Harry Secombe

After Covid dealt a stuttering start to the year, 2022 brought some standout shows and performances. Here are some of our critics' highlights from the past twelve months.

2022 started with the UK fighting with Covid's Omicron variant, which was not really conducive to much theatrical mingling. However, much of the theatre world ralied, as it always does, to bring us some juicy shows and sparkling performances.

SPIKE is based on letters between Milligan and his BBC executives. Ian Hislop and his long-time writing partner Nick Newman have created an affectionate and beautifully staged portrait of the often-troubled mind of this comedy genius.

In a fabulously fast-paced and funny tribute to Spike Milligan, writers Ian Hislop and Nick Newman affectionately convey how the extraordinary Anglo-Irishman creates The Goon Show.

A new play documenting the fascinating time in post-war history when Government changed in power from Conservative Prime Minister Winston Churchill to Labour's Clement Attlee, comes to Liverpool's Epstein Theatre this Month.

All new rehearsal photos have been released for the UK tour of Spike. Check out the photos here!

​​​​​​​Full casting has been announced for SPIKE - the comedy by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman that will be visiting Theatre Royal Brighton from Tuesday 11 to Saturday 15 October 2022 as part of a UK tour. 

Ian Hislop and Nick Newman’s new comedy, ‘Spike’, is coming to Darlington Hippodrome with a cast including Gavin and Stacey star Robert Wilfort alongside Mischief Theatre’s Patrick Warner and Jeremy Lloyd. 

Full casting has been announced for SPIKE - the comedy by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman that had its world premiere at The Watermill Theatre Newbury in January, and will be touring the UK from 6 September.

Olivier Award-winning actor John Dagleish (Sunny Afternoon, Farming, The Third Day) will reprise his critically acclaimed role as 'Spike Milligan' this autumn, as SPIKE - the comedy by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman that had its world premiere at The Watermill in January – tours the UK.

ARIA, Logie and Helpmann award winning singer and conductor of the 'choir that stole the Nation's heart' in 2007 - the Choir of Hard Knocks, is returning to the Glasshouse Theatre in his new show I'm Just Wild About Harry, with special guests - the School of Hard Knocks Choir - Port Macquarie Hastings.

All new rehearsal photos have been released for the world premiere of SPIKE, a new comedy by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman. The title role will be played by Olivier Award-winning actor John Dagleish, with Stephen Fry voicing the BBC Announcer at The Watermill from Thursday 27 January – Saturday 5 March.

Details have been announced for the spring season, running from January to May 2022, as well as the appointment of two new Playwrights in Residence.

Glen Street Theatre will present I'm Just Wild About Harry from 11th to 12th April, starring renowned Australian tenor Jonathon Welch AM, best known for his award- winning ABC documentary Choir of Hard Knocks.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that lyricist Herbert Kretzmer has died at age 95. Kretzmer is best known for writing the lyrics to the English musical adaptation of Les Miserables.

Wiltshire Creative is premiering Barney Norris's new adaptation of Lorca's Blood Wedding as part of its spring 2020 season followed by major revivals of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Hay Fever plus star-studded productions of Shirley Valentine and Dial M For Murder.

Following three critically-acclaimed, sold-out seasons on stage in London's West End, Simon Callow (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Shakespeare in Love) brings Charles Dickens' beloved classic A Christmas Carol to the big screen in December 2018. On Tuesday 11 December the stage-to-film adaptation, reimagined especially for cinema, will be released in 444 cinemas across the UK and Ireland by leading event cinema distributors CinemaLive.

The traditional Christmas staple of Charles Dickens' much loved A Christmas Carol, returns this festive season to the West End stage starring Simon Callow, running at the Arts Theatre for a strictly limited season from 8 December to 12 January.

1812 Productions will present An Evening Without The Brits, the newest creation in its long-running An Evening Without… series. An Evening Without The Brits features performances by Philadelphia favorites David Howey, Leonard Haas, Daniel Fredrick, and Tony Lawton in a collection of material spanning three decades of comedy from the UK.

The hugely popular re-imagining of Charles Dickens' festive staple A Christmas Carol, starring Simon Callow and directed by Tom Cairns, will return to the Arts Theatre in London for a strictly limited season from 8 December to 7 January.