Richard O'Brien Opera House, Manchester 09 January 2019 to 26 January 2019 Back again, 46 years after this still mildly outrageous mix of B movie sci-fi and sex first broke theatrical boundaries, Rocky this time around is basically the same Christopher Luscombe-directed staging that was created for the 40th anniversary tour, and none the worse for that. The show having been performed countless thousands of times in 30 countries in 20 languages, the novelty for Manchester is that Beverley Callard, aka Corrie’s Liz McDonald, has taken on the hot seat role as Narrator. Currently embroiled in a nasty hit and run on screen, on stage Ms Callard – who has admitted she doesn’t know the show as well as its average punter – proved pretty much a hit at parrying the traditional audience heckling and by the end was rockin’ with the rest of them. Overall, what can be said about Rocky that hasn’t been said before? Well, its gender-fluid content no longer surprises like it once did, the real world having somewhat caught up. And, There’s A Light (Over At The Frankenstein Place) now has the audience waving their mobiles rather than fag lighters, much safer all round. The narrative stands the test of time; it’s got terrific forward momentum, propelled by a continually inventive score and lyrics. The company here – it’s a company show – is a very good one, they treat the hallowed content with the seriousness it deserves rather than sending it up … though they don’t always deliver the lines the way I ideally like them. But then that hasn’t happened since my yardstick production at the Wythenshawe Forum back in the 1980s. Just in case you don’t know, it’s the story of Brad and Janet, two impossibly innocent American college kids who find themselves trapped in a spooky castle owned by one Frank ’n’ Furter, who is currently very much involved in creating Rocky, his very own lust interest. Leading the charge as Frank, that eternally sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania, is vastly experienced musicals man Stephen Webb, who can really belt out the big numbers with gusto and wear a basque with pride. Callum Evans's Rocky is probably the best I've ever seen, incredibly athletic and still able to deliver his numbers after multiple somersaults. Strictly’s Joanne Clifton is an ideally prim Janet, partnering perfectly with super-nerdish Ben Adams as Brad, while Kristian Lavercombe reprises his Riff Raff for the 1,300th-plus time. Does it still work? Yes it darn well does. It was a brilliant creation in its day and remains so now. Thank you, Richard O’Brien. #BradandJanet #RichardOBrien #sweettransvestite

Book, music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, based on the stories by Hugh Lofting Produced by Music and Lyrics in association with Churchill Theatre Bromley The Lowry 11 December 2018 to 05 January 2019 Based on the 1967 film and a previous stage adaptation, this new, all-the-family live action musical has apparently been somewhat re-worked by the original composer/lyricist Leslie Bricusse (still around and impressively active at the age of 87). So those who know the originals well will find a few surprises and a change of emphasis. There are a couple of new songs, and a plot re-work means it’s now Matthew Muggs who wins the heart of Emma, rather than the Doctor himself, which makes a lot more sense, There’s also a shift towards emphasising a little more the importance of looking after our planet’s endangered species, with the producers having teamed up for this aspect of the show with the World Wildlife Fund. So, much the same then, but also different and more acceptable perhaps to 21st century audiences … After a major revelation brought on by Polynesia the parrot (Vicky Entwistle), who teaches him how to Talk To The Animals, eccentric Dr D (Mark Williams) sets off on a journey with his human companions: friends Matthew Mugg (Patrick Sullivan) and Emma (Mollie Melia-Redgrave); plus a menagerie of animals including the exotic Pushmi-Pullyu and the trusty Polynesia. They are trying to find the Giant Pink Sea Snail, an exotic creature said to hold the secret of life and making the world a happier place. With a cast of around 30, an on-stage band secreted at first floor level, lots of storybook settings in pale pastels, dozens of animal puppets and a final highly impressive Giant Pink Sea Snail, there’s plenty of stage-filling value for money up there. It’s a company show and it’s a strong company, from the principals to the puppet operators. Williams’ Dolittle leads them with assured eccentricity, with Sullivan providing the cheeky chappie stand-out sidekick. The original never was in the Best Musical category, and the show here would benefit overall from a little more thrust and some cuts, but it’s quite an eyeful and while you might not come out raving about it, it is a very attractive family alternative to yet another pantomime. #Bricusse #TRNReviews

Alan McHugh, with Ben Nickless and Les Dennis Qdos productions Opera House, Manchester 08 December 2018 to 30 December 2018 This is the second year at the Opera House for mega panto producer Qdos, following 2017’s John Barrowman Dick Whittington, which not only won the Manchester Theatre Award trophy for Best Special Entertainment but also caused some considerable controversy for its risque jokes. This year’s show is distinctly cleaner. The Ugly Sisters have a couple of light blue moments but nothing I think likely to cause undue offence. The problem this time around is that the show overall isn’t as exciting as we have a right to expect from the world’s largest pantomime producer. Top of the bill are former Corrie arch villain Connor McIntyre, and his first Street victim, Les Dennis, as the Ugly Sisters. Dennis is an old hand at donning the frocks and falsies, for McIntyre it’s a first and it has to be said that as a duo they are a work in progress. Pop singer Gareth Gates, as Prince Charming, pretty much lives up to his name, and he and CBBC’s Shannon Flynn as Cinders make an attractive central romantic couple. Hayley-Ria Christian as the Fairy Godmother and Jack Wilcox as Dandini offer strong support. The night, however, belongs to Rochdale-born comedian Ben Nickless as Buttons, who, often quite brilliantly, holds the whole thing together by performing what must amount to his club act at various points throughout the show. He has some excellent material and his rapport with the audience is spot on. His omnipresence does tend to unbalance the storyline somewhat, but you could also say it leaves little time for the boring bits. Most disappointing overall is the lack of scenic splendour. There is a superb coach and horses to take Cinders off to the ball – which soars out over the stalls – but the rest looks budget-conscious. There’s a funny slapstick sequence, with the Uglies, Nickless and Gates near the end – at the point where I was dreading a song sheet – followed by a rather splendid walk down that certainly sends you out on a high. But I hope Qdos don’t think they can get away with this sort of level every year. We expect Birmingham Hippodrome standards or above, otherwise Manchester is being short changed. #QDOS #pantomime #LesDennis

Stephen Schwartz (music & lyrics), Winnie Holzman (book), Michael McCabe Palace Theatre, Manchester 04 December 2018 to 05 January 2019 Firmly up there in blockbuster musical territory, following 12 years in the West End and a previous hit tour, Wicked - the so-called untold story of the witches of Oz - returns to the Palace Theatre Manchester, where the first UK tour premiered in 2013. There are only four musicals in London that have run for longer than Wicked (Les Mis, Phantom, Mamma Mia! and The Lion King) so it’s no surprise the show’s much-anticipated festive return to Manchester has seen strong ticket sales. For the uninitiated (can’t be many surely?), Wicked is based on Gregory Maguire’s somewhat adult retelling of the Wizard of Oz, that spins the story we know on its head - revealing that the iconic green-skinned baddie of the tale was actually the heroine of proceedings. Throw in a catchy pop score and witty lyrics from Stephen Schwartz (Godspell) and a book by Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life), and you have a show with genuine multi-generational appeal. With The Wizard of Oz being a Christmas TV staple, it has a festive feel that was evident on press night at the Palace Theatre. So what of this version, and this cast? Amy Ross is, well, simply spellbinding as misunderstood green girl Elphaba, and doesn’t put a note wrong. She’s more than just a big voice, however, meaning her Elphie is as strong on the acting front as the big riffs. With every defiant jut of her chin, you see the long-time hurt she’s trying to keep hidden, heartbreakingly combined with a barely-there hope of fitting in, and she has great comic timing too. The famous Act I closer, and the show’s most celebrated song, Defying Gravity, is glorious - “I actually stopped breathing during that” my first-timer companion said in the interval. Never mind defying gravity, I defy anyone not to have goosebumps at this masterful theatrical moment - when vocals, acting, lighting and stagecraft combine in stunning fashion. Helen Woolf shows poise and endearing comic delivery as Galinda and shares a touching chemistry with Ross. The pair’s version of the tear-jerking For Good is sublime - there were audible sniffs from all over the stalls. I particularly liked how Woolf showed a clear development from the giggly younger Galinda, compared to the the more mature version later in the story. Obvious audience favourite Aaron Sidwell brought a laid-back, edgy vibe and good vocals to playboy prince Fieryo, his louche persona well suited to the character’s standout song and dance number, Dancing Through Life - one of Wicked’s best set pieces. The Palace Theatre however is a massive house, and I did wonder if some of the subtler elements of the character would reach those sitting up top. The rest of the principal cast also put in fine turns - I particularly liked West End regular Kim Ismay’s haughtily-sinister Madam Morrible and Brookside’s Steven Pinder’s Wizard - his aw shucks everyman exterior not quite concealing shady ulterior motives. He made an impact in his short scenes as “token goat” Doctor Dillamond too. Of course the other star of the show is the design - this is one musical that does not cheat the regions in terms of scaling down the production when it hits the road. Eugene Lee’s sparkling and striking sets, Susan Hilferty’s quirky steampunkesque costumes and Kenneth Posner’s atmospheric lighting design all helping to bring Oz alive to audiences. As this is the final date of a lengthy tour, it was gratifying to see the production looking as shiny and new as ever - with the entire cast clearly giving their all. No slipping standards here. So Wicked’s still got the West End wow factor, clearly, and is a lavish Christmas treat for Manchester. Get your tickets fast if you fancy it. #Wicked #Oz #HelenWoolf #AmyRoss #touring

David Auburn Hope Mill Theatre Company Hope Mill, Manchester 27 November 2018 to 02 December 2018 First seen on Broadway in 2000, Proof caused something of a stir, winning a Pulitzer, a Tony and a Drama Desk for Best Play. There have been a couple of London productions over the intervening years, including one featuring Gwyneth Paltrow (who also reprised it on screen) but over here it has never been as highly rated as it was over there. As far as I know, only Oldham Coliseum has done the play before in this region, back in 2005; and it’s also the first home-produced straight play from a house that has built its reputation on musicals. A good choice? At first glance the maths-averse might be inclined to give it a wide berth, as it’s ostensibly about a genius mathematician and advanced maths … so advanced that those, like me, who still have nightmares about the 11-Plus algebra paper, ought to be completely out of their depth. But don’t panic, this was, after all, a Broadway success, and sure enough it is much less about obscure formulae and much more about family relationships... On the back porch of a house near Chicago University, 25-year-old fragile Catherine (Lucy Jane Dixon), is mourning the death of her celebrated mathematician father, Robert (David Keller). She gave up her academic career to nurse him in his later years as he became more and more mentally unstable. Catherine’s elder sister Claire (Angela Costello) arrives from New York for the funeral, fearing Catherine may have inherited her father’s mental health problems, while gawky Hal (Samuel Holland), a former student of Robert, is searching through Robert’s notebooks to see whether the great man discovered anything of importance during his later years, and at the same time makes a play for Catherine. Like many a celebrated, commercially-successful play of its ilk, it clearly made it to prominence because it is somewhat tricksy and contrived – ghosts, flashbacks, clever maths jokes – and doesn’t push the boundaries, overall cunningly devised to keep an audience neatly hooked. Whether you buy into it or not is very largely down to cast and director to convince while it plays out in front of you for two-and-a-quarter hours. Director Joseph Houston, co-director/founder at Hope Mill, is here making his directorial debut and he makes an excellent fist of everything. He’s got an attractive, all-wood-planks set of raised platform and house front, with scattered autumn leaves (designer Frankie Gerrard), to play with; some sound and lighting effects to enhance things (Joseph Thomas/Dan Pyke) and has encouraged four highly convincing performances from his very likeable cast. Dixon has the most to do by far, and she holds the whole together with considerable aplomb. It’s just the sort of thing we might have seen at the late lamented Library Theatre, with production values very much on that level, too. And all this without a public subsidy... #HopeMill #Tony #Pulitzer #maths_genius

Alan Bennett The Original Theatre Company, York Theatre Royal and Ghost Light Theatre Productions Lowry Quays, Salford 12 November 2018 to 17 November 2018 The Habit of Art was almost new eight years ago when the touring version of Nicholas Hytner’s National Theatre production came to The Lowry’s big stage. Now it’s brought here by The Original Theatre Company and others in a tour aided by Stage One – and, now directed by Philip Franks and starring Matthew Kelly and David Yelland, it’s still a must-see. It was a fascinating chunk of Alan Bennett whimsy to begin with. Not just imagining a scenario based on real historical figures, in a place he knew well (Oxford in the early 1970s wasn’t much different from the university he inhabited 10 years before), but wrapping it up as a play-within-a-play, because we see a rehearsal of a supposed new work called Caliban’s Day, and that gives him plentiful opportunities for truthful jokes about the theatre and those who make it. The ‘play’ itself, however, portrays a meeting (which never happened – but never mind, that didn’t stop Schiller writing Maria Stuart) between the louche and ageing W H Auden, resident in Christ Church lodgings and still Professor of Poetry at the university, and Benjamin Britten, frail and physically failing, who has just embarked on his last opera, Death in Venice. A third actual person, Humphrey Carpenter (son of the Bishop of Oxford, Harry Carpenter), who really did write biographies of both the other two, holds the story together, first by interviewing them for Radio Oxford and then hovering around as a commentator on the invented encounter. If it had stood on its own, that ‘play’ – whose author is present for the rehearsal – would have had all-too-obvious weaknesses, but Bennett presents it as something to be judged by us anyway, and has Neil (the author) obsessed by the role he created for Tim, a rent boy who calls to service Mr Auden’s priapic needs, seeing him as a Caliban to the elderly artist pair. He also allows each of the four ‘actors’ to be themselves as well as the characters they portray, a duality into which both Matthew Kelly and David Yelland enter with skill and success, each varying his voice slightly, but not too much, as he comes in and out of character. At times you’re not quite sure whether it’s the actor or the supposed great artistic creator you’re witnessing. John Wark, who plays the actor playing Humphrey Carpenter, has a different task, as Bennett gives him some pathetic solo outbursts and a nonsensical comedy turn to open the second Act – it brightens things up but is probably there to hide what could otherwise have been a pretty unkind portrayal of a fellow-writer. Benjamin Chandler, as the actor playing the rent boy, keeps both on a similar level. Around these we have the company stage manager, the motherly Kay (Veronica Roberts, very nicely done), the ASM (Alexandra Guelff) and of course the author (Robert Mountford). It’s a play for the well-read, as we see Auden pointing out that he married Thomas Mann’s daughter to get her away from the Nazis, and the two old boys discuss the nature of art and life with copious name-dropping. But that’s Alan Bennett for you: heady stuff. In this production, with the ASM female, there’s no longer a need for child actors to portray the roles of Britten’s boy sopranos, as Alexandra Guelff pretends to stand in for them. Other than that, and the present-day clothing and laptop for the rehearsal, it’s physically not unlike its incarnation in 2010. Some resonances are, however, very different. I recall the Carpenter character coming over as himself as an Alan Bennett type then, but not so here. On the other hand, Matthew Kelly makes his ‘Auden’ (and his ageing thespian) much more than two old bores, while David Yelland’s Britten-cum-steady actor not only catches the repressed paedophilia and ambiguous nature of each respectively, but also seems interestingly well observed as a study of a musician. For those virtuoso portrayals, and quality all round, this is a performance to treasure. #Matthew_Kelly #Alan_Bennett #David_Yelland #Original

Hofesh Shechter Shechter II HOME 31 October 2018 to 03 November 2018 Shechter II is the ‘young company’ of Hofesh Shechter Company, and their energy is incredible. Shechter has created an almost non-stop 55 minutes of dance for them – the central piece, Clowns, originally devised in 2016 and now topped and tailed by a substantial intro called The Entrance and a fun finale, named Exit. Clowns itself works up to a longish sequence of curtain-call style moves, and that’s still there, creating its own wild audience applause – the master-manipulator has not lost his touch. The eight dancers work together the whole time, and their accompaniment, most of the time, is a set of mesmerizingly iterated pounding rhythms – ‘tribal’, some would call it – four-to-a-bar in The Entrance and two in a bar for Clowns. Corelli’s Christmas Concerto gets a look-in, too, during The Entrance – though it uses only part of one movement, so why they credit the full track listing of their CD source, including the Pastorale which gives the concerto its nickname (but which we don’t hear), goodness knows. At the start it seemed as if – given that it was Hallowe’en and you soon thought ‘Tis the season to be creepy’ – the dancers were showing us the undead walking abroad. Slowly and dimly lit, their ragged shapes took on unsmiling movement, menacingly so even when the steps were happy-happy skipping and folksy circles. Shechter’s invention includes repeated bits of choreography which he brings back and combines like leitmotifs, and one set that becomes more and more dominant in this work, from the opening to Exit, is of physical assaults and murderous mimed movements. All just fake, of course. They’re clowns, doing it for fun, purely to entertain. Or are they? Maybe they’re like puppets dancing on someone else’s strings – the unremitting, stamina-sapping, continuous movement certainly gives that impression. You make what you will of Hofesh Shechter’s work: his Manchester audience clearly loved it and you can only applaud the technical accomplishment of all concerned (the lighting design team of Lee Curran, Richard Godin and Alan Valentine have achieved amazing things) and the superb skills and dedication of his young dancers.

Ian Rankin and Rona Munro Birmingham Rep Opera House, Manchester 30 October 2018 to 03 November 2018 I'm a Rebus fan, so really want to like his first stage outing, a tale specially written for the theatre, rather than adapted from one of the novels. But the reviews from earlier in the tour are not encouraging … It’s a new plot but involves one of his oldest characters, Big Ger Cafferty, a notorious Glaswegian gangster who has sparred with Rebus over more years than either will care to remember, and here he seems to know some of the answers to an unsolved case from the past. Rebus, now retired, comes into contact with the daughter of a murder victim whose killer was never traced, and she challenges him to solve the mystery. There are a satisfying number of twists and turns in the typical Rankin manner, and convincing performances. But it’s undeniably a sparsely populated Edinburgh compared with the books or TV versions, and while the inevitable concentration on character pays its own dividends, the visual concept – presumably arrived at after discussions between director Robin Lefevre and designer Ti Green – is an unfortunate mistake. It’s a huge, stage-filling collection of very dark grey walls and sweeping staircase, vast and dwarfing the actors, when what was really required was something much more intimate and involving. Charles Lawson (only recently having made a villainous revisit to Coronation Street as Jim McDonald, and now recovered from an on-stage mini-stroke a couple of weeks ago) is pretty much an ideal Rebus. His humanly defective detective is haunted by past failures – literally in this case – but with enough whisky-fuelled confidence to go into battle again. He looks almost exactly right, a little too handsome perhaps, but that’s OK. If they’re ever going to put Rebus back on TV – please – Lawson is the man. John Stahl’s imposing gangster, with his thin veneer of respectability but still oozing oiliness by the bucketload, comes into his own in a long second act confrontation that satisfyingly ratchets up the plot and tension. Just a pity that here, as elsewhere, audibility is sometimes a problem. I’ll say it again – all plays these days, in a 2,000-seater, should be mic'd. Perhaps the piece has gathered conviction and pace during the tour: whatever, I enjoyed it more than earlier reports suggested I would, and I’m happy to see the Opera House is still persevering with the occasional serious play among all the musicals and on this occasion attracting a sizeable audience. #Rebus #Lawson

Frederick Ashton Birmingham Royal Ballet Lowry Lyric Salford 24 October 2018 to 27 October 2018 Frederick Ashton’s 1960 rustic idyll is one of the most joyous and innocent works in the ballet repertoire. Loosely based on a scenario that goes back to the 18th century, it tells a seemingly timeless tale of rural life: Lise, a pretty young girl, is in love with young farmer Colas, but her widowed mother, Simone, wants her to marry the son of prosperous M. Thomas – one Alain, who, is a bit of a country bumpkin. Act 1 outlines the situation, Act 2 is a peasants’ harvest celebration ending in a sudden storm, and in Act 3 there’s nearly a forced marriage but in the end it all turns out happily, followed by general rejoicing. The staging is enchanting, from the dancing rooster and chickens who begin it, a live Shetland pony, a lot of ribbon twirling (part of the original tradition of this ballet), a clog dance and a Maypole to the final sentimental twist (which I won’t reveal in case you haven’t seen it). So, though the setting is ostensibly French, in style the ballet is utterly English: the prima ballerina’s role all daintiness and charm, the leading man all nobility and grace – with the music-hall tradition of female impersonation given to the man who plays Widow Simone – and a string of circling country-dance style movements for the corps de ballet. I guess that’s why David Bintley has chosen it as one of two company ‘signature’ works for his final year’s big tours with Birmingham Royal Ballet. Though I think it’s now 12 years since we last saw it at The Lowry, it used to be a regular both here and elsewhere. (Which meant that the big surprise on Press night was not that it was beautifully danced, or that the audience loved it, but that it didn’t draw as many punters as it should have done … perhaps they forgot to do the marketing on this one.) BRB has long been a family of performers, and this time I think in the casting we were being told: ‘This is the next generation – watch them …’ Miki Mizutani was as delightful a Lise as I’ve ever seen, with plenty of smiles and teenager-like pouts to express her surging feelings. Lachlan Monaghan was superb as Colas, with some magnificent jumps and completely equipped for all the lifts. Kit Holder, as Alain, and Rory Mackay, as Widow Simone, produced some very funny comic dancing, and Gus Payne (the cockerel) and his ladies strutted their stuff. Paul Murphy conducted the Royal Ballet Sinfonia in a lively reading of John Lanchbery’s score. #BRB #Fille #Ashton

William Shakespeare English Touring Theatre Oldham Coliseum 23 October 2018 to 27 October 2018 ETT’s Othello comes trailing golden opinions from its brief tour and London run in 2017. This time the major roles are all re-cast, with some of the actors at the outset of their careers and others highly experienced. The staging by Richard Twyman is sparse but none the worse for that – fashionable fluorescent tubes inside a metal frame being the main theme. There are a few attempts to get down with the kids by introducing bawdy chants and lively songs that have little to do with the script (also a fashionable gimmick). The casting of a professional-debut Othello (Victor Oshin) and a young Desdemona (Kitty Archer) certainly helps the attempt to relate to a young audience. They could be Romeo and Juliet, and maybe that makes the transition from ecstatic youthful infatuation to murderous jealousy more believable. That’s what the play is about, after all. The production plays up the idea that Othello is (apparently) a Muslim convert to Christianity (or the Venetian version of it), and implies that he rejects that badge quite early on – not because his mind is being poisoned but because the misogynistic barbarism of a supposedly Christian culture has got to him. There’s obviously plenty of misogynistic barbarism in the play itself, though whether Shakespeare thought of that as a specifically Christian characteristic is more doubtful. Most of the concept-raising and gimmickry is before the interval, however, and after it the play really gathers pace and menace as it should. Victor Oshin and Kitty Archer are perfectly good, but the intriguing portrayals come from Paul McEwan as Iago and Kelly Price as Emilia. This was definitely an interpretation where the mind of Iago was the lynchpin of the whole show. McEwan makes him far from a conventional slimeball, but an outwardly easygoing, dutiful guy (northern accent, even) who’s inwardly a hugely clever psychopath. It was seriously creepy, though the voice had some indistinctness … maybe part of the interpretation. Kelly Price – a superb performer last seen hereabouts in Aspects of Love at Hope Mill Theatre – was outstanding as Emilia. It is crucial that her testimony – despite being a woman in a man’s world – at the end of the play should be believed and that belief believable. She created a woman of strength and self-awareness – the only admirable human being on the stage.

Kenneth MacMillan English National Ballet Opera House, Manchester 17 October 2018 to 20 October 2018 Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon is that rare thing, a modern classic in classical ballet form. First created in 1974, it was quite daring for its time. Sexual love and sexual abuse are portrayed through more than just a few swooning moves in pas de deux – indeed, Wayne Eagling, the ENB artistic director who introduced it to the company (and brought it to the Manchester Palace Theatre 10 years ago) thought it was probably unsuitable for under-14s. But its innovation went further than that, as it doesn’t have much of the stop-start structure of many classical ballets, where the skills displayed in a particular sequence can be applauded, and the dancers break out of character, before anything moves on. This was a story-telling ballet, for all its opportunities for bravura performance. The story is that of Prévost’s Manon Lescaut – about a student who falls in love with a good-time girl only to see her whisked away from him by the lure of luxury and a sugar-daddy’s money: he wins her back at terrible cost, as they are both sentenced to deportation to that unholy wilderness, America, where they die. It has formed the basis of a number of operas, most famously those by Massenet and Puccini, but as early as 1836 Michael Balfe had huge success with it on the British stage in The Maid of Artois. MacMillan’s version uses music by Massenet, but not from the opera. Instead other works, operatic and more, are plundered for the lush, romantic, danceable music they contain. MacMillan’s original Royal Ballet production had lavish sets by Nicholas Georgiadis, but ENB, opening in Manchester this week on a tour which also goes to Milton Keynes and Southampton, use the ones made for a later Royal Danish Ballet production. Getting it on to the Manchester Opera House stage, rather than the Palace’s, may have been a bit of a problem, and some of the ensemble numbers looked slightly cramped, but the costumes are lavishly brilliant and the dancers overcame the spacing issues with great ingenuity. They are a big company of immense technical expertise, and it’s good that Manchester gets to see them in addition to those who come to The Lowry. The principal roles were danced with utter assurance and supreme skill. Alina Cojocaru is a wisp of a girl and floated through the title role with uninterrupted grace, partnered by Joseph Caley (until last year a Birmingham Royal Ballet principal) as Des Grieux, the ardent young lover and hero in every step. MacMillan made some wonderful partnering for these two, all grace and fluidity though technically very demanding, and they were wonderful to watch. There is a second female principal role in the story: Katja Khaniukova danced Manon’s brother’s mistress with such precision and style she could have stolen the show. And the brother (known simply as Lescaut) was performed by the young American Jeffrey Cirio, whose initial entrance with its massive jumps, and later clever acting-drunk, were sheer delight. Jane Haworth made a nice job of the ageing Madame, and the evil ‘Monsieur GM’ (the bad guy) was given some menacingly sleazy touches by James Streeter, all the more effective for their understatement. #ENB #Manon #touring

Clod Ensemble Clod Ensemble The Lowry, Salford 11 October 2018 to 13 October 2018 Dance as a way of exploring complex topics is not an obvious use for it, but Clod Ensemble have a track record of interaction with other disciplines, and in this one-hour, interval-less piece they show us aspects of the art of persuasion. It’s presented as an experiment in which we the audience ‘observe’ – mainly observing our own reactions. There are examples of movement giving rise to different interpretations of the same event (girl giving bunch of flowers to a man); of movement meaning different things according to what we know about the person doing it (are they enjoying it or is it hurting?); of the Pavlovian response of being a ‘performer’ when a spotlight is turned on; of ‘fake’ and ‘real’; of the power of suggestion – with a recurring streak of rebellion by the dancers against the instructions of the Big Brother who at first dominates the whole thing through a disembodied voice or against the facilitator from among their own number who seeks to engineer feelings of wellbeing. There’s even a vivid take-off of a 1950s-style advertisement for cigarettes. It’s all fairly interesting stuff, some parts more imaginative than others and some of it based on actual medical histories. The variety of things that can make a sufferer ‘feel better’ is extraordinary, and theatre people, of all people, should know about the power of illusion. Yet ‘placebo’ is a bigger concept than suggestion or faith healing: as Radio 4’s Insight mentioned this week, the combination of consultation and prescription seems to be much more powerful than consultation alone, even with the ‘no active ingredient’ type of placebo, and even when the patient knows they’re being given something that is, or could be, totally ineffective. Placebos also have their share of negative side-effects, so they’re not just about wanting to be better – and they work with animals, so they don’t always depend on any kind of understanding at all. The movement was not entirely original or grounded in the subject – it could hardly be either of those – but eventually they gave up the didacticism and danced a vigorous, lively and colourful ensemble finale, which certainly made me feel better. And I think it would have whether or not it said that on the tin. #ClodEnsemble #dance #healing

Kim Brandstrup Rambert Dance The Lowry 10 October 2018 to 12 October 2018 It must be a long time since Rambert performed a full-length piece on their major tour, rather than a triple bill, so Kim Brandstrup’s new work (it was premiered in London earlier this year) is an ambitious and welcome departure. I guess the reason we so often see triple bills is that contemporary dance lends itself to abstract concepts, or at least short and simple narratives, rather than detailed extended stories that can hold your interest through an interval and make you keep wanting more. Here the story is based (loosely) on a play about a prince who’s been imprisoned all his life being freed for a day – once liberated, he experiences the dark side of life but is re-imprisoned and told that all his experiences were a dream. When he gets out a second time he sees the world very differently. What we see is a man asleep in a cold, grim institutional space, and dreaming from the start: his dreams are repeatedly of someone being liberated by the touch of a young woman and of different characters all longing for another world outside their ‘imprisonment’. In the second part the sets are literally turned around, so he’s on the outside and experiences that other world as a real girl wakes him. And the ‘real’ world is a scary place – in the end he finds some kind of peace and affection, but only by returning to the prison. It’s Plato’s Cave, isn’t it (though I didn’t see a credit for the old Greek guy in the programme)? We’re all ‘imprisoned’ by our perceptions – seeing shadows and distortions of something out there, unable to come to terms with real reality if we do encounter it and having to settle for the limitations of the human condition. In the first part there are even flickering headlights coming through the windows and sounds from an outside world (imaginative contributions from the design team led by the Quay Brothers). But this is contemporary dance, and you have to imagine your own narrative from choreography that’s often form-led – beautifully so, with a graceful modern-ballet language of solo, duo and ensemble movement – but without mime or overt incident. What I got from it was that the dream showed ‘princes’ and two ‘maidens’ longing to escape their prison, their conflict and distress as they and their fellows realise they can’t, and an independent female who yearns for the same thing. In the second half the women of the outside world turn into dancing dementors over whom the liberated one has no control, but eventually he finds a glimmer of fulfilment in a lovely, long duet. (There’s also a kind of comic interlude in which he duets with his doppelgänger, rather like Peter Pan and his shadow, but I couldn’t see the point of that). The score – played live by a very good orchestra conducted by Christopher Austin – is all from Lutosławski: it makes good theatre music, with its range of atmosphere and deft capture of moments of despair, absurdity and joy, but (as with all dance created to existing finished concert works) requires its own time-frames to be filled out rather than being determined by the dance narrative. The quality of the dancing itself is superb – from Rambert we expect nothing less – and the sheer visual delight of it all makes for a fascinating evening. #Dream #Brandstrup #Rambert

William Shakespeare National Theatre The Lowry 29 September 2018 to 06 October 2018 There was virtually universal condemnation from the London critics for the National’s latest production of The Scottish Play when it opened in the Olivier earlier this year, but now, re-cast and re-staged for proscenium arch theatres – with director Rufus Norris still at the helm – it is launched from The Lowry on an 18-date UK and Ireland tour, and I have to say, yet again, never trust a theatre critic to get it right. On the other hand, Norris does admit to some re-thinking – as well as the major re-casting – so perhaps we’re not seeing anything like the London show anyway. It’s set in some kind of Mad Max future, in post-civil war turmoil, and is visually very black and bleak. Much of the London carping was about the visuals. But I have to say it looks spectacular (designer Rae Smith) on The Lowry’s vast stage – a steep wooden ramp against a massive backdrop of shredded black plastic, piercing lighting, costumes appropriately grimy, with combat jackets and so on. It’s been done in similar ways before, and it works again. With the overall scale of things here undoubtedly the show’s most impressive aspect, the domestic scenes suffer from lack of intimacy, and the unappealing breezeblock huts that are wheeled on to do service as various castles seem entirely out of place. The banquet scene, for example, happens in what looks like the staff canteen and undermines the whole thing. Michael Nardone is Scottish, so plenty of built-in conviction there. His Macbeth is no intellectual but definitely a warrior. Kirsty Besterman’s Lady M impresses in her early speeches but then rather fades from view. Very athletic Witches, who shin up tall poles circus-style Whatever, this is a memorable Macbeth, for most of the right reasons. At its best it’s big, bold, loud and involving and presented with the primary aim of making sure the text remains paramount. It’s undoubtedly a good production with which to introduce youngsters to Shakespeare, and The Lowry was packed with them last night. #MacbethNT #National_Theatre #Nardone