UK Regional Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 40

BWW Reviews: THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, New Wimbledon Studio Theatre, May 27 2015
by Gary Naylor - May 28, 2015

Gary Naylor sees a gender-flipped Taming of the Shrew that would benefit from further focus on its two lead lovers (and fighters)....

BWW Reviews: CROUCH TOUCH PAUSE ENGAGE, The Arcola Theatre, May 22 2015
by Alice Chappell - May 26, 2015

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BWW Reviews: THRILL ME, Old Rep Theatre Birmingham, May 22 2015
by Jenny Antill - May 23, 2015

Nominated for seven 'Offies' and 'Best Off West End Production' at the 2012 Whatsonstage Awards, Climar Productions' 2011 production of Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story moved to the Charing Cross Theatre for a very successful run before being revived in 2014 for the Edinburgh Fringe where it won ...

BWW Reviews: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, Crucible, Sheffield, May 19 2015
by Ruth Deller - May 22, 2015

Sheffield Theatres' take on the Austen classic is well-staged and very funny, but perhaps lacks a slight sparkle of romance....

BWW Reviews: THE RISE AND FALL OF LITTLE VOICE, Birmingham Rep Theatre, May 20 2015
by Jenny Antill - May 21, 2015

Jim Cartwright's play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice opened to great acclaim at the National Theatre in 1992 before transferring into the West End....

BWW Reviews: THE FLANNELETTES, King's Head Theatre, May 19 2015
by Gary Naylor - May 21, 2015

Gary Naylor sees a comedy drama with an edge as hard as the coal that used to be hewn from the pits beneath the village in which it is set....

BWW Reviews: COUGAR THE MUSICAL, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, May 19 2015
by Jenny Antill - May 20, 2015

I've just seen a news headline saying that a cougar has been seen loose around town. Turned out it was referring to a town in California and not the stars of Cougar the Musical which has just opened at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry for its UK premiere, following two very successful years playing ...

BWW Reviews: SKIN IN FLAMES, Park Theatre, May 14 2015
by Gary Naylor - May 16, 2015

Gary Naylor sees an intense drama, performed in the UK for the first time, that shows how imbalances of power can lead to abuse, but also to a kind of cynical deal that benefits those willing to settle....

BWW Reviews: THE GHOST TRAIN, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, May 12 2015
by Jenny Antill - May 13, 2015

Brighton-based theatre company Talking Scarlet are building up an increasing repertoire of stage productions and there are currently four of their shows on the road. The play I had the pleasure of seeing last night was The Ghost Train by Arnold Ridley. A comedy thriller written in 1923; it has been ...

BWW Reviews: DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, New Alexandra Theatre Birmingham, May 6 2015
by Jenny Antill - May 07, 2015

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels opened to critical acclaim in the West End last April. It's taken a while to cross the pond having opened on Broadway over a decade ago but now UK-wide audiences are at last able to enjoy this production, having opened at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham last night. Th...

BWW Reviews: TONY'S LAST TAPE, Bridge House Theatre, May 5 2015
by Gary Naylor - May 06, 2015

Gary Naylor sees a man he feels he knows well (through over 60 years of diaries) brought to life in a warm tribute with just enough edge to show that he mattered....

BWW Reviews: OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR, Birmingham Rep Theatre, May 5 2015
by Jenny Antill - May 06, 2015

Over the last year, many productions have been revived to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War. Oh What A Lovely War , originally produced by Joan Littlewood at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, is another example of this and is playing the final week of its UK tour at Birmingham...

BWW Reviews: CARRIE, Southwark Playhouse, May 6 2015
by Gary Naylor - May 07, 2015

Gary Naylor sees a musical revival that has its flaws but also has two flawless central performances, with acting and singing of the highest quality....

BWW Reviews: AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY, The Print Room, April 30 2015
by Gary Naylor - May 02, 2015

Gary Naylor sees a play that intertwines eight monologues from eight women getting by as best they can in contemporary London....

BWW Reviews: LITTLE WOMEN, Old Rep Theatre Birmingham, April 30 2015
by Jenny Antill - May 02, 2015

Telling the story of the March sisters growing up in Civil War America, Little Women has never really had the recognition it deserves as a musical. It only lasted for four months on Broadway and has had just a few short stints elsewhere. Based on Louisa May Alcott's semi-autobiographical novel, it i...

BWW Reviews: CLOSER TO HEAVEN, Union Theatre, April 28 2015
by Gary Naylor - April 29, 2015

Gary Naylor sees a musical that has much going for it, but is let down by a predictable script and some uneven singing and acting,...

BWW Reviews: KING JOHN, Royal and Derngate, April 28 2015
by Verity Wilde - April 29, 2015

Shakespeare's KING JOHN comes to a church where the real King actually visited, in Northampton's Royal and Derngate's co-production with Shakespeare's Globe - Verity Wilde was there for BroadwayWorld....

BWW Reviews: REBECCA, Birmingham Rep Theatre, April 27 2015
by Jenny Antill - April 28, 2015

Daphne du Maurier's most famous novel Rebecca - written in 1938 - is spectacularly brought back to life by Kneehigh Theatre Company's current UK tour. "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" is the iconic line starting and ending the performance and from the moment it is first uttered, the a...

BWW Reviews: THE ROLLING STONE, The Royal Exchange, April 24 2015
by Adrian Bradley - April 25, 2015

10 years since its creation - The Royal Exchange Theatre's Bruntwood prize for Playwriting celebrated with a photo exhibition and the world premiere of one of 2013's winners - Chris Urch's The Rolling Stone. Urch's superb claustrophobic drama tells the love story of Sam and Dembe, in the backdrop of...

BWW Reviews: RESULT, Pleasance Theatre, April 23 2015
by Gary Naylor - April 28, 2015

Gary Naylor sees football brilliantly brought to life on stage in a cautionary tale about what happens when 18-year-old players are handed a professional contract and what happens when they are not....

BWW Reviews: CLARION, Arcola Theatre, April 22 2015
by Gary Naylor - April 23, 2015

Gary Naylor sees a wonderfully funny swearfest of a comedy set in the moral cesspit of a newspaper not too dissimilar to one or two in a newsagent near you....

BWW Reviews: THE PRODUCERS, New Alexandra Theatre Birmingham, April 21 2015
by Jenny Antill - April 21, 2015

The Producers, a Mel Brooks musical, has been a favourite of mine since I saw the Las Vegas production years ago starring David Hasselhoff - who was surprisingly good, I might add! The show had been condensed into an hour and a half straight through which worked well in my opinion. The musical was a...

BWW Reviews: SCARLET, Southwark Playhouse, April 17 2015
by Gary Naylor - April 18, 2015

Gary Naylor sees a play full of innovation, one that could only have been written in the last year or two - a rare example of truly contemporary theatre staged in 2015....

BWW Reviews: CHEEK BY JOWL MEASURE FOR MEASURE, Silk Street Theatre Barbican, April 16 2015
by Gary Naylor - April 17, 2015

Gary Naylor sees a visually stunning and powerful version of one of Shakespeare's problem plays, stripped back to its moral dilemmas...

BWW Reviews: BOUNCERS, Old Rep Theatre Birmingham, April 17 2015
by Jenny Antill - April 17, 2015

Bouncers remains a timeless piece and one of John Godber's most popular plays. The current tour presented by the John Godber Company and Theatre Royal Wakefield is playing its penultimate venue this week in Birmingham. The show has been extensively performed across the country so one would presume i...