Tron theatre, GlasgowFour girls gather around a pentangle in Maryam Hamidi's punchy and poetic new play, which captures the vulnerability of adolescence When you see the gang of teenagers wh…
Dundee RepCinders is a hard-working and independent-minded farmer while her prince is an environmental engineering student in Lynda Radley's cheerful reworking You can see why Lynda Radley w…
King's theatre, GlasgowKathryn Rooney's slick production has flawless comic banter and lavish dance routines, providing impressive festive entertainment It is tempting to grumble about the s…
Hull Truck theatre, HullScrooge not only exploits Bob Cratchit but cruelly cuts him out of the conversation in this innovative, satisfying production Jack Lord is the meanest of Scrooges. To…
Derby theatreRatty, Mole and the rest are subtly portrayed in this tuneful production of Kenneth Grahame's classic They are a timid lot, the creatures in Trina Haldar's staging of The Wind i…
New Vic theatre, Newcastle-under-LymeLewis Carroll's fantastical classic is transposed into the world of stage magic in this gloriously hallucinatory show Forget about rabbit holes and mirro…
Everyman theatre, LiverpoolThe eponymous fairytale does not lend itself easily to panto " requiring some princely interference " but the cast is exuberant We are deep into act two when we fi…
Theatre by the Lake, KeswickMary Norton's 1952 novel about tiny pillagers gets a sober stage remake that blends minor-key music with contemporary fears When Suella Braverman talked about an …
Tron theatre, GlasgowJohnny McKnight's irreverent and very funny panto is full of local colour and packed with put-downs " though never at the expense of the original film Hollywood repeat…
Perth theatreThe beanstalk in Barrie Hunter's jolly, tightly choreographed and on-message show is actually a fossil fuel mountain, and the giant is a massive polluter The temperature is risi…
Pitlochry Festival theatreThis wholesome adaptation, featuring a preening Captain Hook, focuses on playroom fun in a beautifully designed production Captain Hook looks as if he has stepped o…
Coliseum, OldhamWhile younger audience members will find plenty to shout about, the classic story struggles to take shape as a panto We could certainly do with a bit of stealing from the ric…
Live theatre, NewcastleRic Renton's raw four-hander is an enthralling study of male vulnerability with a deeply felt message for the justice system That Ric Renton's gripping new play has th…
Royal Court, LiverpoolCow jokes are heavily milked in this family-friendly show, alongside nods to the city's star turn as next year's Eurovision host Within weeks of the news that Liverpool…
Theatre by the Lake, KeswickWith an excruciating clash of characters locked in a plot that is equal parts funny, sad and violent, this timeless production is as familiar as it is unsettling …
Pitlochry festival theatreMay Sumbwanyambe's drama tells the story of the man who established that slavery was forbidden by Scots law " but this is no easy celebration It is the start of May…
Pitlochry festival theatreSally Reid is superbly deadpan in this devastating production of Willy Russell's play about a woman who catches a glimpse of the life she could be living Willy Russ…
Shakespeare North Playhouse, PrescotA crisp production tells the extraordinary real-life story of Eva Moorhead who laid the groundwork for the ANC In December 1919, dock workers in Cape Town…
Cumbernauld theatre at LanternhouseThe four actors are less interested in Wells's sci-fi fantasy than in the divisions of today as they stock up for the coming apocalypse with onions, tampon…
Tron theatre, GlasgowA hazily defined relationship makes it hard to fathom the squabbles and romance in this wordless show inspired by 1940s French cinema What's not to like? You've got Rame…
Platform, GlasgowAn exhilarating show shifts Renton, Sick Boy and pals into the acid house era " and is even more visceral than the book Perhaps you thought Trainspotting was too coy. Maybe …
Derby theatreNeil Bartlett's version of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic has female leads laying bare the rot at the heart of a beastly boys' club We all love a chorus line. We love the coor…
Dundee RepThis modern-day take on Cervantes' classic novel follows the ageing Donald who has had enough of daytime television, tea and biscuits Everyone who cares for Uncle Donald has the sa…
Festival theatre, Edinburgh The circle of the 16th-century monarch is fraught with brittle alliances and racism in Rona Munro's new history play It's a cosmopolitan place, the court of James…
Crucible, SheffieldTom Basden's new adaptation of the Italian classic brings in dodgy selfies, WhatsApp groups and the lord chief justice in a furious but funny broadside against police malp…