Award-winning theatre: Julie Hesmondhalgh in The Almighty Sometimes at Royal Exchange

Coronation Street’s Julie Hesmondhalgh is set to tread the boards in The Almighty Sometimes, an acclaimed play coming to the Royal Exchange Theatre in February. She stars as the mother of Anna (played by Norah Lopez Holden), a girl coming of age while suffering from mental illness. Anna wonders what things might be like without having to rely on her pills, and tries to take back control of her life. She wants to distance herself from her doctors and the label that defined her. However, her mother isn’t ready to let her go. Despite the challenging subject matter, the work has a lot of heart and humour. The Almighty Sometimes was the first professionally-produced play by Kendall Feaver, and it was the winner of a Judges’ Award in the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting. Katy Rudd makes her directorial debut, having previously worked as an Associate Director on many other shows. Read more theatre previews here.

Fri 9 Feb – Sat 24 Feb, St. Ann’s Square, Manchester, M2 7DH, Tel: 0161 833 9833, times vary, £17, www.royalexchange.co.uk