Audiences have been raving about the 5* Christmas fairytale with a “sassy spin” since it arrived at Sale’s flagship arts centre last month.
And there’s not long left now to grab tickets to see it for yourself.
In case you hadn’t heard, towards the end of November, the previously-unloved and ill-fated ugly sisters arrived at Waterside in Sale to “sing some songs, right some wrongs, and tell it how it is” in a brand-new musical play.
The play is titled The Not So Ugly Sisters, and it’s inspired by everybody’s favourite fairytale, Cinderella.
Presented by award-winning children’s theatre makers, Wrongsemble – in a co-production with Leeds Playhouse and Red Ladder – audiences lucky enough to have already see it have been calling The Not So Ugly Sisters a “funny, fast-paced family show”.
We're still open and our fabulously festive family show, The Not So Ugly Sisters is still running! So don't be sad if your Christmas show at another venue got cancelled, cos we've got just the ticket to cheer you up (from £12)https://t.co/EFSR5CfiJvpic.twitter.com/LIuPA4pEkF
According to an overview for the jam-packed show, the action centres around Dolly and Barb in their hairdressing salon on the day of their sister Cindy’s wedding to Prince Smarming. Thinking that they have not been invited to the so-called event of the year, the sisters gather to share their story and wash their woes right out of their hair.
With the salon phone only ringing for customers to cancel their blow-dry appointments, it’s time for the sisters to tell the much-loved story from their perspective.
“Hell hath no fury like a hairdresser scorned.”
Waterside says the family-friendly show runs at just under an hour with no interval, and is filled with “up-tempo original songs, puppetry, and funky moves.”
The Not So Ugly Sisters is inspired by everybody’s favourite fairytale – Cinderella / Credit: Waterside / Wrongsemble
Older children and adults are also bound to love the sassy spin on this classic fairytale, with plenty of references to Love Island, cancel culture, and cracking tunes.
It’s been dubbed the perfect family outing this festive season in a COVID-secure environment.
Giving a little more insight into the show’s stay at Waterside Sale, Elvi Piper – Artistic Director at Wrongsemble – said: “We’ve been waiting for two years to entertain the good people of Manchester with this ultimate family feel-good festive feast of a show – which has something in it for everyone.
“Live theatre is well and truly back with a fairytale bang.”
The Not So Ugly Sisters runs at Waterside until Saturday 1 January 2022, and a range of different tickets and ticket packages are still on sale.
Tickets start from just £12, and milk and cookie packs are also available to pre-order.
Hit theatre production set at a house party to visit Manchester on UK tour
Daisy Jackson
Alright then, 24 hour party people, we’ve found a theatre production you might like the sound of – it’s called The House Party, and it’s set in (you guessed it) a house party.
This smash hit production by pioneering theatre company Headlong is set to land at HOME in March as part of the arts venue’s 2025 theatre season.
It tells the tale of a wild 18th birthday party, where Christine is trying to pick up the pieces of her best friend, a newly-dumped Julie (who happens to be the birthday girl).
Themes of class, power and privilege are all explored with a raw intensity as the cast on stage plough through shots and dive head-first into a night that will change everything they know.
The House Party, which has received glowing reviews from previous showings, is filled with ‘privilege, desire and destruction’.
When it stops off in Manchester, its cast will include Bridgerton’s Sesley Hope as Christine, Synnøve Karlsen (Miss Austen, Last Night in Soho) as Julie, and Tom Lewis (Gentleman Jack, Patience) as Jon.
The ensemble of Frantic Assembly performers includes Ines Aresti, Oliver Baines, Cal Connor, Micah Corbin-Powell, Rachael Leonce, Jaheem Pinder and Jamie Randall.
The House Party is written by Laura Lomas and is a reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie for today’s generation.
It’s directed by Headlong’s artistic director Holly Race Roughan, who directed the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere of David Edgar’s major new political play The New Real.
The House Party. Credit: Ikin YumThe production will be at HOME. Credit: Supplied
Movement direction will come from Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham.
Prior to the UK tour of The House Party, Headlong celebrated its 50 year anniversary, including the hit production of A Raisin in the Sun which played nationwide.
The House Party will be at HOME in Manchester between 25 and 29 March, 2025 – you can get your tickets HERE.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff
Daisy Jackson
If you’re not a handy person, when something breaks, the temptation is often to abandon or bin it straight away.
But that’s just not how we’re gonna do it here in Greater Manchester any more, with the return of the annual Repair Week to help you learn valuable repair skills and save money at the same time.
Whether it’s tinkering with your bicycle, fixing up your small tech items, or having your furniture re-varnished and upcycled, there are so many places and people who are on a mission to help you fall back in love with your belongings.
There are even workshops to help you put flat-pack furniture together.
Taking place between 3 and 9 March, Repair Week will be the chance to learn skills, fix your stuff, gain repair confidence and find local fixers.
Events throughout the week (and beyond) will be hosted by community groups, businesses and plenty more.
You can sharpen knives, fix zips, and un-wobble chairs with a little hand from local repair heroes.
JillyGDesign Jewellery in Heaton Moor will fix up your sentimental and special jewellery items, while Rag Revival will help you turn unusable textiles into new creations with basic sewing skills.
There are repair cafes popping up all over Greater Manchester where you can take your belongings.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff. Credit: Supplied
Repair Week will highlight schemes like the Manchester Library of Things, where you can borrow the tools and equipment you need for those repair jobs at home.
During the week you’ll also be able to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the incredible Renew Hub, the UK’s biggest reuse hub, where donated items are brought back to life.
Similarly, you’ll be able to get inside the textile recycling centre run by homelessness charity Emmaus Bolton, where you can choose your own fabric from the scrap store and turn it into a very handy draught excluder to keep costs down and your heat in.
Recycle for Greater Manchester’s Repair Week will take place between 3 and 9 March, with workshops, events and resources to help you revive your belongings.
Emily Sergeant -
22nd December 2021 
