UK Regional Theater Reviews

BWW Review: SUNSET BOULEVARD IN CONCERT - AT HOME, Curve Theatre, Leicester
by Fiona Scott - December 23, 2020

Like many UK venues, Leicester’s Curve Theatre has had to quickly adapt to the everchanging COVID-19 situation. Having just transformed their two theatres into one enormous “in-the-round” space, the Curve’s concert revival of their hit 2017 production of Sunset Boulevard was transformed into a fully...

BWW Review: FESTIVE TALES, Royal Shakespeare Theatre
by Fiona Scott - December 20, 2020

Broadcasted mere hours after the change in Christmas COVID restrictions in the UK, the RSC’s Festive Tales brings some much-needed escapism. We are met with an empty theatre dotted with candles in lanterns and a lone voice singing a carol. It really magnifies the emptiness of our performance spaces ...

BWW Review: OH YES WE ARE!, Perth Theatre
by Fiona Scott - December 13, 2020

Perth Theatre sadly can’t have audiences along to its annual pantomime this year but they have come up with a fun alternative show via Zoom. Audiences can watch and join in with Oh Yes We Are!...

BWW Review: PETER PAN, Barn Theatre, Cirencester
by Fiona Scott - December 12, 2020

J.M. Barrie’s 1911 novel about the boy who never grew up is often staged around this time of year. However, a show about a rabble of “lost boys” would prove challenging to produce in the current circumstances. The Barn Theatre has found a way around this....

BWW Review: THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS, Pitlochry Festival Theatre
by Fiona Scott - December 09, 2020

Pitlochry Festival Theatre and The Macrobert Arts Centre have collaborated to bring audiences a fun Christmas show to enjoy at home called The Magic of Christmas....

BWW Review: OLEANNA, Theatre Royal Bath
by Cheryl Markosky - December 09, 2020

Can a controversial production that was staged nearly 30 years ago still feel relevant today? The answer is a resounding yes....

BWW Review: JACK AND THE BEANSTALK ONLINE, Belgrade Theatre
by Jenny Ell - December 02, 2020

The team behind Belgrade Theatre Coventry’s panto has shown that it is still possible to spread Christmas cheer via the means of modern technology, with their 2020 production of Jack and the Beanstalk....

BWW Review: RENT, Hope Mill Theatre
by Fiona Scott - November 26, 2020

For Hope Mill Theatre, their highly anticipated revival of Jonathan Larson’s seminal rock musical of the nineties was disrupted not once, but twice due to COVID. Rent originally ran for 12 years on Broadway and, famously, its composer tragically died hours before its first readthrough.  ...

BWW Review: MARRY ME A LITTLE, Streaming Online, The Barn Theatre
by Fiona Scott - November 19, 2020

Marry Me A Little, starring Celinde Schoenmaker and Rob Houchen, opened at The Barn Theatre in Cirencester on 16 October during that golden window of opportunity for socially-distanced indoor theatre performances. Unfortunately, their run was cut short by a few days due to a second national lockdown...

BWW Review: VANA at CD Release
by Barry Lenny - October 25, 2020

Ross Ainslie is one of Scotland's most beloved musicians....

BWW Review: BUBBLE, Nottingham Playhouse Online
by Ruth Deller - October 24, 2020

Bubble, the second play in Nottingham Playhouse's Unlocked season, sees Pearl Mackie and Jessica Raine shine as a not-yet-couple deciding whether or not to move in together for lockdown....

BWW Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME, Amazon Prime Video
by Fiona Scott - October 13, 2020

Ita??s unsurprising why Amazon has decided now is the time to release a recorded performance of Heidi Schrecka??s electric political play, What the Constitution Means to Me, on its Prime Video streaming platform. Playing herself, Schreck takes us back to her childhood of speaking at oratory competit...

BWW Review: WORK_FROM_HOME, New Diorama Theatre online
by Jo Fisher - June 27, 2020

work_from_home is New Diorama Theatre's online theatrical experience. This production is a digital adaptation of Nathan Ellis's work.txt which should have been performed at the 'missing' 2020 Incoming Festival, and was nominated for an Innovation Award at VAULT Festival 2020....

BWW Review: DRAWING THE LINE, Hampstead Theatre Live Stream
by Gary Naylor - April 14, 2020

A surfeit of exposition and shouty scenes detract from an important story that resonates to this day....

BWW Review: HENRY V, Barn Theatre Live Stream
by Gary Naylor - March 28, 2020

The Barn Theatre stream their Henry V right into your living room - why not watch it with your stay at home band of brothers?...

BWW Update: Australian Artists Entertain During Forced Shutdown - List of People And Companies To Follow For Your Theatre World Fix.
by Jade Kops - March 26, 2020

BWW Update: Australian Artists Entertain During Forced Shutown - List of People And Companies To Follow For Your Theatre World Fix....

BWW Review: BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, Pitlochry Festival Theatre
by Fiona Scott - March 15, 2020

What happens after the honeymoon? Do opposites really attract? Neil Simon's hit play, Barefoot in the Park, has been revived and is currently running at Pitlochry Festival Theatre, in collaboration with the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh....

BWW Review: MADAM BUTTERFLY, Nuffield Southampton Theatres
by Jo Fisher - March 12, 2020

Sweatpants and slippers aren't the costumes you'd expect to see in an opera. Can a modern version of a classic hit the high notes?...

BWW Review: LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, Lyric Theatre Hammersmith
by Gary Naylor - March 12, 2020

Mike Bartlett's play has aged not a jot in its analysis of how one generation's freedoms constrains anothers. Funny and clever, it hits hard, even if it ultimately stretches credibility a tad too far....

BWW Review: GHOST HOUSE, VAULT Festival
by Cindy Marcolina - March 11, 2020

Jay has just bought his first home. And not just any home, a luxury flat in a swanky complex with a concierge. A dream. In the matter of days he realises that there must be something wrong with his new abode, and it turns out that even though he keeps hearing noises and meeting neighbours, he's the ...

BWW Review: CORIOLANUS, Crucible, Sheffield
by Ruth Deller - March 11, 2020

Robert Hastie directs a dynamic, contemporary production of Shakespeare's tale of leadership, political machinations and the whims of public opinion....

BWW Review: TALKING HEADS, Watford Palace Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 11, 2020

Jan Ravens and Julia Watson excel in three of Alan Bennett's famous monologues, two of which pack a surprising punch, 30 years on....

BWW Review: BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL, Manchester Opera House
by Emma Kershaw - March 12, 2020

Back to the Future is a must see, whether you're a fan of the film or not. The cast and creatives have nailed this production on the head, finding the perfect balance within every aspect. First stop, Manchester. Next stop? World domination....

BWW Review: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, Perth Theatre
by Fiona Scott - March 08, 2020

During a week when comedian Joe Lycett legally changed his name by deed poll to Hugo Boss, ever dedicated to his craft, it felt fitting to see a revival of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. The comedy about identity and the elite has been revived at Perth Theatre....

BWW Review: RUN SISTER RUN, Crucible Studio, Sheffield
by Ruth Deller - March 06, 2020

Chloe Moss's funny and moving new play explores the relationship between two sisters over four decades....