He Had Hairy Hands at The Lowry Manchester Review
He Had Hairy Hands
The Lowry, Manchester
15-16 May 2015
Reviewed by Linzi Davies
It’s such a long time since I had been to The Lowry theatre in Manchester so I was somewhat excited to watch the dramatic play, He Had Hairy Hands, although also perplexed as I had absolutely no idea what to expect. After a half hour drive to Salford Quays, we parked in the multi-story car park which had ample available spaces and was extremely well lit and clean. The price to park was £4.50 for 2/3 hours and £5.50 for 3/4 hours so not prohibitively expensive. As we were slightly early myself and my friend treated ourselves to a latte and Guinness before taking our seating in The Quays Theatre.
The theatre itself was a little gem, the stalls consisted of 25 rows with roughly 20 people per row and then this was encircled by three balconies with booth like seating. It gave a very personal approach and was a huge change from the larger theatres I have attended recently.
We took our seats at the end of Row G, slightly ill at ease due to the edgy haunting music which was being played. The stage had a huge projector screen at the back of it, which depicted simply the words, “Kill the Beast” (a reference to the production company) and a large metal bin sat eerily on the stage. With baited breath I sat back and waited for the picture to develop.
I really don’t want to ruin this absolute jewel of a play by telling you the storyline in any great detail but obviously would like to encourage you to take the opportunity to attend, so here goes.
He Had Hairy Hands is an extremely bold, perfectly written play with a fabulous balance of both humour, satire and eery murkiness… Set in Hemlock, in the early 1970’s, it focuses on the dastardly murder of police officer McTavish, his body discovered one early morning by two gossiping residents of the town out walking their “dogs”.
Lead Detective Andy is brought in to solve the riddle but ultimately is outwitted by the stupendous supernatural Detective Whitechapel and her wacky ways. Whitechapel who had been taking a sabbatical is located during a particularly sweaty workout which had the audience chuckling. The blossoming romance between Caroline and the stuttering Andy is delightful to watch throughout the show and also has a number of twists and turns along the way.
The killer, a werewolf, continues his depraved spree and soon more and more victims are discovered. Whitechapel and Andy have their work cut out to solve the mystery which is not aided by the somewhat corrupt Mayor and is grand opening of the Histyoriorium!
The show is hypnotic is its swift and cartoon like humour which really does have you laughing out loud… The fact that there are only 4 actors in this is amazing as their versatility and quick changes leave you thinking there must be a huge cast. Blink and you will seriously miss one of the fantastically delivered oneliners.
I can’t rate this show enough and would definitely recommend going to see it. The ending is unexpected to say the least but not to spoil it any more, just please go and enjoy…
Rating: 5/5 
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 3AZ | 0843 208 6000
