UK Regional Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 32

BWW Review: HONK!, Union Theatre
by Gary Naylor - April 02, 2017

Honk! is a musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling with an important message about bullying gently sugar-coated with musical numbers and light comedy....

BWW Review: THE MUTANT MAN, The Space Arts Centre
by Gary Naylor - April 01, 2017

The Mutant Man is a fractured, multi-layered telling of a true story of a man who was born as a woman and how his treatment at the hands of an exploitative, unenlightened society led to tragedy....

BWW Review: DRACULA: THE BLOODY TRUTH , Exeter Northcott Theatre
by Nicky Sweetland - April 01, 2017

Exeter based Le Navet Bete have teamed up with the Exeter Northcott Theatre to present a unique play about the world's most famous vampire. Entitled Dracula: The Bloody Truth the company, which specialises in physical theatre, has stumbled upon a surefire hit with their adaptation, coupling some gho...

BWW Review: CHESS, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
by Gregor Dickson - April 01, 2017

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's latest ambitious venture is a visually stunning production of Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Tim Rice's hit 1980s pop musical....

BWW Review: ADAM & EVE... AND STEVE, King's Head Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 29, 2017

Adam & Eve... and Steve has a bit of panto, a bit of the Edinburgh Fringe and a whole lot of great songs, but not quite the musical chops to reach its full potential....

BWW Review: A PASSIONATE WOMAN, Exeter Northcott
by Nicky Sweetland - March 24, 2017

The complexities of the mother and son relationship are not easy to depict. The unwavering unconditional love and a mother's need to defend her boy against all foes can become creepily like the ancient Greek story of Oedipus if not handled correctly and Kay Mellor's A Passionate Woman, which is curr...

BWW Review: ONE LOVE, Birmingham Repertory Theatre
by Emma Cann - March 24, 2017

Birmingham Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere production of One Love: The Bob Marley Musical. Written and directed by Kwame Kwei Armah, this brand new musical is so much more than a juke-box style tribute act. Set across a dramatic period in the music legend's life, we see Bob Marley caug...

BWW Review: RUDDYGORE, King's Theatre, Edinburgh
by Gregor Dickson - March 23, 2017

The Edinburgh Gilbert & Sullivan Society's latest venture combines sparkling performances, modern references and excellent sound design in one of G&S's less well known comic operas....

BWW Review: DARK VANILLA JUNGLE, Theatre N16
by Gary Naylor - March 23, 2017

Philip Ridley's dystopian nightmare has moments of poetry and humour but is ultimately just too relentlessly grim and must be endured rather than enjoyed....

BWW Review: MY BRILLIANT FRIEND PARTS 1 & 2, Rose Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 20, 2017

Naples is brought to London, as we track the extraordinary lives of Lila and Lenu in an adaptation of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels that overreaches itself....

BWW Review: THREESOME, Union Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 19, 2017

Threesome is often crude, sometimes boldly empowering and occasionally shows a glimpse of something more sophisticated emerging, but ultimately falls a little short on laughs....

BWW Review: ROMAN TRAGEDIES, Barbican Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 18, 2017

Extraordinary, astonishing, unmissable five star production that brings three of Shakespeare's plays up to date in an electrifying production that should not be missed....

BWW Review: AFTER PARTY, Pleasance Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 16, 2017

After Party sees tensions, long since buried, bubble to the surface, as one of the old gang returns from prison to settle old scores and reclaim what he believes to be his....

BWW Review: SEVENTEEN, Lyric Hammersmith
by Gary Naylor - March 15, 2017

Seventeen captures a cathartic moment in young people's lives - the last day at school - but does not reach its potential due to a largely lacklustre script....

BWW Review: SHIRLEY VALENTINE, New Alexandra Theatre
by Emma Cann - March 10, 2017

Known for his strong female characters, from Educating Rita to Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers, Willy Russell's Shirley Valentine stands head and shoulders above his other work as an in depth exploration of what it was really like to be a woman in the 1980s. Transporting the audience from her kitche...

BWW Review: WISDOM OF A FOOL, LOST Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 09, 2017

Wisdom of a Fool resurrects the much loved Norman Wisdom in Jack Lane's respectful and entertaining show that charts his rags-to-riches story....

BWW Review: HANDBAGGED, Jack Studio Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 08, 2017

Handbagged imagines what was said by Mrs Thatcher and The Queen in their weekly meetings to hilarious effect in Moira Buffini's award-winning satire....

BWW Review: YOU'RE HUMAN LIKE THE REST OF THEM, Finborough Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 07, 2017

Three short plays introduce the writing of BS Johnson, a revered man of English letters whose influence resonates through the last 50 years....

BWW Review: IONESCO - DINNER AT THE SMITHS', The Latvian House
by Gary Naylor - March 05, 2017

Ionesco's absurd theatre brought to life in a handsome production that is full of wit and humour, but never loses its avant garde character....

BWW Review: SNOW IN MIDSUMMER, Royal Shakespeare Company
by Emma Cann - March 04, 2017

Snow in Midsummer is a modern retelling of an ancient Chinese drama, which marks the start of an ambitious cultural project translating Eastern classics into English, and Shakespeare into Chinese. The original 13th century play, by Guan Hanqing, bears all the hallmarks of traditional Chinese drama, ...

BWW Review: SWIFTIES, Theatre N16
by Gary Naylor - March 02, 2017

Swifties examines the obsessive nature of fandom, as dress-up and role play turns into something much more sinister in this reinvention of Jean Genet's The Maids....

BWW Review: HAMLET, Almeida Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 01, 2017

Hamlet anew in this technology infused but oh so human production of Shakespeare's great tragedy in which Andrew Scott gives us a warm, flawed, and eventually mad Prince....

BWW Review: THE CHERRY ORCHARD, Arcola Theatre
by Gary Naylor - February 23, 2017

The Cherry Orchard retains its power to reach across decades and tell us harsh truths about a changing world....

BWW Review: TITANIC, King's Theatre, Edinburgh
by Gregor Dickson - February 22, 2017

Edinburgh's Southern Light Opera Company rises to the challenge of staging Maury Yeston's award-winning musical, in an ambitious production with a cast of 90 and orchestra of 27....