Midlands productions

Published: 1 April 2018
Reporter: Steve Orme

Where Is Mrs Christie? in the Studio at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
The Embroidery Girl at the Albany Theatre, Coventry
Michael Hodgson as the Porter, Christopher Eccleston as Macbeth and Niamh Cusack as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford Credit: Richard Davenport

Strictly Come Dancing’s Alijaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara pay tribute to Fred Astaire in Remembering Fred in Derngate, Northampton on Monday.

A one-woman show investigating the “disappearance” of the queen of crime Agatha Christie, Where Is Mrs Christie? is uncovered in the Studio at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Mischief Theatre should be in for a calamitous week at Derby Theatre with The Play That Goes Wrong from Tuesday until Saturday.

Kara Lily Hayworth takes the lead role in the adaptation of Jeff Pope’s ITV mini-series about Cilla Black, Cilla: The Musical in the Theatre Royal, Nottingham from Tuesday until Saturday.

Household objects spring to life in a “radical” reimagining of the story of Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, presented by puppet theatre company Little Angel, at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry from Tuesday until Thursday and in the Studio at Derby Theatre on Sunday.

Based on the picture book by Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks, What the Ladybird Heard visits the Studio at Curve, Leicester from Tuesday until Sunday.

Performed in “unusual spaces”, Box of Tricks’ Chip Shop Chips, “dinner, quiz and a show all rolled into one”, should be a tasty treat at Newhampton Arts Centre, Wolverhampton on Wednesday and Thimblemill Library, Smethwick on Thursday.

An “energetic show full of thrills, spills, magic and mayhem”, Monstersaurus ought to keep children happy at Stafford Gatehouse Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday.

A new musical ghost story by Mark Jennison-Boyle and Terry Boyle, At Journey’s End is a 3 Legged Dog Theatre presentation in the Guildhall Theatre, Derby from Wednesday until Friday.

A new folk musical adapted from an Oscar Wilde children’s story, The Selfish Giant, premières at Royal and Derngate, Northampton from Wednesday until Saturday.

Birmingham Hippodrome’s first in-house co-production, A Twisted Tale of Hansel and Gretel, with Metro-Boulot-Dodo joining forces with Open Theatre Company “to bring their creative flair and quirky sense of humour to the infamous fairy tale”, can be seen in the Hippodrome’s Patrick Centre from Wednesday until Sunday while on the main stage the untold story of the Witches of Oz, Wicked, returns from Wednesday until Sunday 29 April.

Northern Broadsides performs Deborah McAndrew’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Hard Times at the New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme from Wednesday until Saturday 14 April.

An international dance-drama set during the transition from the last Chinese Imperial dynasty, The Embroidery Girl, “combining dance, music and humour to transport audiences eastwards in a romantic and exotic tale rooted in Chinese culture”, takes to the stage at the Albany Theatre, Coventry from Thursday until Saturday.

Uncanny Theatre presents Outrage, “a highly visual, interactive response to a world where the most offensive seem to set the agenda”, in the Foyle Studio at mac Birmingham on Friday.

Let’s Hang On, the musical tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, walks like a man into Stafford Gatehouse Theatre on Friday.

Author and illustrator Rod Campbell’s children’s book Dear Zoo is brought to life at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry on Friday and Saturday and The Core at Corby Cube, Northamptonshire on Sunday and Monday.

The National Theatre production of War Horse, Nick Stafford’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s novel, continues at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham until Saturday.

Paddy Campbell’s new play Leaving, “an immersive experience that will change the way you think about young people in care”, will be presented by Curious Monkey in the Studio at Derby Theatre on Saturday.

Tweedy the Clown, who features in the annual Cheltenham Everyman Theatre panto, stages a new show for all the family, Tweedy’s Slapstick Symphony, at the Everyman on Sunday.

The stage version of Louis Sachar’s novel Holes continues at Nottingham Playhouse until Sunday 22 April (press night Thursday 5 April).

At the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Christopher Eccleston and Niamh Cusack head the cast of Macbeth which runs until Tuesday 18 September and Romeo and Juliet continues until Saturday 21 September (press night Tuesday 1 May); in the Swan Theatre, Mary Pix's comedy of manners The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich (Or the Beau Defeated) continues until Thursday 14 June (press night Tuesday 3 April) and John Webster’s blood-soaked revenge tragedy The Duchess of Malfi continues until Friday 3 August.

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