UK REGIONAL THEATER REVIEWS

It was recently announced that Federico Fellini's film masterpiece La Strada has been restored and is set to receive a nationwide reissue, but it's also being given a new life on the stage in this touring production, which captures both the charm and grittiness of the original....

Divine Chaos Of Starry Things is so concerned about the politics of revolution, colonialism and feminism that the stuff of drama is lost....

The stage adaptation of a second book from the Peter James detective thriller series DS Grace serves as a reminder that not all popular novels transfer seamlessly to the stage....

Jessica Swale's play about the unlikely heroine who went from lowly orange seller to national treasure features a stand-out titular performance by Laura Pitt-Pulford....

It's back to the 90s at the King's Head for a show brimming with that decade's biggest hits sung wonderfully well....

Macbeth's grim pursuit of power, with his Lady prompting and then agonising in the background, is brought to life in this low budget, committed production....

Edinburgh Music Theatre's return to the King's Theatre doesn't disappoint, with Bock's music and Harnick's lyrics portrayed clearly and passionately....

Alexandra Burke leads a strong ensemble in director Craig Revel Horwood's re-imagining of the hit West End and Broadway musical, which features a tuneful score by Alan Menken....

Honk! is a musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling with an important message about bullying gently sugar-coated with musical numbers and light comedy....

The Mutant Man is a fractured, multi-layered telling of a true story of a man who was born as a woman and how his treatment at the hands of an exploitative, unenlightened society led to tragedy....

Exeter based Le Navet Bete have teamed up with the Exeter Northcott Theatre to present a unique play about the world's most famous vampire. Entitled Dracula: The Bloody Truth the company, which specialises in physical theatre, has stumbled upon a surefire hit with their adaptation, coupling some gho...

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's latest ambitious venture is a visually stunning production of Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Tim Rice's hit 1980s pop musical....

Adam & Eve... and Steve has a bit of panto, a bit of the Edinburgh Fringe and a whole lot of great songs, but not quite the musical chops to reach its full potential....

The complexities of the mother and son relationship are not easy to depict. The unwavering unconditional love and a mother's need to defend her boy against all foes can become creepily like the ancient Greek story of Oedipus if not handled correctly and Kay Mellor's A Passionate Woman, which is curr...

Birmingham Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere production of One Love: The Bob Marley Musical. Written and directed by Kwame Kwei Armah, this brand new musical is so much more than a juke-box style tribute act. Set across a dramatic period in the music legend's life, we see Bob Marley caug...

The Edinburgh Gilbert & Sullivan Society's latest venture combines sparkling performances, modern references and excellent sound design in one of G&S's less well known comic operas....

Philip Ridley's dystopian nightmare has moments of poetry and humour but is ultimately just too relentlessly grim and must be endured rather than enjoyed....

Naples is brought to London, as we track the extraordinary lives of Lila and Lenu in an adaptation of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels that overreaches itself....

Threesome is often crude, sometimes boldly empowering and occasionally shows a glimpse of something more sophisticated emerging, but ultimately falls a little short on laughs....

Extraordinary, astonishing, unmissable five star production that brings three of Shakespeare's plays up to date in an electrifying production that should not be missed....

After Party sees tensions, long since buried, bubble to the surface, as one of the old gang returns from prison to settle old scores and reclaim what he believes to be his....

Seventeen captures a cathartic moment in young people's lives - the last day at school - but does not reach its potential due to a largely lacklustre script....

Known for his strong female characters, from Educating Rita to Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers, Willy Russell's Shirley Valentine stands head and shoulders above his other work as an in depth exploration of what it was really like to be a woman in the 1980s. Transporting the audience from her kitche...

Wisdom of a Fool resurrects the much loved Norman Wisdom in Jack Lane's respectful and entertaining show that charts his rags-to-riches story....

Handbagged imagines what was said by Mrs Thatcher and The Queen in their weekly meetings to hilarious effect in Moira Buffini's award-winning satire....