Tim Wright - Page 4

In our new series, BroadwayWorld UK writers nominate the shows they'd love to see revived!

A looming European referendum, a Labour party internally divided and drastic spending cuts. You could be forgiven for thinking that James Graham's This House is set just a few years ago. In fact, we're back in 1974 with a hung parliament and another election seemingly imminent.

Charting the rise of Cilla Black's pop career is tough ask for a musical. She may have been an entertainer of superlative quality, but she lacks the back catalogue that is the engine room of similar jukebox style shows.

The Bristol Old Vic has opened it's 'Year of Change' in spectacular fashion in this riveting new translation of Chekhov's final play The Cherry Orchard.

Setting a musical in 1960s Baltimore against a backdrop of increasing racial tension between white and black American's doesn't exactly scream feelgood musical. Yet Hairspray manages to achieve a rare thing- a musical with all the schmaltz you could want but with just enough of a message stop you forgetting it.

There were more than a few raised eyebrows when the all new Factory Company from Tobacco Factory Theatres announced it's first play would be a Shakespeare. Having moved the acclaimed Shakespeare at The Tobacco Factory company from their usual Spring slot to accommodate its inaugural season, it seemed strange to then open with a Shakespeare- an area that this theatre seemed to have all sewn up. 

Families are tricky things. They have the capacity to love and frustrate us like no one else. It is little wonder they provide such a rich vein for dramatists. In Andrew Bovell's Things I Know To Be True we're with the Price family who have four grown up children, all at different stages of flying the nest.

Tim Wright reflects on drama schools charging fees for auditions

I loved Hamilton when I saw it. I paid £57.50 for a seat in the middle of the top tier of the newly refurbed Victoria Palace Theatre. It was pretty expensive, but I made my peace with it. The show was everything I wanted it to be.

Touring West End shows have a dicey history. They used to have a reputation for being the poorer cousin of their London counterparts, featuring chopped-down sets and losing most of their star casts somewhere by the M25.

Created last year under Emma Rice's tenure at Shakespeare's Globe The Little Matchgirl and Other Happier Tales arrives in Bristol after a much heralded run in London.

As the sole pantomime in Bristol, Aladdin (from pantomime giants Qdos Entertainment) has a lot resting on its shoulders for families this festive season. For some, Christmas at the theatre means panto and they're unlikely to feel short changed by this big budget offering.

Stepping into the Tobacco Factory Theatre this Christmas and you're immediately transported to an eerie forest in rural France for a re-telling of this classic French fairy tale.

My name is Matty Butler and I like foxes . We're told the reaction to foxes is often similar to people with Down's syndrome like Matty. Some people think they're cute, some think they shouldn't be there. After the success of previous production Up Down Boy, we're back with Matty and his family but this time Matty is not a boy, but a man. Matty may share many of the best child-like qualities but he's now 29 and wants a boyfriend.

Kneehigh's latest show The Tin Drum defies categorisation. Part love story, part political thriller. Part play, part musical. It is therefore like most Kneehigh work: anarchic. And I think director Mike Shepherd and writer Carl Grose would consider that a job well done. As Grose writes in one memorable song viva la complexity .

People in the grip of an addiction can be difficult to watch but hard to look away from, and so it proves in People Places & Things now on tour after a successful West End stint. Watching the self destructive Emma pull herself apart in order to put herself back together makes for compulsive viewing.

War Horse is nothing short of phenomenon. What started as an unlikely idea in the bowels of the National Theatre has become a worldwide hit. Last night, it celebrated its 10-year anniversary at the Bristol Hippodrome and on this evidence, is as fresh and vibrant as when it first galloped over the NT Olivier stage over a decade ago.

It's nearly that time of year (oh no it's not etc.) where we preview the Christmas theatre offerings across Bristol and Bath. We've got pantos, fairy tales and classic stories a plenty, so grab a mince pie while you ponder what to see this festive period.

There's always a place for upbeat escapism in musical theatre. When times are tough, a few numbers that wriggle their way into your consciousness is a welcome thing.

Myrtle Theatre Company is renowned for its ground-breaking work that is influenced and inspired by the voices in society that often go unheard. In recent times, the company has enjoyed a special relationship with Nathan Bessell- a performer with Down's syndrome who was the star and inspiration for Up Down Boy (which toured and had a stint at the National Theatre) and the upcoming revival of it's sequel Up Down Man.