BELOW you'll find ten of the best theatre and comedy shows in and around Manchester throughout July and August. Not your bag? Well then how about the Top 10 Exhibitions or Top 10 Gigs and Concerts instead?
DERREN BROWN: MIRACLE | The Lowry | 6 June - 13 July
We're promised a miracle during Derren Brown’s latest tour as the great mentalist delivers an unsettling display of illusions and tricks, underpinned by his signature brand of psychological illusion. After winning two Olivier awards for his previous shows Something Wicked This Way Comes and Svengali, Miracle could well see Brown on track for another judging by its sell-out season last year. More info here.
The Lowry, Pier 8, The Quays, Salford M50 3AZ (7.30pm; tickets from £36 at thelowry.com).
THE MIGHTY WALTZER | The Royal Exchange | 30 June - 30 July
The sharp comic genius of Howard Jacobson is brought to the stage in the world premiere of Simon Bent’s witty adaptation of the best-selling novel. This achingly funny coming-of-age story sees Jewish protagonist Oliver Walzer carry the dreams of his dysfunctional family on his shy and bookish shoulders - that is, until he discovers ping-pong and with just one careful flick of the wrist the world is suddenly Oliver’s oyster. The play runs alongside Chess in Shorts, a free exhibition at the Jewish Museum: more info here.
Royal Exchange, St Ann’s Square, M2 7DH (2.30pm & 7.30pm; tickets from £16 at royalexchange.co.uk).
Royal ExchangeGREATER MANCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL | Citywide | 1-31 July
There aren’t many places you can find Bafta winners jostling alongside emerging talent, but the Greater Manchester Fringe is one of them. Now in its fifth year, the festival offers the rare chance to see both debut performances and established artists at a snip. Theatre highlights this year include The Invention of Acting, I’m Standing Next To You and Typecast’s Millionaires Anonymous, whilst comedy buffs can enjoy the likes of Justin Moorhouse, Robin Ince and the Funny Women Awards. There’s even a dash of flamenco - and some Scottish sock puppets.
Various; check the website.
CONTACTING THE WORLD | Contact | 10-16 July
Contact Theatre’s annual exchange programme sees theatre students from across the world work together on a one-off performance. Imitation Games is this year’s culmination, witnessing 60 young actors from Belgium, Hong Kong, Denmark, Portugal and the UK explore artificial intelligence, communication and translation in a three-part drama. Other CTW events include an inaugural film project and a panel discussion on post-EU Britain.
Contact, Oxford Road, M15 6JA (various times and prices, some events free; check the website).
ContactBILL BURR | O2 Apollo |Thursday 4 August
Alongside 200 stand-up shows per year, Bill Burr additionally boasts an extensive writing and acting repertoire with the likes of Date Night and Breaking Bad. Not bad for someone who once counted unloading trucks as the ‘most fun’ he ever had. The US comedian will be at Manchester Apollo for his self-titled tour. Be warned, it’s probably not very PC...
O2 Apollo, Stockport Road, M12 6AP (8pm; tickets £30 at ticketmaster.co.uk).
THE SECRET GARDEN | Bolton Octagon |11-13 August
Frances Hodges Burnett’s classic is beautifully recaptured in this new adaptation by BAFTA-nominated writer, Janys Chambers. Transporting us from the vibrancy of India to the Gothic mystery of a crumbling Yorkshire mansion, this sparkling production by some of our best young local actors tells the often funny, always moving story of a lonely, seemingly unlovable child who, in her search for ‘a little bit of earth’, transforms the lives of everyone around her.
PS: don’t miss the Octagon Pleasure Beach for free family entertainment over the bank holiday weekend.
Bolton Octagon, Howell Croft South, Bolton, BL1 1SB (2pm & 7.30pm, tickets £6 from octagonbolton.co.uk).
The Secret Garden was a popular 1993 filmMURDER ON THE TERRACE | Fletcher Moss | 18-20 August
When a respectable garden party suddenly turns sour - as Charles Standen-Delliver, would-be inheritor of Lord Cava’s wine empire, is found poisoned and clutching the Lord’s parrot Percival - the stage is set for an interactive murder mystery that’s ‘part romp, part farce and a whole lot of fun’. Can you guess who bumped him off? The following week, Heartbreak are also staging an exclusive adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde’s comedic tour de force.
Fletcher Moss Botanical Gardens, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, M20 2SW (7.30pm; tickets from £15 at heartbreakproductions.co.uk).
SUNNY AFTERNOON | Opera House | 19-27 August
With all the verve of the swinging sixties, Sunny Afternoon rocks into Manchester Opera House this summer - handily for Kinks fans, who’ll love this Oliver award-winning production charting the band’s meteoric rise to fame. Packed full of hits like Waterloo Sunset and Lola, the West End smash combines slick theatricality with ingenious storytelling and a talented cast: ‘a great, very British musical for a great, very British band’.
Opera House, 3 Quay Street, M3 3HP (2.20 & 7.30pm; tickets from £15 at atgtickets.com).
Sunny AfternoonTRACKS | Hope Mill Theatre | 24-27 August
Following a moving three-minute debut at Victoria Baths’ FOOL event earlier this year (which saw a series of ‘short & sweet’ performances in the atmospheric old Water Palace), Pitgems Theatre return to Hope Mill with a fantastical full-length production. Tracks tells the story of six homeless people struggling to survive at a time of great unrest - that is, until they become the British government and the powerless are suddenly in power. All proceeds go to Barnabus, one of Manchester’s leading homeless charities.
Hope Mill Theatre, Hope Mill, 113 Pollard Street, M4 7JA (2.30pm & 7.30pm; tickets £10 at ticketsource.co.uk).
SISTER ACT | Palace Theatre | 29 August - 3 September
Directed and choreographed by Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood, with Alexendra Burke - who garnered rave reviews for her role in The Bodyguard - as feisty protagonist Deloris Van Carter, the all-new Sister Act is a force to be reckoned with. When disco diva Deloris witnesses a murder, she finds herself in protective custody... in a convent. Disguised as a nun, she helps the sisters find their voices, and ultimately rediscovers her own.
Palace Theatre, 97 Oxford Street, M1 6FT (2.30pm & 7.30pm; tickets from £17.90 at atgtickets.com).
Alexandra Burke in Sister Act
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