520 stories by "Alfred Hickling"
Theatre-by-the-Lake, KeswickBrendan Murray's play succeeds because he has an acute and compassionate understanding of families Continue reading...
Theatre-by-the-Lake, KeswickJez Butterworth followed the advice of his hero in writing this curio, which is ultimately just a step on the road to Jerusalem Continue reading...
Grosvenor Park Open Air theatre, ChesterKate Saxon's adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel boasts heart, charm and a thoroughly convincing cast Continue reading...
Grosvenor Park Open Air theatre, ChesterAlex Clifton hacks at the text of the Scottish play fearlessly but the cuts don't always work Continue reading...
LiverpoolCrowds fill the city's streets to marvel at puppetry of colossal proportions, in an emotional tribute to lives lost in the first world war Continue reading...
Stephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughThe musical version of Alan Ayckbourn's play for young people is an ideal introduction to the pleasures of reading and the power of the theatre Continue re…
Williamson Park, LancasterThis outdoor play featuring a feminist frog and a vaudevillian witch owes as much to Shrek as it does to the Brothers Grimm Lancaster's Dukes theatre: the great out…
Stephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughThis adaptation of and sequel to Arthur Sullivan's comic operetta nails its satirical targets brilliantlyPay attention because this is complicated and I…
West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds Commissioned to coincide with the Tour de France, this compassionate homage exposes the motivations of Beryl Burton, the greatest woman on two wheelsIt has be…
Crucible, SheffieldThe dark set and amplification of Wilson's voice serves as a reminder that Beckett's play is one of the earliest examples of a sound installationThe great irony of going t…
Everyman Playhouse, LiverpoolSwapping 18th-century street ballads for ska and dubstep, Kneehigh's reworking of The Beggar's Opera is bright, bold and curiously timelessYou can be fairly cert…
Rowntree Park, YorkThe show suggests that for many people the first giddy experience of remaining upright on a bike is a moment to rank with your first kiss or the birth of a childYorkshire …
The performances take place backstage, the cast have dinner with the audience and you won't be able to buy interval drinks with real money. This year's festival is as experimental as everThe…
Royal Exchange, ManchesterHarry McEntire is wonderfully fidgety as Keith Waterhouse's hero, who would be a Twitter phenomenon todayBilly Liar is unavoidably a play of its time: it takes appr…
West Yorkshire Playhouse, LeedsReece Dinsdale is the ultimate doppelganger and Marjorie Yates delights as Mam in this staging of the author's childhood memoirs An A-Z of Alan BennettIf one w…
In the 19th century, the Ancoats slum Angel Meadow was called 'hell on earth'. Now Anu Productions have re-imagined it for a startling site-specific productionThe shabby Irish pub in Ancoats…
Lyceum, SheffieldThere's tragedy at the core of French's roly-poly persona yet the place she finds herself in appears to be a good oneIt's extraordinary to consider that Dawn French has liv…
Royal Exchange, ManchesterDan Parr delivers a lung-busting performance as a working-class soldier adrift in AfghanistanAt least one theatre company advised Gareth Farr to put his debut play …
Crucible, SheffieldRevel in this revival as a smug playboy's life unravels when he tries to juggle one too many brightly coloured airline hostessesWho is France's most frequently performed p…
Manchester Opera HouseDespite a superlative onstage orchestra and a sharp-shooting Emma Williams as Annie, this revisionist rendition lacks swaggerHow do you solve a problem like Annie Oakle…
Theatre Royal, YorkNichola McAuliffe is glorious as Noël Coward's batty psychic in a production that's short of paranormal shocksThe acclaim with which Angela Lansbury's Madame Arcati has…
Birmingham RepRachel De-lahay's public-transport odyssey is filled with astute observations of troubled livesRachel De-lahay caused a minor storm with her first two plays, The Westbridge and…
B is for Betty's and S if for splother while O is for outside bucket our guide to the Yorkshire-born playwright on his 80th birthdayOncologist's description of the size of the tumour discov…
Laugharne, CarmarthenshireReal-life locals are obligingly stranger-than-fiction in this live-art installation-cum-walking tour around the place that inspired Dylan Thomas's Under Milk WoodLa…
York Theatre RoyalA bold play for young children about the effects of Alzheimer's on one girl's grandmother makes its points skilfullyA young girl and her grandmother are spending the aftern…
