Opera North’s standout production of Susanna is a tug of war between sincerity and a double dose of deception. Built to strike a nerve, it comes across as storybook horror that plunges the Lowry audience into a familiar battle of his word against hers. This powerful reimagining of Hansel’s 1749 oratorio follows the tranquil life of Sussana (Anna Dennis), who, whilst minding her married business, has her life interrupted by two men hoping to take advantage of her whilst her husband is away for work. Despite rejecting the men, she quickly finds that they are more than happy to throw dirt on her name, labelling her as an adulterer for sleeping with another man in town. Helping to bring the community together to plan out her destruction, Susanna is a tale of holding your head up when it is about to be knocked off. Set and costume designer Zahra Mansouri’s brings a misleadingly serene design that allows the cast to glide on two levels alongside Marcus Jarrell Willis’s choreography. Director Olivia Fichs’s unobstructed storytelling is engrossing told with sign language, subtitles and an integration of dance that runs as an extension of the cast throughout the production. Intensifying the emotive tale in a beautiful and compelling fashion, the show draws you in both visually and lyrically for a chilling message of resilience. Hansel’s poetic lyrics bring an alluring sensitivity to Susanna’s injustice, spotlighting her strength and integrity with lulling arias that highlight her innocence amongst the chaos. Dennis and James Hall’s (Joacim) incredibly sweet vocals are full of runs, riffs and trills, blending to perfection and sinking you deeper into Hansel’s tale. Dennis delivers a stunning performance, finding herself in court for a heart-wrenching scene of confrontation between her conspirators, Elder (Karl Huml) and Elder (Colin Judson). Conductor Johanna Soller balances the intimate moments of Susanna’s fears and pleas, alongside the chorus whose public accusations against Sussana are sung in fiery unison. By adding a rotating cast of dancers, performers and opera singers, Opera North and Phoenix Dance Theatre production have reshaped Susanna into an enduring, modern parable. Its fluid choreography and softened natural aesthetics craft the bittersweet tale into a seamless, necessary revival. Despite leaving audiences to reflect on how little has changed since its debut, Susanna is worth the heartache, offering a beautifully gritty opera with magnetic performances. #OperaNorth #PhoenixDanceTheatre #Susanna TheLowry #Manchester Tickets are available via the Lowry link

Opera North offers a moody revival of Giacomo Puccini’s gritty story, which asks if an abundance of love can overcome an absence of money and status. Puccini’s romantic opera plunges the Lowry audience into an all-consuming love story of the youthful, destitute bohemians of Paris as we follow a group of struggling artists, freezing in a garret on Christmas Eve. In the group’s faded and dusty attic, painter Marcello (Yuriy Yurchuk), poet Rodolfo (Anthony Ciaramitaro) and philosopher Colline (Han Kim) work on burning Rodolfo’s words for warmth. Revival director, James Hurley’s laid-back, shadowy staging highlights the optimistic artist's work against their streaked walls and faded lighting which reflects the precarious lives of the creatives. But a candlelit evening is also the perfect time to fall in love and Rodolfo stumbles into the arms of embroider Mimi (Isabela Diaz), who is also in need of some warmth. Hurley’s revival puts Warhol and Monroe references amongst the cast's casual clothes and winter mittens, but there are only a few levels of modernity added to the story. Being broke is still hard work and Puccini’s 1896 opera remains as powerful and relevant as when it first premiered. With music that encapsulates the raw beauty of love, the story is set against the cracked and decaying world the group live in, where the men grapple with a lack of opportunities and the women a lack of prospects. Torn between flower embroidery or finding a wealthy husband, Diaz brings a wealth of emotions to Mimi, a woman who balances her quiet strength with an exuberance of love. The gorgeous Act 1 arias, Che gelida manina  and Si, with Ciaramitaro offer a sweet-toned rollercoaster of emotions before the show swiftly moves between lighthearted camaraderie to the devastating reality of poverty. Countering the lovebirds are Marcello and his ex-Musetta (Elin Pritchard), a singer who is the life of the party, knows her worth and is unwilling to compromise love for a fabulously lavish life. Between Pritchard’s bold presentation and Jeremy Peaker’s Marilyn Monroe styling, there is plenty of comic relief and scene-stealing performances. Also adding to the group's optimism and Yurchuk’s passionate frustrations is Phyllida Lloyd and revival director Hurley’s cheerful Christmas scenery. Selling the audience a dream of a better life with a chorus of choreographed children and saxophone-playing Santas, the impressive ensemble brings a sweet sense of love and intimacy to their overcrowded and weathered living arrangements. Conductor Garry Walker delivers the passion and heightens the intensity of Opera North’s production, making La Bohème the perfect entry point for anyone interested in testing the opera waters. Puccini draws you in with an honest and timeless tale of loss and youth, but Opera North’s engrossing cast made it a beautiful farewell to love. #LaBoheme #Manchester Tickets are available via the Lowry link

Surging onto the Arena stage, the Grammy award-winning powerhouse returns to Manchester with an evening of chart-topping hits. Celebrating her first UK tour in 13 years, the original live-action genie dazzles her fans with a collection of enduring, decade hopping tracks. With loyal fans who have followed her from her Disney debut to her Dirrty reinvention, Aguilera takes it back to basics, performing favourites from her original 1999, self-titled album before travelling through her eight-album catalogue. Rising to fame with Genie in a Bottle (from the album that turns 20 this year), the long-haul success that has followed Aguilera has led to a cacophony of memorable hits hitting the diverse Manchester Arena crowd. Performed with power and presenting a bold cabaret focusing on female empowerment, Aguilera plays out the majority of her quadruple-platinum album Stripped to entertain with a new rendition of Beautiful launched alongside the unstoppable, Can't Hold Us Down . However, like Dr Who , Aguilera is not afraid of time jumping through the decades, jumping to fan favourites Candyman and Feel This Moment with sumptuous performances that focus on her active messaging of self-empowered and love, rather than with any smooth theme. Fresh from her Las Vegas residency, the international artist imports her remarkably designed production of rapid costume changes and brilliant backing dancers, for the Arenas animated roll out of her music. Flaunting an inclusive deep dive that shakes up twenty years of her tracks, the quality of the X Tour sees Aguilera flipping between a red and black leather-clad costume, knee-high boots and a beret for Ain’t No Other Man before slipping straight into an airy kimono for Beautiful . With performances that balance a fresh revival of her classics, the show finds time to input a few of her successful collaborations. Ensuring all the accessories are included and everyone gets to hear their favourite Aguilera high notes, Lady Marmalade without P!NK, Mýa and Lil Kim and Moves Like Jagger enter the show. Kicking off the X Tour with supporting act ALMA, the crowd are warmed up with a familiar fix of pop from the Helsinki based artist's playlist. After placing fifth on the seventh season of the Finish singing competition Idols , ALMA has collaborated with Charli XCX and Miley Cyrus, alongside featuring on the new Charlies Angels soundtrack under the dance track, How It’s Done . Offering similar messaging that resonates with Aguilera’s audience, ALMA performs a medley of songs that follow the singer/songwriter’s sexuality and devotion. Her electro-pop single tracks Dye My Hair , Chasing Highs and All Stars helps to frame the themes of the X Tour with honest artistry and love of otherness that is seen in Aguilera’s tracks. The X Tour offers a score of highlights, favouring a prideful mashup of classics from the hitmaker who certainly deserves to take a victory lap for her energy and scope. Taking her time to incorporate her famous ad-libs and one-liners in between beautiful vocals, the X Tour definitely highlights the fighter within Aguilera and showcases her gritty pop stardom to Manchester Arena. ChristinaAguilera ManchesterArena #Manchester

Sporting the Elastic Dislocationist, gloriously detailed puppets and an artful ringmaster, Circus 1903 offers audiences a rare chance to see the greatest show on earth, brought back with a daringly imaginative blend of magic and mayhem. With fellow Brit, Philip Astley credited as the father of the modern circus; last year marked the 250th anniversary of the big top’s tricks rolling back into town. Here the worldwide phenomenon is hitting the Lowry theatre with performers from all corners of the globe promising to take audiences to the highest of heights with aerial acrobatics, daredevil stunts and animal taming artistry. Representing the golden age of the circus, the traditional set of trapeze acts, jugglers, magicians and unicyclists all lend a hand in this slick and spectacular production. This variety show works hard to shape a world around their travelling community, with the art forms diverse performers bringing a fantastic, character-driven show. The thrilling collection of jaw-dropping stunts is headed by Ringmaster David Williamson, offering a phenomenal night at the circus alongside his engaging commentary. Keeping audiences entertained with boastful banter and bringing audience members up for a little participation and closeup tricks, Williamson carries the shows traditional aesthetic. Assisting in capturing the shows rich, old-world charm before the sweepingly dramatic moments rampage the stage, the show balances its deadly performances in between personal flourishes. Alongside performances from the Flying Fredonis’, whose deadly aerial artistry comes with body hurling movements at dizzying heights, and the Remarkable Risleys using each other as springboards for somersaults, the impressive collage of performances ensures the circus will never go out of fashion. One of the show’s most remarkable feats is its ability to bringing the circus’s cruel animal practices up to date with artistic flair with the unexpected beauty of the shows mother and child elephants, Queenie and Peanut. Rounding out the human artistry of Circus 1903’s set and ensures the circus continues to hold its place in contemporary theatre are the shows life-size, puppeteer controlled African elephants. The interplay between the puppeteers, the acts and audience bring the biggest laugh out loud moments to the Lowry theatre. Using the acclaimed creators behind War Horse, Queenie and Peanut are brought to life as the final stamp of dramatic flair for Circus 1903 . Circus 1903 gives audiences a backstage pass to the circus by allowing us to watch the elephants interact with the acts during their downtime. It is an unforgettable production that inundates its audience in a fantastically revamped tradition, offering an astonishingly display of talent, glamour and pure entertainment to the audiences of the Lowry theatre. Circus1903 TheLowry #Manchester

As LadBaby and Stormzy battle for 2019’s coveted Christmas number one spot, the Bridgewater Hall prepare its audience for a sleighful of Christmas classics. There’s no better way to kick off the holiday season than to do a deep dive into your favourite Christmas tracks and Now’s concert brings these tracks to life with a live orchestra. With Robert Emery conducting and Capital Voices performing the backing vocals, Now That’s What I Call Christmas runs through over 14 unforgettable hits, comprising the most successful Christmas songs of all time. Performed by guest singers and stars of the stage, Kerry Ellis ( Wicked and Wonderland ) and Tim Howar ( Phantom of the Opera ) this deluxe Now edition offers everyone’s treasured seasonal album in an entertaining night of merriment. Ellis’s tracks included a beautiful rendition of O Holy Night , a Shakin’ Stevens number one and of course, the bestselling Christmas single by Mariah Carey, All I Want For Christmas Is You . With the backing of a live orchestra and three costume changes, the mellow show carried a relaxed vibe to the Christmas jumper wearing audience. Billowing into the audience for handshakes, Howar’s performances included Driving Home For Christmas , Last Christmas and a karaoke rendition of East 17’s Stay Another Day . As the songs, last-minute tag on to the line-up of tracks left Howar asking for help with the lyrics he had tacked onto the stage floor. The deep-voiced performer even turned his hand to the novelty; high pitched Darkness track, Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End). As the productions main attraction is its stage talent, there was no bad seat in the house, the sparse band and Capital Voices spread out across the stage, but there were no visual blockades in place for member sitting in the stalls. In fact, if you plan on standing to dance at the Bridgewater, the stalls and the side circle seats are your best bet for cutting a rug without being elbowed. Finally, blending their vocals for a compilation of throwback classic, the night interspersed Baby It’s Cold Outside and Fairytale of New York as its paired add-ons. Overall, Now That’s What I Call Christmas offered a spirited boost for any audience obsessed with hearing the most converted Christmas carols performed with a live band. NowThatsWhatICallChristmas #TheBridgewaterHall #Manchester

It’s the most wonderful time of the year as classic Christmas telly hits the big screen this festive season. This year the Bridgewater Hall plays host to a live orchestration of Skyfall alongside the unstoppable Daniel Craig as Bond. Keeping audiences entertained with another serving of the iconic British franchise, the production, conducted by Stephen Bell is moulding the modern classic with The Hallé’s orchestra to bring audiences a live rendition of Bond’s most nail-biting production to date. James’s endeavours have made it to Manchester, seven years after the initial release of Skyfall (2012) celebrated its 50th anniversary of the franchise. In Bond’s 22nd feature, directed by Sam Mendes ( American Beauty and 1917 ), the man mystery is given a meaty production that offers an action-packed homecoming, balanced by Mendes infusion of shadowy framework and artsy landscapes. With the fantastic Judy Dench’s reviving her final performance as M, the gadgets are passed between a broad class of A-listers, including Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem, playing the unhinged Bond brother, Raoul Silva. As the two mummies boys run from Turkey to Japan and England to Scotland, in an effort to protect or destroy M, a story of conspiracies and betrayal unfolds. In an unbelievable yet gripping production, worthy of repeat viewing, the tense 2-hour 24-minute film plays beside the marvellous Hallé orchestra to unleash the music’s full force to the audience. As a beloved British franchise, the man with the golden gun is often celebrated at the Bridgewater Hall, and you are likely to find at least one production honouring the extensive and playful soundtracks formed by the franchise’s countless composers. Scoring the action to preserve Bond’s back catalogue and breathing new life into the modern classic, Adele’s Oscar-winning score plummets the film to new depths. The Bridgewater Hall seating in the circle offers the best overview of the entire orchestra and the screen, followed by the middle stalls section that allows for a comfortable view of both. Although the all guns blazing tribute Bond has now passed, there is a constant collection of live concerts to choose from, including Joker and Star Wars later in this year. Live concerts give movies memorable moments and beloved characters a new lease of life, allowing audiences to be recharged with an original film that has the new allure of live music. TheHallé #Skyfall SkyfallInConcert #TheBridgewaterHall #Manchester #Film

The holiday season isn’t entirely behind us as the ghost of Christmas yet to come inhabits the Lowry Lyric theatre, reflecting on our self-absorbed worldview. The National Theatre’s immensely popular and visually thrilling production of J.B Priestley spiritually realist fable has added a few extra twists to its masterfully modern creation. Priestley’s 1954 tale reimagined by Olivier award-winning and Oscar-nominated director Stephen Daldry, unleashes a warped production that spotlights the Birling family in an ever-unravelling story surrounding power and prejudice. Daldry, who has moved between stage and screen with the longstanding Billy Elliot (2000) as well as the upcoming Wicked (2021) film musical, transitions the shadowy Birling’s family between real and mystical settings. Wrapping their opulent suburban house around multicoloured skies, Daldry centres their home on the stage, cracked open to allow audiences to peek inside. After inspector Goole interrupts the family’s engagement dinner, he takes his time serving up a lesson in social responsibilities and empathy. While conducting an enquiry into the suicide of the family’s ex-employee Eva Smith, the character-driven narrative uncovers concerning connections between the family and Eva’s death. Unsettling influences exposed through suspenseful flashbacks and thrilling direction remains framed in the Birling’s lavish home, where the inspector illuminates the family’s association with Eva . Inviting audiences to question their motives, the thriller moves through glimpses of each individual characters’ lives despite barely moving outside the bubble of the family home. While the characters confessions are reflected through the impressively expressive set and rich costumes, the colourful casting ensures the scandalous stories are also driven with humour. The naive Birling children, played by Chloe Orrock (Sheila) and Ryan Saunders (Eric), are countered by their overbearing parents, Christine Kavanagh and Jeffrey Harmer. While the children are mainly used as a sounding board for the detective’s antics, Mr and Mrs Birling’s skewed perspective is skilfully balanced by Liam Brennan playing inspector Goole. Speaking on behalf of the family, Mr Birling clashes with the detective, allowing Harmer to shine with almost pantomime villainy. Striking out and dishing some outrageous lines against Goole’s sharp comebacks, Brennan’s understated performance ties the story together, restoring justice with his cold and commanding presence. Fitted with symbols of the family’s guilt, Priestley’s straightforward story seizes on the themes of empathy, asking us to learn from our past and present mistakes. In an extremely weathered production that gathers lashings of alarming rainclouds over the heads of its cast, Daldry delivers a profoundly compelling and surprisingly hopeful narrative. Speaking directly to the crowd, this production removes the stage boundaries, moving Brennan out of the stalls and onto the stage, and enveloping the audience in a fog that clouds all in the Lowry theatre. Priestley’s classic investigates the lives of others, but Daldry’s grand retelling brings a dazzling direction that unwinds the Birling’s personal stories into a dark and captivating production. TheNationalTheatre AnInspectorCalls TheLowry #Manchester

Told by an Idiot are showing their appreciation to the icons of the silent cinema scene, reflecting the power of pantomime in a production that manufactures the best of 1910s film features. The group pay homage to the craft, with writer and director Paul Hunter, asking audiences to journey with Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel as they make their move from the UK to New York. As recent hires of Fred Karno’s Music Hall Troop , the production places the pair in a real, historical standing but envisions what took place onboard their tour of North America. After working with the company, the collaborators separated, each visibly placing their own lasting influence on classic cinema; however, this show is a flamboyant tribute, asking what inspired the men before they became household names. Threaded together with several shorts that enlighten the audience on the pair’s impactful backstories and inspirations, The Strange Tale continuously pivots forwards and backwards in time. As they fuse fact and fiction, the (almost) silent production relives and refreshes the medium into a modern, vibrant space on stage. Little embellishment is needed for the narratives as the two men’s documented lives were full of melodrama and mimicry, but these tales are rooted in fantasy. With what is known of the well-loved clowns, streamlined into shorts that combine live music, captions and animated physical comedy, this production offers a rich display that illuminates the silent superstars’ talents. On HOME’s stage the decked-out production circles around a pole, piano and drum kit, featuring the cast as the band, and an original piano score composed by Mercury Award Nominee Zoe Rahman. With an open set that allows for plenty of fast-paced action, the audiences vigilantly watch for the merging of visual gags, dance moves and subtitles that flow seamlessly on set. Its natural comedy tips its bowler hat towards Chaplin’s life with Amalia Vitale’s doubling for the clown with an endearing and vigorous performance. Looking back on Chaplin’s childhood and having Vitale jump off the stage to invite an audience member into the world of mime, the stories tend to focus on Chaplin’s influence. Shaping a familiar take on his later partnership with Oliver Hardy, Jerone Marsh-Reid as Laurel balances the comedy with his reserved support. Offering audiences a taste of the past with an energetic revival of Laurel, his charismatic, breakdancing rendition of Laurel pulls together the free-spirited Chaplin and the prop heavy shenanigans taking place on stage. Holding the appeal of silent cinemas well-timed pratfalls, slipups and foreseeable stumbles, the time capsule production plays out a loving tribute to The Little Tramp and Stan Laurel. Building on their legacy with an experimental live show that is silent but deadly through its execution. Told by an Idiot conjures a reflective and inspiring reframing of the greats, offers audiences a shared experience of the silent cinemas whimsical humour and the enduring influence these men hold in comedy. TheStrangeTaleOfCharlieChaplinAndStanLaurel #ToldByAnIdiot HOMEmcr

Showering audiences in hits for eleven years straight, Thriller Live has merged Michael Jacksons classic tracks, iconic videos and original choreography to form a dazzling live concert. Fuelled by Michael’s influence, the show continues to rep for the King of Pop, enlisting five artists to cover his hits. Balanced by its male vocalists, Kieran Alleyne, Britt Quintin, David Julien and Joseph Thomas, the show injects some girl power with its fantastic female lead, Adriana Louise. The performers play through the best of Michael’s 45-year musical history, with ten backing dancers flipping and moonwalking over two floors of staging. The fabulous live band blare behind an enormous video screen that alters the locations from a multicoloured studio performance for the Jackson 5’s ABC , to a zombie-filled Thriller creation. As the production acts as a straight concert, the Palace Theatre is kitted out with studio lights and screens used to travel back through Michael’s catalogue in what feels like a live, two-hour-long MTV music video. Director and choreographer Gary Lloyd spins several plates to ensure that the nostalgic tribute allows fans to see their favourite pop video remade in front of their eyes. Moving from Little MJ, to popular impersonator, Kieran Alleyne for the memorable Billie Jean choreography, the show offers a relentless package of bundled hits. The staging is minimal, but between the productions rapid costume changes and the strength of its five lead vocalists, the concert relives the memory of Michael’s music besides a universal message of hope and unity. Despite the controversial figures resting legacy, audiences remain eager to keep the popular music alive, with Thriller Live smartly recasting famous and distinctive singers into its large ensemble habitually. The cast have plenty of material to work with, even if it’s one glove, and alongside its pacy and charming performances, the deceptively simple staging staggers a prop heavy production to carry out its concept. Including the club scene from Smooth Criminal , complete with its long lean, anti-gravity choreography and the entire Walking Dead crew shuffling out to deliver the titles song, the catalogue bundles 22 of Michael’s 44 UK Top 10’s. Thriller remains one of the most popular and famous music videos of all time, with the track built up into the shows second act as a reminder to audiences of Michael’s record-breaking impact. The 1983 pioneering video directed by An American Werewolf’s John Landis is a treat definitely worth repeating, together with thirty other tracks on offer. Sharing the stage, all five artists join together to perform They Don't Care About Us , Black or White and Man In The Mirror , presenting a short tribute to the artist they emulate in front of his silhouette. Bringing an accessible and relaxed experience to The Palace Theatre, Thriller Live is a must for any Michael fan, or anyone onboard with reviving the moonwalk. Leaving plenty of moments for the audience to sing backup alongside the numerous Jacksons on stage, the shows talented and lively performers take on the classics in an enjoyable production. ThrillerLive #MichaelJackson ThePalaceTheatre #Manchester

The Lowry theatre has transformed into a haunted house, with the League of Gentleman’s Jeremy Dyson and Derren Brown collaborator, Andy Nyman conjuring forces onto the stage for a night of terrifying truths. Constricting you to your seat and forcing you to face your fear of the others, the pair paint a picture of vengeful ghosts within real-world scenarios. Hosted by a sceptic who repeats that “the brain sees what it wants to see”, Ghost Stories explores three unsolved tales of paranormal activity that hang on a ring of truth. We follow Dr Goodman, a Professor of Parapsychology (Joshua Higgott), who investigates and debunks Casper’s on a daily basis. As we sit in on one of his lectures that features the scienceofghosts.com, we listen in on the recordings of three interviews, with the production playing back the tales of a night watchman, a disgruntled teenager and a businessman live on stage. Under the shadows, audiences are left to self-inflict their discomfort. Using the power of our own nervous energy and over eagerness to build up the notorious, but nevertheless, still cringeworthy jumps scares that playout throughout the production. For a straight hour and forty minutes, the show challenges the audience to doubt their cynicism, with Dr Goodman appearing less persuasive as each insidious story is told. Using the power of suggestion, the co-writer behind many of Derren Brown’s productions harness our relatable fears by giving all audience members the sixth sense. Torturing us with blackouts, fairground tricks and captivating storytelling, Dyson and Nyman nod to Hitchcockian mechanics, filtering the narratives through classic scare techniques to ensure the audience do the rest of the work. Lovers of the horror genre and fraidy-cats will be equally entertained by the humour and inventive setups of Ghost Stories three fables. Often told under a spotlight, the enthralling stage production startles its shrieking audience under a spooky, yet fantastically British tone that continues to hold the humour of the situation closely. Despite a 2017 film adaptation starring Paul Whitehouse, Alex Lawther, and Martin Freeman, the British horror continues to gather audiences a decade after its initial release. Bounding into the crowd and entwining the malevolent spirits with its unsuspected audience, the tension-filled production continues to revitalise classic ghost stories. Unsuitable for under 15’s, Ghost Stories is a night of intense and engaging classic tales, promising to keep you unsettled throughout. GhostStories TheLowry #Manchester

How can a boy beat a monster? Siobhan Dowd’s untimely death in 2007 left her unfinished, fifth manuscript in the capable hands of Patrick Ness who has since developed her idea into a novel, seen it adapted into a film (2017) and finally, reworked for the stage. Conjuring up haunting visions of death whilst grappling with our limited control of emotions, the fantastical tale of a thirteen-year-old awoken at night by a monster, is rooted by its honesty and heart. The 2011 novel has been reimagined for the stage by Adam Peck in a pacy, yet grounded production that plays with the isolation and procedures navigated alongside a family member dealing with a terminal illness. We follow Conor (played by Ammar Duffus) as he balances his mother’s cancer treatment, his distant father, schoolwork and the monster that has taken the form of a yew tree outside his window. The fairy tale is a down to earth narrative centred around self-actualisation and facing your fears. However, the Old Vic production employs a gritty collection of movement, pulling on its cast of characters to freeform part of the set and its props, together with projection, dance and live music. The shows abstract set is reminiscent of A Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time , as Conor’s monster entwines with the ensemble cast, allowing his temperament to be projected onto the stage. As Conor’s journey brews visceral battles with the yew monster (played by Keith Gilmore), Duffus interacts with overhanging ropes and pulleys that make the trees staging appear alive and untameable. Director Sally Cookson shapes an inventive and memorable production, connecting Conor and the audience to his otherworldly experience using various natural techniques. Cookson’s expansive, open set design brings the stories organic elements together by weaving the cast in as the props. By enabling the story and props to move fluidly together on stage, Cookson gives the narrative a dream-like quality, with no long-lasting control for its lead. With the story played entirely through Conor’s eyes, the simple but effected show captures the essence of being a constrained teen facing uncontrollable fear, using little more than rope, its cast and live musicians. Accepting the monster within, Duffus’ passionate performance as Conor brings an exhaustively distinctive tone to the piece, shaped by Dan Canham’s choreography. Conor’s slow discovery uncovers untameable movements and dance that reaches out to the audience to highlight how Conor’s internal demons are as destructive as the physical monster terrorising him outside his window. Accompany the show with free programmes, workshops and discussions for the teenagers amongst the crowd, the productions brutal honesty brings a new type of fairy tale to the Lowry audience, with open themes for debate. A Monster Calls has a marvellous and mysterious veneer that is perfect for audiences of all ages. Its attempts to capture the chaos and confusion surrounding death is surprisingly subtle, working to help viewers understand the universal abandon and multitude of confused emotions that must be dealt with during times of tragedy. AMonsterCalls TheLowry #Manchester

Ending Opera North’s three-show season at the Lowry, Street Scene turns up the heat with a powerfully cinematic take on Kurt Weill’s, 1946 opera. Capturing the vibrant world of an apartment complex, the production plays out the sordid tales and diverse voices of New York’s 1940’s melting pot, over two scalding summer days. Mathew Ebertardt’s revival is an inviting production that shines a light on an amplified microcosm of New Yorkers. Audiences join the tenants on their stoop, as the design establishes the apartment within a cascading staircase that flows from both sides of the Lowry. With the innovative set sprouting characters from all corners of the stage, the scene resembles Escher’s Relativity, continuously framing the ensemble at its centre. The shared space brings a terrific sense of community, piling in a large cast and allowing the pacy action to unveil multiple soapy stories. Within the bright brownstone, we hear the whisperings of nosey neighbours speaking on tenants’ evictions, cheating spouses and ragamuffins running wild in the neighbourhood. Additionally, just like a captivating soap opera, we are happy to witness their turbulent lives play out before us. Despite being laced with plenty of tragedy, Ebertardt’s direction ensures Street Scenes Tony Award-winning Best Original Score buzzes above the drama. Catchy songs, including We’ll Go Away Together and I Got a Marble and a Star paper over the issues of drunken, heartbroken and homeless tenants, let alone housewife Anna (Giselle Allen) making whoopie with the milkman. Over its two-tiered staging, Opera North embraces the multiplicity of its eighteen membered cast, switching musical styles to present a litany of arias and duets. Within their beautifully presented production, Gary Clarke serves up lengthy song-and-dance sequences including, Wouldn't You Like To Be On Broadway? that highlights the shows peculiar mix of Broadway tracks within its opera framework. Conducted by James Holmes, the irresistibly jazzy score layers a Broadway-style over its working-class storyline of clashes and conflicts. Plenty of memorable moments are on offer, with impressive numbers like Moon Faced and Starry Eyed woven into the fabric of the plot. A jitterbug performance between Mae Jones (Michelle Andrews) and Rodney Vubya (Dick McGann) syncs the soap with entertaining choreography and keeps the sombre drama upbeat. Even the soon to be evicted Hildebrand family have their youngest daughter, Jennie (Laura Kelly-McInroy) perform the delightfully optimistic, Wrapped in a Ribbon and Tied in a Bow as a strange dichotomy to the real action unfolding on stage. Opera North's Street Scene is one of the most relaxed, relatable and high-energy operas touring with the company. Filled with scandal and joy, it is an easy-going venture for newbies of the genre, bringing with them a terrific live orchestra, a passionate ensemble and a stunning set design. OperaNorth #StreetScene TheLowry #Manchester #ONStreetScene