UK REGIONAL THEATER REVIEWS

Camden's Invisible Dot Club brings its irreverent mix of stand-up and sketch comedy to the Manchester International Festival's central hub for the Invisible Dot Club Cabaret. But despite strong hosting from Mae Martin, it could not live up to high expectations set by The Invisible Dot Club....

Manchester's newest arts centre, HOME's inaugural contribution to the Manchester International Festival is Douglas Gordon's reworking of Little Red Riding Hood told as a piece of performance art. Neck of the Woods shows off all the capabilities of Homes intimate main theatre as it combines poetry, p...

Gary Naylor sees a supercharged political black comedy, 50 years old, but as fresh as if it were written on 6 May 2015 delivered by a cast well up to its considerable demands....

It's twenty one years since Caryl Churchill's surrealist The Skriker first premiered at the National Theatre. This superb revival, one of the headline performances at the Manchester International Festival, highlights how this cautionary tale of environmental disaster has become more and more prescie...

The Christie classic continues its extensive national tour...

Gary Naylor sees a play that explores the impact of early success and the clash of egos as Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier joust for influence....

Lucy Prebble's 2012 play makes its regional debut in a must-see Sheffield Theatres production....

Peter James is synonymous when referring to crime fiction. Following the acclaim received by the stage adaptation of A Perfect Murder last year, Dead Simple is the next novel to receive the same treatment (adapted by Shaun McKenna). The book was an overnight sensation and is now a number one best-se...

Gary Naylor enjoys a wildly entertaining adaptation of one of Rossini's early operas, relocated to Las Vegas and coming to a venue near you....

Teddy is the newest production at the Southwark Playhouse's The Large venue, from promising duo composer Dougal Irvine and playwright Tristan Bernays. Set in 1956 on a Saturday night in Elephant and Castle, Teddy and Josie are hoping for a night to remember and with superstar Johnny Valentine in tow...

Gary Naylor sees a play about a father and a son, about two engineers, about the city that we live in today - staged in the most extraordinary of venues....

Gary Naylor sees a marvellous performance of Ruddigore, fast becoming his favourite Gilbert and Sullivan, the magnificent songs given full value....

Gary Naylor sees an execrable play within a very funny play with echoes of The Play That Goes Wrong and even Fawlty Towers....

Gary Naylor sees an adaptation of a celebrated book that lacks the clarity and pace that musical theatre demands, despite plenty of endeavour....

Gary Naylor sees a gender-flipped Taming of the Shrew that would benefit from further focus on its two lead lovers (and fighters)....

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Nominated for seven 'Offies' and 'Best Off West End Production' at the 2012 Whatsonstage Awards, Climar Productions' 2011 production of Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story moved to the Charing Cross Theatre for a very successful run before being revived in 2014 for the Edinburgh Fringe where it wo...

Sheffield Theatres' take on the Austen classic is well-staged and very funny, but perhaps lacks a slight sparkle of romance....

Jim Cartwright's play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice opened to great acclaim at the National Theatre in 1992 before transferring into the West End....

Gary Naylor sees a comedy drama with an edge as hard as the coal that used to be hewn from the pits beneath the village in which it is set....

I've just seen a news headline saying that a cougar has been seen loose around town. Turned out it was referring to a town in California and not the stars of Cougar the Musical which has just opened at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry for its UK premiere, following two very successful years playing ...

Gary Naylor sees an intense drama, performed in the UK for the first time, that shows how imbalances of power can lead to abuse, but also to a kind of cynical deal that benefits those willing to settle....

Brighton-based theatre company Talking Scarlet are building up an increasing repertoire of stage productions and there are currently four of their shows on the road. The play I had the pleasure of seeing last night was The Ghost Train by Arnold Ridley. A comedy thriller written in 1923; it has been ...

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels opened to critical acclaim in the West End last April. It's taken a while to cross the pond having opened on Broadway over a decade ago but now UK-wide audiences are at last able to enjoy this production, having opened at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham last night. Th...

Gary Naylor sees a man he feels he knows well (through over 60 years of diaries) brought to life in a warm tribute with just enough edge to show that he mattered....