Friday, March 29, 2024
Aviva Studios, ManchesterAvant garde director Robert Wilson’s adaptation of the classic tale prioritises surreal setups and atmosphere over family friendly narrative
What does it look like…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:02AMFriday, October 27, 2023
Northern Stage, NewcastleStories from across the world intertwine through activism in an ambitious production, but the delicate threads never quite mesh
The title of Open Clasp’s new show …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:19AMMonday, October 16, 2023
The international theatre jamboree in Yorkshire kicks off with confessions from hundreds of young people and a fancy dress party about grief
International festivals can easily feel detached …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:04AMThursday, July 20, 2023
King’s Manor, YorkLarge-scale community play has Henry VIII cancelling the city’s beloved Mystery Plays as a clever framing device in a striking adaptation
There’s more than one kind o…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:55AMThursday, July 13, 2023
Leeds PlayhouseDavid West Read’s jukebox show brings Orbison’s hits together around an earnest but charmingly performed story of grief
Jukebox musicals tend to be all about the feelgood …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:04AMWednesday, May 3, 2023
York Theatre RoyalA long-gestating app romance fails to sync offline in this innovative musical with songs that outshine the dialogue
Mayflies famously live for just a day. But before that t…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:18AMFriday, March 24, 2023
Leeds PlayhouseAmy Leach’s production evokes a very current crop of anxieties with the castaways excellently played by a young cast
In many ways, Lord of the Flies is safe programming, cer…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:42AMMonday, February 27, 2023
Harrogate theatreAdding their own flashbacks, narration and expletive-laced modern language, Imitating the Dog reimagine the Macbeths as damaged teens killing their way to the top of a crimi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00AMMonday, February 6, 2023
Bramall Rock Void, Leeds Playhouse Garry Lyons gives voice to Knottingley locals in this fierce indictment of how the government has failed our once-thriving industrial communities
Blow Down…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24AMFriday, December 9, 2022
Royal Exchange theatre, ManchesterA slightly wonky meta structure involving a team of amdram actors muddles this show about the former MP but it has abundant charm
Politics is a kind of perf…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AMWednesday, November 30, 2022
Leeds Playhouse The rags-to-riches roots of the Roald Dahl story are emphasised in this family show, but video effects blunt the rough magic
There’s something of the fairytale about Charli…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AMMonday, November 28, 2022
Deutsches Schauspielhaus, HamburgThe director’s latest eco-theatre production gives us fragments of Chekhov’s dialogue and a searing reading of our relationship with nature
The orchard o…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AMFriday, November 4, 2022
Home, ManchesterJavaad Alipoor’s meditation on the grim fate of Iranian singer Fereydoun Farrokhzad develops into a thrilling investigation of the internet
You may not have heard of Ferey…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AMWednesday, November 2, 2022
York Theatre RoyalDespite some strong performances, this production is undone by flip-flopping between the serious and the silly
Guy Fawkes is not an obvious subject for a comedy – he’s …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:18PMSunday, October 30, 2022
Royal Exchange theatre, ManchesterThere are some scares, but Jack Thorne’s adaptation of the Swedish vampire novel focuses more on the compelling bond between two troubled teens
Though it …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03AMSunday, October 23, 2022
Crucible theatre, Sheffield Updated 13 years after their first showing, Steve Waters’ double bill of plays feels more urgent than before – while their personal dynamics hint at challenge…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:33PMFriday, October 7, 2022
Leeds PlayhouseAmanda Huxtable directs the regional premiere of Natasha Gordon’s multigenerational play filled with conflict and grief
Natasha Gordon’s multigenerational family drama cap…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:13PMTuesday, August 16, 2022
Roundabout @ Summerhall, EdinburghThe problems facing 16-year-old Toye when he resolves to include Black voices in his school curriculum are brought to compelling life
How do you change the …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:37AMMonday, August 15, 2022
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghAustralia’s 2019 wildfires are the focal point of this contemplative look at what theatre can do in the face of environmental collapse
Theatre-maker David Fin…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:07PMSunday, August 14, 2022
Summerhall, Edinburgh Consummate storyteller James Rowland revisits his childhood friendship with an elderly neighbour and shares heart-tugging experiences
As theatre recovers from the pande…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:42PMSummerhall, Edinburgh Shôn Dale-Jones once imagined his childhood home Anglesey separating from the UK. Now he revisits the Welsh island in a Brexit Britain where belonging has become a vex…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:33PMSaturday, August 13, 2022
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghVictoria Melody uses theatre to unpick the mechanics of the comedy world – with some fascinating discoveries about neurodivergence along the way
Victoria Melo…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AMWednesday, June 8, 2022
In the first of our festival previews, we round up some of the best offerings we’ve already reviewed – including Tim Key, Liz Kingsman, La Clique and Hungry
This searing, sweaty disco is…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:48AMMonday, May 23, 2022
Home, ManchesterCombining music, dance and drama, RashDash’s latest show attempts to find meaning in the mayhem of birth and family
RashDash’s new show opens with mess. Nappies and toys…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AMFriday, April 29, 2022
Royal Exchange theatre, ManchesterIs a council-funded robot nun the answer to prayers at a convent in crisis? Tim Foley’s prize-winning play proves ingenious and thrilling
Startling and au…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:37AMFriday, March 4, 2022
Leeds PlayhouseWith striking design and compelling leads, Amy Leach directs a triumphant version of Shakespeare’s tale of murderous deeds
The first time we meet the Macbeths in Amy Leach�…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AMThursday, March 3, 2022
York Theatre RoyalThe story of Rohingya ‘limbo kid’ Subhi, born in an Australian detention centre, is powerful but awkwardly adapted from Zana Fraillon’s book
Stories are powerful. Tha…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AMThursday, December 9, 2021
Royal Exchange theatre, ManchesterDavid Grieg’s rowdy, informal yarn makes a pleasingly oddball antidote to the classic Christmas show
Devils may not seem very festive but David Greig’s …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AMWednesday, December 8, 2021
York Theatre RoyalPaul Hendy’s cast deliver a dependable mix of song and dance, spectacle and silliness, as well as a brilliant, bin-toting Buttons
For decades, the Theatre Royal panto has…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:24AMThursday, December 2, 2021
Hope Mill theatre, ManchesterWith belting vocals and dazzling dance, this musical update jumps into a vivid Oz full of street art and neon lights
Director Matthew Xia’s updated staging of …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AMFriday, November 12, 2021
Leeds PlayhouseWhen a pupil confronts his teacher after she fails to defend him from police, more questions are raised than can be contained in this drama
What does solidarity look like? In …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:12PM 
