REVIEWS Archives - Page 4 of 554

15Jan

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

To Kill a Mockingbird – The Lowry

If the rest of my theatrical year measures up to this stunning start, then I am in for a vintage 2026. My first outing is a superb stage rendering of Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, currently midway through an extensive UK tour following its runaway success on the London stage earlier this decade. A distinctly diverse audience greeted the production at the cavernous Lyric Theatre in Salford for this packed press night. A mixture of ageing grey hairs (like myself), with distant memories of studying the book for O-level, mingled with excitable GCSE students who have encountered Scout, Atticus and Boo Radley much more recently. All were entranced by the stage adaptation of the novel which, whilst staying faithful to the spirit and morality of the original, managed to find 21...

HadesTown Teen Edition – The Forum Theatre

15Jan

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

HadesTown Teen Edition – The Forum Theatre

This is another production at which NK excels, gathering a number of extremely talented young people together to bring out the best in their multiple abilities resulting in a gloriously entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable production, although I have to confess that at times I was a bit bewildered as to what was going on in the storyline, but that is down to my shortcomings rather than any fault with the cast. It was wonderful to see Paul Wilson directing another teen edition version of a classic show following on from the excellent Six which he directed a couple of years ago (ably complimented by Ceri Graves as Musical Director and Jenny Wilson as Choreographer) and it was always going to be difficult to reach the same standard as they previously achieved with that production but agai...

Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts – Liverpool Playhouse

14Jan

By Stephanie WiswallNo Comments

North West

Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts – Liverpool Playhouse

Twists, turns, murder and mystery sound like your kind of evening? If so, join the dynamic cast of characters in Inspector Morse at the Liverpool Playhouse from 13th to 17th January 2026. The staging is set, the lights are low and you are plunged into an intriguingly immersive scene. A murder! Who killed sweet or troubled Rebecca? (Eliza Teale) Our main man, the likeable and quirky Inspector Morse (Tom Chambers) takes to the stage, accompanied by his more stable and rule following partner Lewis (Tachia Newall). Both dive into a shady past of wealth of characters from calm and composed Ellen (Teresa Banham), the wild and rough Freddy (James Gladdon), unstable and erratic Justin (Spin Glancy) and the messy and divaesc Verity (Charlotte Randle). Special mentions to Josh Katembela ...

Drawing The Italian Renaissance – King’s Gallery, Holyrood Palace

14Jan

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Drawing The Italian Renaissance – King’s Gallery, Holyrood Palace

This is an excellent exhibition, inspiring, beautifully curated, and quietly revelatory. Drawing the Italian Renaissance does something deceptively simple but profoundly effective, it brings us closer to the act of thinking itself, as revealed through the drawn line. But first, a little historical background – on paper. Far from being the boring commodity that Ricky Gervais parodies in the iconic The Office, paper was exciting and new and suddenly abundant. Before the Renaissance, drawing was constrained as much by material as by imagination. Paper, though known in Europe from the medieval period, was scarce and relatively expensive, and artists instead relied on vellum, made from animal skin, which was costly and ill-suited to exploratory or repetitive work. From the mid-fifteenth cent...

14Jan

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Rocky Horror Show – Sheffield Lyceum

Sheffield waited with antici……….pation and at last the Rocky Horror Show crash landed into the Sheffield Lyceum. With a well versed and non-virginal Rocky audience there were more sparkly tailcoats and top hats, green surgical gowns, heavy rocker leather jackets and more basques, corsets and suspenders than you can find in Ann Summers and this production did not disappoint. After first seeing Richard O Brien’s Rocky Horror Show on its original UK tour in 79/80 (as a 14-year-old schoolgirl with a music teacher who didn’t do his research homework very well and was subsequently horrified he may lose his job!) I am somewhat of a connoisseur it could be said, and after sampling over 60 visits to Frank’s castle the question was - could this production still fill me with the amazement of my first...

11Jan

By Helen JonesNo Comments

North West

Cinderella – Waterside Arts

Sale Nomads are back at Waterside Arts with their annual post Christmas pantomime. This year Cinderella is the one in favour for the first time since 2017. In this production we have all the usual protagonists – Cinders, Buttons, Prince Charming, Dandini and of course the ugly sisters. The Nomads have high production standards and here they work hard to keep those standards in place. In the majority, it works. Good actors. Well designed and executed set. Excellent technical execution. The one blip – parts of the script. Pantomime is always a derivative art form. The basic plot, the corny jokes and so on. Some blatant plagiarism is a little harder to handle. Maybe the writers didn’t expect audience members to be as fam...

11Jan

By Ralph JeffreysNo Comments

London

Ghost In Your Ear – Hampstead Theatre

A Ghost In Your Ear is set in a recording studio, where an actor, George, has turned up late to record a job at short notice, so short he hasn’t read the script yet. It turns out it’s a horror story. As he and his friend, the sound engineer Sid, settle into a night of work, things gradually start to seem amiss. The story on the pages begins to escape them and soon George begins to see things. From there, we are plunged into a full-on horror show. The central question for a show like this is can it get your heart racing? The production comes through that test easily. Beyond employing many tried and tested horror methods, the show uses a binaural head – a microphone shaped like a human head that picks up the location of a given sound – to amp up the intensity. It is simply more engaging t...

Paranormal Activity – Ambassador’s Theatre

9Jan

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Paranormal Activity – Ambassador’s Theatre

Paranormal Activity, the iconic horror film franchise known to terrify cinema audiences worldwide, has successfully made the leap from screen to stage in a chilling and immersive theatrical production. From the very first moment, the audience is plunged into complete darkness, immediately creating an atmosphere of unease that never truly releases its grip. This bold opening choice sets the tone perfectly, preparing us for a night of suspense, fear, and psychological tension. Written with precision by Levi Holloway and directed masterfully by Felix Barrett, the production is cleverly constructed to draw the audience deep into the emotional and supernatural journey of its characters. Rather than relying solely on shock tactics, the play allows tension to build gradually, making every mome...

9Jan

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Orphans – Jermyn Street Theatre

Orphans was written by Philadelphia-born Lyle Kessler and first staged in 1983, directed by Gary Sinise at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, before going on to a successful Off-Broadway run. Later, in 1986, the play transferred to London’s West End, earning Albert Finney an Olivier Award, followed by a filmed version in 1987. Set in Philadelphia, two brothers, Treat (Chris Walley) and Phillip (Fred Woodley Evans), live a strange life brought on by the abandonment of their father at an early age and the death of their mother. Treat, the elder brother, takes his role as caretaker seriously and has instilled an unhealthy fear of the outside world into Phillip in order to keep him from harm. But what effect will a stranger entering their small world have on the brothers’ relationship? Set d...

Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker in Havana – Sheffield Lyceum

9Jan

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker in Havana – Sheffield Lyceum

The Nutcracker is inextricably linked to the Christmas season; a young girl, Clara, receives a gift of a nutcracker doll and as she sleeps, the doll transforms into a handsome prince and draws her into a world of adventure and fantasy. This version of that classic tale, Nutcracker in Havana, is transported into a Cuban setting by renowned Cuban ballet dancer Carlos Acosta, here serving as artistic director and choreographer. The show opened with a swirling video-projected tour of the streets of Havana which really helped to set the scene and highlight the changes from the off. However, as someone who suffers with quite severe motion sickness, I did struggle a little and I would have liked to have known that before it started! Acosta has cleverly woven aspects of Cuban culture and dan...