MERCURY THEATRE COLCHESTER

by Caroline Cronin - May 22, 2026

A difficult watch at times, and not without its flaws, but ultimately a thoughtful and inventive addition to the Brighton Fringe. ...

by Aliya Al-Hassan - May 22, 2026

Tosca is Giacomo Puccini's fast-paced thriller of an opera; brimming with tension and political intrigue. For many it is Puccini's best work, yet incredibly it has never been staged at Glyndebourne. Until now. It is a show of firsts all round: the first mainstage production for director Ted Huffman...

by Aliya Al-Hassan - May 20, 2026

Author John Le Carré famously banned stage versions of his work, and he may well have felt quietly vindicated with his decision having seen David Eldridge's adaptation of his third book, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Jeremy Herrin directs a cinematic and darkly-tinged production that ends u...

by Caroline Cronin - May 15, 2026

​​​​​​​What if you were forced to spend eternity with your ex? That’s the deliciously awkward premise behind For The Record, in which former lovers David and Nancy reunite in a kind of musical purgatory to revisit their relationship — and wrestle with the question of what might hav...

by Aliya Al-Hassan - May 19, 2026

It is now a few days since I left Treowen, a gorgeous 17th century Manor House set in the even-more-gorgeous Welsh countryside and I am still processing the experience. To call Lemon Difficult's The Key of Dreams simply an 'immersive experience' is to sell it very short. Where else can you spend 24...

by Cheryl Markosky - May 15, 2026

While The Winter's Tale's regarded as a play of two halves (set in Sicilia and Bohemia), former Royal Shakespeare Company director Greg Doran's poignant and absorbing Walking Shadow is a book of two halves....

by Gary Naylor - May 11, 2026

Sixty years ago, pirate radio floated on a diet of great pop, but was sunk by a spoilsport government. That said, its spirit lived on - and still does today!...

by Caroline Cronin - May 09, 2026

How To Survive and Thrive in an Impossible World – with a piano! is billed as an “interactive wellbeing show”  - a two-man musical about resilience.  About how we keep going, and hopefully even thrive, in an increasingly complicated world. Written by and starring Steve Bonham and composer Ch...

by Caroline Cronin - May 08, 2026

The concept of an audio-only theatrical experience is an intriguing one. Stripped entirely of visuals, The Shape of Things Undone asks its audience to engage through just a single sense, and in doing so it creates a deeply personal experience....

by Gary Naylor - May 05, 2026

Even 400 pages or more cannot contain whole life, nor the personality...