Flashing lights. Sticky floors. Dancing shoes.
Tommy, a young working-class Mancunian, has been accepted into Oxford. He’s the first in his family to go to uni – the first on his street in fact… Join him on his last big night in Manchester before leaving the city he loves and disappearing South.
A riotous coming of age tale exploring class and identity. Expect humour, heart, and a night out to remember.
A Manchester Anthem has been developed from a work-in-progress under the title Dancing to Disco.
A Manchester Anthem is supported by Brixton House, LUNG Theatre and The Space Theatre. In partnership with The Sutton Trust and The Linacre Institute.
Press & Reviews
Praise for A Manchester Anthem
- Broadway Baby, ★★★★★:
"a breath of theatrical fresh air"
"joyously uplifting … an unfettered outpouring of humour, storytelling and characterisation from beginning to end"
- Theatre Weekly, ★★★★★:
"Tom Claxton is a force to be reckoned with … his highly expressive performance is gripping, particularly in the way he engages with his audience"
"could easily transfer to the small screen"
- Fringe Binge, ★★★★★:
"some of the best storytelling I've ever seen on a fringe theatre stage"
"a huge, seminal night out"
There Ought To Be Clowns:
"a real highlight of the 2023 Vault Festival so far"
"an ingenious piece of theatre, scathingly funny and insightful too as it peels back the facade of teenage artifice"
Broadway World, ★★★★:
"Nick Dawkins precise social commentary doubles as a melancholic love letter to the city"
"we'll hear of this creative team for years to come"
All That Dazzles, ★★★★:
"often hilarious and periodically gut-wrenching"
Praise for work-in-progress 'Dancing To Disco'
Theatre Weekly
★★★★★
"This is new writing that’s impossible to resist."
"Potential for it to follow in the footsteps of Fleabag and be the next fringe show to transfer to the small screen; a Mancunian Skins for the roaring twenties."
The Reviews Hub
"Dawkins’ script is detailed and poetic, full of alliteration and metaphor"
Praise for previous work - If. Destroyed. Still. True.
Broadway Baby
★★★★★
"All the elements of a production combine to form something that is stunning and deeply moving."
Cast & Creative Team Actor: TOM CLAXTON
Training: MFA in Professional Acting, LAMDA
Theatre includes: Romeo & Juliet (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Kick, Heart of Hammersmith (Lyric Hammersmith); Consent, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Our Town, Hamlet (LAMDA).
Film & TV includes: Boys in the Boat (George Clooney); One Day (Kate Hewitt); SAS: Rogue Heroes (Tom Shankland); Still So Awkward (Jason Wingard).
Director: CHARLIE NORBURN
Director: Dancing to Disco (The Space); Magpie (Bridge Theatre); Life to Be (Bunker Theatre & Lion and Unicorn Theatre).
Assistant Director: A Prayer For Wings (Swansea Grand Theatre & Volcano Theatre Swansea); Gently Down The Stream (Park Theatre).
Writer: NICK DAWKINS
Training: MA in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Writer: The Local (HOUSE/HOME, Southwark Playhouse); Dancing to Disco (The Space).
Producer: REBECCA LYLE
Training: MA in Creative Producing, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Producer: Greenwich Family Arts Festival (Various Locations, Royal Borough of Greenwich); Woolwich Community Festival (St George's Garrison Church); Found Arts Festival (Tramshed); Unexpected (Cockpit Theatre); MITES (Tristan Bates Theatre).
Co-Producer: Not Quite Jerusalem (Finborough Theatre).
Assistant Producer: Children's Children (Film, English Touring Theatre).
Set and Costume Designer: Anna Niamh Gorman
Lighting Designer: Caelan Oram
Sound Designer: Sam Baxter
Stage Manager: Emily Darley