Crucible, Sheffield; Kiln, London; Leeds PlayhouseRobert Hastie's new Guys and Dolls is an instant classic, Mike Bartlett's arguments are a slow burn, and for a thrilling trip to Oz, there i…
Playhouse theatre, LiverpoolA cracking score and an energetic cast can't disguise an unconvincing romance in Gemma Bodinetz's update of the seasonal classic Kris Kringle believes he is Santa…
Traverse theatre, EdinburghPu Songling's weird stories are brought to life with a hit-and-miss mixture of cutting-edge video and live performance A demon with a paintbrush retouches the feat…
Wardrobe theatre, BristolThe cast sinks its teeth into this extremely adult seasonal mashup of Dracula, Jack and Jill and The Sound of Music A generalised power cut delayed curtain up(metaph…
Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal BathHansol Jung's tale of two lonely Koreans who meet online is witty but overstuffed with ideasWe are in Seoul. Guk Minsung is a "goose father", one of those w…
York Theatre RoyalJo Mousley and Emilio Iannucci excel in this engrossing production of Fugard's tale of a brother and sister's ambiguous reunion "I am a regional writer," claimed South Afri…
Crucible, SheffieldSilence is both golden and frustrating in Charlotte Keatley's play about four generations of women featuring deaf actors Fingersmiths theatre company specialises in "ways …
New Wolsey theatre, IpswichNewcomers Jim Barne and Kit Buchan have written a classic Christmas romance enhanced by confident production "Even impossible dreams come true," sings the wonderst…
Swan theatre, Stratford-upon-AvonHannah Khalil's ambitious play, set in 1926 and 2006, struggles to dramatise questions of power and gender A museum is a site of encounter between past and p…
Paisley Arts CentreWinning performances deliver a heartbreaking and unsentimental tale about asbestos poisoning in the workplaceFrances Poet's latest play is a condemnation of an atrocious w…
Byker Community Centre, Newcastle upon TyneThe audience is invited to attend a mock UK arms fair in this laudable but underdeveloped production Travelling to Common Wealth and Northern Stage…
Stephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughOliver Emanuel's Canadian log cabin drama goes nowhere slowly 'Tis a dark and snow-stormy night somewhere in Canada. After many years of separation, a moth…
Crucible, SheffieldBy rendering its hero completely passive, Steve Waters loses a key aspect of Giles Foden's novelGiles Foden describes the narrator-hero of his 1998 multiple prize-winning …
Sherman theatre, CardiffWriting, acting and design combine brilliantly in Ed Thomas's new, semi-autobiographical playJohn Daniel (Rhys Ifans) fears that daily wearing of his only pair of tro…
Crucible, SheffieldMatt Haig converses with his younger self in this engaging take on his memoir about depression The novelist Matt Haig wrote his award-wining, bestselling 2015 memoir about…
Royal and Derngate, NorthamptonThis fine revival of August Wilson's 1992 play finds seven people in 60s Pittsburgh struggling with a turbulent world Double Pulitzer prize-winning writer Augu…
Stephen Joseph theatre, ScarboroughAlan Ayckbourn directs this excellent revival of his 1980 comedy of a family suffering a less than festive Christmas Playwright Alan Ayckbourn remembers a …
Various venues, Derry and DonegalThe annual celebration of the work of Brian Friel carries powerful reminders of the work of building community "Politics are so obtrusive here." The great Ir…
Wharfhouse, Cropredy, OxfordshireMikron's second world war show follows two female navy recruits as they battle the enemy and colleagues "Theatre anywhere for everyone, by canal, river and r…
King's theatre; Lyceum, Edinburgh; Minerva, ChichesterEnglish settlers terrorise Indigenous Australians in an unflinching production from Sydney; the aftermath of a homophobic killing is exp…
Theatre Royal Bath; Royal Exchange, Manchester; Passenger Shed, BristolRupert Everett's astute direction of Chekhov results in a meeting of minds, and a luddite history is given a modern edg…
Theatre by the Lake, KeswickLucy Kirkwood's domestic-seeming drama has the steely underpinning of a Greek tragedy A visitor arrives at a cottage by the sea " unexpected but not unknown. Rose…
Crucible, SheffieldLolita Chakrabarti's superbly acted adaptation of Yann Martel's Booker-winner makes dazzling use of its interplay of illusions Everything about this production is amazing,…
Royal Exchange, ManchesterThe Hodgkiss award winner by 154 Collective finds complexity in a simple encounter between two people Wrestling the Walrus is the winner of the latest Hodgkiss awar…
The Other Place, Stratford-upon-AvonRobin French's new play mixes music, folklore and contemporary ideas to intriguing, if overlong effect Into a house in a forest go a boy and a girl. Wolve…