Month: October 2023

Pantomime’s centuries-long survival is down to its willingness to evolve. Recent years have seen great transformations in the genre, with Evolution Productions’ Jack and the Beanstalk at York Theatre Royal celebrating the very best 21st century pantomime has to offer. Thankfully, passive Princesses are almost extinct from Pantoland today, and indeed writer Paul Hendy dispenses with them completely.… Continue reading Jack and the Beanstalk

When Derby Theatre staged Brassed Off in 2015, it was at a time when some communities were still waiting to mine the benefits of a regeneration programme after the closure of their pits. Eight years on, the cost-of-living crisis, with shops closing and nothing taking their place, means that the production is just as relevant as when… Continue reading Brassed Off

Two Manchester new writing institutions had their press performances on the same night: at Contact, Vignettes is up to its fifth incarnation, whereas across town at 53two, JB Shorts has reached number 23. One writer even has a piece in each production. While Vignettes focusses on women’s writing, the concept behind JB has always been… Continue reading JB Shorts 23

Many may wish to be a millionaire but not all at any cost. A British major, Charles Ingram (Lewis Reeves), is, in the opinion of many, an exception. Quiz centres on the true story of Charles Ingram who later came to be known as “the Coughing Major”, the scandal that surrounded his 2001 win of… Continue reading Quiz

When Thomas Middleton and William Rowley first presented their play, circa 1622, the meanings of the word ‘changeling’ could include a foolish or untrustworthy person, or the substitution of one person or thing for another. Times change, and today, the play’s major concern with female chastity before marriage may be less common, but the loaded… Continue reading The Changeling

Last year, Cameron Mackintosh staged a sell-out memorial concert of the work of Stephen Sondheim, who died in 2021. Now he offers this celebration, packed with songs drawn from across his many musicals performed by an outstanding cast who have all been associated with his work. Songs that, for Sondheim fans, are old friends performed… Continue reading Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends

After its première at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre last year, this musical adaptation of Markus Zusak’s best-selling 2006 novel The Book Thief now has a two-week run at Curve Theatre following performances at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry. While this is a story set in 1940s Germany with the pain and tragedy of war and intolerance all too evident, resonances… Continue reading The Book Thief

Molière’s witty and entertaining play Le Malade imaginaire is reworked by poet and children’s author Roger Mc Gough to provide a brilliantly funny entertainment for contemporary theatre audiences. McGough’s adaptation includes audacious rhyming couplets, easy French phrases we learnt in school and unexpected leaps into accents other than French. Characterisation is outrageous and delightfully performed… Continue reading The Hypochondriac

Brothers Robert and David Goodale have made a brave attempt to translate the wonderful characters and language of Wodehouse to the stage, which largely succeeds with the help of some brilliantly imaginative direction by Marieke Audsley, helped by Olivia du Monceau’s inspired design. Yes, it’s yet another of those comic literary adaptations that makes lots… Continue reading Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense

When Jesus Christ Superstar was first staged in the early 1970s, it managed to offend Christians, by depicting Christ as a human not a deity and omitting the resurrection, and Jews, who took exception to being portrayed as the villains. Seeing as the last UK census showed less than half the current population describe themselves as Christians,… Continue reading Jesus Christ Superstar