UK Regional Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 36

BWW Reviews: THE PATRIOTIC TRAITOR, Park Theatre, February 24 2015
by Tom Cox - February 26, 2016

The Patriotic Traitor is the story of close friends, Charels de Gaulle and Philippe Petain, who despite sharing a love of France, wind up on opposing sides during World War II....

BWW Review: Alan Bennett's SINGLE SPIES, Birmingham Rep
by Emma Cann - February 22, 2016

Following the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company's successful collaboration with Chichester Festival Theatre in 2015, producing The King's Speech, the two companies have worked together once more to present Alan Bennett's award-winning double-bill. First performed in 1988, Single Spies consists of...

BWW Review: A STEADY RAIN, Arcola Theatre, February 17 2016
by Gary Naylor - February 18, 2016

Gary Naylor sees a play that has a curious structure but too flimsy and over-familiar a plot to carry a production that boils down to two men talking....

BWW Review: JANIS JOPLIN - FULL TILT, Theatre Royal Stratford East, February 16 2016
by Gary Naylor - February 17, 2016

Gary Naylor sees a fine performance in a concert / play that shines a light on a somewhat neglected but important figure in the 1960s counterculture....

BWW Review: IMPOSSIBLE, New Alexandra Theatre Birmingham, February 16 2016
by Jenny Ell - February 17, 2016

Fresh from its hugely successful run in the West End, Impossible is a brand new stage spectacle featuring six of the best magicians and illusionists that this country has to offer. From death-defying stunts to close-up magic, the show manages to strike the perfect balance in scale and has the audien...

BWW Review: ORPHANS, Southwark Playhouse, February 12 2016
by Gary Naylor - February 15, 2016

Gary Naylor sees a fine black comedy that has lots to say 33 years on from its premiere and showcases three tours-de-force from the three actors...

BWW Review: WAITING FOR GODOT, The Crucible, Sheffield, 8 Feb 2016
by Ruth Deller - February 14, 2016

Sheffield Theatres' associate director Charlotte Gwinner returns to directing duties at the Crucible with Waiting For Godot. This version of Samuel Beckett's classic features a stark, yet somewhat beautiful set from designer Simon Daw that sits on the boundary between art and nature; life-and-death;...

BWW Review: MATTHEW BOURNE'S SLEEPING BEAUTY, Birmingham Hippodrome
by Emma Cann - February 12, 2016

Completing his trio of Tchaikovsky's great ballets, Sir Matthew Bourne has turned his choreographic hand to Sleeping Beauty, with the added surtitle 'a gothic romance.' After reportedly experiencing divine inspiration whilst staying in the former bedroom of the renowned Russian composer, Bourne has ...

BWW Review: DRESS REHEARSAL, Old Sorting Office Arts Centre, February 11 2016
by Gary Naylor - February 15, 2016

Gary Naylor sees some magnificent singing and dodgy acting in something best described as a 'Jukebox Opera'....

BWW Review: CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, Theatr Clwyd, Feb 10 2016
by Carrie Dunn - February 12, 2016

Tamara Harvey begins her tenure as artistic director of Theatr Clwyd with Robert Hastie's delightful and thought-provoking production of Tennessee Williams's Southern plantation melodrama, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof....

BWW Review: ROAD SHOW, Union Theatre, February 10 2016
by Gary Naylor - February 11, 2016

Gary Naylor sees an ill-focused but nevertheless rewarding Sondheim musical about two brothers who each succeed and fail in their own ways....

BWW Review: AMERICAN IDIOT, Old Joint Stock Birmingham, February 10 2016
by Jenny Ell - February 11, 2016

Prior to a UK tour beginning next month, the Old Joint Stock Musical Theatre Company are currently presenting American Idiot at their resident home in Birmingham. Winner of two Tony Awards, the show opened to great acclaim on Broadway in 2010 after a short out-of-town run and has enjoyed productions...

BWW Review: PRIVATE LIVES, New Alexandra Birmingham
by Emma Cann - February 10, 2016

One of Noel Coward's most enduring comedies, Private Lives follows the improbable tale of divorced couple Elyot and Amanda, both now re-married to Sybil and Victor respectively, who manage to honeymoon at the same hotel in the South of France, at the same time, and in adjacent rooms. Following a cha...

BWW Review: HAMLET PECKHAM, CLF Theatre Bussey Building, February 8 2016
by Gary Naylor - February 09, 2016

Gary Naylor sees a Hamlet (well, three Hamlets) in Peckham that tells its tale with great clarity and no little wit....

BWW review: A RAISIN IN THE SUN, Crucible Studio, Sheffield, Feb 1 2016
by Ruth Deller - February 14, 2016

The Sheffield Theatres/Eclipse Theatres production shows that Lorraine Hansberry's classic play is as fresh today as when it was first written....

BWW Review: GOODNIGHT POLLY JONES, Theatre N16, February 3 2016
by Gary Naylor - February 05, 2016

Gary Naylor sees an important and perfectly scripted and acted play about power in the workplace and consent outside it....

BWW Review: THE SISTERHOOD, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, February 2 2016
by Jenny Ell - February 03, 2016

Based on Moliere's Les Femmes Savantes, The Sisterhood is currently playing at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry. The production is directed by their Artistic Director Hamish Glen and has been relocated in time from the late 1600's to the 1980's; visually a complete contradiction but relevant based on ...

BWW Review: MACBETH, Birmingham Rep
by Emma Cann - January 28, 2016

As 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, we will be treated to a year of exciting and innovative programming inspired by the Bard. Macbeth, directed by Carrie Cracknell and Lucy Guerin, is the first of three Shakespearean productions at The Birmingham Rep this year. Explored using...

BWW Review: HERONS, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, January 25 2016
by Gary Naylor - January 27, 2016

Gary Naylor sees a no holds barred parable of life on the edges of society amongst kids who have never developed the moral compass to survive in a society....

BWW Review: THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, New Alexandra Theatre Birmingham, January 25 2016
by Jenny Ell - January 26, 2016

Following a remarkably successful live cinema broadcast across Europe in September last year, The Rocky Horror Show is still riding the wave of its 40th anniversary celebrations. The year-long UK tour kicked off in December and last night brought the house down at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmin...

BWW Review: YOU TWEET MY FACE SPACE, Theatre N16, January 24 2016
by Gary Naylor - January 25, 2016

Gary Naylor sees a clever and funny satire about the way social media has gripped our lives and the way Facebook has gripped social media,...

BWW Review: THE SNOWMAN, Birmingham Rep Theatre, January 21 2016
by Jenny Ell - January 21, 2016

The Snowman has been a widely recognised and fondly regarded book and film since its conception by Raymond Briggs in the late 1970's. It has had an annual Christmas TV slot since 1982 and the 26-minute film was even nominated for an Academy Award - not bad considering it derived from a children's pi...

BWW Review: JEKYLL AND HYDE, Cockpit Theatre, January 19 2016
by Gary Naylor - January 21, 2016

Gary Naylor sees an innovative and stylish adaptation of Doctore Jekyll and Mr Hyde which, somewhat appropriately, is good in parts....

BWW Review: BIG BROTHER BLITZKRIEG, King's Head Theatre, January 15 2016
by Gary Naylor - January 17, 2016

Gary Naylor sees an interesting and important idea exploited both for its comic potential and as a warning about the powers of demagoguery....

BWW Review: THE LONG ROAD SOUTH, King's Head Theatre, January 15 2016
by Gary Naylor - January 17, 2016

Gary Naylor sees a superbly acted, tension-packed slice of 1960s American life based on a true story delivered in a venue ideally suited to its material....