Gary Naylor - Page 24

Hello Again is lovely to look at and a wonder to hear, let down only by a slightly half-hearted approach to the messy business of sex.

Gary Naylor sees his last show at this season's Grimeborn, an Italian opera based on the original sources of Romeo and Juliet sung with tremendous panache.

FormidAbility's unique approach to integrating those with disabilities on either side of the fourth wall enhances two pieces that prove tricky for the uninitiated to appreciate fully.

You know Scott Joplin is a genius, but having that conformed by this wonderful, uplifting, yet shocking opera, is a delight and a privilege. Beautifully performed too.

Opera Alegría plonk Rossini's naughty Count on the Home Front in 1943, with lots of laughs in between the fine singing and beautifully played piano.

Nicholas Wright's new play, set on the road in wartime America, examines the relationships between Paul Robeson and his Othello co-stars, José Ferrer and Uta Hagen. It does not waste that wonderful set up.

Iris Theatre's The Hunchback of Notre Dame lacks a little focus and is far too long, but has its moments of delight illuminated by a fine central performance from Robert Rhodes.

Grimeborn sees a condensed version version of the early part of Wagner's Ring Cycle that packs a punch in its intense 100 minutes running time.

The vivacity of this production of Kiss Me, Kate hits you even harder than the gifts of the multi-talented cast. Just what you need to escape these troubled times.

Violetta kicks off the Grimeborn Festival with a perfect example of how to pare back a grand opera and make a fine chamber piece that is played and sung beautifully.

This epic WNO production captures the scale of Prokofiev's ambition with a chorus that, like the Russian winter, just keeps coming.

Oklahoma! stands at the very start of musical theatre's post-war re-invention on Broadway, Rodgers and Hammerstein's template for storytelling on show for two wonderful hours. However, this production raises some unexpected questions.

Our Church looks at how a moral dilemma impacts on a small community and at how pain can vibrate through decades before re-surfacing - and it avoids the glibness of a resolution founded in easy answers.

Jellyfish is a wonderful piece of writing brilliantly brought to life by a marvellous cast in which Sarah Gordy shines.

David Hare's updating of Ibsen's Peer Gynt has plenty to say about the world in 2019 - perhaps a little too much - but James McArdle's central performance and the sheer chutzpah of the concept and direction pulls it through.

One Giant Leap takes a good set up - a failing sci-fi show asked to fake the moon landings - but loses its way amongst predictable stereotypes and laughs that come few and far between.

BWW was impressed with the work of the young playwrights selected as winners of the National Theatre's annual New Views competition.

Summer Rolls takes us into the heart of a British Vietnamese family that is struggling to deal with the present, a consequence of the long shadow cast by the past.

Crooked Dances takes us deep into the French forest and deep into the mysteries of the occult, as go-getting journalist, Katy, learns more than she would like about reclusive pianist Silvia and her obsession with the music of Erik Satie.

Iris Theatre's summer season at St Paul's Church kicks off with an innovative Hamlet in which not all the bells and whistles work, but which boasts a fine central performance from Jenet Le Lacheur.