My favourite place in Manchester is the Central Library. To me, it is the very heart of the North West. The domed ceiling in the main reading room, with its high windows, gives it the air of a cathedral. A cathedral of learning,...
Read MoreWhile writing The Royle Family up in Manchester with Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash, some days, just for a joke, Caroline would announce “it’s raining in London” and we would all cheer. When I was young, in the 60s and...
Read MoreWhen a theatre shuts its doors, it’s called ‘going dark’. During the COVID-19 lockdown, that darkness has felt like an endless void. But theatres will start to reopen soon and, to begin with, the shows will...
Read MoreHenry Normal, co-writer and producer of award-winning TV shows and films such as The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show, The Parole Officer, Paul Calf, Gavin & Stacey, Alan Partridge, among many others, shares some of...
Read MoreIt’s a strange sight to see rows of people in their own homes clapping and laughing silently as you perform on Zoom or Facebook. ‘Mute Seals’ is one of the less attractive descriptions of the phenomena I...
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