West Yorkshire Playhouse, LeedsThis jukebox monologue has Denise van Outen as an Essex-girl-lingerie-designer randomly bursting into the hits of the 80sCharlie Parsons's programme profile st…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:30AMNottingham PlayhouseThis adaptation of Susie Boyt's memoir veers too far over the rainbow but it's warm-hearted funThe novelist and journalist Susie Boyt once confided to a friend that her g…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:43AMThe trio's cabaret is the stuff of nightmares – so it was only a matter of time before they brought their squeezebox and falsetto to Wedekind's femme fatale, in their new show for Opera No…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:00AMOctagon, Bolton This classic comedy about an intemperate northern cobbler is delivered with care, attention and turn-of-the-century styleHarold Brighouse was, by his own admission, "half a h…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33AMContinuing our series on favourite shows, Alfred Hickling explains why he's a big fan of the little girl who bounces back from hard knocksThere aren't many classic musicals about which I can…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:33AMCrucible, Sheffield Third Angel's exploration of an unremarkable life tests the patience – but its visual payoff is sublimeRachel is a young woman brought up in a Sheffield tower block who…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:16AMLowry, SalfordElla Harris admirably carries a 60-minute, one-woman a cappella musical depicting a young suffragette's journey from Lancashire mill floor to London prisonFormer Chumbawamba gu…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42AMCrucible, SheffieldThe awkward silences here make you wonder what possibilities Harold Pinter might have found in Wi-Fi monitoring technologyConducting one's affairs through Skype, smartphon…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AMTheatre by the Lake, KeswickThis revived adaptation of Arthur Ransome's novel, with music by Neil Hannon, touches the heart without being triteDivine Comedy founder Neil Hannon has done some…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:09AMWest Yorkshire Playhouse, LeedsCultural diversity is explored in an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's classic tale that ultimately descends into pantoThe Jungle Book has been read in a number …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:39AMTheatre Royal, YorkBerwick Kaler's script bears scant relation to the original Aladdin story, but this is a hugely entertaining pantomimeIn the distant era that historians of the York pantom…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:46AMAt 70, it's time to retire. Oh no it's not, say these two veteran panto dames. What makes them keep putting on the slap and telling the same old jokes?It was an emotional night. "The ca…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:56PMHarrogate theatreThis well-conceived Christmas drama about E Nesbit's dark domestic life is highly original and surprisingly cheerless Though her own marriage was troubled and unhappy, E Nes…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:07PMPaddy Campbell's debut play is a thrillingly funny and painful vision of life in a homeless shelter that allows alcohol. All hail a fine new voice• Read about the other No 10 pick: Paul Br…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:34AMLowry, SalfordThis updated classic shoots in all directions but lands a fair number of arrows on targetWho is Robin Hood? The mythic invention of English balladeers? A cartoon fox? An air te…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:31PMNorthern Stage, NewcastleA tear in reality causes all Christmases to come at once in a boldly original if conceptually baffling take on traditional fairytalesWe all know Christmas is a busy …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:10AMNottingham PlayhouseIt's business as usual as the Playhouse's most famous dame revels in glitter, gags and a pastiche of Ylvis's The FoxKenneth Alan Taylor first announced that he would step…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:13AMHull TruckMick Martin's play about an eBay-addicted, fortysomething dad gets an exuberant production with teenage fantasy flashbacks aplentyFortysomething father of two Chris is out of …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:45AMTheatre Royal, YorkLoveday Ingram's production has its bright moments, but this dogged portrayal of the murdered king limps along"Here pitch our tents, even here in Bosworth field," Richard …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:05AMHull Paragon Station There's plenty of popular wartime tunes to jolly things along, but the individual vignettes can be quite heartbreakingA booklet issued to Jewish refugee children arrivin…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:32PMTreasurer's House, YorkThe great detective operates with a manic intensity in Samuel Wood's bohemian production of this Conan Doyle mysterySherlock Holmes has been ranked as one of the three…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:22PMLowry, SalfordThe story of a heart transplant patient who traces her donors avoids sensationalism to become a lyrical study of lossThough still relatively uncommon in the UK, heart transplan…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:10AMCrucible, SheffieldA taut rendering of Robin Hooper's tale of love and betrayal in the armed forces is imbued with a grim realismWhy is there so little contemporary drama about life in the a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:19AMNorthern Stage, NewcastleAn island is afflicted by a mysterious noise in this stylish science-fiction thrillerThe island of Whitley, a British crown possession in the south Atlantic, is home…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:21AMYork Theatre RoyalA well-crafted revival of Richard Cameron's breakthrough play brings to life the suffocating fear of domestic violence in a small townRichard Cameron's breakthrough play wa…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:51PMLive Theatre, NewcastleThe Tyneside theatre celebrates its 40th anniversary with an updated revival of Lee Hall's filthy farceNo one would accuse Live Theatre of celebrating its 40th anniver…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:03AMPlayhouse, LiverpoolDaniel Matthew's tale of life constrained by limited ambition turns on an ability to find the universal within the particularLiverpool Playhouse has an impressive record …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:31PMStephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughCharles Laughton is the subject of this homage showing the actor as a caustic figure attempting to prove his true talentSurprising to consider that both Ca…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:44AMRoyal Exchange, ManchesterPlaywright Mike Kenny's latest is a prime porker of a tale about an articulate pig who runs away to the circusThe softest job in British theatre must belong to play…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:17AMOctagon, BoltonMoving performances and a brisk production pace bring Eugene O'Neill's study of sickness and addiction to lifeUnder David Thacker's tenure, the Octagon has become the home of …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:19AMCrucible, Sheffield Shakespeare's fanciful tale of jealousy and remorse is given a vivid and superbly acted updateThe Winter's Tale is perhaps Shakespeare's ultimate test of an audience's wi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:50AM