Light Falls at the Royal Exchange

Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor
Light Falls at the Royal Exchange. Credit: Manuel Harlan
Image courtesy of Manuel Harlan.

Light Falls at Royal Exchange Theatre, City Centre 24 October — 16 November 2019 Tickets from £7.00 — Book now

Artistic Director Sarah Frankcom will say goodbye to the Royal Exchange with Light Falls, an extraordinary new play by Simon Stephens, featuring original music by Jarvis Cocker.

Described as ‘a powerful allegory to the North’, Frankcom and multi-award-winning writer, Stephens have taken a journey across the North of England to shape and develop their latest collaboration. This will be Frankcom’s final production at the Royal Exchange before she leaves for a new post as director of drama school LAMDA.

Image Manuel Harlan

Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University, Stephens is perhaps best known for his award-winning adaptation, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Stephens and Frankcom have previously collaborated on Blindsided, Punk Rock and On the Shore of the Wide World at the Royal Exchange.

Light Falls is an extraordinary new play by Simon Stephens, featuring original music by Jarvis Cocker.

In this powerful world premiere performance, a family is drawn back together following a single and unpredictable tragedy. With original music by Jarvis Cocker, Light Falls promises to be an intricate and perceptive study of people, places and all of those things which pull us closer together.

A woman wakes up next to a complete stranger. A married man flirts with two younger women. A student fights with his lover. A lone mother struggles to feed her baby.  And far away, one devastating event is about to change all their lives forever.

An intricate and perceptive study of people, places and all of those things which pull us closer together.

Connecting five relatives in five different English towns, from Blackpool to Durham, Light Falls is a play about life in the face of death. Exploring how our love survives us after we’ve gone – and about how family, community and kindness help us all pull through.

Light Falls at Royal Exchange Theatre, City Centre 24 October — 16 November 2019 Tickets from £7.00 Book now

Where to go near Light Falls at the Royal Exchange

St Ann’s Square
City Centre
Park
St Ann’s Square

St Ann’s Square is a quiet little enclave of shops, with Barton’s Arcade set back from it on one side, and St Ann’s Church, which dates back to 1712 and…

Rapha Clubhouse Manchester
City Centre
Shop
Rapha Clubhouse Manchester

AKA cyclist heaven, Rapha is more than just a cycle-wear shop. It’s a place for anyone who loves cycling to congregate and celebrate the sport together.

City Centre
Bar or Pub
The Botanist

The Botanist on Deansgate, Manchester, does botanical cocktails and toothsome food with aplomb.

City Centre
King Street Manchester

King Street is one of the most picturesque parts of Manchester with buildings designed by Alfred Waterhouse and C.R. Cockerell. Once Manchester’s financial epicenter, it’s now home to high-end retail and fine dining.

Manchester
Restaurant
KAI Deansgate

Kai is a Turkish restaurant on Deansgate, set up by the brains behind the well-regarded Zouk restaurant. Expect excellent mezze plates and an open grill that releases wonderful aromas throughout the venue.

City Centre
Restaurant
Lunya Manchester

Lunya is a Spanish and Catalan deli and restaurant in Manchester’s stunning Barton Arcade. The food is reliably fresh and the staff both charming and incredibly knowledgable.

What's on: Theatre

The cast of 42 Balloons at The Lowry
Until
TheatreMediaCityUK
42 Balloons at The Lowry

A remarkable true-story with a toe-tapping ’80s soundtrack, be lifted to new heights with this eagerly anticipated world premiere.

from £29.50

Culture Guides

Festival-goers at Green Island
Music in Manchester and the North

Gazing longingly towards the good times that will accompany the surely imminent sun, we take a look at the best music festivals coming up in Manchester and Salford.