A to BUZZ

  How does one review only part of an event, and that part is a series of 5 short pieces of new writing, still in their development stages? Not very easily I hear you cry! Off Cut has been a part of Manchester's Fringe Theatre scene for a good number of years now, establishing itself as one of the major events of the local thespian calendar. The whole idea of the event is to help local creative talent, and they do this by inviting local script writers (some who are writing for the first time), young up-coming directors, and assemble a cast of willing local actors and actresses to perform these excerpts or play ideas to a like-minded and appreciative audience. In each case, said audience are asked to vote on which plays and performers they liked the best, and at the end of the series of evenings, those with the most votes will then be taken under the wing of host venue, 53Two to be mentored and aided in producing a full length play from this script, using wherever possible the same ...

  This was my first - and last - visit to this fish and chip shop on Cross Street in Manchester. Arriving at the cafe at 4:45pm on a Saturday, only to be told that they had already sold out of ALL their pies (they had an extensive list on their menu board) did not bode well. They did, however, have fish and sausages. They did no longer have any fish cakes or scampi either! I reluctantly therefore ordered a haddock and chips, and for the princely sum of £9.60 this was duly served to me in the de rigueur styrofoam container with a wooden fork. The server applied salt and vinegar (the public it seems were not trusted enough to be able to do this simple task themselves!) and I was given 2 sachets of tartare sauce.  The fish was slightly undercooked, and the batter was crispy on one side but on the underside was disintegrating to mush and was impregnating my chips with this mulch which I could not get rid off, and tasted vile. The chips, were not really very good in any case, and I...

  Come on McDonalds, you can do better! Admittedly it has been a long time since I entered one of your establishments, but surely the whole idea of 'fast food' is that it is not only delivered to you quickly, but that it is cheap! I do not patronise you for your food. But on occasion I have bought a drink of tea from you. This used to be 99p/£1.00 and was value for money. Yes, it was given in a paper cup, and the milk sachets are often out-of-date and going sour, but it was the cheapest cuppa in the city. However, having patronised you just yesterday for a tea, I find that the paper cup and slightly-off milk remain unchanged, but the wait for service was much longer, (I had to wait for your team to work their way through other orders and then be called with my 'number' some 8 minutes' later... that is not fast.) and the price has now risen to £1.49! Might I suggest that this is extortionate. For just 31p more I can sit in a nice cafe on plush seats, and drink my tea...

  I honestly do not understand many theatregoers' reticence of wanting to watch young people perform. First and perhaps most importantly, these are the stars of the future, the ones we need to support and nurture. Our industry is precarious enough as it is, and so it is our duty to encourage youngsters to take the ultimate leap of faith and try their hand in the profession. Second, these productions are always raw, full of energy, and a desire to please that only young people can muster; in short there is an abundance of creativity which, in the right hands, can be moulded and channelled into something really quite wonderful. And third, if one and two have not already persuaded you, these productions are often surprisingly good, sometimes even better than the tired and well-worn carbon-copy representations we see from the professionals. Having already seen several shows from the students at this comprehensive (11 - 18 ) school in Moston, North Manchester, as well as being privilege...

  Directors in their final year of their MA Directors' Course at Arden Theatre School (housed within City College, Manchester), present their final pieces - a one-act play of their choosing - to a welcoming public. This evening it was the turn of two young directors to present their productions. The first was 'A Dream Play' by August Strindberg in the edited and reworked version by Caryl Churchill. Admittedly the original is a little avant-garde with a cast list of over 40, however, to my mind (and this was the first time seeing the Churchill version) she has not really helped matters much and sadly, not being a fan of Churchill's works, I was left very uninspired by this piece too. The premise for both versions is that a young and beautiful daughter of a God has come down to Earth to see what it is like to be human and to then report back to the Gods on her findings. However, things are not what she expects, and she encounters poverty, suffering, cruelty and misogyny. ...