Entertainment
  View Archive

An eclectic season of exciting events helps The Lowry celebrate a decade of cultural excellence - May - August 2010






Posted by Brian on 10th March 2010 at 10:12 PM
An eclectic season of exciting events helps The Lowry celebrate a decade of cultural excellence - May - August 2010
The Lowry’s 10th anniversary celebrations step up a gear this summer with an exciting programme of events comprising world-class musicals, cutting-edge studio drama, a brand new commission from a world-renowned visual artist and an action-packed two-day birthday bash for children and families.

At the heart of The Lowry’s May-August season is an eclectic collection of musicals including Cameron Mackintosh’s blockbuster 25th anniversary production of Les Misèrables (Tue 10 – Sat 21 August) and biblical behemoth Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Mon 5 – Sat 10 July). Less traditional but no less impressive is the powerfully political 1970s reggae classic The Harder They Come (Tue 22 – Sat 26 June) and Britain’s Got Bhangra (Tue 22 – Sat 26 June), the tale of a washed-up British Bhangra star with dreams of returning to the top.

The Lowry is delighted to announce that more musical treats will arrive this Christmas, with the dazzling Peter Pan (Sat 11 December 2010 – Sat 1 January 2011). Stunning scenery, swashbuckling sword fights and breathtaking flying, accompanied by soaring music from a 14-piece orchestra, make this the North West’s must-see seasonal treat.

Before Peter Pan flies into The Lowry, however, two TV classics are transferred to the stage as we welcome the world premierè of 50 Years Of Coronation Street Abridged – Live! (Thu 12 – Sat 21 August). This riotous romp through the history of the nation’s favourite street features a script by Corrie’s own writing team. The second TV classic of the season sees former A-Team and Battlestar Galactica actor Dirk Benedict don a brown raincoat to play cult TV detective Columbo in Middleground Theatre Company’s stage adaptation of Columbo’s first case Prescription: Murder (Mon 7 – Sat 12 June).

Further drama comes in the shape of Northern Broadsides and the New Vic Theatre’s adaptation of The Canterbury Tales (Tue 18 – Sat 22 May), an energetic production of Geoffrey Chaucer’s enduring study of the best and worst of human nature.

The Lowry Partner Companies Opera North and Birmingham Royal Ballet return in June with Opera North staging Puccini’s classic La Bohème (Wed 16 & Fri 18 June), Dvořák’s hauntingly beautiful tale of water nymph Rusalka (Thu 17 June), plus a brand new production of Donzietti’s Maria Stuarda (Sat 19 June); a tale of intrigue, passion and the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen Of Scots. Birmingham Royal Ballet brings its sumptuous production of Romeo & Juliet (Wed 30 – Sat 3 July), which combines Kenneth MacMillan’s romantic choreography with Sergei Prokofiev’s sweeping score.

As part of its 10th anniversary celebrations The Lowry has commissioned world-renowned contemporary artist Spencer Tunick to create new work Everyday People (Sat 12 June – Sun 26 September). Tunick’s large scale nude installations have become icons of contemporary art. He has worked around the world, from Brazil to Barcelona, and now The Lowry has commissioned him to come to Salford and Manchester. The New York-based artist will be working around both cities, responding to the area’s industrial heritage, and to the figurative work of LS Lowry himself. The live installations will be followed 6 weeks later by a not-to-be-missed exhibition of the resulting artworks at the Lowry Galleries.

Throughout the season, The Lowry’s studio space will play host to an impressive array of new writing and innovative theatre. Highlights include Kolective Theatre UK’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, The Orchard (Wed 5 – Sat 8 May), a powerful multimedia production combining speech, live music and video as The Identity Project from the Wellcome Trust presents Interior Traces (Fri 14 May), and Les Enfants Terribles’ Ernest And The Pale Moon (Mon 24 May), a story of obsession and murder inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Alfred Hitchcock.

The Lowry is also proud to present another season of high quality comedy, music, burlesque and spoken word events, including comedy from Paul Merton’s Impro Chums (Mon 31 May), Idiots Of Ants (Sun 2 May) and Ruby Wax (Tue 1 June). There’s live music from Glen Campbell (Wed 12 May), The Unthanks (Fri 28 May) and Suzanne Vega (Mon 14 June), plus exciting shows including Frisky & Mannish’s School Of Pop (Sun 30 & Mon 31 May), The Hairy Bikers’ Big Night Out (Thu 27 & Fri 28 May), Unknown Pleasures With Peter Hook (Sat 1 May), Derren Brown’s Enigma (Wed 9 – Sat 12 June) and Lionel Blair’s Tap & Chat (Wed 16 June).

The weekend of Sat 5 and Sun 6 June sees The Lowry become a playground for children big and small as the Big Family 10th Birthday Party takes over the building with a combination of ticketed and free events. Highlights of the party include Teatro Kismet’s captivating production The Mermaid Princess (Wed 2 – Sat 5 June), an extraordinary combination of circus, theatre and film with LaLaLuna (Sat 5 June) and BreakThru Film, Se-Ma-For Studio and Suzie Templeton’s glorious animation of Peter And The Wolf (Sun 6 June), played on the big screen with live accompaniment from the Manchester Camerata.

Among many other highlights for children is the triumphant return of Peppa Pig’s Party (Wed 19 & Thu 20 May), which comes to The Lowry’s Lyric Theatre following its recent sell-out success in The Quays.

The Lowry is also delighted to announce a handful of highlights from our September to December season including the North West premierè of Alan Bennett’s hit new play, direct from The National Theatre, The Habit Of Art (Tue 5 – Sat 9 October), Awakenings (Wed 22 – Fri 24 September), a world-premierè piece from Rambert Dance Company, Bill Kenwright’s production of classic musical Evita (Mon 6 – Sat 18 September) and blistering street-dance show Blaze (Fri 1 & Sat 2 October), plus The Library Theatre’s sumptuous production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (Fri 3 December 2010 – Sat 8 January, 2011).



The Lowry celebrates its 10th anniversary on 28 April 2010 and has spent 10 years delighting, engaging and challenging both local and national audiences with the very best in visual art and performance. The Lowry Centre Trust is a not-for-profit charitable organisation and registered charity (no. 1053962). All income supports our world-class Theatres and Galleries programme, the care and display of the LS Lowry Collection and our life-changing Community and Education work. The Lowry’s Chief Executive, Julia Fawcett was awarded an OBE for services to the Arts in the Queen’s 2010 New Year Honours list.


Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account.



Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377.