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Evening All Afternoon – Donmar Warehouse

26Feb

By Dave SmithNo Comments

London

Evening All Afternoon – Donmar Warehouse

Jennifer (Anastasia Hille) is about to marry the never-seen John and become stepmother to Delilah (Erin Kellyman) in Anna Ziegler’s Evening All Afternoon. The play switches between extended addresses to the audience and scenes playing out between the two women grappling at being thrown together. Her father’s remarriage leaves Delilah consumed by grief over her mother’s death, leading to hallucination as she speaks with her dead mother. Delilah’s cheekiness pushing and testing Jennifer, feeling at liberty to really press on issues contrast strongly with Jennifer’s primness, never even untucking her blouse as disdainfully noted by Delilah. Delilah’s mother was younger than her father, Jennifer is a full decade older than John. Boomer and Gen Z and there is a gap there at once, with ...

26Feb

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Espen Eriksen Trio – Traverse Theatre

Once again, local music programming charity Soundhouse have graced the Traverse theatre with another act of outstanding renown: this time, the Espen Eriksen Trio. This Norwegian jazz trio is composed of frontman Espen Eriksen on piano, Lars Tormod Jenset on double bass, and Andreas Bye on drums. With tranquil, lilting phrases, the Espen Eriksen trio bring a gentle approach to jazz, creating a completely dreamy and meditative soundscape. The trio all possess that typical Norwegian wit, presenting their work with charm, managing to absolutely win the audience over with their dry quips and smart remarks. We really warmed to them as people and hence furthered our connection with their music. My favourite track had to be the opener of course, bringing in the show with p...

Werewolf Sighted In Port Talbot – Old Red Lion

26Feb

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

Werewolf Sighted In Port Talbot – Old Red Lion

Werewolf Sighted In Port Talbot is a darkly comedic horror play from playwright Andy Sellers. This astounding debut play premiered at GrimFest in 2025 and now returns to the Old Red Lion for a short run that you should go out of your way to get tickets for. The play follows couple Ffion and Billy on a camping trip in the Welsh countryside. They are there so that Billy can finally witness Ffion’s monthly transformation into a werewolf. With the stress of this pivotal moment building, and with dark secrets lurking beneath the surface, their relationship is tested. Playwright Andy Sellers also plays Billy, alongside Lucy Havard as Ffion. They perfectly deliver the script’s naturalistic dialogue with believable nuance, such that it real feels like observing a snapshot of a real couple. ...

Here and Now: The Steps Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

26Feb

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Here and Now: The Steps Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

If you’ve ever wanted to experience a fever-dream in real time, Here and Now: The Steps Musical is the show for you. This brand new jukebox musical, written by Shaun Kitchener in association with Steps, is utterly ridiculous. At first that might feel like a negative, but the further the show goes on, the more Here and Now sweeps you into the madness and by the end you’ll be belting out tragedy in the megamix. Its self-aware silliness can’t be denied, and with all of the Steps’ classic hits, it’s hard to resist the “Summer of Love” - I for one, had the time of my life. Set in the Best Better Bargains supermarket, we see four core cashiers make a pact that this is the Summer they get their love lives together. As they attempt to make their moves, we come to find ou...

25Feb

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

Siblings: Dreamweavers – Soho Theatre

Siblings are a sketch and character comedy duo consisting of real-life siblings Maddy and Marina Bye. In their latest show, Dreamweavers, they play scientists who have invented a device that can projects people’s dreams. Using the audience as clinical trial participants, the duo project (i.e. act out, as sketches) a variety of dreams, ranging from the nightmarish to the absurd to the Freudian. This sci-fi B-movie -esque framing device is fun and provides a broad narrative throughline that gives something tangible to latch onto amidst the delightful chaos of the show. Dreamweavers took a little while to win me over, but once I was on board I had a wonderful time. At first, I found the sketches to be too random and surreal for my tastes. Obviously, this randomness suits the theme of the s...

25Feb

By NewsdeskNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Dry Bits – Crucible Playhouse

Imogen Ashby, with support from Sheffield Theatres and the LEVEL Centre, brought her raucous, raw solo show ‘Dry Bits’ to the Crucible Playhouse stage. What followed was a night of humour, vulnerability, ferocity and honesty. To the show’s credit, whilst a one-woman piece about menopause might feel like it has a very clear target audience (and it does), it is ultimately a story about change, memory and how we attach and detach ourselves emotionally from moments, events and conditions of past, present and future life. That seems loaded, but this show also knows exactly what it is and isn’t afraid to put that on the tin (the show’s title doesn’t leave much to the imagination, for example). The concept is delivered with great playfulness and kookiness to good comedic effect. Ashb...

25Feb

By Natalia PrucnalNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Single White Female – Sheffield Lyceum

‘Single White Female’ is an intense psychological thriller, adapted by Rebecca Reid from the iconic 1992 film under the same name, but with a modern twist for its 2026 audience. The script takes many creative liberties in updating the story from the source material, but generally does so fluidly, despite the occasional already-outdated reference and odd pacing of the end of the second act. The play follows Allie and her teenage child Bella, as they navigate life in a skyscraper apartment. Allie’s ex-husband, Sam, tells her his new fiancée is pregnant and cannot afford to support them, so Graham (Allie’s coworker and best friend) encourages her to look for a roommate. Online they quickly find Hedy. Hedy’s relationship grows with both Allie and Bella, but things take a turn for the worst,...

Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes – Liverpool Empire

25Feb

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes – Liverpool Empire

A dancer enters the stage wearing vibrant red ballet shoes, the lighting renders her faceless, the music boldly proclaims that there is drama ahead… I am already hooked. A timeless tale of love, passion and conflict perfectly plays out from start to finish. A ensemble dancer is discovered by a ballet impresario, but are his obsession and her desires compatible? This tour of The Red Shoes celebrates the tenth anniversary of its original production and is a celebration of art and performance. The beautiful score originally composed by Bernard Herrmann is beautifully orchestrated for this company by Terry Davies. The visual identity of the piece is beyond description, and, quite simply, begs to be seen. Lez Brotherston’s set, with its grand moving proscenium arch and clever use of material...

The Woman in Black – Liverpool Playhouse

25Feb

By Stephanie WiswallNo Comments

North West

The Woman in Black – Liverpool Playhouse

Step back in time with one of the most popular and spine-tingling tales in the history of London’s West End, 'The Woman in Black' by Susan Hill. Currently touring the UK after its successful long reign in London, I had the absolute pleasure of witnessing last night’s production in Liverpool’s very own Playhouse. The playwright for this production was Stephen Mallatratt and it was directed by Robin Herford. The tale of the Woman in Black has had audiences gripped for over 30 years, it’s legacy and accomplishments have led it to become an equally prosperous film franchise starring Daniel Radcliffe. A macabre tale of one Mr Arthur Kripps (Philip Stewart), a young and carefree solicitor who has his future mapped out with his soon-to-be-wife, is sent to an unsettling and ominous estate to fi...

25Feb

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Sunny Afternoon – Leeds Grand Theatre

If you thought Liam and Noel were the most quarrelsome rock ‘n’ roll siblings, this often dark jukebox musical featuring the hits of The Kinks will make you think again. The decades-long sibling rivalry at the band’s creative heart, tortured songwriter Ray Davies and his wild guitarist sibling Dave, make the Gallagher boys look like choirboys in comparison. They were at each other’s throats from the moment they formed The Kinks in Muswell Hill with constant bickering, plus onstage fistfights, which led to them being the only UK pop act banned from America at the heart of their powers, denying them the chance to be huge across the pond. They probably wouldn’t have made it big like the Fab Four or The Who as Ray’s often bittersweet classics that are all included in the show are so quin...