Theatres - Still Showing - March 4 onwards

Mar 1 2010 by Michael Green, Chester Chronicle

STILL SHOWING

ANDERSEN’S ENGLISH (Library Theatre, St Peter’s Square, Manchester, March 2-6)

OUT of Joint have put together a top notch cast for Sebastian Barry’s haunting new play, directed by Max Stafford-Clark, including Niamh Cusack and David Rintoul. Celebrated children’s writer Hans Christian Andersen arives, unannounced, for a stay at Gad’s Hill Place in the Kent marshes - home to Charles Dickens and his charismatic family. It seems to be a scene of domestic bliss but Andersen doesn’t at first see the storms brewing within the family. Visit www.librarytheatre.com or ring 0161 236 7110.

ARDEN OF FAVERSHAM (Emlyn Williams Theatre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, February 11-March 6)

AN ELIZABETHAN drama by an anonymous author based on a true story in which desire, envy and greed inexorably lead to death. The play, directed by Terry Hands, is an early example of Elizabethan tragi-comedy. Visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk or ring 0845 330 3565.

MATTHEW BOURNE’S SWAN LAKE (The Lowry, Salford Quays, March 1-6)

BOURNE’S triumphant modern re-interpretation of Swan Lake turned tradition ulside down when it was premiered in 1995. Now it is firmly crowned as a modern day classic, blending dance, humour and spectacle with extravagant, award-winning designs. Visit www.thelowry.com or ring 0870 111 2000.

MY WONDERFUL DAY (Anthony Hopkins Theatre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold, March 1-6)

A NEW play, written and directed by Alan Ayckbourn, receives its premiere in Mold. Winnie lives in a world full of adults. She’s off to school for the day and has an essay to write on My Wonderful Day. What better opportunity than quietly seated unnoticed in a corner, while mother busies herself around the house, watching the bizarre and increasingly frenetic comings and goings in the weird houehold? Minimal use of strong language. Visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk or ring 0845 330 3565.

1984 (Royal Exchange Theatre, St Ann’s Square, Manchester, February 24-March 27)

AN ELECTRIFYING new stage version of George Orwell’s nightmare vision of a totalitarian society has been adapted and directed by Matthew Dunster. Central character, Winston Smith rewrites history for the Ministry of Truth, but when he’s handed a note that says simply ‘I love you’, by a woman he hardly knows, he decides to risk everything in a search for the real truth. Visit www.royalexchange.co.uk or ring 0161 833 9833.

THREE SISTERS (The Lowry, Salford Quays, March 2-6)

ROMOLA Garai of Atonement and BBC TV’s Emma fame comes to the North West stage in the Lycric Hammersmith production of Chekhov’s classic drama. Frustrated by their small-town existence, the Prozorov family long to return to Moscow. But as duty and misguided optimism take hold, they find their dreams drifting further away. Visit www.thelowry.com or ring 0870 111 2000.