UK REGIONAL THEATER REVIEWS

Gary Naylor sees a wonderfully funny farce blessed with strong performances and a script that packs a punch along with the punchlines....

Gary Naylor sees a play with a tricksy structure and a vagueness in its script that leaves the actors with few places to go....

Gary Naylor sees a funny, contemporary comedy blessed with an Ayckbournesque script and some very fine acting....

Although Christmas may be over, the last of decorations swept away and life returning to normality, Birmingham holds onto the festive spirit for a little while longer. The Birmingham Repertory Theatre's beloved production of The Snowman delights audiences for a nineteenth successive year. ...

The New Alexandra's 2017 season kicks off with Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton. A psychological thriller, in the tradition of the famous Victorian melodramas, Gaslight follows Bella Manningham, who believes she is becoming mentally unstable until she receives a visit from Inspector Rough. The inspector...

Gary Naylor sees a show that generates laughs and shows potential, but doesn't make the most of the setup before the punchline arrives too soon....

Gary Naylor sees a play that rewards repeated viewing, as relevant today as ever and, in this version, performed with subtlety and grace by an excellent cast....

If there is one sure sign that Christmas has truly arrived, it's the inescapable onslaught of the pantomime season. Theatres across the country ring to the shouts of 'he's behind you', the boos and hisses, and the singalong family favourites. Often acclaimed as the UK's biggest pantomime, Birmingham...

Annie Get Your Gun is another crowd-pleasing musical from Sheffield Theatres, featuring a winning performance from Anna-Jane Casey and showcasing many of Irving Berlin's finest songs....

Gary Naylor sees a show sure to enchant all the family, a theatrical production every bit as good as its celebrated animated predecessor....

In a welcome break from the usual steady stream of pantomimes and children's productions, the New Alexandra Theatre takes a trip back to the Roaring Twenties this Christmas with Chicago. However, similar to many pantos, this production features a star-studded cast, including Hayley Tamaddon, John Pa...

Gary Naylor sees a loyal, committed adaptation of CS Lewis's once celebrated novel that fails to ignite fully as drama, but works well as polemic....

When taking a work as well-known as Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen to the stage, the challenge is how to adapt and present the material in such a way that feels new and exciting....

This show is the perfect antidote to the celebrity stuffed pantos offered up by more commercial outfits. The show demonstrates that Christmas shows don't have to be formulaic or even familiar. They can be wonderfully inventive pieces of storytelling every bit as worthy as the rest of the years progr...

J.M. Barrie's classic story about the boy who never grows up is always a popular production at Christmas, with its magical plot, engaging characters and depiction of the melancholic journey through adolescence, certain to ensure a warm and magical sentiment in readiness for the festive season....

Gary Naylor sees a show that delivers traditional Christmas laughs and spectacle from the modern master of the form, writer Eric Potts....

Gary Naylor sees a new play about an old problem turning up in new forms - loneliness. This time in the 21st century....

Gary Naylor sees an innovative and thought-provoking play from South America that has plenty to say about fathers, and about theatre too....

Originally commissioned by the National Theatre two years ago, Bryony Lavery's adaptation of Treasure Island swings into the Birmingham Rep for a lengthy Christmas run. This classic tale of adventure, buried treasure and dastardly pirates follows Jim Hawkins on a voyage to find the lost treasure of ...

The annual spectacular pantomime at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh has built a reputation for being one of the best in the country, and this year's production of Jack and the Beanstalk does not disappoint. From start to finish, it is a feast of laughter, music, colour and fun, and is sure to deligh...

Making the European premiere of Peter and the Starcatcher the not-panto Christmas show in Northampton's Royal Theatre may well have been an inspired move by the powers-that-be at Royal and Derngate. There are no soap stars, celebrities or Britain's Got Talent competitors here, but it does feel like ...

The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry has teamed up again with Imagine Theatre and panto veteran Iain Lauchlan this year to create a brand new production of Dick Whittington - a very popular title choice in the Midlands this year it seems! Remarkably busy for a school night, there was a very good mixture...

Gary Naylor sees a magical Christmas show that sets up the festive season even for an old Bah Humbug! man like him....

Gary Naylor sees a diverting, if not wholly convincing, revival of a dark comedy-thriller set in a 1920 GP practice in Glasgow....

Gary Naylor sees a pantomime that pushes all the traditional panto buttons without distracting gimmicks....