The unique setting of the Sewell Barn theatre, complete with gorgeous design choices, placed this adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic in strong ground before the lights even went down. Director Sabrina Poole has once again brought cohesion and creativity to the design of her shows, this time using temporal set and sound design to […]
Cast of Dracula. Photo by Adam Koszary Nick Lane’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Gothic novel has the machinery of a chilling theatrical encounter, but rarely generates the dread that should animate it. Directed by Hal Chambers, this uneven production is more adept at illustrating the story than making its horrors felt. Victoria Spearing’s multi-level set […]
Catherine Russell as Patricia Highsmith and Jamie Sayers as Edward Ridgeway. Photo by Fourth Wall Photography An absorbing psychological thriller driven by two compelling performances and a strikingly atmospheric design. In Joanna Murray-Smith’s Switzerland, fact and fiction intertwine in a darkly entertaining portrait of crime novelist Patricia Highsmith. Set in 1995, the play imagines an […]
The cast of Wilko. Photo by Stuart Purfield There is an irresistible story at the heart of Wilko: Love and Death and Rock ’n’ Roll. Dr Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson was given a terminal cancer diagnosis and, rather than retreating from life, responded by embracing it; only for the diagnosis itself to take an extraordinary […]
JESS & MORGS turn political evasion into a technically dazzling collision of dance, film and digital illusion In Deepfake, award-winning director-choreographers Jessica Wright and Morgann Runacre-Temple transform the carefully manufactured theatre of political communication into something exhilaratingly literal. Set inside the acidic green of a television studio, the work places Kennedy Muntanga’s Prime Minister opposite […]
photography by Mike Kwasniak Andrew Bovell’s Things I Know to Be True finds its emotional force in the uncomfortable space where unconditional love becomes expectation. Rachel Lansdowne’s production for Gallery Players is warm, thoughtful and often affecting, capturing a family whose affection sits alongside disappointment, resentment and change. Lansdowne’s set places a fairy-lit tree at […]
Cast : Catherine Terry, Karen Holmes, Pippa Duffy, Annie Kirkman, Angela Caesar, Rachel Hammond. Photograph by Will Green Photography This collaborative production from New Wolsey Theatre, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Theatre by the Lake and Octagon Theatre Bolton brings Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s Calendar Girls the Musical to life as a warm, sharply observed and […]
Photo by Mike Kwasniak L.P. Hartley’s famous observation that “the past is a foreign country” hangs heavily over Ben Musgrave’s adaptation of The Go-Between. Produced by Eastern Angles, this is a bittersweet, sharply observed exploration of nostalgia, memory, and the permanent fractures left by childhood experience. Before the narrative proper begins, Sophie Crawford’s Balladeer establishes […]
Three doors, two plastic chairs and a tricycle decorate the stage. A simple set-up for some of the most dynamic and challenging characters and relationships, handled incredibly by Director Tom Scudamore, topped with a healthy dose of comedy and slick set and costume design. Beautiful…
How do you retell a tale told so often at this time of year, by a multitude of different theatres across the country, full of tired stereotypes and a confusing ensemble? With skill, grace, and humour, answers the Norwich Players; their new production of Treasure…