THE LYRIC ROOMS

by Gary Naylor - February 19, 2026

Innovative take on familiar comedy proves hit and miss as lovers and fairies fight...

by Laura Lott - February 18, 2026

Before Taylor Swift versus Charli XCX - but after The Beatles versus The Rolling Stones - came Blur versus Oasis. David Niven's debut comedy at Birmingham Rep takes us back to the summer of 1995, when temperatures and egos both soared and the nation was gripped by the chart battle between Oasis’ �...

by Christiana Rose - February 16, 2026

Set beneath a vibrant circus tent filled with sparkling multicoloured lights and fluttering flags, the production opens with a jovial instrumental atmosphere that immediately invites children into the world of the show....

by Aliya Al-Hassan - February 12, 2026

Today we are wearily familiar with the terms 'Stop the Boats' and the narrative that all refugees are coming to Britain to take 'our' jobs, scam us for benefits and prey upon young girls. Nick Ahad's adaptation of Onjali Q. Raúf's beautiful book, The Boy at the Back of the Class, takes much of th...

by Caroline Cronin - February 12, 2026

Three years ago, I sat in this same auditorium reviewing Blood Brothers for this publication, and I wondered then what gives this show its extraordinary staying power. Returning now to see the very same production - with the same creative team and even some returning cast members - the answer is cle...

by Gary Naylor - February 05, 2026

If it's not quite as slick as it might be, this oldies show can still push a lot of the right nostalgia buttons...

by Gary Naylor - February 05, 2026

Whitney White collapses time and space to insert new perspectives into old plays...

by Gary Naylor - January 08, 2026

There are many times you catch yourself, as a parent, doing things you never thought you would do - worse, that you would scoff at if reported by others. I recall looking at one, probably both, of my sons in their crib and becoming aware that I couldn’t see or hear them breathing. You walk away (�...

by Cheryl Markosky - January 12, 2026

NT Live's filmed screening of Hamlet, featuring Hiran Abeysekera (Olivier award-winner for Life of Pi) in the title role, will be released in UK cinemas on January 22 and soon after around the world....

by Aliya Al-Hassan - January 07, 2026

Alan Ayckbourn’s 1985 play Woman In Mind is a darkly comic look about mental disintegration and a mid-life ennui that would have rarely been spoken about forty years ago. In the first major West End revival since 2012, director Michael Longhurst presents a startling portrait of a woman who ret...