UK REGIONAL THEATER REVIEWS

When a show begins with a content warning about balloons, '80s music and danger, you know you’re in for an interesting one. The Giant Balloon Show, performed by Dizzy O’Dare, mixes balloon tricks with a playlist from the 1980s to make a show for all ages, but there’s one catch - the actual gia...

An unmissable evening of beautiful words from Thomas Hardy (read by National Treasure Anton Lesser) and music from Orchestra of the Swan at Stonehenge....

PEAR: Phobia makes quite the interesting promise to its audience. Patrick and Hugo McPherson, 6’7” identical twins, proclaim that, by the end of the show, there will be no more fear in the world. Take that, Fleabag....

Glenda & Rita: Live has a simple concept - Glenda Swing and Rita Herringbone, two former movie stars, are moving from the screen to the stage in an attempt to win back the fame that has faded for them. The catch? They’re still stuck in the world of black-and-white. Literally....

The City of Ladies, described as an “offbeat comedy exploring the radical ladies of the past through puppetry, drag, and special hats,” has quite the unique premise. Two muses, Ladies Rectitude and Reason, visit a medieval woman named Christine de Pizan, who is struggling with what it means to b...

Written and performed by Fay Downie, Puck: A Fairy’s Tale gives a backstory to the sprite from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the servant of Oberon who loves to pull pranks and cause chaos. Downie is joined creatively by Olivia Mace, who takes on both the role of director and dramatu...

The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show has quite a fun concept for a Fringe show - audience members are greeted with a croissant, a strawberry and a choice of a hot drink before taking their seats for the performance. Instead of just being one play in an hour, audiences see multiple “bite-size” ten-mi...

The Elmer Adventure, inspired by David McKee’s beloved patchwork elephant, bursts onto the stage with a kaleidoscope of colour and charm....

If theatre is, at its best, a mirror held up to society then The Ladyboys of Bangkok offers that reflection in rhinestones, feather boas, and a kaleidoscope of pop anthems....

There’s something quietly powerful about Have You Met Stan?, a new original musical by Bart Thiede, that has just had its final show at the Brighton Fringe. Set within the everyday hum of a pub, this Irish-Polish queer love story has sincerity and charm as it delves into the meet-cute between Seá...

In Split Ends, writer-performer Claudia Schnier blurs the lines between autobiography and artifice with an intensity that lingers long after the house lights come up. Billed as a part-stand-up, part-puppetry piece, this visceral one-woman show defies easy categorisation—and that’s part of its po...

Opera buffa is an ever-popular genre of the art, and more than two centuries after its composition, Rossini's Il barbière di Siviglia remains one this genre's most often staged operas. The music and lyrics are pure genius, but the success of this particular opera comes from an inherent understand...

Wummy is the tale of a wannabe 'yummy-mummy' who is broke, sharing a flat with undesirable housemmates...and absolutely certain she was destined for more. We follow her quest to manifest the dream life - complete with a Chelsea townhouse, doting husband, and of course a bouncing baby - but when the...

Brighton Fringe is the perfect breeding ground for improvisational comedy, and there’s plenty of it scattered across the city. At The Quadrant—a venue that has become a staple part of the festival each year—comedian Samantha Day took to the stage to ask one very big question: Which generation ...

“Stories are always being put through the wash, and end up with a sock in there which was never there before.” It’s an old sentiment, the idea that mythological tradition is fluid by its very nature, but somehow, in the hands of Remythed’s company, it feels new....

In You're So F**king Croydon!, writer-performer Katie Hurley dives headfirst into the question: can where you're from dictate who you become? The result is a riotous, nostalgia-drenched journey through adolescence and early adulthood, brimming with bold energy and brutal honesty....

As someone who first got into the world of British Comedy through Mischief Theatre, particularly The Play That Goes Wrong, it has been quite the fascinating journey to travel back in time through the history of British comedy, including the iconic Noises Off, which has opened at New Wolsey Theatre i...

The sweet isn't sweet enough and the bitter not bitter enough in a touring production where the pacing's slow and the laughs don't readily come....

Ed Mulvey: Pregnant Gollum is self-described as “next wave feminist nerd comedy from the Elon Musk of emotions,” so, as one can imagine, audiences are in for quite a few interesting opinions being shared by Mulvey on stage. The poster for the show is interesting as well, with Mulvey holding his ...

Walking into The Secret Society in the basement of The Walrus pub definitely feels like you’re about to join a cult - and that’s exactly what it is. Audience members are given a coloured sash with a letter painted on as well as a card, being instructed to not reveal its contents to anyone until ...

Acaprov: The Improvised A Cappella Musical has quite the interesting concept - a group of performers will put on a fully-improvised musical based on audience suggestions, with the music being, as one might guess from the title, completely a cappella....

Comics vs Kids has a title that exactly describes the show itself - it’s a battle of wits between comedians and children to prove who is the funniest and cleverest of the bunch. Host Nik Coppin begins by explaining the concept of a Fringe Festival to the children in the audience, which is a lovely...

The Koala Who Could is a bestselling children’s book by Rachel Bright and Jim Field, which has been Adapted and Directed for theatre by Emma Earle. Production Company Nicholl Entertainment is known for their expertise in large-scale puppetry and the adaptation does not disappoint, with lively expr...

Sophie McCartney: One Foot In The Rave opens with a montage of moments from McCartney’s childhood with “Forever Young” playing in the background. It’s a sweet moment that immediately transitions into rave music, setting the tone for the rest of the show as McCartney dances onto the stage to ...

It’s been seven years since the X Factor graced our screens, and at least a decade since the ITV talent show behemoth was actually culturally relevant. Nonetheless, satirical circus show Showdown demonstrates that there’s still a healthy nostalgic appetite for comedy that skewers the show’s cl...