Theatre Royal Stratford East, London; York Theatre Royal Azuka Oforka’s bold, ambitious play confronts the horrors of slavery, while Emma Rice takes on Hitchcock’s classic, sidelining su…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:36AMRoyal Lyceum, EdinburghA Glasgow country-singing ex-con single mother dreams of the big time in Nicola Taylor’s new musical, directed by John Tiffany Rose-Lynn is twentysomething and wild,…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AMSwan theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonDaniel Raggett’s hit-and-miss Marlowe production has wonderful moments but errs on the side of excess in its staging of the king’s doomed love affair Edw…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:36AMSherman theatre, Cardiff The remarkable true story of how the resident of a Cardiff institution and a student revolutionised supported living is told with agit-prop energy and via superb per…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:48AMWatermill theatre, NewburyA fine, multitasking cast of three deliver laughs aplenty in Ian Hislop and Nick Newman’s adaptation of a 1930s satire, though the cad’s true malice is lacking …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AMRoyal Exchange, ManchesterThese two short plays offer differing pleasures – one in the acting, the other in its subtle meditation on mourning Escaped Alone (2016) is first in this double b…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:42AMFruitmarket, Edinburgh Multi-art form company Magnetic North celebrate 25 years with a drifting musical journey that moves from isolation to belonging Scottish theatre company Magnetic North…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:36AMTheatre Royal BathShaw conveys both the public and private Thomas More in a period-perfect if patchy production of Bolt’s 1960 play of power and corruption A “monstrous baby whom none da…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:24PMThe Pit, Barbican, LondonFrench company La Pendue’s MimeLondon curtain-raiser reimagines a Brothers Grimm tale with puppets and a one-man band The poet Pierre Quillard, defending the symbo…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06AMRoyal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonShakespeare’s fleet-footed romance is somewhat constrained by Prasanna Puwanarajah’s direction, yet there are memorable moments Life and dea…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:06PMStephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughA stand-in Genie saves the day in a magical production of the age-old story that has audience members young and old suspending disbelief Audience participa…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AMHull Truck TheatreThe audience sees above and below the floorboards – with a little help from puppets – as Mark Babych’s production cleverly plays with scale A family forced to flee th…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:54AMNew Vic theatre, Newcastle-under-LymeTheresa Heskins’s Dumas adaptation provides fantastic action yet reduces the scheming servant Milady to a plot device Flashing swords, swirling capes a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AMPitlochry Festival theatreThis captivating production of the evergreen musical is a fitting swansong from Pitlochry’s outgoing artistic director, Elizabeth Newman Light breaks through dark…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:36AMTanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, SheffieldHolden and Ed Stambollouian’s one-man drama based on a real-life murder in 80s America uses film tropes to great effect – but it plays with the fac…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:12AMTheatre Royal, BathMen struggling to hide their feelings are uncloaked in James Dacre’s astute revival of the playwright’s Table Number Seven and The Browning Version Director James Dacr…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AMThe Other Place, Stratford-upon-AvonTwo American strategists compete to influence an eastern European election in a nuanced new play that suffers from tackling too many subjects In the 21st …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AMBirmingham RepTerry Ronald’s true-life tale of a bullied gay teenager who prevails in the school production of Oliver! is performed with affecting verve Today, Terry Ronald is a successful…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AMBristol Old VicFussy filmic visuals hobble fine performances in the European premiere of the Inheritance writer’s study of three characters struggling for connection London-based American …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:06PMThe Dipping House, Stoke-on-TrentClaybody Theatre’s show about a famed flying saucer sighting on a housing estate is whimsical fun Back in 1967, the most extraordinary thing about Bentilee…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AMNew Vic theatre, Newcastle-under-LymeChoreography accentuates the otherness of the creatures in a fluid take on the dark coming-of-age fable Form thrillingly matches content in this new stag…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12PMEveryman, LiverpoolMartin McDonagh’s black comedy about a violent republican terrorist can feel like a parody of 007 in its action but it is hard to be stirred by the dully repetitive scen…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:12PMShakespeare North Playhouse, PrescotA cast of deaf, disabled and neurodivergent actors throw new light on the star-crossed lovers in Graeae’s uneven yet often thrilling show Actors appear,…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:32AMStephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughA ‘sprightly comedy’ isn’t all it seems in this beautifully performed drama, which the playwright directs On one level, Alan Ayckbourn’s 90th play …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:24AMBarn theatre, CirencesterMarie Jones’s 1996 hit play is given a spectacular, Hollywood-style makeover by her son Matthew McElhinney, though the momentum of the drama suffers Throw a stone …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54AMThe Mill at Sonning, ReadingA fine ensemble cast deliver plenty of laughs and more in Robin Herford’s terrific production of the playwright’s intertwined tale of three couples Reviewing …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54AMUstinov Studio, BathDirector Richard Jones tries to capture the menace felt by the play’s first audiences, but the result is overmannered Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party was almost un…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:30AMWilliamson Park, LancasterAndrew Pollard turns Lewis Carroll’s classic into a delightful quest, tirelessly acted and cleverly designed We are sitting in a wooded dell, ranged on felled tre…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:30AMWatermill theatre, NewburyThere are somersaults, pivots and tumbles aplenty in this gleeful tribute to the 19th-century circus showman turned politician Barnum dances a tightrope between con…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:06AMBlack Box; Town Hall theatre, GalwayA family reunion unravels with viciousness and humour in Mark O’Rowe’s new play. And Garry Hynes’s searing direction makes Beckett new Since it laun…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AMRoyal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonSheridan’s comedy of manners is given an all too knowing makeover in Tinuke Craig’s fitfully amusing new production Richard Brinsley Sherida…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:32AM