Walking in to the studio at The Lowry to lively Mexican music, letters on our chairs (which we weren’t allowed to open yet) and brightly lit neon cacti seemed to relax everyone straight away. And this was before the shots of Tequila were dished out.
Falling in Love with Frida first previewed at Sick! Festival in Brighton last year. This year the Festival comes to Manchester, aiming to shine a light on urgent issues that are taboo and misunderstood and looking to confront the challenges of life and death.
With a cast of 4 women, Falling in Love with Frida, is a warm, intimate and interactive performance exploring the life, love and legacy of the artist Frida Kahlo. The 50 minute performance is made up of movement, music and spoken word and is led by Australian born Caroline Bowditch, a disabled performance artist and choreographer, who now lives in Glasgow.
Frida Kahlo was severely injured in a road traffic accident as a teenager, recovering from these injuries caused her to become isolated – a feeling which influenced her most famous works, namely self portraits. Caroline Bowditch explores her own experiences, having brittle bone disease and being a performance maker and wonders what mark she will leave on the world. It is apt that the play opens with Bowditch lying on the top of a yellow dining table staring at a reflection of herself in a mirror – the performance is a self portrait of Bowditch.
With seating on 3 sides of the stage, the performance allowed for the audience to really get involved – dancers Welly O’Brien and Nicole Guarino would lock eyes and flash a smile to individuals in the crowd. Bowditch even shared a piece of water melon with one lady as well as passing a small note to another. British Sign Language interpreter, Yvonne Strain was also fully immersed in the movement on stage- skilled choreography made Strain intrinsic to the performance, something that I have never seen before.
As Caroline Bowditch expresses her passion for Frida Kahlo she draws parallels between herself and the painter, using this to reflect on her own life and experiences. Throughout the show I ended up finding out more about Bowditch than I did Kahlo – she gave me a snapshot of her life, her loves, her dreams and explored ideas around legacy and how we might be remembered.
This is the first time Sick! Festival has been launched in Manchester and it has certainly aroused discussion and succeeded in encouraging people to talk and debate subjects which may not have been approached so honestly before.
Here’s our listings of the best theatre and activities taking place during the Easter school holidays.
The Easter holidays run through from Good Friday, the 3rd April until Friday 17th April – for most schools. I say most schools because I don’t want to confuse any already frazzled parents, but some schools (including the one my children go to) only get one week off, so will miss out on some of the good stuff on this list.
The Edge Theatre and Arts Centre, Chorlton
Oxford Playhouse and untied Artists present the world premiere of this brand new family show The Boy Who Bit Picasso at The Edge in Chorlton.
This show promises a lot of interaction as the audience are invited to take part in a variety of art and craft activities. Suitable for ages 4-8, there will be plenty of storytelling and music as the children are introduced to one of the twentieth century’s most influential artists, Pablo Picasso.
The story is inspired by Antony Penrose’s book which follows the story of Tony who becomes friends with Picasso – telling the true story of how Tony spent his childhood with one of the greatest artists ever to have lived.
We would definitely be attending this one if we could (see first para) – for you lucky ones with two weeks off school – this sounds like a good pick for the holidays.
The Boy Who Bit Picasso comes to The Edge Theatre and Arts Centre in Chorlton on Tuesday 14th April 2015 with 2 showings at 11am and 2pm.
TOP TIP: Be sure to wear play clothes because it could get messy
The Lowry
Room on the Broom has always been a big hit in our house and it’s coming to The Lowry this Easter. The story originally penned by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler has been adapted for stage by the wonderful team at Tall Stories.
Room on the Broom tells the story of a witch and her cat flying happily along on their broomstick until a stormy wind blows the witches hat, bow and wand down to the ground. Luckily, the witch meets some new friends who manage to locate all of her belongings. However, can the witches broomstick hold up to carrying her and her cat and a dog, a bird and a frog? I’m sure you know the rest of the story, I’m sure like me you have probably read and enjoyed it more times than you can count.
Suitable for ages 3+ and running at 55 minutes long, this musical production promises to be full of songs and giggles for all of the family.
A slightly different offering from the Waterside in Sale which may appeal to parents and older children alike. The centre is holding an Artful Playground Easter School, which runs for 4 days, from 7th until 10th April. It is suitable for children/teens aged 7-16 years and will be a musical theatre bonanza made up of singing, acting, dancing and most importantly FUN. There will be a final showcase on the Friday for family and friends.
The Artful Playground Easter school runs from 10am-4pm from Tuesday 7th April until Friday 10th April 2015 and costs £80 (with a £10 discount for Musical Theatre Class members).
In addition to this, Waterside Arts Centre are also having film screenings of How to Train Your Dragon II and The Boxtrolls on Tuesday the 14th April. Visit their website for times and prices.
Z- Arts
Where Caterpillars Go is showing at Z Arts over the Easter break. Suitable for under 5’s, the production follows an inquisitive caterpillar’s journey into a beautiful garden. This thoughtful show promises to explore life, growth and loss through live music, movement and fun.
Inspired by the show there will be a free workshop from Tuesday 7th April – Friday 10th April where participants can create their own paper garden and lanterns as well as experiment with clay and printmaking.
Where Caterpillars Go is showing at Z-Arts on Thursday 9th April at 11:30 am and 2:30pm.
Oldham Coliseum
Charlie and Lola’s Extremely New Play is being welcomed to Oldham Coliseum on the 8th and 9th April.
Ideal for ages 3+ and a running time of 1 hour 15 minutes, the show includes puppets, live action and music based on the books by Lauren Child and the much loved BBC TV show.
Charlie and Lola’s Extremely New Play is at Oldham Coliseum from Wednesday 8th April until Thursday 9th April, showing at 11:00am and 1:30pm. Tickets are £10.00. Click here to book.
The Palace Theatre, Manchester
The Cat in The Hat joins us this Easter at The Palace Theatre in Manchester to cause mayhem and mischief. As soon as that red and white hat appears around the door, Sally and her brother know that they are in for a crazy adventure. But will their mum find out when she gets home?
Based on the wonderful novel by Dr Seuss, we reckon that this show would be a great introduction for young children aged 3+ to the theatre.
The Cat in The Hat is at Manchester’s Palace Theatre from Tuesday 7th April – Wednesday 8th April. Please check out the ATG ticket site for prices and times.
The Royal Exchange
For older children, aged 7-11, the Royal Exchange have their Revolting Rhymes Easter Drama Course. The acting, singing and crafting course runs for 3 days from April 13th – April 15th 2015. With a focus on Roald Dahl’s swizzfiggling stories, these sessions are proving to be very popular so we recommend you book early to avoid disappointment.
The service is offering an Easter music course suitable for KS1 children (aged between 5-8 I think) – its a 2 day course taking place on Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th April. Children can attend one or both days and the courses take place at The Claremont Centre in Sale.
Children will be able to take part in singing, ukulele and violin sessions and percussion lessons and the course is suitable for those who can already play an instrument or complete beginners. The course costs £35 per day and runs from 9:00am until 3:30pm. All instruments are provided, all you need to do is provide a packed lunch.
There are only 30 places so if your child is interested I advise that you fill this online form and submit as soon as you can.
Silver Blades Ice Rink
This post would not be complete without a ‘FROZEN” mention now would it? Altrincham Ice Rink (as I nostalgically like to call it) are holding a Frozen Sing-a-long on Thursday 16th April 2015 between 5:30pm and 7:30pm. I think that the ice rink have won the battle of the Frozen Sing-alongs by pulling this one out of the bag!
There will be figure skating demo’s including a Frozen Sing-along show – followed by an opportunity to meet and greet and a free skating session.
Ticket price is £7.00 and to find out more about this event and other events at Silver Blades Ice Rink over Easter please click here.
Upstaged manchester would like to wish you all a happy Easter. Please tweet your mini reviews of any of the shows or activities that you’ve taken part in to us @UpstagedMCR .
The Birmingham Royal Ballet are back at The Lowry with an enchanting production of Coppélia. As David Bintley CBE celebrates his twentieth year as director of the company, there really is no ballet more apt for this occasion than the story of Coppélia, packed full of mischievous humour, triumph and joy.
As the Royal Ballet Sinfonia begin to play and the gauze raises to reveal Peter Farmer‘s impressive leafy set, we are transported to a village somewhere in Eastern Europe where Dr Coppélius, an eccentric toy maker wheels out his latest mechanical creation on to his workshop balcony. His only wish is to bring this wind-up doll, Coppélia, to life. Michael O’Hare tells the story of the funny doctor well and looks the part with his puzzled facial expressions and his frazzled white hair.
When Coppélia is left out on the doctors workshop balcony she arrouses attention from flirtatious Franz and the green eye of jealousy from his wife-to-be Swanilda, with neither of the pair realising that she is only a doll.
When the two lovers, separately and unknowingly decide to enter Dr Coppélius’ strange workshop comic chaos is unleashed. Swanilda and her friends pull off the dusty red drapes in the doctors spooky workshop to reveal more of his mechanical dolls. Peter Wright‘s choreography succeeds in bringing all of the humour in the story to the fore, not an opportunity is missed and the world class dancers deliver with energy and sparkle.
Elisha Willis as Swanilda is as an amazing storyteller as she is a dancer – with impeccable timing she conveys humour while delivering complex ballet sequences with ease. Chi Cao as Franz shows a lightness of movement in his solo pieces – turning effortlessly as he appears to float in mid air. Again, a good actor, performing with a good hint of arrogance as the flighty Franz. Following the two striking female soloists in Act III, Celine Gittens and Delia Mathews, the pas de deux between the two main dancers appears to lack a little confidence though.
Peter Farmer‘s intricate, striking set design frames the dancing perfectly, the leafy forrest and Dr Coppélius’ workshop through to the grand drapes and garlands during the Festival of the Bell.
This joyous and witty ballet is a light hearted and humorous celebration of love, suitable for seasoned dance lovers or those who are making their first trip to the ballet. I took Thing 1 (aged 9) and he found it easy to follow and found the story very amusing. With Delibes wonderful musical score, stunningly pretty costumes and Peter Wright’s impressive choreography, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Coppélia really is a magical feast for the senses.
-Kristy Stott
Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Coppélia continues at the Lowry until Saturday March 7th.
With First Steps: A Child’s Coppélia on Friday March 6 at 1pm.
Remember that feeling of loss when you reached the end of the final episode of season five of Breaking Bad? One show which had taken on a permanent place of residence in our hearts – we loved the characters, we felt like we actually knew them and we had taken them into our lives. I don’t know about you, but I really struggled when I reached the end of Breaking Bad. I tried to replace Walt with Dexter but it just wasn’t the same – I was attached to Heisenberg and Jesse Pinkman.
Well there is good news for anyone still suffering with withdrawal symptoms from the Emmy award-winning TV drama – Miles Allen, has brought his One Man Breaking Bad parody show to the UK for a full tour. Throughout the performance time of 80 minutes, Allen manages to condense all five seasons of Breaking Bad and take on the challenge of impersonating all of the lead characters,
Talented impersonator Allen uses our favourite meth head Jesse Pinkman as a narrator for the story, sticking closely to the original narrative, he manages to put his own spin on the action, using relevant cultural references to the NHS and the UK government as well as squeezing in some hilarious impressions of Peter Griffin, Homer Simpson and Gollum.
Miles Allen’s impression of Skyler is particularly entertaining – as he throws the blond synthetic wig haphazardly on to his head and dulls his voice to her low patronising tone. Allen really is a skilled performer, taking on pretty much every character in the series convincingly, as well as performing Breaking Bad dance moves (Better Call Saul and Die like Jane) and fashioning Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball as a strange parody with Walt Jr taking the limelight.
The show is interactive and high energy and Allen encourages the audience to join in wherever possible – whether it be chanting key lines from the show or picking participants from the audience to re-enact the ‘pizza on the roof’ scene.
One Man Breaking Bad is a light hearted and skilled stand up show which taps into a shared love of one of the best TV shows ever made. What did confuse me, however, was the number of people who raised their hands, at the top of the show, when Miles Allen asked, “Who hasn’t watched Breaking Bad?” Aside from the mass plot spoilers, I was puzzled they they had even bought a ticket.
This show is for those people who watched, lived and loved Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad and in Allen’s own words it is “a love letter for all of the fans who lived through the blood, meth and tears of the greatest TV show ever made”. If this review has whet your appetite and you fancy revisiting the world of Walter White and co, One Man Breaking Bad will definitely get you your fix.
-Kristy Stott
One Man Breaking Bad continues its UK tour at The Severn Arts Centre in Shrewsbury tonight.
I Believe in Unicorns is a captivating and expressive story penned by one of our greatest storytellers, Children’s Laureate and writer of War Horse, Michael Morpurgo. In this adaptation for the stage, Theatre Alibi unpack the experiences of Tomas and his family in an inventive and visually stunning way. Using live music, puppetry and powerful physical theatre sequences, the moving story is brought to life completely for the audience. I even had a tear in my eye by the end and Thing 1 (9 years old) whispered in my ear, “I feel very sad for them.”
“The Little Match Girl puppet made me feel sad. Some people in the world are poor and some people are rich”
Tomas didn’t like books or stories. He was happier clambering in the mountains like a goat or tobogganing with his Dad. One afternoon, Tomas’ mum suggests going to the library. Tomas is reluctant until he arrives at the library and meets the Unicorn Lady who has a wonderful talent for storytelling, opening the pages and setting the magic free. Tomas’ world becomes so much bigger as he reveals the wonder of stories, the importance of books and the power of his imagination.
“He pulled funny faces, like me, when his mum was taking him to the library.”
There isn’t a weak link in the cast of three, Ben Worth‘s Tomas is animated and well paced, he leads us fluidly from the fun of physical theatre through to scenes loaded with emotion. Derek Flood and Cerianne Roberts are skilled in playing several different characters with ease; a change of voice and posture and a new prop is all that the younger members of the audience need to understand this. The atmospheric lighting design by Dominic Jeffery and live music by Thomas Johnson really help to pace the whole show, aiding the depth and meaning of the story.
I Believe in Unicorns is billed as being suitable for ages six and over, although I would take this with caution. The backdrop to the immediate domestic action is war torn Europe. To Tomas, the war always seems so far away until one day it reaches his village and he experiences first hand the devastation and sadness of war. It is possible that a younger child may well struggle with understanding some of the context here, given that the story is extremely well-crafted with plenty of different strands explored during its running time of sixty minutes.
However, for those older children, over the age of 8, who are able to follow the narrative and appreciate the emotion of the production, I Believe in Unicorns is a rare treat for an age group who are so often overlooked in quality children’s theatre.
“It made me feel like I was lucky.”
Thing 1 went straight home and dug out my old weather beaten copy of The Little Match Girl and began to read.
I Believe in Unicorns is at The Lowry until Sunday 22nd February and then tours nationally through Spring and Summer 2015.
Dinosaur Zoo is an interactive and educational show, suitable for all ages, by Australian company Erth. The show aims to animate the lesser known (but equally ferocious) dinosaurs that ruled in part of the Southern hemisphere which, we are informed, is referred to as Gordwanaland.
The young audience are encouraged to interact with narrator Australian zookeeper, Lindsey Chaplin, and her dinosaur puppets from the very start, especially, those sat in ‘The Danger Zone’ at the very front!
The show maintains a remarkable sense of surprise throughout – the lifelike dinosaur puppets move convincingly, easily fuelling a child’s curiosity, nervousness and amusement in equal measures. Lindsey is our host – her address to the audience is perfectly timed, her humour and friendly approach appealing to children and adults alike.
I attended with my dinosaur-obsessed 3 year old; who despite chattering all week about the show, lost his tongue when he entered the theatre, all wide eyed on seeing the stage set with hay bales and giant flora.
I could sense that many of the children were excited and apprehensive – not knowing what to expect. And although Lindsey explained that all of the dinosaurs in the show were puppets (and you could clearly see that they were being manned) – I think that many children forgot this fact early on, which added to the magic of the show.
Dinosaur Zoo, with interaction and science at its core, is very different from any of the other dinosaur shows that I have seen, and at just 55 minutes long it is perfect for the attention span of even very young children.
My only niggle lies with the staging of the show; due to the interactive element it would definitely have benefitted from being staged in the round or in a more intimate performance space. And from watching the trailer, this is what I was expecting.
However, Erth must have recognised this as being a potential issue and so overcame this by bringing all their dinosaurs out into the foyer after the performance, so that all of the children were able to get up close and personal with their favourite from the show.
If like me, you have a dinosaur obsessed child or one that you can borrow to accompany you, Dinosaur Zoo is well worth a visit!
-Kristy Stott
Originally published by What’s on Stage in October 2013.
