Watching Simon Pegg stride through Great Northern ODEON on a Sunday afternoon is more than a little strange.
This is a place where people come to see the movie stars – but today it looks like a celebrity has stepped right off the big screen.
Fans flock to grab photos with Pegg as he weaves from the box office towards the theatre; filling the walkspace with the clamour of shouts and snapping cameras.
Bumping into the star of Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz on Deansgate would be arresting at the best of times, but it’s even more extraordinary when you consider the context.
Pegg is in Manchester for a premiere he couldn’t originally attend, for a film that almost didn’t get shot, starring in a role that’s unrecognisable to anything he’s done before.
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“It felt like something I needed to put right…”
One of the big features on the bill this weekend at Manchester International Film Festival is Lost Transmissions – an independent movie starring Pegg and Juno Temple about music, creativity and psychosis.
Pegg made the movie in between stints on Hollywood blockbusters Star Trek and Mission:Impossible, and whilst his busy schedule had cast doubt on any potential appearance at the premiere, a last-minute scheduling change means that Pegg makes it to town just in time.
Lost Transmissions is a smaller kind of production than the star is used to nowadays, but he’s as visibly passionate about the project as much as any other he’s been involved with.
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Grappling with complex mental health issues, Lost Transmissions presented Pegg with am unfamiliar and particularly challenging role – but it also allowed him to break new ground by working with a female filmmaker.
“I hadn’t done a movie that has been directed by a woman in twenty years of making films,” Pegg tells us, sounding a little surprised by his own answer.
“That felt like something I needed to put right.”
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Pegg has long been a loud advocate for female representation in cinema, and when the opportunity came to work with Katharine O’Brien for her directorial debut, he was hungry to take it.
“It was the script [that attracted me to the project] first and foremost… and the fact that Katharine had sent me a script that was straight drama.
“I tend to get pigeon-holed as a comedy actor, which is my own fault.”
“At one point, it looked like it was going to get dropped…”
After realising they were both on the same page, Pegg and O’Brien began to throw some momentum behind Lost Transmissions, with excitement growing around its potential. However, schedule clashes meant the film was, for several months, left dangling by a thread.
“I was attached to the project for a very long time,” Pegg tells us.
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“At one point it looked like it was going to get dropped or I was going to have to drop out because of Mission: Impossible.
“But Katharine waited for me, thank goodness, and we got to make the film.”
“Making it was a really fun experience. It was a 20-day shoot, which is not what I’m used to compared to the bigger films, but she was so sure of what she wanted in terms of performance and the look of the movie.
“It’s really nice when you work with a director who knows what they’re doing.”
Lost Transmissions dives into territory few films have dared to explore and even fewer have managed to understand: The world of schizophrenia.
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Speaking about his role Pegg explains: “I play a guy called Theo Ross whose a music producer working in Los Angeles, a British guy, who has developed schizophrenia due to some bad acid he took in the nineties.
“In the movie, he decides to come off his medication because he’s worried it’s stifling him creatively, but of course that leads to him drifting back into the realm of schizophrenic delusion.
“It comes down to Juno Temple’s character trying to save Theo as he drifts off further and further into mania.”
“It’s easy to approximate madness in film; mental health issues seem to be one of the last kind of things that it’s ok to be flippant about…”
Pegg went to great lengths to embody the character during production – with the role of Theo so different to his usual roles.
“I researched it thoroughly; it didn’t feel like a role I could just guess,” Pegg says.
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“Schizophrenia is a very real, very specific condition. It gets mistaken a lot of the time for split personality, but schizophrenia isn’t like that at all. [It’s] more about people’s perception getting confused, the brain starts to make certain patterns and create delusional narratives which the person responds to.
“So, I really had to learn about that and meet schizophrenics, read about it, watch documentaries, and go into the film knowing what I was talking about.
“It’s easy to approximate madness in film, mental health issues seem to be one of the last kind of things that it’s ok to be flippant about. Acting crazy, you know, anyone can do that – but it’s not at all the way to approach it.
“You have to approach these things faithfully and give a genuine, authentic portrayal.”
Before Pegg heads off to host a Lost Transmissions Q&A alongside his director, he fills us in on his next chapter.
“I’ve got two Mission:Impossible films to make over the next two years,” he confirms.
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“And there’s something I’m developing at Stolen Picture – mine and Nick Frost’s production company.
Pegg’s features scrunch together as he searches his memory banks.
“It’s a show I’ve been developing for… eight years, I think. I’ve finally found a way to do it!”
Suddenly, a wide smile spreads across his face.
“But I can’t say anything about it yet… which is really frustrating.”
Now’s not the time for that, anyway. Today is all about the indie film that pulls Pegg from his self-confessed comedy “pigeon-hole”. And he’s proud of it.
Catch Lost Transmissions in cinemas during its wide release from 14 March. For more information on some of the fantastic films playing this week at MANIFF, head to their website.
Feature
The best Christmas party food and picky bits from M&S this year
Daisy Jackson
Clear the tables, pop the oven on to pre-heat, and set the paper plates – it’s Christmas, and that can only mean it’s party food season again.
No one does silly little festive nibbles quite like M&S, with their Christmas party food range getting more and more extravagant every single winter.
2025 is absolutely no exception – expect the likes of cubed rice, snowman-shaped bao, tiny Yorkie puds and plenty more delicious madness besides.
We’ve been down in the aisles of everyone’s favourite posh supermarket to see exactly what concoctions they’ve conjured up this year, and did not leave disappointed.
This is not just party food, this is M&S Christmas party food.
A very Marbella Christmas
Have you ever seen a square paella before? No? You haven’t lived mate.
These angular rice bites are one of three Spanish-influenced picky bits in M&S this Christmas, alongside tiny tortillas and patatas bravas stacks (tiny potato rostis topped with tomato sauce and chorizo then served with a garlic sauce on the side).
Don’t be put off by the hot pink prawn curled up on the rice bed like a dog that’s been bought a bed two sizes too small…
A little fishy on a little dishy
Everyone knows that the M&S salmon and potato salad is one of their most elite items, so those hot smoked salmon rosti bites are going STRAIGHT in my basket.
If you like your fish dishes really bite-sized, there’s also the smoked salmon appetisers that look like they’ve been lifted right out of a 1960s cookbook.
And of course, tiger prawns wrapped in various shapes and sizes of pastry, too.
Jingle baos
If you’d told me three years ago that bao would become a staple on every posh Christmas buffet, I’d have sent you to the hospital.
But they’re back for a third year in a new novelty festive shape, and this time, M&S has gone to new heights.
Presenting – double decker bao in the shape of a snowman, complete with cosy green scarf and a veggie pad Thai filling.
Some of them look like they’ve been through the wars, don’t they?
Pam Shipman would buy these
If you’re not a Gavin & Stacey fan, just imagine the following section being read aloud by a flapping (ideally Essex) mother with a fresh blowdry and a waft of YSL Libra about her.
“Those, Bryn, are M&S mushroom vol-oh-vohnts.”
“A little goat cheese tart for you, Smithy?” (“Who you calling a tart Pamelarrr you minx!”)
Basically, these are the posh little nibbles your mums will gravitate towards to show off their hosting gravitas.
Merry Texmexmas
M&S always seems to lean over to the States for inspiration for its party food and this year is no different.
They’ve got a real Tex-Mex flavour going on in 2025, with Christmas party food including mini vegetable tacos filled with peppers and sweetcorn.
There are also those impossible-to-eat-why-are-you-sliding-everywhere miniature beef burgers, back to piss me off for another year.
Ee by gum it must be Christmas
‘Ey up! Has M&S recruited an actual Northerner to help put together the party food for Christmas this year?!
We all know the deal with British pub food – a little bit stodgy, very comforting, and incredibly filling. Okay, now picture that, but not remotely filling.
M&S has brought back a couple of its miniature bites inspired by classic British fare – pies that fit in the palm of your hand (beef and ale, or chicken and leek), and Yorkshire puddings so small they must’ve been baked in a cupcake tin. Cute.
The most important picky bit of the day
Whether or not to bother with breakfast on Christmas morning seems to be a bit of a hot topic – what’s the point in a bowl of cornflakes when you’re readying to slam the biggest meal of the year in a matter of hours?
Well, M&S is making sure the most important meal of the day infiltrates all the way through to party time with these two.
A stack of miniature pancakes and slivers of bacon, plus pint-sized ham and cheese croissants. Has anyone ever handed you a croissant on a dancefloor before? This might be the year.
Better than your mum’s turkey curry
Oh now we’re cooking with tandoor! Not one, but two picky bits inspired by Britain’s national dish – curry. And the most British curry of all, a chicken tikka masala.
For Christmas this year M&S has created the world’s smallest naan breads, which are topped with tikka chicken and pickled pink onions.
And in the other hand, there are spiced potato and spinach dosa rolls, which we have literally never seen on any buffet spread before ever, but sure.
Get it before it’s scone
If your hand impulsively twitches towards a Christmas sandwich every time you’re shopping for a meal deal, get a load of this – tiny mini turkey feast toasties. Yay!
These tiny square sarnies have got pulled turkey, stuffing, ham hock, Emmental cheese, cranberry sauce AND gravy in them, somehow. When did M&S unlock a cheat code to overcome sandwich physics?
There are also miniature mature Barber’s cheddar scones, with honey and mustard pulled ham inside. They sound like a sheer winner.
That’s not a hambush, it’s a charcutertree!
Oh, look who’s back to make a mockery of your flat cheese board again. It’s the Christmas Charcuter-tree. Sigh.
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Real fancy people present their cured meat and cheese selection in the shape of a Christmas tree (obviously) and M&S have got a build-you-own kit available for £23 (that’s actually two quid cheaper than last year).
I can only begin to imagine the meltdown I’d have as another piece of salami refused to act like tinsel and unravelled onto the table.
Review | The Lion, The Witch and The Beaver* – sorry, Wardrobe
The Manc
What an enchanting evening at The Lowry as we were transported to Narnia to review the live stage adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in Media City as the production began its festive run in Greater Manchester.
As we entered the playing space, the atmosphere was set with a pianist on stage, slowly drowning out the noise of the outside world and settling the audience in for a night of magic.
Launching ‘Act One’ with a touching rendition of the British wartime classic, ‘We’ll Meet Again’ by Vera Lynne, we meet the large ensemble, multi-instrumentalist cast.
This talented ensemble pivots around multiple roles throughout the performance, creating a shape-shifting atmosphere with some impressive seamless transitions, allowing us to “open our minds” and be absorbed into the mythical world of Narnia alongside The Pevensies.
Sweetly played by Joanna Adaran, Jesse Dunbar, Kudzai Mangombe and Bunmi Osadolor, they excel in exploring sibling dynamics such as rivalry, trust, but most of all, loyalty and love.
The most mind-blowing element of this performance, however, was the production; it truly is the unsung hero of the entire show, so we’ll so the singing on their behalf.
Set and costume (designed by Tom Paris), lighting (done by Jack Knowles), puppetry design and direction (by Max Humphries and Toby Olie), sound design (credit to Tom Marshall) and hair, make-up and wig designer (Susanna Perez).
All this carefully curated talent helped create a world where we had no choice but to believe in magic.
For us as an audience, it made things so much easier to immerse and delight in the world of C.S. Lewis’ imagination, as it is so wonderfully presented in front of us.
This was elevated once again by levitation and disappearing acts – the scene was set on the boards and in the air.
Huge credit goes to Gwen Hales (aerial director) and Chris Fisher (magic and illusions); it felt as if anything was possible, and we needed no convincing that we were in the presence of pure enchantment.
However, arguably the most magnificent moment of the show was the reveal of Aslan himself. As this grand puppet prowled onto the stage, you could hear gasps echo throughout the theatre.
Manoeuvred by three puppeteers, this skilful spectacle was a credit to bringing the story to life in live theatre. The seamless, lifelike movements of breath and king-like presence were both majestic and a credit to the production.
Accompanied by Stanton Wright, we had no doubt that this was the true hero of Narnia.
If you want us to sum up our review of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at The Lowry, quite simply, this show is nothing short of a marvel.
Make sure to take home a cuddly lion toy, of course. (Credit: The Manc)
With constant playfulness and wit throughout – mainly brought to you from the broad Northern and oh-so lovable Mr Beaver (Ed Thorpe), and fellow believer in magic, ‘The Professor’ (Kraig Thornber).
It’s the lattermost that left us with a lasting thought, as he warmly reminds the audience that even when times feel dark, “the sun is always up there, we just have to look.”
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is running from The Lowry in Salford Quays all the way up until Sunday, 11 January 2026. Don’t miss the magic and grab your tickets HERE.
If you’re interested in finding out what else we’ve enjoyed at the theatre in Manchester recently, then look no further…
Gareth Lloyd -
12th March 2020 
