larger theatre was created with opera in mind and has a stage the size of that at Covent Garden, with superb backstage and technical facilities and a large orchestra pit. Audience seating is in one near-rectangular block with a good rake, so all areas have excellent sight lines. Once inside you are often amid the buzzing centre of a large student community and may have to fight off young bohemians to get near the bar - but they have a nice restaurant on site as well as canteen-style light refreshments at most performance times. RNCM, Manchester Address: Phone: RNCM, 124 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9RD Box office 0161 907 5555 (11am-6pm Mon-Sat, later on performance nights, also from one hour before Sunday performances. General inquiries 0161 907 5200 Facilities: The RNCM building is relatively modern and thus comes with modern facilities and access, including bars and a restaurant (named after former principal Adolph Brodsky). Disabled visitors can get to all halls, and can call 0161 907 5300 to reserve a disabled parking space. Parking: Parking near the venue can be a problem, though there is an RNCM underground pay-park open evenings and weekends only. Two other car parks are nearby. See here for details Online box office: Go here and follow the booking route to your show choice

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Know your theatre: Venue Cymru, on the promenade in Llandudno, north Wales, is a theatre, conference centre and arena. The Victoria Palace, the first theatre on the site, opened in 1894 and was a promenade landmark for over 100 years, with a couple of name changes on the way. It was pressed into use as a roller skating rink, dance hall and summer shows venue, but finally closed in 1994. The building was derelict for a decade before being demolished in 2005 to make way for an atrium and meeting and conference rooms adjoining the next door North Wales Theatre and Conference Centre – developed in 1994 to house a 1,500-seat theatre and large conference hall. The £10.7m development, with funding from local authorities, Arts Council Wales, European funds and the Welsh Development Agency, provided a total venue capacity of 5,000 and includes a cafe, restaurant, box office and offices. A public competition in 2005 resulted in the complex being renamed Venue Cymru. Conferences are held there throughout the year and the arena space is used for live rock bands. The theatre specialises in touring plays, musicals and opera. Venue Cymru, Llandudno Address: Promenade, Llandudno, LL30 1BB Phone: Box office: 01492 872000; group bookings 01492 872001 Facilities: The complex is very large, with 28 separate spaces available for large conferences, meetings, exhibitions and reception areas. The theatre is a modern, 1,500-seat space with technical facilities for large touring shows. There are accessible toilets on all levels; wheelchair users have full access to all public areas, and designated stalls spaces. The theatre has infrared and induction-loop systems for hearing aids. Full accessibility details here . The building has a full restaurant and a cafe bar. The theatre in 10mins on foot from transport links. EV chargers are available. See this page for all Venue Cymru facilities Parking: Venue Cymru operates a pay and display car park at the rear of the building, with designated disabled parking bays near the main entrance. Parking is also available on the promenade - pay and display until 4pm, then free. Online box office: Go to the theatre home page here , then follow the links for individual shows

Know your theatre: Built in 1903 and possibly the most beautiful theatre in the north of England, Buxton Opera House was designed by legendary architect Frank Matcham (also designer of the Palladium and Coliseum in London, Hackney Empire, Richmond Theatre, Blackpool Tower Ballroom and Grand Theatre and many more). Buxton has near-perfect acoustics for classical opera, which makes it the ideal venue for the region's only hive of top class in-house professional opera productions (and other attractions), the annual Buxton International Festival in July. The rest of the year features popular touring shows, amateur productions and occasional ballet - the modestly-sized stage has one of the steepest rakes in the business; some dancers say they fear cart-wheeling into the stalls. Since the last refurb in 2007, the 902-seat auditorium has glittered with gold leaf; the only disappointment following the work being that Matcham’s clever air-conditioning system (a circle of gas burners high up in the central dome to draw air through the theatre) is no longer allowed in the usual, tedious name of health and safety... Opera House, Buxton Address: Opera House, Water Street, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 6XN Phone: Box office 01298 72190 (Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, 8pm on performance days), general admin inquiries 01298 72050. Facilities: The theatre has several bars serving locally produced beers, wines and chocolates. Snack boxes for adults and children are also available. Several local restaurants offer pre-and post-show meals. Disability access is as good as the building allow; only the stalls are accessible to wheelchairs. Call box office for details. Parking: Free parking after 6pm in the car park behind Pavilion Gardens, a short walk from both venues. Free street car parking after 6pm close to the theatre (but avoid residents-only areas. Go here and follow the booking route to your show choice. The Opera House also offers online and phone booking facilities for the nearby Pavilion Arts Centre cinema. Online box office: