Manchester
Whitworth Art Gallery Reopens with a Meteoric BangWednesday, 18 February 2015
The Whitworth Art Gallery was showered with meteors in a spectacle devised by the artist Cornelia Parker on its reopening weekend – appropriately Valentine’s Day. The £15m project (architects MUMA) has doubled the exhibition spaces, reclaimed the... Read more... |
Reissue CDs Weekly: Martin Hannett & Steve HopkinsSunday, 08 February 2015
Martin Hannett & Steve Hopkins: The Invisible GirlsWhile acclaimed for his glacial productions for Joy Division and New Order, Martin Hannett was also a musician in his own right. With bass guitar in hand and alongside composer-keyboard... Read more... |
Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, Manchester ArenaMonday, 02 February 2015
Due to unfortunate circumstances I am unable to give a star rating to this show; 15 minutes into the second half a cast member collapsed on stage and the performance was cancelled. At the time of posting Ted Robbins (extreme right in the picture... Read more... |
CD: BC Camplight – How to Die in the NorthThursday, 15 January 2015
Decamping to Manchester from Philadelphia after a personal crisis seems an unlikely move. But this is what Brian Christinzio – who is BC Camplight – did in 2012. How to Die in the North was recorded in Bredbury, near Stockport.As cross-continental... Read more... |
Little Shop of Horrors, Royal Exchange, ManchesterWednesday, 10 December 2014
With a bloodthirsty, corpse-devouring plant called Audrey at the centre of events, we can only be in the Little Shop of Horrors. It’s a far cry from Jack and the Beanstalk, but the Royal Exchange is known for providing alternative and, usually, zany... Read more... |
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Royal Exchange, ManchesterWednesday, 05 November 2014
No one is more prescriptive than Tennessee Williams when it comes to stage and set directions. As he got older and wiser he made allowances for directors and actors to have their say. “The making of a play is, finally, a collaborative venture,” he... Read more... |
The spooky and the bold in the art of contemporary ChinaSunday, 19 October 2014
In China there are more than 100 million fans of Manchester United. At least that’s what I’m told when I get to the the city's National Football Museum. And in a sartorial decision unusual in the art world, we are greeted by artist Chen Wenbo... Read more... |
Meyer, BBCPO, Storgårds, Bridgewater Hall, ManchesterSunday, 12 October 2014
Staying close to his Scandinavian roots, John Storgårds, principal guest conductor of the BBC Phil and chief conductor of the Helsinki Phil, is gearing up for the celebration of Carl Nielsen’s 150th birthday next year. Being the seventh child of 12... Read more... |
Mullova, Hallé, Elder, Bridgewater Hall, ManchesterFriday, 10 October 2014
Sir Mark Elder has a penchant for taking on large-scale works in Manchester, from operatic concert performances of Wagner and Verdi to Hollywood musicals. Following that line, he kicked off the new Hallé season with Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé ballet... Read more... |
Warde Street, Park TheatreTuesday, 07 October 2014
The advantage of basing drama on real events, particularly emotive ones like the 2005 London bombings, is that they have inbuilt resonance; the disadvantage, all too apparent in 2013 play Warde Street, is that it can be challenging to articulate a... Read more... |
CD: Johnny Marr - PlaylandMonday, 06 October 2014
According to Johnny Marr people with gigantic egos are generally miserable. Jokes about Morrissey aside, it follows Marr must be a pretty contented guy. For what other guitarist with his reputation would have put vanity aside to spend 20-odd years... Read more... |
The Driver, BBC OneWednesday, 24 September 2014
A mental blur of airports, stations and dangly cardboard air freshener, minicab-driving has always seemed vulnerable to cliché. The problem facing Vince McKee, David Morrissey‘s driver protagonist in BBC One’s new three-parter, is that the rest of... Read more... |
