UK REGIONAL THEATER REVIEWS

As one of the final so called mega-musicals of the 1980s, Miss Saigon could be forgiven if it felt a little dated by 2018. Thankfully, there's not one bit of tiredness about this re-booted version, originally seen in London in 2014 for its 25th Anniversary....

What craic! The Humours of Bandon is a delightful peek into the world of Irish Dancing Championships. Written and performed by Margaret McAuliffe and directed by Stefanie Preissner, this one-woman show tells the story of schoolgirl Annie over the course of a few years as she juggles schoolwork and n...

Ramps on the Moon and Nottingham Playhouse present a powerful, creative and timely take on Timberlake Wertenbaker's play....

Weimar Cabaret delivered with talent, humour and fear to burn!...

The journey of an asylum seeker is a harrowing one, especially if it's your family and old identity you are fleeing....

A slice of working class life that tickles the funny bone and pulls at the heartstrings, but never quite resolves its structural issues....

Those of us who have played strategy computer games will be familiar with the frustration of coming across locked doors, retracing our steps and getting lost in a virtual world. A House Repeated plunges the audience into a virtual Brighton Dome and we are encouraged to 'explore' by the two guides/na...

Guillem Clua's new play is a serious examination of how love finds expression differently, beautifully translated and acted with great sensitivity - a thought-provoking and ultimately uplifting production....

Cumbernauld Musical Theatre Society bring their first staged musical to Cumbernauld Theatre only a year after the Society's inception. Audiences can expect spooks, laughs and a ridiculously catchy score in this loveable monster of a musical....

For their third production this season, the Everyman company tackles Shakespeare's enduring tragedy based upon lies, jealously and power....

A Lionel Bart post-Oliver! flop given a new book and a huge injection of energy just makes you feel happy - and ain't that a good thing!...

Noel Coward's comic play Present Laughter is said to be his most autobiographical work, dealing with the complexities of a life of fame in the theatre world. It tells of the mischief and misery of actor Garry Essendine (an anagram of 'neediness', as the programme note points out), his household staf...

Moormaid takes on a contemporary issue - the return to Europe of young men who fought in Syria - but fails to build characters in whom we can believe despite some fine acting....

There's an old rocking chair with a threadbare cushion in the corner of small living room near Brooklyn Bridge, New York. In it sits Eddie Carbone, our tragic hero, reading the paper. He smells of coffee from the sacks he's been unloading at the docks. A hard-working man providing for his wife Beatr...

How much are we willing to sacrifice for the pursuit of truth and justice? Terence Rattigan's The Winslow Boy explores this thorny question....

The Golden F**king Years is a beautifully observed and acted farce that finds plenty of comedy in the tedium of ageing and the sudden opportunity of a bit of excitement - and the consequences that inevitably follow....

A play and accompanying exhibition about a renowned Indian singer, the eponymous Gauhar Jaan, and 'an incident' that gained infamy across India in the early 20th century....

The premise sounds promising: a brand new jukebox musical featuring the music of Dusty Springfield. Written by Warner Brown and directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, Son of a Preacher Man opened in Bromley in September 2017 and is currently touring the UK....

Pop music and musicals make good bedfellows for two main reasons. Firstly, pop music has a kind of duality - a song can mean entirely different things in different contexts. Secondly, pop music normally has just the right amount of sentimentality. The Band is a demonstration of how to harness both t...

Tennessee Williams' 1947 classic A Streetcar Named Desire explores the visceral side of human nature: violence, desire, power, loneliness and guilt. Winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1948, it's been adapted multiple times for stage and screen and is widely held as one of the greatest plays of the 20th ...

What a feeling! What an evening! The 80s film-musical adaption trend is alive and well. In addition to Fame, Footloose and more, fans of the iconic poppy music era can catch the 1983 classic Flashdance during its current UK tour, which currently plays the Theatre Royal in Brighton....

The song-writing partnership of Carole King and Gerry Goffin was such a formidable force in the sixties that even Lennon and McCartney often spoke about wanting to emulate them. It's with this partnership then, that Beautiful: The Carol King Musical spends most of it's time....

A powerful, perhaps even necessary, play that doesn't always succeed dramatically but can be forgiven for the boldness of its narrative and unflinching take on a divided city in a divided nation....

Once again, a fine production from Arrows & Traps theatre that reminds me, were it necessary, that if you can see Chekhov, you should....

Robert Hastie's take on Peter Gill's tale of north/south love is sympathetic and emotional, with a beautiful lead performance from Ben Batt....