UK REGIONAL THEATER REVIEWS

Gary Naylor sees an interesting, if ultimately somewhat unsatisfactory, slice of life set amongst the twenty-somethings of London....

Gary Naylor sees a very fine production of one of the most popular plays of the last twenty years, crowned by a superb central performance....

The Birmingham Rep present another exciting Shakespearean production to celebrate 400 years since the great writers' death; this time it was King Lear. Directed by Michael Buffong, this production has the audience gripped from the start....

Gary Naylor sees a high octane, fourth wall smashing, hugely enjoyable production of Shakespeare's much loved comedy...

Gary Naylor sees a musical that starts with a good idea and fades due to a script that lacks the pace and humour to drive the plot forwards....

As part of Fertility Fest, Gareth Farr's new play The Quiet House has its world premiere at Birmingham Rep this week. This co-production - also between Echo Presents and Park Theatre - is the exploration of a happily married couple in their mid-thirties who are desperate to have a child. After years...

The Birmingham Repertory Theatre is transported back to Oxford in the 1950s for Birdsong Productions' new adaptation of Shadowlands. Written by William Nicholson, Shadowlands is based on the unlikely romance between C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham, and follows their first meeting, developing relationship...

Gary Naylor sees a couple of fine introductions to Shakespeare plays aimed at kids, but with more than enough for adults to enjoy no matter how familiar they may be with the sources....

SOUL is billed as the untold story of Marvin Gaye - but it's really a dysfunctional family drama, with one participant who happens to be famous....

Clare Burt shines as an ordinary woman with a big dream in Daniel Evans' goodbye to Sheffield Theatres....

We took a trip back to Planet Seventies at the New Alexandra Theatre as Jackie the Musical swept into town. Based on the book by Mike James, Jackie the Musical follows a forty-something divorcee as she stumbles across her old collection of Jackie magazines and once more seeks their advice about fash...

Gary Naylor sees a fine revival of a play that was of its time in the buttoned up, pre-Beatles 1960s, but has much to say to audiences in 2016....

Birmingham-based company Stan's Cafe have been creating new theatre for 25 years. After successes such as The Just Price of Flowers and The Cardinals, they return to the Rep with their brand new and original production - Made Up. In collaboration with the theatre, Made Up is a story told through a s...

The touring production of Rona Munro's Scottish historical trilogy is an epic achievement....

Gary Naylor sees a play that covers some old ground in old and insensitive ways and concludes that it wasn't the best choice of what was available....

Inspired by the true story of the first South Asian recipient of the Victoria Cross, soldier Khudadad Khan single handedly held off advancing enemy troops at the battle of Ypres (or Wipers) in the First World War, whilst a group of British and South Asian soldiers took refuge in a disused barn. Ishy...

Gary Naylor sees a strange, unsettling but fascinating play set in 1960s France, but it could be anywhere any time....

Gary Naylor sees a new musical which gets plenty right - and one or two things wrong!...

Gary Naylor sees a Lear that resonates more through its political themes than its psychological or sexual elements - and sends a message to us all before the upcoming Referendum....

Gary Naylor sees a much performed cult musical that does its best work in the songs and the memories it brings forward....

Gary Naylor sees a Richard II for today which succeeds largely, if not totally, in its contemporary staging....

Family gatherings and occasions are frequently tarnished by disagreements; none more so than at weddings, christenings and funerals when extended families are often brought together. Joshua Harmon's play Bad Jews takes place following a family funeral and an heirloom belonging to the deceased is bei...

...

With the rise of shows like Bombay Dreams and the smash-hit West End musical Bend It Like Beckham ushering in a new dawn for the British musical, the nation's appetite for Bollywood spectacle shows no signs of slowing. It is from this rich cinematic culture that life-long Bollywood fan and Theatre D...

Gary Naylor sees an occasionally brilliant, occasionally confused new opera about life lived against the clock in the 19th century East End of London....