The best drama shows coming to Lowry

Hailed as ‘an unmissable piece of theatre’ in Manchester Evening News’ glowing five-star review, the National Theatre’s Olivier-winning sensation Dear England brings a soaring celebration of the heady highs and excruciating lows of English football to Lowry for four weeks only this month.

Created by multiple award-winning writer James Graham (Sherwood, BBC), the gripping production follows browbeaten yet determined manager Gareth Southgate (Gwilym Lee) as he endeavours to erase decades of hurt with revolutionary optimism and inspiration, bearing the hopes of a nation in search of the promised land.

With breathtaking theatricality and star performances, Dear England chronicles the incredible story behind Southgate’s bittersweet tenure as he rallies his players in an epic examination of national culture, sporting pressure and the beautiful game.

A funny, stirring and affectionate new play about monarchic quirks and judiciously applied power, By Royal Appointment celebrates the refined disdain of the late Queen Elizabeth II and her life of quiet self-expression through fashion.

Famous for her discretion, the beloved Queen often exhibited her opinions through her wardrobe – a coat of approval, a hat of light admonishment – with each look carefully chosen by her Dresser, a working-class girl who went from modest lipstick advisor to an unwitting arbiter of royal authority.

Billed as ‘a dope opera of epic proportions’, the hit BBC TV comedy celebrates its 20th anniversary with a dark, surreal and frequently hysterical new stage show starring Johnny Vegas.

When veteran Mancunian weed dealer Moz and gangsters Psycho Paul and Cartoon Head are tasked with disposing of a dead body, they discover a haul of priceless diamonds in place of organs, unleashing a bizarre chain of events across the strangest night of their lives.

From Fri 26 Sep to Sat 4 Oct, the European Premiere of Death on the Nile brings Agatha Christie’s riveting story of secrets, rivalries and deadly schemes to Lowry.

While aboard a sophisticated river steamer cruise beneath the scorching Egyptian sun, a young couple’s dream honeymoon is curtailed by a brutal murder. With famed detective Hercule Poirot quickly on the case, lost secrets are excavated and suspects gathered as he untangles a web of lies that throws the passengers into disarray.

Performing at Lowry direct from her smash-hit shows in New York, Chicago and London, Eddie Izzard’s solo version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet sees the world-renowned actor and comedian deliver a mesmerising adaptation of the iconic tragedy, appearing alone on a bare stage and allowing the Bard’s peerless wordplay and beautiful storytelling take the spotlight.

Ahead of their limited eight-week West End run, the Cornley Amateur Drama Society hit the Lowry stage with a riotously off-kilter take on the Charles Dickens yuletide classic.

Presented by multi-award winning company Mischief (Peter Pan Goes Wrong, The Comedy About a Bank Robbery), this madcap festive extravaganza promises a ‘slice of pure escapism’ as the Cornley crew try hopelessly to juggle miscommunication, delays, missing actors and creative conflicts to deliver a vaguely passable rendition of the inspirational wintry tale in the midst of unrelenting havoc.

This November, Lost Atoms explores the ways in which memory shapes our understanding of love through the story of a transformative relationship.

Equal parts hilarious and heartrending, Frantic Assembly’s brand-new play follows two reunited ex-lovers who unpack their shared pasts and dwell on endless imagined futures, as they contemplate the intricacies of their time together, the toxicity and the euphoria, while confronting the reality of a profound connection without the blur of rose-tinted glasses.

Brimming with incisive dialogue, simmering tension and fatal deception, the electrifying stage production of Patricia Highsmith’s sun-soaked psychological thriller retells the definitive tale of ambition, desire and identity theft like never before.
When lowly New York wallflower Tom Ripley is offered an all-expenses-paid sojourn to the Amalfi Coast to retrieve a wealthy stranger’s wayward son, Dickie Greenleaf, he seizes the opportunity and sets off for the shimmering waters and effortless glamour of the Italian Riviera. Before long, consumed by the intoxicating opulence of 1950s high society in the glorious sunshine, he becomes fascinated to the point of obsession with Dickie’s world. Seduced by freedom, riches and his new friend’s boundless charisma, Tom’s penchant for self-aggrandising white lies spirals into a lethal game of deceit and murder.

This December, the smash-hit West End production of the C.S. Lewis classic brings the journey of a lifetime to Lowry for an unmissable festive run.

Join Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter on their wintry odyssey through the magical kingdom of Narnia as they unite with Aslan and battle against the Ice Queen in a timeless tale of courage, sacrifice and love that promises ‘a fantastical family treat’ (Telegraph).

Described as ‘a powerfully uplifting theatrical event’ by the Evening Standard, Oscar-winning writer Aaron Sorkin’s propulsive theatre adaptation of the pivotal American novel follows Atticus Finch and his courageous courtroom display in a blazing drama which explores racial injustice and childhood innocence.

Running at Lowry as part of its first-ever UK & Ireland tour, the Broadway and West End sensation transforms Salford into 1934 Alabama, where a prodigious lawyer is pushed to the limits of his empathy when he seeks to reveal the truth of a complicated, harrowing case in a town mired in secrecy and collusion.

Following their critically acclaimed adaptations of timeless literary classics including Heart of Darkness, Dracula and Macbeth, Imitating the Dog return to Lowry with an immersive staging of the terrifying alien invasion story, War of the Worlds.

Led by four performers, each wielding their own camera, the fresh interpretation of the H.G. Wells masterpiece unfolds as an epic meta-movie using miniature environments, model worlds, camera tricks and projection, blending live narrative and recorded footage to create a bold, ambitious tale of apocalyptic destruction in a uniquely innovative format.

Next April, Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts brings the first-ever stage adaptation of the legendary detective to the stage with a new, chilling mystery starring Tom Chambers in the titular role

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Breathing new life into ‘the greatest British crime series of all time’ (Radio Times), this original story sees the Detective Chief Inspector embark on a chilling, labyrinthine crime-solving quest after a young actress dies suddenly on stage during a performance. Alongside DS Lewis, Morse uncovers a sinister twist in a seemingly straightforward inquiry as long-buried events from his own past come to the fore.