Victoria Baths, and Ancoats, and now Number One First
Street… The soft launch of HOME is bringing us ever-closer to HOME itself and
it’s a genuinely exciting feeling. From the makeshift theatre foyer on the second
floor of this smart office building, serenaded by a live guitar player, and
with a lovely craft beer in hand, you can look out (through snowflakes in my
case) and see the new building emerging over the way.
On Tuesday, fittingly, I saw ‘Tuesdays at Tescos’ inside
the pleasant temporary performance space. You might have seen me Facebooking
about how good it was. The final performance is tonight, and you should treat
yourself. You can even get half-price ticket deals on the HOME website.
The play is a one-hour monologue spoken by Pauline,
a trans woman renegotiating her relationship with her ageing father now that
she has been able to reveal her true self, or, ‘Me. As I am. Now.’, as she
says, softly and repeatedly like a mantra.
I came
away feeling very moved by Scott Kentell’s performance. He brought a
gentle sincerity to a very good script. His performance was assured and insightful
(I can’t imagine Simon Callow’s was a better, and I’m a fan).
The director Sue Womersely and performer Scott Kentall are interviewed here:
‘Tuesdays…’ is part of the 2015 Re:Play Festival, an annual
selection of theatre that gives audiences a second chance to see the best work
from the previous twelve months.
On Friday night I’ll be looking back at a year of
comedy with the Re:Play
Breakthrough Comedian of the Year competition. I need all the inspiration I
can get for my own
foray into stand up this year, of course…
Thursday, Friday and Saturday gives you another
chance to catch Jenny May Morgan’s portrayal of a questionably-talented author of
women’s erotica pushing her latest work, complete with mucky novel extracts… An
Evening of Filth and Despair promises to reach into dark and delicious Julia
Davis comedy territory.
On Saturday night, Chris Hoyle’s play Two Spirits dramatises the
story of the three Sioux Warriors who came to Salford in the late
nineteenth-century as part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West touring show. This coming together of disparate cultures
was researched heavily by the playwright during time spent in Dakota and a
documentary about his time there will screen after the play. Theatre and film
for one ticket, not to be missed.
Re:Play is not only a great chance to see quality
new work so cheaply but it will also whet your appetite for the big HOME-coming
too…
Check the full line up HERE.
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