Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Octagon theatre, BoltonShamia Chalabi and Sarah Henley’s ‘East meets Wigan’ drama is at its best on the subject of cars and women’s independence
You would expect the most interesting…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AMThursday, April 21, 2022
Alphabetti theatre, NewcastleThe possibility of trading bad memories for good drives tension in this disconcerting play by Ali Pritchard
When they talk about the pre-crisis times in Ali Prit…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:24AMFriday, April 15, 2022
Stephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughChris Bush’s gripping new adaptation – the centrepiece of a Brontë festival – adds an interesting psychological twist
Not content with staging Chris…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AMThursday, April 14, 2022
As they prepare to bring the mesmerising How It Is to London, the actors reflect on performing a text with no characters and no punctuation
Two men are meeting on Zoom, as they have done twi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:07AMSunday, April 10, 2022
Northern Stage, NewcastleCaroline Bird’s play pays tribute to the leftwing firebrand Ellen Wilkinson, who led Jarrow march and as a Labour minister introduced free school milk
Director Wi…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:06AMFriday, April 8, 2022
SEC Armadillo, GlasgowFour adult siblings react to their mother’s death in wildly different ways, in this raucous musical adaptation of Peter Mullan’s 1998 film black comedy
If the idea …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48AMThursday, April 7, 2022
Leeds PlayhousePulsing songs are the bedrock of this show as De Campo’s larger-than-life stage presence is matched by an effortless vocal range
John Cameron Mitchell’s grunge musical is …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:24PMWednesday, April 6, 2022
Belgrade theatre, CoventryJamie McGough’s play, based on the true story of a family of boxers, highlights a sporting defeat to discuss the politics of discrimination
It’s hard to think o…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:33AMMonday, March 28, 2022
Perth theatreMagical illusions and mind-reading tricks add to the fizzy performances in a colourful production with clever parallels
If you’re looking for narcissism, Rob Drummond offers i…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:54AMFriday, March 25, 2022
Tron, GlasgowImpossible ideals unravel in a demanding but funny two-hander with a standout turn from Eilidh Loan
It’s the middle of the night and Murph has called her sister Jos for a chat…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:18AMThursday, March 17, 2022
Octagon theatre, BoltonThis is a bold and adventurous version of Barry Hines’s story about a boy finding respite in nature
Nishla Smith silences the theatre. She appears from on high and s…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AMWednesday, March 16, 2022
New Vic theatre, Newcastle-under-LymeSeven actors portray the charming friend to archbishops and circus stars in this freewheeling show
The improbable story of Neil Baldwin gets more improba…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03AMTuesday, March 15, 2022
Theatre Royal, St HelensThe actor and raconteur is in his element in Asa Murphy’s jolly Irish bar-themed patchwork production
Is that a look of delight or terror in the eyes of the cast wh…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03AMSunday, March 13, 2022
Everyman, LiverpoolWith merciless invective and scatter-gun put-downs, Jonathan Larkin’s comedy is black to the point of cruelty in a bleak but uplifting play about after-hours queer cultu…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:48PMWednesday, March 9, 2022
Royal Lyceum, EdinburghZinnie Harris’s bold drama is a funny, frequently disorienting look at the evasion and deceits that corrode relationships
Where do we draw the line between a white l…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:37AMThursday, March 3, 2022
Belgrade theatre, CoventryA couple with disabilities find their witty dating-app personas are at odds with real life in this charming romcom
Online, Lucy and David are slick and witty. Meeti…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:48AMSunday, February 27, 2022
Leith theatre, EdinburghHope Dickson Leach relocates RL Stevenson’s gothic chiller to its spiritual home in Edinburgh and gives it a modern format, but it’s a verbose, old-fashioned work…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:42PMSunday, February 20, 2022
Tron, GlasgowInspired by stories of her father’s youth, Eilidh Loan’s vibrant debut tackles race, sexuality and illness – and is as funny in execution as it is serious in purpose
Here …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:12PMWednesday, February 9, 2022
New Vic theatre, Newcastle-under-LymeLaurie Sansom’s languid production of Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy is all about appearances
A colourful cast of characters dance round the maypole a…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:24PMMonday, February 7, 2022
Northern Stage, NewcastleTroubled young man Simon Griffin is invisible to society even before the vanishing act, while his therapist has the opposite problem
The legacy of The Invisible Man …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:06AMSunday, January 30, 2022
Summerhall and the Studio, Festival theatre, EdinburghMagical AR miniatures and a dream-like circus drama are among the impressive productions opening this celebration of visually led theatr…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:54PMMonday, January 17, 2022
Available onlineFrom a small studio in his family home, Thaddeus Phillips blends magician’s tricks and object-theatre techniques to build a delightful story
In the infant artform of online…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:03AMSunday, December 5, 2021
King’s theatre, EdinburghThis year’s edition of the annual King’s panto is a slickly timed, high-spirited affair stuffed with daft jokes, and a moving tribute to the late company membe…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:54PMFriday, December 3, 2021
Northern Stage, NewcastleA lovable orphan at a low-rent Hogwarts makes her impostor syndrome disappear in a lively reimagining with fun theatrical illusions
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is on…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:18PMOctagon, BoltonFive actors take on all the parts in Lotte Wakeham’s production, engaging our imaginations in an affecting reworking
JM Barrie was obsessed with the loss of youth. It was a …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AMWednesday, December 1, 2021
New Vic theatre, Newcastle-under-LymeDirector Theresa Heskins might give us more beast than beauty but, even so, this dark, Disney-divergent adaptation is superb
The world described by writ…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:03PMSunday, November 28, 2021
Perth theatreButtons unleashes some magical social chicanery in this enjoyable egalitarian twist on the rags-to-riches tale
The modern adapter of Cinderella is faced with two questions. How …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:24AMThursday, November 25, 2021
Alphabetti theatre, NewcastleWith the irony of a young Victoria Wood, Hannah Sowerby presents a love-hate relationship with Penrith in an inventive one-woman show
We talk of Damon Runyon’…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:03AMMonday, November 15, 2021
Coliseum, OldhamGags, raps and forceful female energy boost this production, which has a huge sense of silliness and good cheer
It’s not often you hear a good fart gag, but the Coliseum pa…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:54AMMonday, November 8, 2021
Theatre by the Lake, KeswickTaking refuge in nature helps a Londoner process the loss of a child in a production that, for all its charm, fails to convince
Urban life shields us from nature.…
SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:06AMWednesday, November 3, 2021
Royal Lyceum, EdinburghWils Wilson’s perception-bending production highlights the artifice of a prince’s world, exposing the thin veneer of riches and respectability
Segismundo has just …
SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:32AM 
