UK REGIONAL THEATER REVIEWS

One thing is certain in the world of theatre: there will always be revivals of Gypsy. The combination of Arthur Laurents' layered book, Jule Styne's razzmatazz-filled score and the incisive, character-driven lyrics by Stephen Sondheim has made the show an enduring hit....

Touting themselves as 'The Spice Girls of improv', the team behind Notflix the Improvised Musical certainly knew how to inject some zig-a-zig-ah into the Brighton Fringe as they took the stage in Luna Park at the Caravanserai site this week....

Who broke their foot the last time they were in Peter Pan Goes Wrong? What was it like to work with Neil Patrick Harris? What are American audiences like versus those in the UK? Mischief Makers: Peter Pan Goes Wrong - Broadway Part 1 answers all of these questions and more!...

Nudity, profanity and hilarity: Head First Acrobats present a new holy trinity in Godz as well as an exciting children's show in Arrr We There Yet?!...

Each year Brighton Fringe is home to some of the UK theatre scenes wildest and most unique performances. Make It Mine’s offering is Glad To Be Dead, a cycle of monologues from gothic horrors most notorious characters, waxing philosophical and lamenting their own misfortune, all wrapped up in one h...

In their Fringe hit Godot is a Woman, Silent Faces theatre company explore Beckett and his estate’s refusal to allow women or non-binary people to perform his most famous play through a series of skits and spoofs on the play itself. The show is initially framed through a phone call to the estate w...

Entertaining from first to last, this less well-known play sparkles for three hours and finishes with a heartfelt plea for harmony...

The ever enchanting Watermill Theatre in Newbury could hardly have hoped for more atmospheric weather to mark the opening night of their latest show, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. The distant thunderclaps and bucketing rain seemed perfectly placed to instill a disquieting mood as the audience arrive...

Crowdpleasing production based on the printing of Shakespeare's plays (harder than you think!) makes for a diverting and pleasant couple of hours in the theatre...

For what it's worth, I think Emily Brontë would probably love this new production of her then controversial 19th century novel, Wuthering Heights. ...

Raw, brutal, twisted, and full of rich wordplay, this play makes its political points and highlights a relationship which uses regret, mistakes, and teasing to hide what is really happening at its core. It is less the star-crossed young lovers of Shakespeare than the smack-stained children of a mode...

What’s in a name? That which we call William, Hamlet or Anne still smells as sweet when we see their historical origins in this adaptation by Lolita Chakrabarti of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel....

The theme song to Nickelodeon's super-popular animated series SpongeBob SquarePants encourages you to tune in 'if nautical nonsense be something you wish', and nautical nonsense is definitely what's on offer in this madcap but good-natured musical....

This new adaptation is a playful and charming take on a classic story, but its complexity may not be suitable for very young children...

Touring production of play that explicitly warns of the dangers of politics as practised today loses focus by adopting a curious set of priorities...

Barney Norris wrote his debut play Visitors when he was only twenty years-old. Following its 2014 premiere at the Arcola, it garnered critical acclaim and earned Norris a Critic’s Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright. Following a national tour and Off-West End run at the Bush, Norris returns...

Doran’s latest book gives a revelatory and revolutionary breakdown of the canon in a way that works for both the professional and uninitiated....

A staple of the British stage, Noël Coward’s Hay Fever was inspired by the playwright’s travels in New York meeting an eccentric family. Supposedly, the matriarch wasn’t kind to Coward’s perceptions of their lifestyle, but this comedy of manners still paid off and has become one of his best...

John Steinbeck's 1937 novel, set in California during the Great Depression, may be a period piece, but the parallels with current life in the UK are unmistakable. Dealing with themes of poverty, displacement, prejudice and the desperation for independence, Of Mice and Men makes a timely return to ...

Aptly kicking off its UK Tour in James’ hometown – and that of his protagonist detective Roy Grace – this stage adaptation by Shaun McKenna is capably performed and authentically menacing in its simplicity, but a problem with pacing prevents it from fulfilling its full potential....

Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady is blessed with the sort of songs that never grow old. While the music is timeless, the plot and characters are firmly stuck in 1913, and this revival doesn't do quite enough to endear them to modern audiences....

A bold and accessible Merchant that commits to exposing the antisemitism that suffuses the play...

This new production proves that Mike Leigh's classic black comedy is still as sharp and devastating as ever...

If you’re looking for a wholesome yet hilarious evening out supporting your local theatre, look no further than the UK Tour of Steel Magnolias, which this week hit the Theatre Royal Brighton for its latest stop on tour. ...

Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler has been a vehicle for many actresses to show off their dramatic chops. But when you have Diana Rigg, Ingrid Bergman and Ruth Wilson previously inhabit the titular role, it’s easy to see why. Often dubbed “the female Hamlet,” Ibsen’s titular story breathes new l...