Putting A Cultural Spring in Your Step

The days are longer, the evenings are brighter. It seems that Spring may just be in the air... and what better way to celebrate than to book a night out at Waterside Arts Centre. Whether you need a laugh, fancy something more dramatic, cinematic or even a good twenty decibels louder - there really is something for all under the one roof over the coming months.

Theatre lovers are in for a treat with a host of award-winning plays and acclaimed theatre companies to choose from this Spring. Our drama picks for March and April include: Black Is The Color Of My Voice on Thursday 2 March, direct from sell-out performances in Shanghai, New York and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Written and performed by Apphia Campbell on her debut UK tour, this stunning one-woman show - inspired by the life and songs of Nina Simone - follows a successful jazz singer and civil rights activist seeking redemption after the untimely death of her father.

Expect 1930s French street song and sleazy salesman rhetoric in part cabaret, part lecture and part participatory experiment, in The Best of Both Worlds: A Busker's Opera on Friday 10 March. This is a good old-fashioned music hall for the cash-strapped proles and the accidental gentrifiers.

Wednesday 22 March, sees the welcome return of the acclaimed and irreverent Reduced Shakespeare Company, with another breathtakingly hilarious celebration of our cultural heritage. And it is all seen through the eyes of three Americans wearing trainers. In a better-late-than-never nod to the Bard's 400th anniversary, the bad boys of abridgement present this 'new' play by the man himself, as discovered in a Leicester car park!

Newport, South Wales is the setting for - A Regular Little Houdini - the next multi-awarding winning show heading Trafford way on Thursday 30 March. This enchanting story blends childhood imagination with the cynicism of adulthood and asks whether it is possible to follow one's dreams when poverty weighs you down like mud. It's a tale of hope, determination and magic!

Concluding our choice of Spring theatre highlights is Noel & Gertie, a warm and witty musical comedy coming our way on Wednesday 26 April. Based on the legendary friendship and professional collaboration of actor, playwright and songwriter Noel and the alluring and charismatic actress Gertie, this major revival complete with songs and sketches, has the entrancing effect of accurately portraying the intimate relationship of this extraordinary and much loved duo.

If laughter is what you are after, we too have that box ticked this Spring. Comedy highlights include funny men and women from off the telly and live and direct from the UK's leading comedy circuit. The hilarious and heartfelt exploits of George Zach are laid bare on Friday 3 March in Awkward Confessions of a Homeless Sex God. After returning from a successful debut at the 2015 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, George's life took a turn for the worse when he got dumped by both his girlfriend and his agent, found himself homeless, picked up a drug habit and met various interesting people along the way. Is it a mental breakdown or the best time ever? Come along and find out for yourself...

The star of BBC Radio 4, HarDeep Singh Kohli shares his personal Mix Tape. From the joy, the pain and the bizarre middle eight - this brand new stand-up hour from Scotland's favourite comedian, broadcaster, journalist and chef comes to Waterside Arts Centre on Thursday 9 March.

Ferocious clubber and party girl Eleanor Conway brings her Walk of Shame to town on Thursday 24 March. A woman of extremes who partied around the world as a music journalist, ran off to Asia to work for the triads, made hardcore porn and Tinder'd her way through most of London... she comes to Sale, sober from alcohol and substances, failing to find moderation and meaning. It is critically acclaimed standup - about sex, sobriety, sambuca and the modern addict that lies within us all - warts and all.

But if you prefer you funny bones being tickled by a one-time Pop Idol winner, then look no further than Michelle McManus' Reality: The Musical on Friday 31 March. After receiving five star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, columnist, television presenter, actress and singer McManus brings her hilarious one woman show to Sale. This is an upfront and humorous take on her life since winning 'Pop Idol' just over a decade ago, complete with show tunes and some juicy insights into the ups and downs of her life as a TV reality show winner.
"A very, very good comedian .... the new queen of the one woman show" - Daily Record

On Tuesday 23 May, Britain's best-known satirical impressionist and BAFTA award-winning comedian Rory Bremner is back! In PARTLY POLITICAL, Rory's on a mission to make sense (and nonsense) of the current political state of the world. He will be joined on the night by special surprise guests - some politicians, some comedians. Come and work out which is which!

If it is more big names you are after, our music line up won't disappoint either. From blues legend Dr Feelgood on 10 March, songwriting superstar Lloyd Cole on Friday 31 March and the very best in Tribute acts including T-Rextasy on 15 April, AC/DC on Friday 7 April and Absolute Bowie - Europe's finest Bowie tribute act - on Friday 28 April . Rockers, rollers and rhythm lovers have many a great night to choose from.

From stage to screen we too have that covered this Spring, with our Northern Noir film season celebrating people, places and stories from 1977 - a significant year of street parties, punk, politics and great films. Our season features three of our favourites: The Turning Point on Thursday 23 March, Saturday Night Fever on Thursday 6 April and Airport 77 on Thursday 27 April.

Our Spring season also features our weekly drop-in Family Club and a fantastic line-up of shows for Easter and beyond. From The Tap-Dancing Mermaid and the plucky tale of dandelion munching guinea pigs in Christopher Nibble to a fantasy dance adventure for all in Into The Water, and improv hilarity with our monthly ComedySportz teams, little people as young as 2 need look no further than Trafford's leading arts venue for their cultural fix.

Waterside Arts Centre is also delighted to announce the return of its Northern Lights Writers Conference this Spring, as part of Manchester Literature Festival. Featuring keynote speaker, writer, broadcaster and critic, Sarah Dunant, and a mix of masterclass talks, workshops and panel discussions, this year's theme is genre writing. So whether you're crafting romance, crime, science fiction or children's and young adult fiction, this event will have something for you.

Full information on all of these Spring Highlights plus listings of the Waterside Arts Centre's complete Season - theatre, live music, workshops, films, comedy and much more - is available via watersideartscentre.co.uk.

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