142 stories by "Pat Ashworth"
This absolute charmer of a show for children between four and eight has been imaginatively conceived and delivered with truth and tenderness.
Each year, in Loughborough, Little Wolf Entertainment builds its own spectacular shows from scratch. There are no big names. Morgan Brind, the
Mansfield loves a panto and the Palace have pulled out all the stops this year. The theatre's production of Peter Pan boasts
Mr and Mrs Twit couldn't be more deliciously revolting, he with his big belly and sordid underwear and she with her pronounced
It's billed as a “Giant 3D Pantomime Spectacular” and the 3D effects really are the highlight of this production of Jack and
Mike Kenny's take on Alice in Wonderland is a revelation. It's wholly original and truly inspired. School examinations day finds the stressed-out
Putting panto into a space the size of Derby Arena poses huge challenges and isn't always a comfortable thing. There's a lot
This year's Aladdin is writer and director Kenneth Alan Taylor's 33rd consecutive panto at Nottingham Playhouse. He's on top form, with a
Anticipation is always high for Birmingham Royal Ballet's legendary production of The Nutcracker. The scale, opulence, inventiveness and detail of Peter Wright's
A Cambridge philosopher blows an ancient whistle washed up on a lonely seashore and sets in train his own mental disintegration. That's
Playhouse, Nottingham: Men behaving badly doesn't begin to describe the 10 assembled members of Oxford's revived Riot Club, bent on drinking, trashing and asserting their inborn ri…
The Playhouse, Nottingham: Old actors never die: they end up in a Home for Ageing Thespians in Erik Gedeon's smash-hit musical comedy, adapted and directed by Giles Croft and making its…
Palace Theatre, Mansfield: Princess Briar Rose was never really under threat and has already been restored to life by the interval in what is something of a cheerful nod to the story. But go…
Theatre Royal, Nottingham: I'm still marvelling how these Seven Dwarfs managed to dance on their knees, in a neat twist to the plot that presents them as banished courtiers. This is a m…
The Studio, Derby Theatre: Derbyshire-based Red Earth Theatre has a Christmas residency here as the culmination of its national tour of Hansel and Gretel, a bright, upfront and wonderfully w…
Derby Theatre: Jim Barclay plays Ebenezer Scrooge and an accomplished ensemble of seven actor-musicians - several with roots in Derby - share the narration and double, triple and quadruple r…
Playhouse, Nottingham: Kenneth Alan Taylor's 31st successive panto at the Playhouse is his best yet, as clear as a bell and wildly funny. He has assembled a cast over the last few years…
The Hippodrome, Birmingham: Peter Wright's Nutcracker is world-famous, created as a thank-you to the city of Birmingham when Sadler's Wells moved from London in 1990, and always re…
Lakeside Arts, Nottingham: Candoco's double bill of two new commissions showcases everything that makes this contemporary dance company of disabled and non-disabled dancers so extraordi…
The Studio, Derby Theatre: Daniel Chrisostomou's portrayal of the hideously deformed Joseph Merrick is almost unbearable to watch at times, for the pity of the man's situation and …
Playhouse, Nottingham: Tom Stoppard loved the language and landscape of Derbyshire and Lord Byron is one of Nottingham's own, so this stunning final contribution to the Playhouse's…
Derby Theatre: Sarah Brigham, Derby Theatre's artistic director, identifies shows with "authenticity and a big heart" as going down particularly well with audiences in Derby, …
Derby Theatre: Pilot Theatre, Derby Theatre and Theatre Royal Stratford East collaborate on Roy Williams' startling contemporary version of this classic Greek tragedy. The streets of Th…
Kilworth House Theatre, Leicester : Everyone ends up transformed in this show, which is why it brims with the feel-good factor. Redemption is in the air as the sober Catholic priest becomes …
Wollaton Hall, Nottingham: What Chapterhouse does is theatre at the coalface, carried by the power of acting, cheeky engagement with the audience and a refreshing absence of anything techni…
