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The Ocean at the End of the Lane – the terrifying theatre show that will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck

There are scary goings-on at The Lowry... Words by Kristen MacGregor-Houlston

The Manc The Manc - 1st January 2023

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, the theatre show currently running at The Lowry, is captivating audiences with its haunting production and unnerving plot.

And while it will stay with you long after you leave your seat, the theatre adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s 2013 novel is the must-see show this winter.

Picture Stranger Things meets The Dark Crystal with a peppering of Goosebumps – all of your worst fears and nightmares bound together on stage with absolutely nowhere to hide.

With a 12+ age rating, the story itself is one of memory and grief, and of how we distort our recollections of childhood to hide dark thoughts or times of abuse and replace them with whimsy and adventure.

As soon as you sit down, you are immersed in a dark and empty wood, a backdrop for the mind and somewhere to get lost in.

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The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Credit: Manuel Harlan
The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Credit: Manuel Harlan

The whole set is that of a 12-year-old’s imagination – doors and windows are portals to fantasy worlds, wounds and plugholes lead to the strange and unknown, the outside world is frightening while Dad’s house is cold, chaotic and empty now that Mum is gone.

We first meet Trevor Fox (Dad, Adult Boy) as he returns home as an adult and finds himself in a familiar location, the old farm of his forgotten friend Lettie (Millie Hikasa), where he bumps into Old Mrs Hempstock (Finty Williams) and begins his journey through his memories of his childhood, kicked off with a traumatic event.

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The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Credit: Manuel Harlan
The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Credit: Manuel Harlan

We follow the young boy (Keir Ogilivy) as he traverses his childhood whilst also dealing with life altering changes and a new woman (Charlie Brooks) in his father’s life.

Enter stage consuming puppets that would give your sleep paralysis demon a run for its money, a music score that makes the hair on your neck stand on end and a sense of danger to rival any modern horror film with jump scares to boot.

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To go into too much detail would ultimately surrender the magic of this stunning and poignant adaptation, directed by Katy Rudd, which addresses love, loss and hope through the eyes of a child.

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First shown at The National Theatre before moving to the West End, Ocean at the End of the Lane makes its first stop on its UK and Ireland tour at The Lowry Theatre in Manchester. 

It will be in Salford until You can find out more and book tickets at thelowry.com/whats-on/the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane.

Featured image: Manuel Harlan

News

Work to make Stevenson Square ‘more pedestrian and cyclist friendly’ begins next week

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Improvement works to make Stevenson Square more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists is to finally begin next week.

After it was confirmed back in 2022 that the majority of the Northern Quarter square would remain pedestrianised following a trial that proved successful during the COVID pandemic, Manchester City Council has now revealed that contractors will begin work on the site to bring “a range of improvements to the area” from next week.

Work is to officially begin on Monday 5 June, and is expected to continue right through until October.

Councillors says it’s been their ambition for several years to carry out travel improvement works in Stevenson Square to not only “improve the amenity of the area”, but also implement changes that will “encourage a greater degree of walking and cycling”.

Work to make Stevenson Square ‘more pedestrian and cyclist friendly’ begins next week / Credit: Manchester City Council | David Dixon (via Geograph)

Some of the scheduled works include new pedestrian crossings at the junctions of Hilton and Oldham Street, Hilton and Newton Street, and Lever Street and Stevenson Square, as well as new tactile paving, the removal of pay and display bays, and the introduction of static blocks to help regulate vehicle access to the area.

There also be a new two-way cycleway running through Stevenson Square itself, and plenty of additional seating added to the ever-popular social hub.

Improvement works are expected to continue right through until October 2023 / Credit: TfGM

Work in Stevenson Square forms the second section of the Northern Quarter Walking and Cycling Scheme, and is all part of Manchester City Council’s new wider ‘Active Travel’ strategy to put walking and cycling “at the heart of transport policy” and work towards making Manchester a zero-carbon city.

The Council says work is progressing well to create a joined-up network that runs between Piccadilly and Victoria Railway Stations. 

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Councillor Tracey Rawlins, Executive Member for Environment and Transport at Manchester City Council, says that the work taking place over the coming months “will help make this area a more vibrant and accessible part of Manchester.”

Featured Image – TfGM

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Greater Manchester customers slam Sainsbury’s policy that makes them ‘feel like thieves’

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

Customers at a number of Sainsbury’s stores in Greater Manchester have been left fuming as the result of a policy requiring receipts to be scanned before they can exit

Upon leaving stores, shoppers at Sainsbury’s supermarkets in Fallowfield and Salford are being confronted with automated barriers that can only be opened by scanning their receipt – or by contacting a store assistant.

Many have taken to Reddit to slam the new policy, with several claiming it is a ‘pointless waste of money and time’ and others saying they have been left ‘feeling like thieves’.

The receipt barriers, some shoppers say, only ‘makes life harder’ – yet it appears that Sainsbury’s is planning to roll them out at other stores across the UK too, following on from the introduction of cameras at its self-service stations in recent years.

The move by the supermarket echoes similar moves by the American supermarket Walmart, which is notorious for staff approaching ‘random’ customers at its exits and asking them to produce their receipts as they leave stores.

A series of recent posts on Reddit exposes several threads in which users commented on the introduction of the receipt barriers, both here in Greater Manchester as well as further afield.

Read more: Travel advice issued as 300,000 people prepare to attend Manchester gigs… amid train strikes

The social media site reveals that stores in Fallowfield and Salford have both become unpopular since they started adopting the policy, which requires customers to scan receipts in order for them to exit.

If receipts are not scanned, barriers prevent customers from leaving until a store assistant is contacted.

One Reddit user has posted a picture of a notice in one of the Sainsbury’s store, reading: “We’ve introduced new barriers as you leave this store.”

“You’ll need to take your receipt and scan this on the barcode reader in front of the barriers.”

The original poster said they were ‘not a fan of how this is spreading’, leading other users on the site to agree.

Another person said the policy was a ‘pointless waste of money and time’ that ‘just makes everyone’s life harder, whilst another customer added: “Looks like Sainsbury’s can get f****d then.”

Read more: Marcus Rashford grins with ‘huge sense of pride’ as he wins two Manchester United awards

The installation of the barriers has left some customers “feeling like thieves” since their arrival last year but it appears that the supermarket has no plans to suspend the rollout, despite the backlash from shoppers.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said that the barriers are “one of a range of security measures” installed in a “small number of stores” but would not disclose how many it has installed in the UK.

Featured image – Twitter

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