Crucible, SheffieldThe audience are evacuated from the smouldering auditorium, witness a suicide bombing and are kettled behind the town hall as site-specific theatremakers Slung Low envisio…
Opera House, ManchesterCBeebies' resident clown shares his origin myth at a Manchester international festival appearance that is seriously sillySo who is the hottest ticket at this year's Ma…
National Railway Museum, York'Railway King' George Hudson is the inspiration behind this unforgettable walking tour celebrating York's locomotive historyYork has been a Roman city, a Viking …
The Wicker Man is a cult horror classic. Are the team of Scots who have turned the film into a musical " and rejigged its shocking ending " worried about offending fans?The Wicker Man is eas…
His name made Charles Dickens howl and Thomas Carlyle dismissed him as a 'swollen gambler' but George Hudson has almost been written out of history. A new steam-powered show keeps track of t…
New Vic theatre, Newcastle-under-LymeInspired by the 2009 discovery of the Staffordshire hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure, this festival puts the ancient kingdom of Mercia back on the map Relat…
Coliseum, OldhamOldham's Dreamers has been overlooked by music nostalgists " but that hasn't stopped three of its former regulars writing an affectionate musical about itThe north-west has b…
Theatre by the Lake, KeswickThis verse drama claiming King Arthur as a son of Cumbria is turgid, oblique and alarmingly misogynistic If Camelot was a fiction, there's a greater likelihood th…
Octagon, BoltonMichael Frayn's brilliant back-to-front farce about the inexplicable rituals that keep us from chaos is a fantastic romp in David Thacker's farewell productionOver six years i…
Nottingham PlayhouseThere's a satisfying sense of craftsmanship at work in the second of Martin McDonagh's Leenane trilogy Continue reading...
West Yorkshire Playhouse, LeedsVagina Monologues playwright Eve Ensler returns with a harrowing new work that follows a young woman being transported in a container of rotting avocados Conti…
Belgrade theatre, CoventryThis sassy, campy off-Broadway hit about women seeking younger lovers is not exactly heavy on plot, but it has plenty of buzz and bite Continue reading...
Two new productions of Arnold Ridley's drama about travellers stuck in a haunted railway station prove this 1923 comedy thriller hasn't run out of steamWhat is the greatest stage ghost story…
Octagon, BoltonThe playwright's latest work is a deeply affecting and authentic tale of the pursuit of youth by three middle-class English fiftysomethingsIt's tempting to suggest that Jim Ca…
He grew up on a northern council estate then ran off to live in a London squat, before hitting the big time with Little Voice. As his new play opens, Jim Cartwright takes Alfred Hickling on …
Philharmonic Hall, LiverpoolIf Munch's Scream could talk, this is what it might have sounded like Continue reading...
Royal Exchange, ManchesterChris Urch's play examines the persecution of gay people and the hate campaigns published by a virulent Kampala tabloid Continue reading...
Live, NewcastleA bar-room encounter for a Labour MP forced constantly to apologise for the Iraq war sparks Torben Betts' slightly contrived contribution to election drama Continue reading...
New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-LymeWith its cluttered set and ungainly action, the latest version of the Ealing comedy feels like a remake of a remake Continue reading...
Liverpool PlayhouseElla Carmen Greenhill writes lightly about caring for someone with the condition, without ever taking it lightlyThe signs first became clear when Mikey developed an obsess…
Live theatre, NewcastleThere's no mistaking the first-hand experience playwright Paddy Campbell brings to his socially orientated work " and this blisteringly funny children-in-care play is …
Belgrade, CoventryIn Emteaz Hussain's intelligently directed drama, two amiable star-crossed lovers are threatened with Pakistani gang violence Continue reading...
Everyman, CheltenhamJonathan Guy Lewis is remarkable as Eddie Carbone in this touring production of Arthur Miller's Brooklyn-set drama Continue reading...
Octagon, BoltonElizabeth Newman ramps up the drama and her cast excel in a potent version of the classic comedy Continue reading...