British Theatre Guide

Latest Theatre Reviews

Bullet Tongue

Andrew Day and Sonya Hale
The Big House Theatre Company
The Big House, Islington
14 November to 8 December 2018

Simon Boccaneggra

Giuseppe Verdi
Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
15 November to 10 December 2018

Fans

Nina Berry
The Six Twenty in association with Live Theatre
Sunderland Stages at The Peacock, Sunderland
16 November 2018

Fanatical: A Sci-Fi Convention Musical

Music and lyrics by Matt Board, book by Reina Hardy
Neil Marcus and Rachel Kraftman for Fanatical About Fanatical Ltd with Laura Elmes Productions and Craig Nom Chong
Playground Theatre
8 November to 9 December 2018

The Merry Widow

Music by Franz Léhar, libretto by Victor Léon and Leo Stein (translated and a...
Opera North
The Lowry
15 to 17 November 2018

Young Men

Iván Pérez
BalletBoyz
Wilton's Music Hall
13 to 17 November 2018

Shrek The Musical

David Lindsay-Abaire from William Steig, music by Jeanine Tesori
Dreamworks Theatricals
The Lyric, Theatre Royal Plymouth
13 to 24 November 2018

Bold Girls

Rona Munro
Theatre by the Lake
York Theatre Royal
13 to 14 November 2018

Tosca

Music by Giacomo Puccini, Libretto by Giuseppe Giacoso and Luigi Illica (afte...
Opera North
The Lowry
14 to 16 November 2018

Macbeth

William Shakespeare
Shakespeare's Globe
Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Shakespeare's Globe
7 November 2018 to 2 February 2019

Five Years

Neil Pike
Neil Pike and Matt Miller
Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle
13 to 17 November 2018

Podcast

Latest Theatre News

McKellen going back to his roots

Ian McKellen is to celebrate his 80th birthday next year by raising funds for theatres, including several across the North West region from where he hails.

Creditors by August Strindberg in a world premiere adaptation by Howard Brenton

Spring in its step for Lakeland

Theatre by the Lake’s 2019 season in Keswick includes a world première production from Howard Brenton, Educating Rita starring Stephen Tompkinson, two regional premières in the Studio and a special fundraising event featuring Ian McKellen.

Mormon musical for Manchester

The Book of Mormon is coming to Manchester at the Palace Theatre from June 6.

Twice as Spice around the North West

There’s double the chance to enjoy the music of the Spice Girls during 2019.

Fattening up for Christmas in Lancaster

Comedy, cabaret and chaos are on their way back to The Dukes in Lancaster.

Jo confirmed as Northampton venues’ chief executive

Jo Gordon has been appointed chief executive of the trust which runs Northampton’s Royal and Derngate and The Core at Corby Cube.

New Vic in call for associate artist

Artists, collectives and companies are being invited to apply to become associate artist for 2019 at Newcastle-under-Lyme’s New Vic Theatre.

Search for Wizard of Oz concentrated on Birmingham

The yellow brick road leads to Birmingham REP at Christmas 2018 as Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion go in search of The Wizard of Oz.

Favourites return for Sleeping Beauty in Coventry

Coventry favourites Iain Lauchlan and Craig Hollingsworth will return to the Belgrade alongside a mixture of new and familiar faces for the theatre’s 2018 panto Sleeping Beauty.

Lineker scores with part in Leicester’s Treasure Island

Former Leicester City and England striker Gary Lineker is to appear at Leicester Haymarket during its panto Treasure Island—but not in person.

Kelsey Grammer and Danielle de Niese to star in Man of La Mancha

Michael Linnit and Michael Grade will collaborate with English National Opera to bring a new production of the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha to London, the show's first West End production in more than 50 years.

London theatre charts

Top 5

The Play That Goes Wrong
Duchess Theatre
Hamilton
Victoria Palace Theatre
The Lehman Trilogy
Lyttelton Theatre (National Theatre)
Pack of Lies
Menier Chocolate Factory
The Height of the Storm
Wyndham's Theatre

Alternative Top 5

Matilda the Musical
Cambridge Theatre
Antony and Cleopatra
Olivier Theatre (National Theatre)
I'm Not Running
Lyttelton Theatre (National Theatre)
Company
Gielgud Theatre
Don Quixote
Garrick Theatre

Latest Theatre Features

From The Child’s Christmas by Evelyn Sharp (1906)

North East pantos & Christmas shows 2018 - 2019

A listing of all professional pantomimes and children's Chrisrmas shows in the North East.

The Armistice and the theatre of war

Sandra Giorgetti looks at theatre's response to the First World War as the centenary of the Armistice approaches.

Great War Theatre

British Theatre Guide's Sandra Giorgetti has been a volunteer researcher on a project to uncover the theatre of the First World War. Here she speaks to the project leader, Dr Helen Brooks, Reader in Theatre & Cultural History at the University of Kent.

Touring News – November 2018

Sandra Giorgetti looks at the tours that take to the road next month including Canary from Fun in the Oven Theatre about munitions workers in the First World War called Canary Girls because the chemicals they worked with turned their skin yellow, and Badac Theatre's story of a mother and child refugee, The Journey.

Touring News – October 2018

Sandra Giorgetti looks at the tours that take to the road next month including Matt Abbott’s new poetry show Two Little Ducks, RedCape Theatre's comic road trip Thunder Road, trans activist and performer Travis Alabanza’s Burgerz and Wise Children from Emma Rice's new company.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter