Williamson Park, LancasterColourful adaptation with pretty original songs makes the most of a family promenade in the park, as Hope Yolanda's energetic hero searches for Toto Who needs Esp…
Royal Court, LiverpoolMotherland writer Helen Serafinowicz transforms a dubious account about the footballer and his then girlfriend into a storybook tale of broad-stroke comedy Sometimes fa…
Grosvenor Park, ChesterThe debonair detective heads north for this breezily daft mystery featuring a missing masterpiece, vicious nuns and a full-bodied rendition of I Will Survive We think …
As Brendan Gleeson prepares for his role in a revival of the 1997 hit, the stars of earlier productions toast its deceptively moving and profound barfly banter Appearances are deceptive. On…
Tron theatre, GlasgowDouglas Maxwell's monologue about a dog walker moves from lighthearted to maudlin as it evokes a world in limbo A few blocks down the road on Argyle Street, a stall is p…
Peter Pan has a pop fantasy, Faustus is in Africa, Brian Cox leads a banking satire and Billy Connolly meets the late Alasdair Gray. Elsewhere, the joy of pickling, a landmark jazz album and…
Pitlochry Festival theatreRichard Baron and Ellie Zeegen's play follows the writer from wide-eyed child discovering nature in rural Scotland to feisty care-home resident The title comes fro…
New Vic, Newcastle-under-LymeIsabella Rossi, making her debut, gives Arthur Berry's drama of working-class life a burst of colour and energy The first word ever spoken on the New Vic stage w…
Various venues, Edinburgh Delightful shows for youngsters include surreally inventive shadowplay and backstage chaos, while Greg Sinclair brings tricky phrases to life using a cake and someo…
Horden Methodist Church, County DurhamEnsemble '84 generate an exhilarating racket in this gutsy rendition of Brecht's play about the thirty years' war The noise is constant. It is in the …
Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh Martin Green's play, set in a village still traumatised by the miners' strike, follows a young musician under pressure from all sides Towards the end of Martin Green'…
Collaboration with Thom Yorke is worth hype in tragedy played with clarity and verve In all the hype around the collaborators on this co-production between the Royal Shakespeare Company and …
Live theatre, NewcastleThe Tyne and Wear Metro is the setting of Emilie Robson's evocative new play about two teen friends but something darker rumbles beneath Emilie Robson's insinuating ne…
Tron theatre, GlasgowA quick-witted trio star in three plays, in roles ranging from an Ulster unionist Homer Simpson to a pandemic prophet If you were the gambling kind, you would have hedge…
Perth theatreTwo working-class lads become modern-day highwaymen in this adaptation of the Scottish film but the plentiful songs slow down the story One of the stories British cinema loves t…
Tron theatre, GlasgowMartin O'Connor's witty and provocative show casts the 18th-century equivalent of the Hitler Diaries in a fresh light Martin O'Connor calls it "the first Outlander effe…
New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme Ambitious adaptation of Powell and Pressburger's romantic fantasy is intelligently rendered, with well-chosen music added to the period mix The propaganda brief…
Ã’ran Mór, GlasgowMasculine pals who shudder at intimacy help grieving addict Donny find viral success and unlikely solace in this brilliant, funny three-hander Your standard group-the…
Loch Ness Monster hunters have included the Chuckle Brothers " and even David Lean. As the Scottish icon is honoured in a new stamp and a stirring musical, we separate the classy from the cr…
Royal Lyceum, EdinburghAdapted from the film, this vibrant show has plenty of joyful foot-stomping, with a star who gives us the raw fragility behind the fanfare If you can't be sentimental …
Pavilion theatre, GlasgowA fine cast capture the emotional damage and inarticulate anger at the lie they have all been sold in this taut no-nonsense production He lies to gain status. His e…
Everyman, LiverpoolBack at the theatre where it premiered in 1986, Willy Russell's play about a midlife voyage of self-discovery retains both its local and universal appeal There is a marvel…
Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonThe new joint boss of the Royal Shakespeare Company makes an impetuous king in Daniel Raggett's production of Marlowe's history play The temptation is to see…
Shakespeare North Playhouse, PrescotElizabeth Godber and Nick Lane relocate Shakespeare's comedy of abstinence to the throbbing heart of 90s hedonism Standards have declined. When Shakespear…
Perth theatre, ScotlandNicola Werenowska's enterprising adaptation tackles DH Lawrence's novel back to front Adapting a novel is rarely straightforward and playwright Nicola Werenowska take…