Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, best known as Coronation Street’s Hayley Cropper—a role about to come to a dramatic end—is to star in the Royal Exchange Theatre’s world première of the new Simon Stephens play Blindsided from this week. She last appeared at the Exchange in Black Roses: The Killing Of Sophie Lancaster for which she won a Manchester Theatre Award.
Possibly Lancashire’s favourite play, Hobson’s Choice is revived at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton from this week. It’s a co-production with New Vic Theatre Newcastle-under-Lyme and Oldham Coliseum and is directed by David Thacker.
Tonight’s The Night, the musical comedy inspired by the songs of Rod Stewart, launches a major new tour at Manchester's Palace Theatre this week starring Jade Ewen, best known as a member of Brit girl-band Sugababes.
The multi award-winning play The Pride, will be at Manchester Opera House this week as part of a three-week tour. Starring Harry Hadden-Paton, Mathew Horne, Naomi Sheldon and Al Weaver, the play’s characters exist in a complex love triangle, which spans half a century, living and loving simultaneously in 1958 and the present.
Eight productions feature in the Library Theatre Company’s re:play Festival 2014 from this week. The unique festival which rounds up the most exciting and talked-about new theatre in the previous 12 months on Manchester and Salford’s fringe theatre scene is at The Lowry in Salford.