THE CURSE | Three Minute Theatre | 10-12 March
Jane Bradley, founder of celebrated women’s publishing initiative
For Book’s Sake, debuts her first full-length play with
The Curse; a fierce feminist drama ‘about the blood and guts of being a girl’. Best friends Char and Lola find being sixteen isn’t so sweet, when terrible occurrences in the town put their friendship to the ultimate test.
Three Minute Theatre, Afflecks Arcade, 35-39 Oldham Street, M1 1JG (7pm; tickets £7.95 at skiddle.com). SHAKE WITH LAUGHTER | Comedy Store | Monday 14 March
Jason Manford will be headlining this year’s Shake with Laughter comedy event in aid of Parkinson’s UK. Compered by Mick Ferry, the evening’s lineup includes comedy stalwarts like Alun Cochrane and Kiri Pritchard McLean, with more surprises to come. Proceeds will go towards combating Parkinson ’s disease, which affects 127,000 people in Britain.
Arches 3 and 4 Deansgate Locks, Whitworth Street West, M1 5LH (7.30pm; tickets £16 at thecomedystore.co.uk). FOOTLOOSE | Palace Theatre | 14-19 March
Kick off your Sunday shoes as the 1980s rock ’n’ roll sensation explodes onto the stage. When city boy Ren moves to a rural backwater where dancing is banned, all hell breaks loose. Or rather feet, as the toe-tapping teen gets Bomont breaking all the rules. Hits include Holding out for a Hero and title track Footloose.
Palace Theatre, 97 Oxford Street, M1 6FT (2.30pm and 7.30pm; tickets from £17.90 at atgtickets.com). PALAVER FESTIVAL | Contact Theatre | 15-18 March
A collaboration between the University of Manchester and Contact, Palaver celebrates language through music and drama; with performances in English, German, French and Chinese. This year’s selection includes Schiller’s classic Kabale und Liebe, Chinese Wedding Experience and Sartre’s Huis Clos.
Contact Theatre, Oxford Road, M15 6JA (various times; tickets £9 at contactmcr.com). CHICAGO THE MUSICAL | Opera House | 21 March - 2 April
“Murder, greed, corruption, exploitation, adultery and treachery…all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts…” So begins one of the bestselling Broadway and West End musicals of all time. With a nightclub singer, a double-murderess, a smooth-talking lawyer and a cell block of sin, to not see Chicago would be a crime indeed.
Opera House, 3 Quay Street, M3 3HP (2.30pm and 7.30pm; tickets from £15 at atgtickets.com). STU GOLDSMITH | XS Malarkey | Wednesday 23 March
Amused Moose Comedy Award 2015 nominee Stu Goldsmith is quite literally comedy gold. The Comedian’s Comedian host drops into Pub/Zoo’s multi award-winning stand-up night XS Malarkey, following in the footsteps of funny fellows like Jason Manford and Alan Carr. All spit no polish, all show no pony. Goldsmith goes back to the source.
THE PASSION | HOME | 25-26 March
With period instrument orchestra Sixteen and performers who have experienced homelessness from Streetwise Opera, The Passion is unique in more ways than one. A contemporary tale of Jesus’ resurrection, this immersive promenade production guides audience members around Manchester’s much-loved Victorian Campfield Market Hall.
Campfield Market Hall, M3 4FH (Fri 7pm, Sat 6.30pm; tickets from £15 at homemcr.org). KING LEAR | Royal Exchange | 1 April - 7 May
It was first performed in 1606 but King Lear, one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, retains much of its relevance even today; man caught in the web of greed, power and deceit. When the King gives up his crown and splits his empire between his daughters, family ties disintegrate, order disappears and he ultimately loses his sanity: who is it that can tell me who I am?
Royal Exchange, St Anns Square, M2 7DH (various times; tickets from £16 at royalexchange.co.uk). LOOK BACK IN ANGER | Bolton Octagon | 7-30 April
Fast forward 350 years to find another protagonist enmeshed in political decay, pent-up emotions and family tensions. Jimmy Porter is frustrated with the limitations of his life, using upper class wife Alison as an outlet for his anger. John Osborne’s seminal play changed the way theatre presented working class voices on stage, coining the phrase ‘angry young men’ to describe an entire disillusioned generation in post-WW2 British society.
Octagon Theatre, Howell Croft South, Bolton, BL1 1SB (various times; tickets from £10.50 at octagonbolton.co.uk). BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S | The Lowry | 12-16 April
Pixie Lott stars steps into the glamorous shoes of Audrey Hepburn in this stylish production of Truman Capote’s classic. Be whisked into the idealistic world of 1940s New York, served up with a generous dose of Tiffany sparkle and a medley of Golden Age classics.
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, M50 3AZ (2pm and 7.30pm; tickets from £29 at thelowry.com).