Pitlochry Festival theatreThis playful adaptation of Charlotte Higgins’s book is charming, if a little lacking in narrative drive How to dramatise a text that is part travelogue, part expl…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:49PMNottingham PlayhouseThe casting of twins as the separated sisters adds a frisson to Trevor Nunn’s elegant production of the twice-filmed tale, with pitch-perfect music by George Stiles Eri…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03AMCurve, LeicesterFifty years on, these specially commissioned pieces movingly and unflinchingly reflect the experiences of Ugandan refugees in Britain Eleanor Field’s set suggests impermane…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:07AMWatermill, NewburyTom Jackson Greaves thrillingly fuses movement with music in his revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Louisiana-set take on the classic 60s film Many will remember Whistle Do…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AMJohnstone town hallThe Paisley-born playwright and artist pays tribute to hometown hero Gerry Rafferty in a coming-of-age musical amplified by 60s pop hits In interviews, playwright and arti…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:03AMTheatre by the Lake, KeswickThe opening is great, but with characters as thin as the air at high altitude, Carmen Nasr’s new mountaineering drama is downhill from there The location is per…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AMNew Vic, Newcastle-under-LymeClowning and humour are brilliantly woven into the darkness and danger of this prisoner-of-war story, best known from the 1963 film Tom, Dick and Harry are the t…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:07AMBirmingham RepThis attempt to make Mustapha Matura’s adaptation of the classic drama into a calypso-laced entertainment has lost something in translation Something’s not quite right. The…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06AMUstinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath; and touringRebecca Lenkiewicz’s version of this 1900 play loses the high stakes of the influential original August Strindberg is probably best known in …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AMEveryman theatre, LiverpoolChloë Moss’s well-intentioned new play can’t quite navigate the choppy waters of sex and race among the crew of a cargo ship This ambitious new play by Chloë…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:54AMStoryhouse, ChesterTim Firth’s touching show about a father and son converting a bank into a home is perfectly constructed and performed This father-and-son love story is unabashedly senti…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:37PMNottingham PlayhouseA young footballer is groomed by his coach in a new play lacking the intensity and drama of the beautiful game at its best “If your first touch is good, life is easy. I…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AMNorthern Stage, NewcastleA strong cast makes Claudia Rankine’s exploration of the ‘invisibility of whiteness’ compelling Alex tells Charlotte he is angry that “your people” are bei…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:12AMOctagon, BoltonAn Egyptian-British father and daughter tussle over culture clashes in an underpowered Wigan-set drama saved by its smart design Ashraf (Dana Haqjoo), born in Egypt, longtime …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:03PMRoyal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonThe consummate stagecraft of the RSC evokes the chaos of warfare, but the characterisation gets lost in the tumult Opposing leaders, each assert…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AMNottingham PlayhouseCaroline Bird’s drama about the Labour MP Ellen Wilkinson gives us the bullet points of an extraordinary life but slips into melodrama The Red Ellen of the title was El…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AMComédie-Française, ParisIn an innovative and risk-taking 400th anniversary season, Ivo van Hove and others explore the comic master’s endless variety In the foyer of the Comédie-França…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AMPerth theatreA talented cast and inventive creatives adapt a classic story of transformation into youth theatre at its best Earlier this year, a number of theatre professionals shared, via …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33AMSherman Theatre, CardiffThe action may be absurd but the trauma and confusion of growing up are totally realistic Pwdin is 12 years old. He thinks he’s fat (“You’re not fat!” exclaim…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AMBristol Old VicA schoolboy overcomes his stammer in an energising paean to the power of language marked by fine performances Writer Ross Willis has a terrific feel for words, their sounds, t…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:33AMLeeds PlayhouseEfforts to make Shakespeare accessible to all rub against confused staging and wayward delivery in Amy Leach’s ambitious production Cacophonous crashes signal the opening. S…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:03PMYork Theatre RoyalA Rohingya refugee boy in an Australian detention centre befriends a local girl in a moving adaptation of Zana Fraillon’s novel In staging Zana Fraillon’s 2016 novel, Y…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AMLantern theatre, SheffieldClyde dockworkers take a stand in 1970s Scotland, in an affecting new play by Townsend Productions The letters UCS, so firmly affirmed in the title, stand for Upper…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AMCrucible, SheffieldThough well acted, this revival of Helen Edmundson’s 1992 adaptation doesn’t feel ready for the big stage “All ideas are good,” according to the great theatre tea…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AMNorthern Stage, NewcastleDespite clever stagecraft and the best efforts of four committed young actors, the drama and bite of Philip Correia’s new adaptation is muffled The staging is witt…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03AMGuildhall, DerryDrama, music and movement are combined to potent effect in this new play depicting the tragic events of 30 January 1972 Iconic photographs give this new musical play its titl…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:03PMThe Place, LondonBroussé brings a tale of baking and suffering to glorious life in this much-kneeded autobiographical show The title of Jean-Daniel Broussé’s solo show is a pun on the Fr…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AMLeeds PlayhouseDeveloped between teams in Leeds and Tokyo, this spectacular reimagining brings new complexity to JM Barrie’s story Ella Hickson’s adaptation of JM Barrie’s world-famous…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:33AMBirmingham Rep This 20-year-old comedy with the nightly surprise guest works its magic in a superb revival directed by its co-writer, the Rep’s artistic director, Sean Foley As the title s…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:42AMCurve, LeicesterThe 70s musical centred on a group of Broadway musical auditionees is all about the ensemble in Nikolai Foster’s winning revival It’s not difficult to see why Nikolai Fos…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AMHull Truck; Hope Mill, Manchester; Barn, Cirencester; New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme; Watermill, NewburyThe Railway Children reduces our critic to tears, and a topical take on The Wizard of O…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AM
