New theatre: Eve Steele’s Life by the Throat at The Lowry

This is a tale of your classic Manc scally. Born slippy and fast, dragged up by an Irish mammy who loved and beat him hard, wagged school, dodged the dibble, loves thieving, drinking, drugs, women and finding salvation on the dancefloor. Lovable rogue, rubbish dad, conscienceless rule-breaker and lowlife salt-of-the-earth scum. James Joseph Patrick Keogh is all of the above – and he’s also played by a woman. Eve Steele’s tour de force based on one man’s life from birth to death is a powerhouse of a play, a fast-paced and fearless emotional rip through highs and lows, loves and losses – that like both character and actor – barely stops for breath until the (beautiful) end. Gripping, gruelling, funny and heart-wrenching in equal measure, this is a performance unflinchingly brought to life by writer and actor, Eve Steele who calls it ‘a celebration of all the men she has known, loved and wanted to punch in the face’. A Mancunian actress and writer who’s done her own ‘time’ on the stage, including a stint in Coronation Street as the ill-feted Anne Malone, Steele captures the energy, depth and grace of this character with something very close to perfection. From bare-bones survival through wily self-preservation, swagger, humour and poetry through to ultimate salvation (and a cracking soundtrack), this is possibly the most Mancunian piece of theatre you’ll ever bear witness to.

Thu 11 & Fri 12 May, The Lowry, Pier 8, The Quays, Salford M50 3AZ. Tel: 0843 208 6000, 8pm, £10/12, www.thelowry.com