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Category: Outside London

  • Chuckling at the Tobacco Factory’s Cherry Orchard

    I don't remember ever chuckling at The Cherry Orchard quite like I did at the Tobacco Factory Theatre on Thursday. Director Andrew Hilton has teased out the wit in Chekhov's play of posh folk with money troubles, cranking up the melodrama and throwing in some physical humour to boot.  It not only gives the play…

  • Learning to love Lear with the help of Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory

    This is my third Lear and I’m gradually growing fond of this Shakespeare tragedy. The first time I saw it,  with Ian McKellan in the eponymous role, the King's scheming and bitchy daughters Goneril and Regan were just too abhorrent, I couldn’t wait for them to get their just desserts. And as for Lear himself,…

  • Wigs and onesie’s – it’s The Way of the World

    If for nothing else but the costumes and wigs, playing the character of Witwoud in The Way of the World, for Samuel Barnett, must be heaps of fun. As well as modern spins on frock coats, ruffled cuffs and a rather fetching striped onesie complete with night cap he also gets to wear a towering…

  • Is Shakespeare shaping up to be the most exciting theatre of 2012?

    I know we are getting extra helpings of Shakespeare, what with it being the cultural Olympiad and all that but it feels like all the plays I'm particularly excited about seeing this year were written by the bard. First there was the announcement that Jonjo O'Neill is to play a young Richard III at Stratford…

  • First trip to the Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester is a Beautiful Thing

    My friend Chris is a regular visitor to the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester and always says glowing things about it. And when I tweeted that I was going, I had some similarly fond responses back.  And while it isn't wholly pretty, it did, I'm happy to report, completely live up to its recommendations. If…

  • Finally the South Downs/Browning version review

    It's been nearly two weeks since I made my first trip to Chichester and a combination of indolence, sickness and general busyness has stood between me and my keyboard. The problem is that now that much time has passed my memory of this double bill of short plays has started to fade. Not that they…

  • July’s theatre round up

    Wow, what a bumper month July turned out to be, five plays earned five star reviews, although one of those was a second visit to see Propeller's Richard III which I'd already given top rating to. The remaining nine plays I saw got four stars apart from one which let the side down considerably. Shame…

  • The Pride of Sheffield

    I love Alexi Kaye Campbell's play about life as  gay men in the 1958 vs 2008 but confess this production had a slight disadvantage from the outset – the last version I saw was in New York with Stan-fav Ben Whishaw playing Oliver. This production the Crucible's studio space is directed by Richard Wilson (who…

  • That was January’s theatre

    We are charging into February and a chocolate box rammed full of theatre delights but before January becomes a dim and distant memory, I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on some of its offerings. I have my (nerdy) new spread sheet to help me and while I rate each play in my review…

  • A View from the Scottish Bridge

    The first time I saw A View From the Bridge Ken Stott’s performance as Eddie Carbone moved me to tears. That was nearly two years ago and I’ve been eager to seen another production ever since. So when I discovered a work trip to Edinburgh coincided with a run of the play at its Lyceum…