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.
Lyle Productions creates opportunities for emerging regional artists, through new work that shines a light to the society that we live in today. Productions include:
HOUSE/HOME (Southwark Playhouse, July 2022)
If. Destroyed. Still. True. (co-producer, The Hope Theatre, May 2022)
Dancing to Disco (The Space, August 2021).
A Manchester Anthem is presented in collaboration with ramblemill.
ramblemill are a no nonsense, all nuisance collective, dedicated to heartfelt, riotous and regional storytelling.
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