Following the excellent Royal Exchange season, the spotlight is on Salford as The Lowry unveil some real gems, with a real spring in its step.

The ever popular dance sensation, Matthew Bourne returns with his  hilarious Nutcracker! from Tuesday, 26 February- 1 March and another hit dance show returns in the form of the explosive rhythms the smash hit show Stomp (pictured) from 29 January.

February sees the Beijing Modern Dance Company (Mon 18-19 February), a unique group at the forefront of contemporary Chinese dance. From Canada, there’s the fantastic La La La Human Steps, on 9 February and from Ireland, there is the Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre, with a dance drama and 11 top international performers (22- 26 April).

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With news that the Take That tribute band musical, Never Forget is on its way to the West End, this really impiles that anything can go to London, following a tour. The show itself is not a complete disaster, as the performers are good, but with the band themselves performing sell-out shows of a high calibre, what is the point of it?

The most successful juke box shows feature bands which are no more. The thrill of seeing Mamma Mia is knowing that Abba are not about to reform. The same goes for the continued success of We Will Rock You; it gives fans of the late, great Freddie Mercury the chance to hear these wonderful songs again.  

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Everyone recognises actor Jeff Hordley for his most famous role in the hit soap opera, Emmerdale, as bad boy Cain Dingle. Like many jobbing actors, this has the odd drawback as audiences believe as soon as they are off the screen that they stop working. The complete opposite is the case for Jeff, as any theatre goer in the North will tell you, this talented actor treads the boards regularly.

Recently Hordley starred in the highly acclaimed And Did Those Feet at the Octagon in Bolton. He now returns to this wonderful venue for the musical Oh! What A Lovely War, starring alongside Matthew Kelly and another soap veteran, John McArdle (Billy Corkhill in the hit Brookside.)

Here, Jeff talks about his love of The Octagon, his role in Emmerdale, his DJ stints and how to keep the stamina going in a musical.

Place of birth
Oldham

Where do you live now?
Essex

Training
Manchester Metropolitan University

What made you want to act?
I thought if I could get paid for something I loved doing, that’d be a bonus.

First big break
Playing Cain Dingle in Emmerdale

Career highlights to date
Emmerdale, and performing with mates in a theatre company – (more…)

Two stars of stage of screen; Brenda Blethyn (left) and Ian McDiarmid are returning to the Royal Exchange as part of the theatre’s spring-summer 2008 season.

Blethyn plays the role of Amanda Whigfield in the Tennessee Williams classic, The Glass Menagerie, from Wednesday, April 9, to Saturday, May 24, next year. Celebrated stage actor Ian McDiarmid, who was once an artistic director of the Royal Exchange stars in The Studio from March 12-April 5 in the world premiere of Jonah And Otto by Robert Holman.

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