This was a first. Watching a performance in Home Theatre’s gallery. They did a sterling job of transforming the space into a sort of cabaret lounge. Similar to what Waterside Arts Centre did during “Refract Festival 2019”. Due to illness there was change of plan tonight: Sarah McDonald Hughes understudied for Samantha Siddall with a script-in-hand. Hughes effortlessly blended in with the ensemble despite such short notice.
I’ve seen “The Manchester Project” before, devised by Monkeywood Theatre. It was a series of plays about Manchester, exploring the relationship between place and identity. Asking, what defines a Mancunian? This time though it was “The Manchester Project At Christmas”. It was the same set and premise as before, a number of stage blocks were used which from an aerial point of view looked like bee hives - a nod to the Worker Bee of Manchester. Each block was named after an area of Manchester; each play was titled after an area of Manchester. It didn’t look Christmassy but the stories were about Christmas and this Christmas hat was constantly used in a creative way to represent different objects.
Forming the rest of the cast was: Cynthia Emeagi, Zoe Iqbal, Reuben Johnson, Andrew Sheridan, and Gurjeet Singh.
Home by Ian Kershaw
Home was about Home Theatre. More specifically, the story followed a person who sold the Big Issue. He could sell more magazines at Home Theatre than at the original Cornerhouse spot, adjacent to the Oxford Road station. It was a tough transition for him, moving from Birmingham to Manchester, but the kindness of others transformed his life. One note to say was that whenever the actors had to deliver monologues in direct address, it didn’t feel like they were looking straight at us; more over the top of us. Nevertheless, it was a lovely opening micro-play because of a sincere performance.
Little Hulton by Reuben Johnson
Written and performed by the same person, this was a rap about socialising with the wrong crowd of people and how things can easily go pear-shaped. It was delivered with impressive speed and ease.
Middleton by Chris Hoyle
I’m fairly certain nobody likes to spend Christmas at work and that’s exactly what this was about. It was a micro-comedy about an employee playing Santa on a very long shift and a Middleton mother who had a bee in her bonnet.
Strangeways by Eve Steele
Now this was about spending Christmas in prison. The story followed a mum visiting her son, Jamie in a prison meeting room. The narration of action built up the tension felt as a result of spending time in a bleak and frightening place. Lovely sound effect work on this too such as the piercing sound of a prison door being slid shut.
Crumpsall by Chanje Kunda
This one was my personal favourite of the night because of its intelligence, relevance and humour. It was the Mary and Joseph story set in the 21st Century. The best line was: “Crumpsall is a bit far from Bethlehem”. The humour was found in the similarities and differences between the Biblical story and its modern day equivalent.
Shaw by Cathy Crabb
Another play about Christmas at work involving a prank and two friends who will stay that way for life no matter what paths they walk. It’s about the friends we call family.
Hulme by Louise Wallwein
On the flip side, what about those who spend Christmas on their own? This was about the less fortunate people in society who just want to find their feet. Again, showing the kindness of people, a refugee called Karen offers a woman to live with her over the Christmas period. She couldn’t bear to see her in dire circumstances and having to rely on food banks.
Whalley Range by Keisha Thompson
An old Caribbean woman was living on her own in a house in Whalley Range. She spoke the truth about our contemporary fast world: where everyone looks down on their phones and nobody says, “Good morning” anymore. All of sudden, things changed when a policeman turned up after calls of a trespasser.
Chorlton by Chris Thorpe
A micro-drama about reflection, loss, and community spirit. This had a heart-warming, “Love Actually” feel to it. Poignant.
Cheetham Hill by Punam Ramchurn
A one woman monologue about a hilarious Saleswoman at a market trying to sell us various items. She talked, chatted, and waffled on but you couldn’t help but love her. The audience became the passers-by, walking along the street. It was a celebration of our multi-cultural society. I felt Iqbal was the only one who talked to us directly when required.
Moss Side by Curtis Cole
This was really interesting because immediately the play challenged the negative perception around Moss Side. It was set in a local café run by an owner you wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of. However, Sheridan played this eccentric, loving, and innocent character, new to the area and keen to make friends. He does make a new friend in the play as a result of laugh-out-loud conversation. It just goes to show, there is a diamond in the perceived rough.
Wythenshawe by Sarah McDonald Hughes
In this story, we met Chloe. Young and pregnant with her baby due on Christmas Eve. That’s also when she was born. She’s grown up fast, her life was now a long way away from hanging out in Wythenshawe Park. It’s a Christmas miracle story, as Chloe planed her future as a young mum with her partner Joel. This was the only short play where I felt the direction was slightly odd. The whole thing felt too calm for it to be a story about pregnancy. The hospital scenes lacked tension where there could have been some.
Old Trafford by Furquan Akhtar
What about those who don’t celebrate Christmas? This was about a seven year old boy living in a Muslim family recognising the differences between two cultures with dissimilar religious holidays. In the end, his mother celebrates the spirit of Christmas with him in their own way.
Timperley by Andrew Sheridan
A story about Christmas entertainment, generational differences, and Mancunian insults. All set in a social club. Written in the wake of the upcoming Christmas general election. A funny and positive note to end on.
Miss Blair’s Christmas Special
After the interval (for some involving drinking and getting merry at the bar) it was time for a fabulous Drag Queen, Miss Blair to make her grand entrance.
The set looked like something from “The Alan Carr Show”. It was a living room with half-drunk bottles of wine displayed, a lamp, a rug ready to trip anyone up, a small Christmas tree and fairy lights.
Miss Blair had invited many people to her party but no-one turned up. She’d only got the audience for moral support with her feelings of loneliness. This Christmas Special was comprised of well-practiced lip-syncing routines, games, dancing, audience participation, stand-up comedy, and film comedy sketches.
Of course, it’s no surprise that her song of the night was Celine Dion’s “All By Myself”. These musical numbers were hammed-up brilliantly and the lip-syncing delivered with accuracy. It wasn’t just Miss Blair we met tonight. We were acquainted with other Drag characters who should have been at the party including Deidre Barlow from “Coronation Street” and the Queen herself. That one was an outrageously funny comedy sketch. The “No-show party” narrative tied everything together nicely.
The audience were always made to feel comfortable: Miss Blair’s personality was not only personable but a force to be reckoned with. She slays, she’s cheeky and she’s fabulous at responding to the audience. I think Innuendo Bingo may as well have been added to the list of games played tonight. Play Your Cards Right always gets people shouting out higher or lower though. Great fun.
Game prizes and gifts were a lovely touch and reinforced the central theme of kindness throughout. People like Miss Blair or anyone for that matter may feel lonely (even in a room full of people). So, it’s always an idea to reach out to people and start a conversation. The subject of kindness was more than clear, so when Miss Blair ended the show saying something like: “Don’t forget to be kind to one another” - A) it was not needed and B) it was preachy. That would be my only criticism. Other than that, both performances were very good and thoroughly entertaining.
Miss Blair exuded confidence as she got the audience to shout her catchphrase: “Chips, cheese, and gravy!” I have to say the lighting was much better utilised in this performance out of the two. The LED lighting was colourful and animated.
Reviewer - Sam Lowe
on - 6/12/19
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