Originally written in 1941 by Bertolt Brecht, The Good Person of Szechwan was first performed in 1943 – and this year celebrates its 80th birthday with an update by Nina Segal.
‘A celebration of hard won opportunity that must never be torn away’: WALDO’S CIRCUS OF MAGIC & TERROR – Touring
Waldo’s Circus of Magic and Terror is advertised as a new musical, and it does have songs in, but it also has much more. To me, it feels like a play with music, dance, creative access design, and circus acrobatics mixed together. And the combination is very effective. The show is powerful, with funny moments, beautiful moments, and devastatingly sad moments as it reminds us of terrible things that have happened to people who are considered ‘different’ through history.
‘Powerful & thought-provoking’: FOX – Touring
Following a run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2019, and a Covid-induced hiatus, Katie Guicciardi’s FOX is finally out on tour. Inspired by real-life events, this witty one-hander offers a candid insight into the isolation of new motherhood. Mummy joined a room full of tiny humans and their grown-ups for a baby-friendly performance of FOX at Greenwich Theatre.
‘Tip your hat & get down there’: GUYS & DOLLS – Bridge Theatre ★★★★★
Daniel Mays has played a lot of tough-guy roles but has by nature a rather innocent and worried-looking face. It is this quality that Nicholas Hytner spotted as perfect for his Nathan Detroit in Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre: lowlife but hapless, indecisive about the faff and cost of marrying his tolerant fiancee of 14 years standing, Miss Adelaide (an irresistible Marisha Wallace).
‘Let critics sniff, audiences will leave feeling cheerful’: THE TIME MACHINE – Touring
The script for Time Machine by Steven Canny and John Nicholson takes the 19 century novella as a springboard for a three-person meta-theatrical romp in show-goes-wrong style, the fourth wall abolished and the audience primed for involvement.
‘Moving & bittersweet’: THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO – Touring ★★★★★
The Way Old Friends Do is a brand new play written by Ian Hallard and directed by Mark Gatiss. It tells the story of two Birmingham school friends who meet up 30 years later and, after some reminiscing about old times and their mutual love of all things ABBA, decide it’s the perfect time to form the world’s first ABBA tribute – in drag.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: The Merchant of Venice 1936 – Touring
Love London Love Culture’s Emma Clarendon discovers what critics have been saying about Brigid Larmour and Tracy-Ann Oberman’s new production of The Merchant of Venice 1936, currently on tour.
‘The technical side is amazing’: Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image Saves the World – Birmingham
Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image Saves the World at Birmingham Rep may lack the satirical bite of the original series, but that could be because everyone is so unredeemingly awful without having to be made worse.
‘There are a lot of good lines here’: JUMPING THE SHARK – Touring
SITCOMS MADE US, BUT CAN WE MAKE THEM? It’s a very good idea, bang on the money: David Cantor and Michael Kingsbury (TV sitcom writers with a pedigree) set their play in a bland provincial hotel where five … Continue reading →
‘Joe Absolom & Ben Onwukwe have a great partnership’: THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION – Touring ★★★★
Based on the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, but probably better known from the 1994 film starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, the stage adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption (written by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns, directed by David Esbjornson) is currently touring the country. This production stars Ben Onwukwe as Red, and Joe Absolom as Andy Dufresne.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image Saves the World at Birmingham Rep
Find out what is being said about the world premiere stage adaptation based on the TV series: Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image Saves The World at Birmingham Rep.
‘The cast brings the classic to life with precision & confidence’: HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES – Salisbury ★★★★★
Alan Ayckbourn’s play How The Other Half Loves is the perfect comedy entertainment to brighten up a winter’s evening. Three couple’s lives and marriages entwine. It’s the morning after the night before and two have been playing away from home. There’s no mystery about who they are from the start of the play develops around their secret coming out.
‘Entertaining & enchanting’: THE KING & I – Touring ★★★★
A gem of classic musical theatre, The King and I is in top form as it embarks on a sparkling UK tour. Brimming with humour and character growth, Bartlett Sher’s production is a less menacing version of the show which still provides all you could ask for in a night out at the theatre.
‘Lots of touching moments & excellent comedic timing’: JUMPING THE SHARK – Touring
Have you ever fancied creating your own comedy? Jumping the Shark explores just that, while unearthing the trauma, mix ups and relationships of five eager writers. The new comedy by David Cantor and Michael Kingsbury begins in a bland conference room in a hotel on the outskirts of Farnham.
‘Showcasing the human spirit in the face of adversity’: GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY – Touring ★★★★★
The years following the 1929 Wall Street Crash left many Americans (and the rest of the world) facing economic hardship – a state of affairs that lasted right up until the Second World War. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the parallels between the events from nearly 100 years ago with what is happening today, with people trying to eke out a living during these depressed times. Esteemed playwright and director Conor McPherson uses this backdrop for the show Girl from the North Country, which is currently touring the UK at the moment.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Head Over Heels at the Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
We take a look at what is being said about the European premiere of the musical Head Over Heels, playing at the Manchester based Hope Mill Theatre until 4 March.
‘This isn’t your typical murder mystery’: REBUS: A GAME CALLED MALICE – Hornchurch
DI John Rebus has retired, but his mind is never far from the job – even when he’s been invited as a plus one to a swanky dinner party. Rebus: A Game Called Malice takes the detective off the streets of Edinburgh and into the realms of Agatha Christie’s famous sleuths; this new play (currently in a short run at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch) has been written by Ian Rankin and Simon Reade, and sees John Michie follow in the footsteps of John Hannah and Ken Stott as the titular character.
‘Funny, soul-destroying & entertaining’: TEECHERS LEAVERS ’22– Touring
Everyone remembers that ‘one’ teacher who helped inspire, encourage, or left a lasting impression during their school years. Equally, we all remember the ones who you dreaded encountering too. John Godber’s writing in Teechers encapsulates these experiences brilliantly. From the inspiirational new drama teacher, and “stuffy” mathematics teacher to the “prissy” stuck-up PE teacher.
‘Stunning piece of theatre’: Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby –Touring ★★★★★
Atmospheric, menacing, hypnotic and beautifully danced, Rambert Dance stormed into Hull New Theatre in Peaky Blinders The Redemption of Thomas Shelby. A Rambert production in association with Birmingham Hippodrome written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and choreographed and directed by Benoit Swan Pouffer is a stunning piece of theatre.
‘One to admire but not quite to love’: Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of The Dead – Touring ★★★★
A Complicite show is event theatre. Previous works such as A Disappearing Number, An Encounter and The Master and Margarita are locked in a pantheon of the great works of my lifetime. So, it’s no surprise to learn that I admired their latest work Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of The Dead immeasurably. What I didn’t do, was fall for it.