North West

Much Ado About Nothing

William Shakespeare

Jersey Boys

Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe

The Gruffalo

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

YNWA – Let’s Talk About Six…Baby

Nicky Allt

Stig of the Dump

Based on the story by Clive King, adapted by Jessica Swale

The Jungle Book

Andrew Pollard

The Wizard Of Oz

One Man, Two Guvnors

Richard Bean, based on The Servant Of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, songs by ...

Little Women

Adapted by Anne Odeke, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott

Hot Ice Show: Rapture

Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare

Week of Baddiel at Lowry

15 August 2022

Comedian and writer David Baddiel is coming to The Lowry in Salford.

Less is Moor for Lancaster

15 August 2022

Moor Space, just up the road from the Dukes Theatre in Lancaster, has been transformed into an intimate 100-seat venue.

Peppa Pig pops back

15 August 2022

Peppa Pig is back at the Lowry in Salford.

Dylan musical for Salford

15 August 2022

Girl From The North Country, with music and lyrics by Bob Dylan, is visiting The Lowry in Salford next month.

Dream staging for new Cockpit

15 August 2022

A riotous production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be the first Shakespearean-inspired production to be staged on the Cockpit stage at new venue Shakespeare North Playhouse.

caTaPult aimed at new artists

15 August 2022

Performance showcase caTaPult will return for its second year September 22 at the Main Theatre of City Campus Manchester.

Gone fishing in Salford

15 August 2022

Fisherman’s Friends The Musical comes to the Lowry, Salford.

Swansong for some

15 August 2022

The Swansong Cabaret is a show for performers who have decided to “give-up” on their careers . . .

Ursula reaches new depths

15 August 2022

Things can only get wetter when parody musical Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch visits The Lowry, Salford.

Khushi time in Oldham

15 August 2022

Khushi is set to take over the Coliseum and spaces across Oldham town centre for three days.

Cast revealed for first tour of The Color Purple

12 August 2022

Leicester’s Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome have announced the cast for the musical The Color Purple which is to tour England and Wales.

Tenderfoot steps up to Edinburgh

4 August 2022

Tenderfoot Theatre take their show Stop the World, We're Getting Off to Edinburgh Fringe this August.

Much Ado in Sheffield and elsewhere

4 August 2022

Sheffield Theatres has announced the full cast for its production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Death Drop is habit forming

4 August 2022

Drag show Death Drop: Back In The Habit is back at Blackpool Grand next January.

Opening Gambit in Manchester

4 August 2022

A game of strategy comes to life, as human chess pieces invade Manchester city centre in a powerplay that turns the tables on the traditional order.

Lowry throws open doors

4 August 2022

The Lowry in Salford is throwing open its doors this Sunday.

Ghost story première in Blackpool

4 August 2022

Blue Peter star Peter Duncan is in a Blackpool Grand première of ghost story When Darkness Falls.

Coliseum hits Road

4 August 2022

Oldham Coliseum stages a revival of Jim Cartwright’s Road this September.

Party time for city fringe

4 August 2022

Greater Manchester Fringe Festival celebrates with its awards and closing party on Sunday.

Black History matters

4 August 2022

HOME’s programme for this year’s Black History Month at the Manchester venue is out.

Liverpool fest No 3

4 August 2022

Liverpool Theatre Festival returns next month for its third consecutive year.

Behind the scenes at Epstein

4 August 2022

Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre is introducing theatre tours and workshops.

Get in the Groove

4 August 2022

Outbox and Shoreditch Town Hall present Groove, a new production featuring an intergenerational cast of queer dancers and actors.

RSC production to focus on climate change

29 July 2022

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s 'First Encounters with Shakespeare' Twelfth Night in schools and theatres across the country will focus on “the climate crisis”.

Spike & Friends for new play

29 July 2022

The cast for Spike Milligan comedy Spike has been announced for Blackpool Grand.

£2.3m Theatre Porto for Cheshire

29 July 2022

On August 10, the doors of the new theatre and cultural centre in Whitby Park, Ellesmere Port open after a £2.8m development.

Magical return to Pleasure Beach

29 July 2022

Evolution Of Magic returns to the Horseshoe at Blackpool Pleasure Beach for a sixth season.

Reds legend play is back

29 July 2022

You’ll Never Walk Alone, the show about Liverpool Football Club and its history, is back.

Grand tribute to Doddy

29 July 2022

How tickled is Blackpool Grand to unveil a tribute to Sir Ken Dodd?

Doubtfire cast check in

28 July 2022

New comedy musical Mrs Doubtfire has confirmed its cast for the UK première.

Wynter and summer in Blackpool

28 July 2022

Sixties pop singer Mark Wynter returns to Blackpool this summer in Dreamboats & Petticoats Bringing on Back the Good Times.

Manchester Menagerie two years later

28 July 2022

Director Atri Banerjee returns to Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre with a fresh retelling of The Glass Menagerie.

Suba stuff for Liverpool

28 July 2022

Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse has a new programme of work, the first under creative director Suba Das.

Grace gets Cinderella ball rolling

21 July 2022

Hope Mill Theatre’s production of Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella the Musical stars Grace Mouat in the title role.

Princesses' summer soundtrack

21 July 2022

There’s a children’s live concert with a difference as four Pop Princesses sing a soundtrack of top pop hits at Blackpool Grand Theatre.

Things Hidden at HOME

21 July 2022

The Javaad Alipoor Company will be joining HOME in Manchester for its 2022–23 season.

Octagon role in summer fun

20 July 2022

Bolton Octagon Theatre and the town’s Libraries and Museums are to give young people aged 11–16 who receive free school meals the opportunity to get creative.

Wayne's afternoon in resort

20 July 2022

An Audience with Wayne Sleep kicks off a line-up of dance at Blackpool Grand Theatre.

53two's face-changing feat

20 July 2022

Manchester’s 53two launches its first-ever season with new writing, the return of JB Shorts and opportunities for sharing work.

Seeing double in Salford

20 July 2022

Identical, a brand new musical based on the novel The Parent Trap, is heading to The Lowry in Salford.

Kimberly's seamless switch

20 July 2022

Coronation Street actor Kimberly Hart-Simpson is swapping the cobbles of soap land for a title role in St Helens.

Grand Dame for Blackpool

20 July 2022

This year’s Panto Dame at Blackpool Grand will be theatre favourite Philip Meeks as Nursie in Sleeping Beauty.

Johannes back on tour

20 July 2022

TV dancing star Johannes Radebe is presenting Johannes Radebe: Freedom Unleashed, after his debut UK tour earlier this year.

Bound for big things?

20 July 2022

Manchester-based Vertigo Theatre Productions is to present a limited try-out of a new stage adaptation of the film Bound.

Sarah & Duck for Salford

20 July 2022

The BAFTA-winning CBeebies series Sarah & Duck’s Big Top Birthday comes to The Lowry, Salford.

Summer play Den for Exchange

20 July 2022

This summer, Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre will set up its eco-friendly mobile theatre, the Den, at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre.

Rita, Sue, Bob and Michael!

20 July 2022

St Helens-born actor Michael Parr is returning to his hometown to star in Rita, Sue & Bob Too!

Meet the new boss…

25 June 2022

Keisha Thompson celebrates her appointment as Artistic Director/ Chief Executive of Manchester’s Contact in rare style with Cocktails and Cinquains.

North West theatre in 2021

31 December 2021

David Chadderton summarises a mixed year in North West theatre as theatres have opened with both the work we loved before the pandemic and new innovations.

Ring in the new…

4 December 2021

Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre announces the 2022 season; David Cunningham was at the launch.

We’re all in this together

14 November 2021

A reviewer looks at the complexities arising from expecting artists to be socially responsible and decides to run away.

Manchester theatre mourns passing of Chris Honer

12 November 2021

The charming and much-admired Chris Honer, artistic director of Manchester’s Library Theatre from 1987–2014, died last week.

Walking ‘The Walk’: Taking part in 'When the Birds Land'

3 November 2021

A reviewer takes part in the climax of an event to raise awareness of challenges facing refugees by welcoming Little Amal to Manchester.

Exchange disrupts its building's history

22 October 2021

David Cunningham attends the launch of the Royal Exchange Theatre's Disrvpt programme, looking at whether associations with the slave trade in the 18th century via cotton traders are putting off audiences today.