The Lowry’s autumn season of plays inspired by the surroundings, culture and history of Salford starts with Innit the Musical which opens next week (Wed 3 – Sat 13).

The vibrant, real and tongue-in-cheek tale of working class life on the streets of Salford is written and performed by local up-and-coming talent plus Greg Kelly (Freddy Watson in Hollyoaks).

It tells the story of Ashley, who is abandoned by his father and deceived by his mother. Ashley goes off the rails and on a crime spree, but is a life of crime what he really wants?

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Celebrity Big Brother contestant and Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty is to make her UK stage debut in Manchester. New musical, Miss Bollywood stars Shetty in the title role and is set to tour Europe; first stop in the UK is the Manchester Opera House.

The show takes a humourous look at London’s preparations for the 2012 Olympics.

Miss Bollywood is at the Opera House from 3 to 6 November, 2007.  

The full tour dates are:

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Following Gwen Stefani’s surprisingly good gig at the M.E.N on Saturday night, I was more than willing to go on two nostalgia trips on Monday and Tuesday. The first was Godspell, starring Stephen Gately. This turned out to be a real mixed bag of a show as at times, it was quite smug and knowing and at others quite good. Gately himself seemed underprepared and whoever told him to wear a jacket the whole way through the performance must be mad as he ended up resembling me, in that he looked like he wanted to go home!

South Pacific also failed to get Manchester audiences in a spin on Tuesday. The evening was doomed from the start. The theatre was not open on time, resulting in lots of older theatre goers stranded outside, feeling like they had the wrong time. But it got worse as Helena Blackman was just awful. The show has all the best show tunes but aside from the excellent ensemble and a couple of the leads, this is simply not a great revival.

Click on the titles here for full reviews of Godspell and South Pacific.  

Lipservice are a popular female comedy duo based in Manchester. They have been writing and performing together since 1985. Between them they have have penned 14 comedies for the stage. Their unique brand of spoofery has a real Northern flavour, reminscent of Victoria Wood.

They return to the Library Theatre in October with Jane Bond. I caught up with Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding; aka Lipservice during rehearsals.

Where did you both train?
We met in the drama department of Bristol University

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Gwen Stefani performed at the M.E.N Arena last night, in front of 15,000 adoring fans. Many expected her to fail to rock the huge venue to its core. This was a farewell tour really as Stefani is going to rejoin her band No Doubt.

I went along last night to review the gig for the Manchester Evening News and it was, quite simply - superb. This feisty singer is able to switch genres and look convincing as opposed to a pop star playing ‘dress up.’

She uses humour throughout the show and opens the gig - locked up as she plans her “Sweet Escape.” All the hits are delivered with a really whacky and self deprecating air, which is to welcomed as so many music stars take themselves too seriously.

A great night was had by all. I have never seen so many beaming faces. Click here for the full review