UK Regional Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 23

BWW Review: THE WINSLOW BOY, Theatre Royal Brighton
by Fiona Scott - April 24, 2018

How much are we willing to sacrifice for the pursuit of truth and justice? Terence Rattigan's The Winslow Boy explores this thorny question....

BWW Review: THE GOLDEN F**KING YEARS, Brockley Jack Studio Theatre
by Gary Naylor - April 20, 2018

The Golden F**king Years is a beautifully observed and acted farce that finds plenty of comedy in the tedium of ageing and the sudden opportunity of a bit of excitement - and the consequences that inevitably follow....

BWW Review: GAUHAR JAAN - THE DATIA INCIDENT, Omnibus Theatre
by Gary Naylor - April 18, 2018

A play and accompanying exhibition about a renowned Indian singer, the eponymous Gauhar Jaan, and 'an incident' that gained infamy across India in the early 20th century....

BWW Review: SON OF A PREACHER MAN, Theatre Royal Brighton
by Fiona Scott - April 18, 2018

The premise sounds promising: a brand new jukebox musical featuring the music of Dusty Springfield. Written by Warner Brown and directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, Son of a Preacher Man opened in Bromley in September 2017 and is currently touring the UK....

BWW Review: THE BAND, Bristol Hippodrome
by Tim Wright - April 18, 2018

Pop music and musicals make good bedfellows for two main reasons. Firstly, pop music has a kind of duality - a song can mean entirely different things in different contexts. Secondly, pop music normally has just the right amount of sentimentality. The Band is a demonstration of how to harness both t...

BWW Review: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, Bristol Old Vic
by Kerrie Nicholson - April 18, 2018

Tennessee Williams' 1947 classic A Streetcar Named Desire explores the visceral side of human nature: violence, desire, power, loneliness and guilt. Winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1948, it's been adapted multiple times for stage and screen and is widely held as one of the greatest plays of the 20th c...

BWW Review: FLASHDANCE, Theatre Royal Brighton
by Fiona Scott - April 10, 2018

What a feeling! What an evening! The 80s film-musical adaption trend is alive and well. In addition to Fame, Footloose and more, fans of the iconic poppy music era can catch the 1983 classic Flashdance during its current UK tour, which currently plays the Theatre Royal in Brighton....

BWW Review: BEAUTIFUL - THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL, Bristol Hippodrome
by Tim Wright - April 05, 2018

The song-writing partnership of Carole King and Gerry Goffin was such a formidable force in the sixties that even Lennon and McCartney often spoke about wanting to emulate them. It's with this partnership then, that Beautiful: The Carol King Musical spends most of it's time....

BWW Review: WHITE GUY ON THE BUS, Finborough Theatre
by Gary Naylor - April 04, 2018

A powerful, perhaps even necessary, play that doesn't always succeed dramatically but can be forgiven for the boldness of its narrative and unflinching take on a divided city in a divided nation....

BWW Review: THREE SISTERS, Brockley Jack Studio Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 30, 2018

Once again, a fine production from Arrows & Traps theatre that reminds me, were it necessary, that if you can see Chekhov, you should....

BWW Review: THE YORK REALIST, Crucible, Sheffield
by Ruth Deller - March 30, 2018

Robert Hastie's take on Peter Gill's tale of north/south love is sympathetic and emotional, with a beautiful lead performance from Ben Batt....

BWW Review: THE MIKADO, King's Head Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 30, 2018

Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera delivered with the emphasis on the comic and more than a nod to the realities of 2018 sensibilities....

BWW Review: QUARTET, Theatre Royal Brighton
by Fiona Scott - March 27, 2018

What happens to musicians when they are old and grey? Where do famous singers retire when their voices are an echo of what they once were? Ronald Harwood's Quartet follows the antics of four elderly former opera stars as they live out their days in a specialist musician's retirement home in an expan...

BWW Review: SONGS FOR NOBODIES, Wilton's Music Hall
by Gary Naylor - March 27, 2018

A sensational Bernadette Robinson brings five 'nobodies' and five superstars to life in a series of monologues with music that explore human fallibility with wit and wisdom to spare....

BWW Review: THE LADY WITH A DOG, Tabard Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 23, 2018

A splendid production that shifts the action from Chekhov's original short story into 1920s Britain to add layers of meaning and depth to both the themes and characters - fringe theatre at its best....

BWW Review: AGNES COLANDER, Theatre Royal Bath
by Leah Tozer - March 22, 2018

'Only by forgetting all we've ever learned can we learn to live at all': wise words from a work that was, itself, forgotten....

BWW Review: THE CHERRY ORCHARD, Union Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 21, 2018

Phil Willmott's The Cherry Orchard picks up Chekhov's action and moves it forward a decade or so to 1917, when the balance of power in Russia was tilted rather differently....

BWW Review: THIS HOUSE, Theatre Royal Bath
by Tim Wright - March 20, 2018

A looming European referendum, a Labour party internally divided and drastic spending cuts. You could be forgiven for thinking that James Graham's This House is set just a few years ago. In fact, we're back in 1974 with a hung parliament and another election seemingly imminent....

BWW Review: FRANKENSTEIN, Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre
by Brogen Campbell - March 14, 2018

April De Angelis's adaptation of Frankenstein, directed by Matthew Xia, stays true to its source's literary narrative....

BWW Review: CILLA - THE MUSICAL, Bristol Hippodrome
by Tim Wright - March 14, 2018

Charting the rise of Cilla Black's pop career is tough ask for a musical. She may have been an entertainer of superlative quality, but she lacks the back catalogue that is the engine room of similar jukebox style shows....

BWW Review: ARA MALIKIAN - THE INCREDIBLE VIOLIN, Barbican Hall
by Gary Naylor - March 13, 2018

Ara Malikian showcases his talents with an eclectic mix of music spiced with showmanship and stories, with a twist in the tail....

BWW Review: THE CHERRY ORCHARD, Bristol Old Vic
by Tim Wright - March 09, 2018

The Bristol Old Vic has opened it's 'Year of Change' in spectacular fashion in this riveting new translation of Chekhov's final play The Cherry Orchard....

BWW Review: SUMMER AND SMOKE, Almeida Theatre
by Gary Naylor - March 08, 2018

Bold re-imagining of an early Tennessee Williams play that gives its themes a universality in a uniquely theatrical experience....

BWW Review: CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, Manchester HOME
by Brogen Campbell - March 07, 2018

Annie Baker's 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Circle Mirror Transformation, transports you to a studio in a community centre in Vermont. Samal Blak's design features mirror-covered walls, in which the audience can view themselves - helpful for making the audience feel a part of the group....

BWW Review: PIPPIN, Southwark Playhouse
by Gary Naylor - March 06, 2018

Technical shortcomings and an incoherent book overpower a show with a fine pedigree and good tunes....