520 stories by "Alfred Hickling"
Hull Truck theatreWhy did Alfred Hitchcock prefer blondes? "Because they make the best victims," he said. They also make for a lot of biopics, as witnessed by recent screen portrayals featur…
New Vic, Newcastle-under-LymeAlan Bennett's TV monologues may have lodged in the memory as entertaining exercises on favourite themes (star turns for Thora Hird, repressed bachelor…
Lowry, SalfordThe Re:Play festival, mounted each year by the Library theatre, takes the legwork out of trawling the fringe by gathering the best of Manchester's alternative talent in one pla…
Derby theatreSince it first appeared in 1952, EB White's story about the enduring bond between a pig and a spider has sold more than 45 million copies. It's a simple fable whose key elements…
West Yorkshire Playhouse, LeedsMike Kenny's adaptations of classic fairytales have a strictly non‑pantomime agenda " so, as might be expected, this is a version of …
York Theatre RoyalIt is hard to find a direct comparison for the Theatre Royal's writer, director and dame, Berwick Kaler, though as the years go by (this is his 34th York pantomime) there i…
People fly in from Sydney to see the panto at York Theatre Royal. What's its secret (aside from Britain's longest-serving dame, Wagon Wheels and 86 costumes)?Berwick Kaler is lying flat on&n…
Milton Rooms, MaltonJim Cartwight's debut play Road opened at the Royal Court; his best-known, the Rise and Fall of Little Voice, was commissioned by the National theatre. That his most rece…
Northern Stage, NewcastleLike most young children, Arrietty would rather play with her food than eat it. Unlike most girls, though, she uses an onion ring as a hula hoop. But Borrowers are a…
Lowry, Salford"I come from Baghdad, city of peace" declares Es-Sindibad the Sailor in One Thousand and One Nights. The context of Dominic Cooke's adaptation has changed somewhat since it was…
West Yorkshire PlayhouseThere was general agreement that Danny Boyle succeeded in capturing the quintessence of Britishness for this year's Olympic opening ceremony. Even so, you wonder if i…
Royal Exchange, ManchesterIt is supposedly the case that you are never more than 10 feet away from a rat. In Carol Ann Duffy's compendium of verminous fables, you are certainly never far fro…
Octagon, BoltonIn straitened times you expect certain economies to be made, even in Neverland, and stage flying is complex and expensive. Yet it does seem a bit frugal to deny a young audien…
Royal Court, LiverpoolLiverpool's Royal Court has recently reopened after a £1m facelift. The big news, however, was that gossip-magazine favourite David Gest " no stranger to spending a …
Playhouse, LiverpoolJoe Ward Munrow's debut play is a concise studio drama for three actors and a huge, invisible elephant that never leaves the room. Simon and David are brothers whose mot…
Hull TruckNobody writes about Withernsea quite like Tom Wells. Then again, nobody writes about Withernsea " though Well's unassuming domestic comedy about family life in an obscure, East Yor…
Critics rarely see the two most significant performances in a play's run " the first preview and closing night. Seeing both, I saw the West Yorkshire Playhouse's production transformed into …
Northern Stage, NewcastleReagan is an overworked social worker doing a late shift in his dingy office. It's a bit of a tip, otherwise everything seems fairly normal. Apart from a demonically…
Theatre Royal, YorkAt the heart of Dickens' novel young Paul Dombey, the sickly heir to a mercantile fortune, disarms his father with a simple question: "What is money after all? What can it…
A mass-reviewing project focusing on one theatre show is a great idea " but it doesn't half add to the pressure, says director Sarah EsdaileI wasn't aware that my production of Cat on a Hot …
Theatre Royal, YorkThe Guinea Pig Club was an exclusive drinking society, but it's hard to imagine anyone would actually want to qualify for membership. The entry requirement was that you ha…
Octagon, BoltonBill Naughton " author of Alfie and Spring and Port Wine " was Bolton's best-known dramatic export before playwright Jim Cartwright came along. The Octagon has presented all o…
Nottingham PlayhouseThey do a good sporting play in Nottingham. In past seasons, the Playhouse has presented the Brian Clough comedy Old Big 'Ead in the Spirit of the Man, and a tribute to t…
A society drowning in bourbon-coloured water, an opulent mansion and improvised jazz are not the easiest of illusions to create on stage, as Alfred Hickling discovers as part of our unique c…
Curve, LeicesterThe news that Miramax co-founder Harvey Weinstein was to make the leap into theatrical production with a musical version of his 2004 movie aroused a flurry of speculation: th…
