Chichester Festival Theatre – until 11th May 2024 Reviewed by Sally Lumley 4**** Chichester Festival Theatre, under new artistic director Justin Audibert, have opened their 2024 Festival season with The Other Boleyn Girl, based on the novel by Philippa Gregory. This is the story of the three Boleyn children – Mary (Lucy Phelps), Anne (Freya Mavor) and George (James Corrigan) – and their lives as protagonists and pawns in the perilous Tudor court under King Henry VIII. Born in a time when men held all the power, and women’s key duties were advantageous marriage and providing heirs, Mary and An ..read more

Criterion Theatre, London – until 14 July 2024 Reviewed by Claire Roderick 5***** ©Tristram Kenton tristram@tristramkenton.com Sometimes you just leave the theatre with a warm glow and a big goofy grin – and immediately book a return visit while downloading the cast recording. Two Strangers is absolutely gorgeous. This new musical about two strangers thrown together and finding common ground has no high stakes drama or big ensemble numbers – the title describes exactly what you’re going to see. But this doesn’t stop it being one of the most engaging and uplifting shows in the West End. Dougal ..read more

UNDERBELLY ANNOUNCES A SENSATIONAL LINEUP FOR THE ICONIC MCEWAN HALL AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 2024 Underbelly Site Photography Underbelly are thrilled to announce a host of exciting shows for their largest venue at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – McEwan Hall. Highlights include:  ●      Hannah Gadsby returns to Edinburgh for the first time since 2017 after winning the Edinburgh Comedy Award (and an Emmy) with their new show Woof! ●      After an incredibly successful run in the Udderbelly in 2022 and a subsequen ..read more

Octagon Theatre, Bolton – until Saturday 18th May 2024 Reviewed by Lauren Fordham 5***** The excitement I felt at reviewing this show started building when I set out on my journey from Leeds to Bolton as Magic at the Musicals radio station was coincidentally airing the title song ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, a thrill that only crescendoed when the lights went down in the theatre. I was already prepared for the highlight of the show, the fact that several of the actors are also musicians, but was still impressed when Zwelya Mitchell dos Santos as Crystal, Chardai Shaw as Ronette and Janna May as ..read more

Battersea Arts Centre – until 18 May 2024 Reviewer Alec Legge 5***** The show was performed in the main hall at the Battersea Arts Centre. The seating was excellent with an unrestricted view of the stage from all seats. No heads in the way due to their steep incline. A very welcome arrangement. Emma Rice’s Blue Beard is based on an old French folk tale of a rich man’s crazed and bloody passion for murdering his wives. In this musical version the murderer is a magician, played by Tristan Sturrock, who meets Lucky, Robyn Sinclair, when Robyn volunteers to help him on stage. Then there is the il ..read more

MAYFLOWER THEATRE AND THEATRICAL LYDIA RAISE OVER 25 CRATES OF FOOD DURING FOOD BANK DRIVE FOR FEED THE COMMUNITY FOODBANK To mark Come From Away performing at Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, Theatrical Lydia and Mayflower Theatre ran a foodbank drive which raised over 25 crates full of food which has now been donated to Feed The Community Foodbank in Southampton and is expected to supply the foodbank for over four weeks. Mayflower Theatre and Theatrical Lydia ran the foodbank drive inline with Pay It Forward 9/11, asking members of the audience to bring along something to donate in the foo ..read more

Laurels Theatre Whitley Bay – until 4th May 2024 Reviewed by Sandra Little 5***** This autobiographical play is written and performed by Sam Macgregor and Jack Robertson and is directed by Eilish Stout-Cairns. It was first performed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023 and is based on Sam’s true life experience of living with Alopecia. Sam plays himself in this play and Jack plays all of the other larger than life characters that enter Sam’s life. The play begins with a very funny, yet poignant, eulogy for lost hair and Sam explains that hair loss really does create feelings of loss and griev ..read more

Wilton’s Music Hall – until 11th May 2024 Reviewed by Celia Armand Smith 4**** Herman Melville’s classic tale adapted here by Sebastian Armesto is brought to life by a multi-talented ensemble of actors and musicians. Created by Simple8 in association with Royal & Derngate, this production of Moby Dick is about one man’s quest for knowledge, another man’s need for a revenge, and a whale that absolutely does not want to be harpooned. At the beginning, we meet Ishmael, a young sailor in Massachusetts who wants to see the world and so goes in search of a whaling boat. On his way he befriends ..read more

FULL CAST AND CREATIVES ANNOUNCED FOR THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF BRAND-NEW MUSICAL FUN AT THE BEACH ROMP-BOMP-A-LOMP!! AT SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE BOROUGH Introducing the full cast and creative team for the world première of Brandon Lambert and Martin Landry’s Fun at the Beach Romp-Bomp-a-Lomp!! – the brand-new musical sees Mark Bell direct Bradley Adams (Ensemble), Tom Babbage (Joe), Ellie Clayton (Mary Joe), Damien James (Dickie), Janice Landry (Chastity), Dixie Newman (Ensemble), Katie Oxman (Chi ..read more

EVERYMAN THEATRE, LIVERPOOL – UNTIL SATURDAY 11TH MAY 2024 REVIEWED BY MIA BOWEN 3*** Upon arrival at the Everyman Theatre, I received a warm and friendly welcome and was given a rolled-up A3 scroll secured with an elastic band. As I unfurled the paper, I discovered an image of a machine head created from parts of a classic mechanical clock mechanism, alongside green numbers in vertical lines reminiscent of the Matrix movie posters. At the core of this play lies a machine with the ability to choose, examining the consequences of machines making decisions instead of humans. The Legend of Ned L ..read more