Whether it’s festive literary classics, psychological thrillers, a drag icon’s legendary alter ego or an Agatha Christie caper, Lowry’s drama programme continues throughout winter and into the new year with an unmissable and remarkably diverse run of touring productions and major stage adaptations.
Spanning November through to May, the line-up showcases the best of stage-faring supernatural suspense, sharp comedy and stories of identity, ambition and deception.
Kicking off a fortnight before the big day, Matthew Warchus’ acclaimed adaptation of Charles Dickens’ immortal festive classic arrives at Lowry following a hugely successful nine-year run at London’s Old Vic.
Joyously adapted by Jack Thorne, A Christmas Carol transforms the auditorium into the cobbled streets of the Victorian Big Smoke with a cavalcade of music, mince pies and immersive staging, as Ebenezer Scrooge embarks on his ghostly Christmas Eve journey towards redemption.
Starring Jill Halfpenny as Mari and Francesca Mills as Little Voice, this major new adaptation of Jim Cartwright’s modern Northern classic blends music, sharp humour and family drama to explore ambition, self-expression and the complicated business of finding your place in the world, vividly revisited under the direction of National Theatre Deputy Artistic Director Robert Hastie.
Alone in her bedroom, a withdrawn young woman finds an unlikely outlet in the treasured record collection left behind by her late father, mastering pitch-perfect impressions of legendary singers from Judy Garland to Billie Holiday. When her mother Mari’s latest partner, local wheeler-dealer Ray, discovers her extraordinary talent, he sees a route to fame and fortune, but The Rise and Fall of Little Voice asks whether its reluctant heroine can find the confidence to be heard on her own terms.
Developed with the blessing of the late drag icon Paul O’Grady, new comedy Savage charts the rise of his fearless alter ego, Lily Savage, from working-class roots in Birkenhead to the clubs of London, where a sharp tongue, formidable wit and peroxide wig combined to create one of Britain’s most recognisable performers.
Written by Jonathan Harvey, the play traces the journey of the man behind the blonde bombshell, uncovering the experiences and instincts that shaped a character who would go on to win the hearts of millions.
Starring RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard and directed by Nikolai Foster, the world-premiere production honours the spirit of Savage with a trademark fusion of razor-sharp comedy with unexpected tenderness, offering a stirring, triumphant portrait of a singular comic talent.
An idyllic country-house gathering turns deadly when a shot rings out and a body is discovered, drawing Hercule Poirot into one of Agatha Christie’s most disquieting mysteries. At an elegant estate where old passions linger and new rivalries threaten to erupt, the scene initially appears almost too straightforward – but the Belgian detective soon finds himself navigating a tangled web of dangerous infatuations, concealed motives and carefully guarded secrets.
Starring Peter Polycarpou as Poirot, this new staging reunites Fiery Angel with director Lucy Bailey following the company’s successful tours of Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. Christie’s intricate plotting and finely observed social tensions take on new dimensions in a darkly seductive production in which every guest has something to hide.
Led by acclaimed author, podcaster and actor Giovanna Fletcher, the world stage premiere of Before I Go to Sleep comes to Lowry from the team behind the successful stage adaptation of The Girl on the Train, translating S.J. Watson’s psychological thriller into a tense, kinetic production.
Every morning, Christine wakes with no memory of the previous two decades, unable to recognise even the husband lying beside her, and each new day brings another attempt to piece together a life she cannot recall. Brimming with jaw-dropping twists and turns, Before I Go to Sleep follows Christine’s increasingly desperate search for answers as fragments of the past begin to surface, revealing unsettling truths that force her to question everything and everyone around her.
As memory, identity and trust become increasingly unreliable, Christine’s hunt for certainty builds towards a series of revelations that recast her apparently idyllic life in a shocking new light.
- Words:
- Wolf McFarlane
- Published on:
- Thu 8 Oct 2020
Following a sold-out, extended West End run, the all-new theatrical adaptation of the cult horror franchise Paranormal Activity embarks on its first UK and Ireland tour, bringing the nerve-shredding atmosphere to the stage in a story devised to intrigue and unsettle in equal measure. With tension mounting as the boundaries between the ordinary and the inexplicable begin to blur, the production promises a gripping night of live, immersive scares throughout.
James and Lou move from Chicago to London in a bid to escape their past, but their fresh start soon takes a sinister turn. As the couple settle into their new surroundings, strange events begin to suggest that the source of their troubles may be closer than they think, in a chilling production built around the creeping dread of the unseen.