UK REGIONAL THEATER REVIEWS

Three short plays introduce the writing of BS Johnson, a revered man of English letters whose influence resonates through the last 50 years....

Ionesco's absurd theatre brought to life in a handsome production that is full of wit and humour, but never loses its avant garde character....

Snow in Midsummer is a modern retelling of an ancient Chinese drama, which marks the start of an ambitious cultural project translating Eastern classics into English, and Shakespeare into Chinese. The original 13th century play, by Guan Hanqing, bears all the hallmarks of traditional Chinese drama, ...

Swifties examines the obsessive nature of fandom, as dress-up and role play turns into something much more sinister in this reinvention of Jean Genet's The Maids....

Hamlet anew in this technology infused but oh so human production of Shakespeare's great tragedy in which Andrew Scott gives us a warm, flawed, and eventually mad Prince....

The Cherry Orchard retains its power to reach across decades and tell us harsh truths about a changing world....

Edinburgh's Southern Light Opera Company rises to the challenge of staging Maury Yeston's award-winning musical, in an ambitious production with a cast of 90 and orchestra of 27....

This seasons offering from Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory is a story of politics, love and being an outsider in a world that mistrusts you....

The 2012 National Theatre adaptation of Mark Haddon's best-selling novel embarks on its second UK tour, and is compelling, thought-provoking and exceptionally well-performed....

Max Gill's clever adaptation of this classic play brings it right up to date, into the world of Tinder and Grindr and fluid sexual identities....

Intense and focused, this adaptation of Dostoyevsky's celebrated novel ratchets up the tension without losing the material's intellectual heft....

It's 1922, and young Millie Dillmount arrives in New York from a small town in Kansas, ready to take control of her destiny and make her fortune by marrying well. After all, the modern marriage is a business affair. Skirts get shorter, heels get higher and hair is bobbed flapper style, making Millie...

This new musical from Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae fizzes with energy and warmth - a must-see!...

Anyone Can Whistle is a rare combination of a well-deserved flop and a must-see show. Swallow the myriad flaws, and its an entertaining, sharp and eerily prophetic show....

The Strictly Tour has now been an annual fixture in fans' calendars for ten years. Each time the casual enthusiast mentally prepares themselves for a some full on fluff and scripted joviality but on this opening night at Wembley, this relentlessly joyful show was full of heart which is exactly what ...

The show has bags of potential, passion to burn and excellent singing, but is let down by a pedestrian book and sprawling subplots....

Based on the 1948 film of the same name, starring Moira Shearer, Matthew Bourne's production of The Red Shoes tells the story of ballerina Victoria Page and her tragic struggle between love and duty. Both the film and Matthew Bourne's production are inspired by Han Christian Andersen's fairytale of ...

This one-off cinema presentation is a great way to see Newsies The Broadway Musical and get a feel for what it's like to be in a big New York audience....

Run The Beast Down creates a world collapsing psychologically and socially as the foxes, real and metaphorical, close in on Charlie....

Contemporary and hard-hitting, Alex MacKeith's debut, School Play, doesn't quite add up to the sum of its parts....

Impressively designed in a wonderful space, Theatre Lab Company's Salome isn't quite compelling enough as entertainment nor thought-provoking enough as polemic....

Gary Naylor sees a new adaptation of an old favourite that hits the mark with broad appeal, plenty of laughs and fine songs....

Set in a trendy warehouse flat in Peckham, What's In A Name follows the ups and downs of a friendly dinner party. Ill-timed jokes, secrets long hidden and a clash of ideologies take place amidst the backdrop of a familiar setting of cheap rose and the cries of children interrupting adult conversatio...

Gary Naylor sees a play that examines the failures of the social experiment of Skelmersdale, a 60s council mega estate stuck between Liverpool and Wigan...