Expect rivalry, love and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to feature in the original rags to riches tale of The Four Seasons. The band known for their lead vocals sharp falsetto have recaptured their story in a jukebox musical, originally brought to the stage in 2005. Having been reworked into a film (2014) directed by Clint Eastwood, charting the bands rise and fall, the Jersey Boys have enticed the imaginations of a wider audience who want to hear how the rough-and-ready boys from Jersey became one of the best-selling musical groups of all time. The sixties tale begins by playing the 2000 French rap song, Ces soirées-là by Yannick. Their song December 1963 (Oh What A Night) that has been sampled by Yannick plays out as a reference to why the band remain relevant despite their breakup in 1977. The unconventional track is also the only case of the production referencing another artist outside of The Four Seasons. As the musical chooses to leave its sixties backdrop and the history of the period out of their personal tale, the production showcases The Four Seasons bubble gum songs against the boy’s private struggles. The four streetwise boys take it in turns to tell the story of the band’s history from their individual bubble, with the production splitting the small ensemble cast into several characters who rotate the props as swiftly as they switch wigs. Alongside the live stage drummer, director Des McAnuff has split the multi-use Palace theatre into two tiers, caging the boys into the centre of the platform and keeping the remaining live band members off stage. Offering a stripped back production, McAnuff’s dark staging places pop art, and vintage video on its backdropped screen to add a brighter pop of colour to the honest narrative and metallic set. Any newbie to The Four Seasons music should be forgiven for believing the band’s name was actually Jersey Boys, as the group skated through a multitude of incarnations in an effort to find a memorable title. Before their first claim to fame with Sherry in 1962, the boys were labelled as the Four Lovers until a failed audition in a bowling alley had them revamp again to the name that stuck. Michael Watson (Frankie Valli), Peter Nash (Tommy Devito), Declan Egan (Bob Gaudio) and Lewis Griffiths (Nick Massi) tend to deliver their concert performances or group discussions in slick, suited formations or simply stood at the front of the stage. With four seasons to travel through, the jukebox musical is surprisingly heavy in dialogue allowing for a real story to run between the hit songs. Lacking in some of the showbiz glamour you may expect from a musical, Sergio Trujillo’s choreography and the unique talent of Watson bring the crucial spirit to the show. Aided by the lovely musical performances of its cast, the shortened renditions of their songs follow the tough and charismatic Italian-American characters to their sweetened conclusion. Breezing through their criminal past and mob connections with the tracks Walk Like a Man and Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Jersey Boys is a production peppered with humour. The show chooses to leave the romanticised image of pop success while surrounding its audience in sugar-coated hits, balancing an introduction to The Four Seasons for a younger audience and the dramatic collision of their egos to any hardcore fans. TheJerseyBoys #Manchester PalaceTheatre

Showing the small picture of war and it’s harsh realises, Anna Fierling a.k.a. Mother Courage is navigating herself through a dystopian world with her three children in tow. Originally based in 1624 around the Thirty Years War, director Amy Hodge has updated Bertolt Brecht’s play to offer an amalgamation of his vision that sees Courage confront the challenges of a futuristic conflict. Courage hauls her canteen wagon alongside daughters Kattrin (Rose Ayling-Ellis) and two sons Eilif (Conor Glean) and Swiss Cheese (Simone Blake-Hall), surviving by following the armies and selling her wares to the officers, sergeants and cooks. Brecht reveals that no sacrifice is too great to stop the war through the retelling of Courage’s uncompromising and visceral tale. Courage, played by Julie Hesmondhalgh (Coronation Street and The Almighty Sometimes) relentlessly haggles and carries the candid commentary of how to survive. Adapting to her audience by morphing her wagon into a burger bar, ice cream stand and night club, the Exchange’s circular stage has hollowed-out her van, allows the cast to climb on top, inside and around the vehicle as it is pushed around by the family. Courage’s shrewd business mind should be enough to keep her and her children out of harm’s way as she exposes the real profiteers of war and highlights how aptitudes such as bravery, selflessness and truthfulness are burdens in times of senseless violence. The Royal Exchange places the audiences in the combat without showing any of the action as Courage plays out the afflictions of war on a smaller scale. With a live musician on the first floor above the stage, Nick Pynn breaks out a tailored folk soundtrack that underscores the simpler themes and severe truths of the plot. Original songs like The Great Capitulation have been reworked to reflect on what the powerless can do against forces beyond their control, which despite originally being written in 1939 around growing Nazi terror, needs little more than a fresh coat of paint to bring it up-to-date. Anna Jordan’s new production of the silencing, trauma and resilience of the working-class revolve around a small ten-person cast where the conflict is captured through Courage’s conversations and losses. Despite the shows attempts to capture light relief in Brecht’s pitiless plot, it is jarring to witness central cast members reappear in minor roles, out to perform one liners or included in a surreal dance scene combined with the horrors of war. Brave enough to bring children into this world and ride the waves of war for her family, Courage pulls her makeshift, fragile home as a humble reminder of what is worth fighting for. Hesmondhalgh heads us through a litany of losses in a production that challenges audiences to think about what self-preservation and sacrifice really mean in times of war. Through its modern perspective, this adaption of Brecht's narrative returns the Exchange to its bare bones, settling on a sense of danger that remains outside the theatre doors. MotherCourage #Manchester #TheRoyalExchange

Tom Stoppard’s high seas adventure combines the colourful comedy and witty writings of the Academy and Tony Award-winning writer. Inspired by the Hungarian author Ferenc Molnar’s work, The Play’s the Thing (1926), Rough Crossing splashes about with absurdist comedy, musical musings and a whirlwind romance to bring some stylish and light-hearted antics to the Lowry stage. We follow longtime collaborators, Turai (John Partridge) and Gal (Matthew Cottle) as they attempt to finish writing their latest play while travelling on board a luxury transatlantic liner heading to New York. Along with their composer Adam (Rob Ostlere) and the play’s stars, an enraptured love triangle threatens to unravel the production before a script has even been completed. Stoppard crafts a straightforward story which relies on misunderstandings, mistrust and improbable circumstances to drive this language-rich plot. When composer Adam overhears his Eastern European fiancé and English actor Ivor declare their lust for each other, it is left to the playwrights to rework the scripts ending to convince Adam that their conversation was a part of their rehearsal. No real danger wades in these waters and with the stakes of the passengers so low the witty language in between begins to slow the pace of the show, extending the audience's journey until we reach its expected conclusion. While the story is told with passion by the energetic cast, the conservatively crafted narrative spends the first act setting up punch lines that are too old-fashioned and repetitive to pack a real punch. Scenes do feel refreshed by Dvornicher character (Charlie Stemp) whose charming performance eases drawn-out scenes. Director Rachel Kavanaugh pairs the vintage comedy stylings with a glamourous set. With the story based around the 1930s RMS Queen Elizabeth, Kavanaugh showcases elaborate costumes, art deco design and beautiful silver-plated set pieces that keep the interior of the ship bright and lustrous. It’s clever slotting of stage doors and slick design is one of the highlights of the production as the cookie cutter comedy uses a heavy-handed blend of excessive overacting and nonsensical scenarios to keep the plot afloat. As the play-within-a-play moves along with demanded absurdity, including music with lyrics written by Stoppard, the excessive for excessive sake story begins to wear thin. While the show hardly conquers new ground, the laughably easygoing production plays out an inconsequential, throw away comedy for anyone looking for a laugh that centres around a love of language. #RoughCrossing #Manchester TheLowry

Layering class, duty and passion, Opera North’s Katya Kabanova plunges audiences into her turbulent love life with an intense operatic performance. Trapped in a small town, a loveless marriage and under the watchful eye of her overbearing mother in-law, Katya unmasks her repressive surroundings in a story embracing love and loss. The tale centres around a Russian family living in Kalinov besides the river Volga. Based in the 1860’s within a community built on old-fashioned traditions, the families settle in on opposing sides of convention, symbolising and rebelling against societal pressures. With no intermission, the uninterrupted 1 hour 40-minute production brings a weighty drama that pulls focus on Katya’s natural, human desired for love. Played alongside the river Volga that draws on folklore and myth, composer Leoš Janáček portrays an intensifying storm that embodies Katya’s repressed emotions. Influenced by Alexander Ostrovsky play The Storm (1859), the themes that centre around social reform condemn the damaging and controlling consequences that traditional customs can have on individuals. With the Kabanova household framed in a solid rock on stage, Opera North’s production calves the conflict into the environment, caging Katya in the centre of the conflict throughout the performance. With exterior set pieces incorporated within households, director Tim Albery transforms The Lowry stage into a haunted and claustrophobic space that cloaks Katya in an inescapable darkness. Despite the beautiful handcrafted oak props and intricate Edwardian costumes, Katya is imprisoned within the landscape, with her red hair visibly searing against the grey backdrops. When Katya discovers her freedom and pleasure lies with her neighbour, she turns to her educated friend Boris to escape from her constrictive life. Her dejected, alcoholic husband Tichon and his controlling mother Kabanicha played by Heather Shipp, effortlessly illustrates the ridged world that Katya faces within the few scenes she appears in. After urging her son to take a trip without his wife she imposes a list of rules for him to deliver, including not staring out of the window all the live long day. In a searing juxtaposition to Katya’s overwrought life, her sister Varvara and her boyfriend parade their love proudly choosing to leave their small village and head to Moscow. While Boris and Katya’s intimate connection soon leads to an affair, the stifled Katya is quickly consumed by the guilt and shame with the superb score carrying the god-fearing heroines compelling pleas for forgiveness. In the title role, Rebecca de Pont Davies’ high emotional performance unfolds from passionate solos to heated duets that spill out into a mournful finale. Conductor, Sian Edwards steadily builds Katya’s unrest alongside a developing thunderstorm with a forceful soundtrack performed by the live orchestra. The world she inhabits incorporates folksy melodies that integrate the community and customs passed down from one individual to another. The final scene in which the village come together for their closing send-off is particularly striking. Performed entirely in English with subtitles on stage, Opera North’s production offers a wholly accessible launch into the opera world. For anyone who wishes to dip their toe in the river Volga, this short and sweet feature makes the perfect introduction. This review was originally written for Frankly My Dear #OperaNorth KatyaKabanova #Manchester TheLowry

The queen has returned to the UK, and she’s brought her British accent with her. Forgoing Corgis for an enormous unicorn that carries her into her Manchester Arena show, Nicki Minaj kicks off her open performance with the track Majesty featuring Eminem and fellow Brit Labrinth. With a new album celebrating the female rappers’ power within an industry and avenue dominated by men, Minaj is back in the UK to show why she reigns supreme in the rap world. In a live show that merges an assembly line of hits, her production is interrupted by guest performances that include homegrown talent and many costume changes. The glamorous and graphic stage show from the Trinian born rap artists lives up to the hype, framing the stage with an eye-catching multicoloured aesthetic, together with elaborate performances from Minaj and her five backing dancers. The illuminated, confetti filled stadium complete with giant unicorn structure struck a chord with Manchester’s crowd who were all too ready for a sing-along after RnB supporting act Ray BLK had hyped up the masses. Playing her tracks Run Run, Got My Own and Hood from her debut album Empress, the British songwriter and winner of the BBC’s Sound of 2017 opened the tour with her own dazzling 30-minute set. Having already launched into her European leg of her world tour, Minaj’s latest live show featuring Juice Wrld comes off the back of her anticipated fourth studio album, Queen. With performances that plucked tracks spanning her entire back catalogue, the Chun-Li heavy hitter was forced to harken back and unpack tracks from the We Are Young Money (2009) and Pink Friday (2010) albums, up until her present. Dancing in heels and eventually lying in an enormous bed with her dancers bopping around her, the 36-year-old rapper continues to champion her girl power roots with hits ranging from Anaconda to the Beyoncé featured 2014 sensation, Feeling Myself. Bringing black British artists out in support, the rapper Lady Leshurr, Lisa Mercedez and Ms Banks mixed up the set with fantastic features including Leshurr’s Brush Your Teeth alongside a DJ mash-up of Stylo G’s track, Touch Down featuring Nicki. The Nicki WRLD tour hits its audience with a barrage of exciting performances played out by a titan in the hip hop arena. In a show that worked on lifting all the queens in the game, Minaj stayed true to her album title. The spectacle in Manchester’s Arena elevated original and unsigned British artists, merging them with America’s celebrated staple for an eccentric show of classic hits. TheNickiWRLDTour #Manchester #ManchesterArena Ticketmaster

The Birmingham Royal Ballet’s spectacular production of the classic fairy tale draws from the gothic but preserves the blossoming and passionate relationship between Belle and the Beast. Philip Prowse’s designs haunt the Lowry stage with a melancholy reimagining of the legendary tale that absorbs its audience into a breathtakingly macabre world. The atmospheric and ambitious production choreographed by David Bintley brings an intimate portrayal of love and loss that unravels the story of the beast and his desperate search for love. After heartlessly hunting animals for his entertainment, the Prince is cursed by a Woodsman to spend his life in solitude, stripped of his humanity until he can foster the love of another. Meanwhile, Belle whose father has been caught stealing a rose from the sullen Beast’s castle is caged alongside the life-size embodiments of the Beasts once chased and disgruntled creatures. Over 70 masked dancers grace the Lowry stage as the Beasts house staff are transformed into a flock of ravens. Sweeping choreography by Bintley cuts through the expected Disney colour pallet and singing candelabra that may be envisioned in the title. In contrast, the refreshingly dark take on the classic places specific, large-scale set pieces within its negative space. The pas de deux in the west wing of the Beasts mansion includes a grandiose throne and desk that tower compared to the petite Belle, who appears consumed by the Beasts world. The flat colours of the scenes pull focus on the extravagant details of the companies lavish corsets, laced costumes and bespoke furniture with the moody staging bringing the mesmerising tale to life. Alongside the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, the whimsical music of Glenn Buhr forms a soundtrack that conveys the passion and playfulness of the story. Buhr’s lifting soundtrack travels between the strings of Belle’s isolated solos, dreamy duets and the ensembles animated party pieces amid the higher and hidden class. With the story condensed into two acts of 47 minutes each, Birmingham Royal’s heavily masked ensemble sprinkle extra dramatic flair into their movements to carry the story across to their audience. The company always promise complex choreography and the Beast and Belle’s relationship includes a stunning finale with first soloists, Yvette Knight and Brandon Lawrence exhaustingly expressive conclusion. With a moving score that blends with the productions isolated solos and rich ensemble sequences, Birmingham Royal’s Beauty and the Beast will delight a diverse audience attracted to the shows mature vision and chilling scenic staging. This is not your typical fairy tale but the wild, weird and wonderful production that first graced the Lowry stage a decade ago, brings the spirit of the classic tale to with a delightfully forceful reimagining. BeautyandtheBeast #BirminghamRoyalBallet #Manchester TheLowry

Want to hear countless Motown classics in one musical? Of course, you do. In a production of glittering proportions, the barrier-shattering, record-breaking Detroit label brings its artists to the Opera House to relive the birth of its legendary hit factory. With an infectious repertoire of songs that run throughout its marvellous musical, Motown brings out its heavy hitters to unpack the artistry behind the label’s success. Playing out the personal story of Berry Gordy (played by Edward Baruwa), the show highlights the seminal moments that formed the unique studios sound and shaped the careers of artists including Smokey Robinson, Rick James and Diana Ross. We follow founder Berry Gordy, who fashioned his independent label from a dream and an $800 loan borrowed from family members. Created in 1959 with the young African American songwriter at its helm, the story skims the surface of the black sixties’ rebellion. As the by-product of racism, segregation and economic disadvantages brought a strong resistance from the civil rights movement, the show touches on the difficulties of the time but keeps focused on Gordy’s American Dream and professional relationships. Writer, Berry Gordy has based his musical on his autobiography To Be Loved; The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown (1994). As a result, the rhythm and blues jukebox musical is honestly about showcasing the label's talent. Here the artist's stronghold on pop music meant their uplifting spirit could be spread by the bright, pageantry of his prevalent artists. As the stars continued to reign supreme in the charts, a positive representation of African American’s swept through to a greater TV and radio audience who couldn’t resist the Motown sound. As the labels conveyer belt of safe, glossy artists were shaped by Maxine Powell’s charm school, the songs remained rooted in love and unity, channelled by polished performers. For the music alone, this show has a lot of heart, performed by an enormous cast of gifted musicians with a marvellous mixture of hits. Audiences are treated to Shak Gabbidon-Williams' (Marvin Gaye's) stunning rendition of his classics alongside the charismatic Daniel Haswell as Stevie Wonder. However, booming successes Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours) and What’s Going On without delving into the real difficulties of the period or what caused Motown's broken relationships and losses leaves the story somewhat thin. Embracing the soulful sounds of its talented cast through over fifty songs, this real tale of unfathomable success does not deny you any of the classics you want to hear. Gordy’s upbeat story brings multicoloured projected backgrounds, twisting choreography and a rich selection of costumes to ensure audiences relive the golden sixties with him. With a universality to their music, the prolific songs from its seasoned artists are likely to have connected to its audience, at the very least through osmosis and when the live band begin the beat to The Jackson Five’s I Want You Back, the draw of its instantly recognisable classic is too hard to resist. MotowntheMusical #Manchester TheOperaHouse

The Girl on a Train’s character-focused narrative brings an eerily silent production to the Lowry stage. Mixing a void black background, swooping set pieces and involving the use of projectors, audiences follow antihero, Rachel Watson as she retraces and reimagines her steps through a missing person case. The shows driving force is an unlikely and unreliable observer who appears to be the last eyewitness to a possible abduction. The story is fleshed out through the eyes of Rachel, an alcoholic commuter who catches daily glimpses of a picture-perfect couple from the window of her train. Rachel begins her own investigation after discovering the vicarious couple she spies on require her help. The alcoholics unlikely adventure combines detective skills more questionable than Scrappy-Doo as scattered clues into her own life and revelations surrounding the case are eventually revealed through Rachel’s hazy, intoxicated memories. Fresh delights are brought into the new theatre adaptation as director Anthony Banks concentrates on the emotional and gripping performances from the fantastic cast. Its bare bones staging with minimal music cues deepens Rachel’s surroundings and keeps the atmosphere tense throughout the production. EastEnders alumni, Samantha Womack (Rachel Watson) barely has a moment off stage throughout the entire performance, but as the production has removed the novels drawn out and judgemental monologues the audience is offered an insecure and slimline representation of Rachel’s behaviour. Highlighting her temperamental and warped mindset, the production plays with digital projections of faces within her mirror, unravelling black holes on her walls and drop-down set pieces to manipulate her whereabouts. Effective in its slow and steady reveals, the slimline designs allow the story to focus on character flaws as the ghostly Rachel floats in and out of scenes with questionable motives. Twenty million copies of Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on a Train have already been sold alongside the popular adapted film starring Emily Blunt, so its ending is not likely to be a mystery to many. However, the stage production is a standalone story that offers a bumper pack of whodunnit fun for fans. Taking on themes of Hawkins’ novel in interesting and unexpected ways, fans and the unfamiliar of the narrative will be kept engaged in this slow-moving and suspenseful thriller. GirlonaTrain #Manchester #TheLowry

Sex, drugs and rock and roll take centre stage this week at the Palace theatre as American Idiot’s spirited rock opera is back in Manchester to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Merging the dingiest Crayola coloured set pieces, confetti canons and a compelling soundtrack, American Idiot expands on Green Day’s 2004 concept album to form a two-hour theatrical rock concert. The show weaves together three disillusioned friends, Johnny (Tom Milner) Will (Samuel Pope) and Tunny (Joshua Dowen), who are looking to flee their suburban lives the day after 9/11. All three have dreams to carve out their own space away from their parents’ basements but find their plans are all swiftly side-lined for babies, drugs or the military. The Grammy Award-winning album captures the disaffected youths of the post 9/11 world with a production fuelled around the bands rallying hits. Audiences will appreciate hearing the chants of Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Are We the Waiting by the multitalented performers who switch between moshing, singing and strumming their guitars live. With honest lyrics written by the band leader Billy Joe Armstrong confronting the painful reality of a lost generation, the production chooses to add only a handful of spoken lines between the tracks, developing the entire plot through Green Days songs. Plastering a giant television in the centre of the stage as a direct line of communication to the youths and its audience, the drama-filled production is full of memorable moments and playful staging. Using a mesh screen to hide a solo violinist and a destructible papier-mâché set, the familiar songs are given a raw and fresh revival. Comprised of the entire American Idiot album, tracks from 21st Century Breakdown (2009) and a previously unrecorded song, When its Time, the show looks at the perils of war, love, censorship and misplaced anger through an ambivalent lens that is difficult to pin down. The first act of the production stays in full concert mode with experimental dancers throwing everything at the audience from blinding stage lights to simply throwing water at people in the front row. But the chaotic lives of the three young men are driven to shoehorn songs into its second act as the show balances the boys attempt to grow up through the remaining Green Day tracks. For diehard fans of Green Day, the new arrangements of songs and the shows charismatic and enduring cast carry the production. It is an attention-grabbing and entertaining concert from its American Idiot opening to its Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) finale, with its driving lead Milner barely taking a moment to breathe between performances. While the album follows Milner’s characters rebellious discoveries in and out of suburbia, the remaining members are often left to couch tour throughout his story. Despite its abrupt ending, this is a show that focuses on the music audiences want to hear, and the casts infectious energy during the gripping production of its live concert makes it worth the journey. This review was originally written for Frankly My Dear AmericanIdiotTheMusical #Manchester PalaceTheatre

Shaped around a peaceful gang of misfits, Hair the Musical stretches its love out into the audience and recruits new members into its tribe from the comfort of their theatre seats. Living in New York within the Age of Aquarius, the unique members of the compound centre their laidback musical around loving oneself, loving your neighbours and sticking it to the man. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the hippies have pitched their tent at the Palace theatre and surrounded themselves with multi-coloured, makeshift paper strings, a tepee to house their live band and a burning drum of fire. Mixing audiences into their melting pot of free love and pot, the group throw flowers, confetti, leaflets and smoke to draw you in to their movement. In a mishmash of stories, we follow Cassie (Natalie Green), Donnie (Aiesha Pease), Berger (Jake Quickenden) and Claude (Paul Wilkins) amongst other members, as each sing their troubles away. The group explore issues of unrequited love, their purpose in life and their frustration with The Man until the threat of Claude being drafted into the Vietnam war leads them to come together to convince their friend to rebel against the fight. You may finally have the chance to forget your troubles and join that cult you’ve been day dreaming about as these hippies are happy to jump off the stage, thrust in your direction, pull on your tresses and invite you back to their tee-pee for an onstage Be-In. Focusing on the energy, comedy and communal celebration around what it means to live in the 60s as a free-thinking radical, the productions swift shift in tone keeps the songs upbeat and its childish jokes running throughout the show. Controversial for its diverse cast, images of sexuality portrayed on stage and for baring their naked truth, the shows more daring moments are bombarded with forgotten classics like, I Got Life, Age of Aquarius and Good Morning Starshine. There is no lowly singer amongst the tribe, as the groups powerful voices keep the performances fast-paced with revivals of hits that deserved their own cast recording. The shows finale group revival of Let the Sunshine In was a particularly beautiful and memorable rendition that cut the music to showcase the powerful voices the cast. However, with long hair, free love and drugs aplenty, the only downside appears to be its underlying subject matter that has somewhat dated moments from its original 1967 debut and is here to remind you that it is far better to relive the 60s onstage than live through the time period. The levitating love of these hippies will not distract you from the donning of questionable oriental accents (all be it from dream sequences) or the fact that timid audience members may want to buy a ticket from the 3rd row onwards. Hair remains an empowering and rebellious production that is an entertaining experience due to its lively and fantastic cast. It may have a short run at the Palace theatre for its 50th anniversary, but the 60s style is bound to come back around. HairtheMusical #Manchester #PalaceTheatre

The Lowry, Quays theatre is housing a journey into Europe, taking audiences across an impenetrable forest and into the heart of darkness. Imitating the dog’s new adaption voyages back in time to Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella and centres around one man’s search for an ivory trader named Mr Kurtz’s. Narrated by Charles Marlow, and inspired by Conrad’s own experiences in the Congo, Marlow’s tale to the dark continent plays a journey out of the eyes of civilisation, that shakes his beliefs and values. As Marlow finds his trip deliberately sabotaged as a way to protect the reputation of the teams powerful but increasingly unhinged and corrupted leader Mr Kurtz’s, hidden evils are also revealed. While Conrad’s original narrative highlights the control and exploitation within the Congo, the novels foundation obscures the stripped identities of the black bodies within its narrative. Marlow’s place within a corporation named The Company show the natives in need of guidance and control as they serve as slaves for the corporation’s pillaging. The hypocritical and barbaric acts of its western characters shine a light on the changes that take place within their own minds when they continue to go unchecked, and their increasingly unsound methods are carried out in the pursuit of profit. Over a century after its original release, Conrad’s ambiguous novel continues to leave a controversial tinge with its readers, and its important themes are mixed with abhorrent representations that co-writers and directors, Andrew Quick and Pete Brooks push to update. Through the use of a greenscreen that allows doctored footage to be presented live above the cast on stage, the production questions the polarising views of its narrative by deconstructing the story in layers. The show aims to focus on our current, broken landscape and destructive thirst for power by reworking the narrative around capitalism with themes of gender and race brought to the forefront by its small cast of five actors. With the mythical Kurtz’s (played by Matt Prendergast) described in the novel as “taking a high seat upon the devils of the land”, imitating the dog’s narrative recasts Conrad as a black woman (played by Keicha Greenidge) who takes the role of a private detective. Modernising the narrative by travelling into the heart of Europe, the show brings three levels of overlapping accounts. Questioning the desire to retell Heart of Darkness the show mixes documentary footage from director Francis Coppola’s Apocalypse Now and critique from the author, Chinua Achebe's explaining how the lack of humanity given to its black characters makes Conrad’s novella an insulting triumph. Interweaving modern troubles, the productions cast often break from acting out the story to study the text and explore how they will tell the piece on stage. In a scene dissecting the narrative around Europe and Brexit, the cast stop to sing The Land of Hope and Glory over clips of Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and Margaret Thatcher. While the production offers an impressive multi-layered reimagining of Conrad’s classic, it’s second half falls back into telling audiences the original story. Its overdone monologue by Kurtz’s is left to finish the piece, but audience members who have not read Conrad’s original novella may find the show challenging to follow. Similarly, audiences familiar with the story may want to hear more of the factual atrocities surrounding the original tale that are hinted upon from the first act. However, stretching to rework, uncover and explain the narrative, imitating the dog bring an ambitious retelling of Conrad’s classic with a message that is far from ambiguous. Its cinematic approach brings the few characters involved, up close and personal to its audience in its effective revival. HeartofDarkness #Manchester TheLowry

Royal Exchange audiences are kept in the middle of old rivalries as the Sharks and Jets fight over their turf. In a classic love story that reimagines Romeo and Juliet's houses as rival street gangs, the Montagues and Capulets are given light and jazzy choreography in a contemporary adaption that pins American/Jets and Puerto Ricans/Sharks on the rough streets of New York. The original 1957 Broadway production, directed and choreographed by the Tony award-winning Jerome Robbins, stunned audiences with its mixture of operatic love songs and striking dance routines. After being transformed for the screen in 1961, West Side Story took (and continues to hold) the record for the highest number of Academy Awards for a musical. It’s ten Oscar stronghold has built a fanbase who continue to fall for the bright and youthful interpretation of Shakespeare’s tale of woe. However, at the Royal Exchange, director Sarah Frankcom has stripped back the gritty street scenery to offer audiences a sharp adaptation that focuses on the lovers haunting story and powerful vocals. Within the Exchanges circular set, actors are placed on opposing towers that house the clashing gangs. Overlooking the audience on either side, with a third tower lowered for the lovers to meet, the modern take streamlines the scenes and leans on the whimsical music that encompasses more fanciful choreography. As the company bounce off their conflicting towers into the faces of the audience, the ten-person orchestra hidden outside the theatre walls draws on the cast’s energy, passion and charm that carries the production. The minimal set warmed by its believable cast bring stirring performances that immerse the audience with their personality. Stunning arrangements and moving vocals of the young lovers, played by Gabriela Garcia (Maria) and Any Cocon (Tony) of Somewhere and One Hand, One Heart, enlivening the gentler love songs. But where this production shines is in the reinterpretation of its classic hits that make space for unfamiliar characters. Typically, the stand out moments of West Side Story are played out by its male characters, but here classic song like America, that debates Puerto Rican living against the American lifestyle is rebelliously performed by one woman who challenges her three female friends. As Rosalia (Bree Smith) brings more ammunition for argument, the show unites its male cast members to build on the dispute, but many lines have been reworked throughout the production to expand on the women’s role within the story. While its 1940’s “buddy boy” and “daddy-o” slang remains, the stripped back nature of this modern production offers shining moments for its cast to twinkle individually. Alongside the impressive choreography and memorable medley of songs, The Royal Exchange’s West Side Story is a back to basics classic that allows its audience to read between the lines. WestSideStory #Manchester #TheRoyalExchange