Sister Act at Bristol Hippodrome was 'hilarious, heartwarming and wonderfully camp' A standing ovation on a Tuesday night is no mean feat Bristol Post · Mar 9, 2023
The Time Machine: A Comedy review – malfunctioning merriment This riff on HG Wells’s sci-fi novella has a sharp cast but relies on a wearisome play-within-a-play concept and lacks momentum The Guardian - UK · Mar 3, 2023
Ian McKellen and John Bishop make 'perfectly silly pair' in madcap Mother Goose at Liverpool Empire The unlikely partnership came together for a night of fun "just because" Liverpool Echo · Mar 2, 2023
John Bishop bringing 'most joyful' show he's worked on to Liverpool Empire this week John will be starring in Mother Goose at Liverpool's Empire Theatre this week Liverpool Echo · Feb 28, 2023
Trouble in Butetown review – humanity and heroism in wartime Cardiff While Diana Nneka Atuona’s deft script could do with a final polish, its heart, humour and spirit sing in the hands of a luminous cast The Guardian - UK · Feb 21, 2023
Sylvia review – storming show sets suffragettes to soul, funk and hip-hop Historical characters bust contemporary dance moves while the troubled relationship between Sylvia Pankhurst and her mother Emmeline is laid bare The Guardian - UK · Feb 15, 2023
Sir Ian McKellen and John Bishop bring hit panto Mother Goose to Salford for Easter The starry panto has wowed audiences in London this Christmas - it will head to The Lowry for an Easter treat Manchester Evening News · Dec 29, 2022
The week in theatre: As You Like It; Mandela; Kerry Jackson – review Rose Ayling-Ellis stars in a fresh As You Like It; a Mandela musical can’t do the great man justice; and April De Angelis slips into two dimensions The Guardian - UK · Dec 18, 2022
Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol review: Tennessee-based Dickens retelling is heavy on the cheese Classic Christmas tale is given the Parton treatment, in a saccharine musical with flashes of fun The Independent UK · Dec 14, 2022
Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol review – humbug hoedown Parton’s music is as warming as ever but a snowfall of schmaltz and minimal menace make this Dickens adaptation sickly sweet The Guardian - UK · Dec 14, 2022
Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol review: carried with glee and gusto Dolly’s new songs are good and sometimes excellent in this imperfect tryout Evening Standard · Dec 14, 2022
Mother Goose review – zany Ian McKellen rules over a fluffy affair Panto finds dame and co-star John Bishop in need of a boost and better jokes, though song and dance performers give it unruly energy The Guardian - UK · Dec 12, 2022
A Tennessee twist on Dickens: behind the scenes of Dolly Parton’s Christmas Carol The country superstar has written a clutch of new songs for this Appalachian take on the festive classic. But will she drop by to see it? The Guardian - UK · Dec 9, 2022
A Christmas Carol review – Adrian Edmondson stars in a biting tale for our times David Edgar’s sharp script feels close to home in this exuberant, illusion-filled version of Dickens’ seasonal but socially conscious story The Guardian - UK · Nov 8, 2022
Evening Standard · Nov 1, 2022 Mary at Hampstead Theatre review: Rona Munro’s queen’s tale utterly fails to spark This play about Mary Stuart draws juicy contemporary parallels but this talky and monotonous production is less than the sum of its parts
The Guardian - UK · Oct 26, 2022 ‘I threw my arms around Beckett!’ – electrifying first nights, by Ciarán Hinds, Eileen Atkins and more The author of a new book about the greatest openings in theatre history asks stars of stage to recall their most thrilling first nights – and the occasional disasters that befell them
The Guardian - UK · Oct 23, 2022 The week in theatre: My Neighbour Totoro; Local Hero – review A beloved Studio Ghibli anime is brought to magical life in Phelim McDermott’s new RSC production, while the 1983 film Local Hero finds fresh resonance
The Guardian - UK · Oct 19, 2022 My Neighbour Totoro review – dazzling staging of the Studio Ghibli classic The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production has astonishing puppetry, magical music and huge emotional impact
The Guardian - UK · Oct 18, 2022 Local Hero review – musical misses the magic of Bill Forsyth’s classic In spite of a nifty set and new songs, this story of an oil-man trying to buy a Highlands village never quite comes alive
Evening Standard · Oct 13, 2022 My Neighbour Totoro transfers to the West End: how the RSC turned a cult cartoon into a must-see theatre show The creative team give the inside story on how they adapted the much-loved Studio Ghibli animation, breaking sales records in the process
Manchester Evening News · Oct 13, 2022 Review: The Color Purple at The Lowry Salford If you want to feel uplifted, inspired and thoroughly entertained then this production won't disappoint
The Guardian - UK · Oct 9, 2022 The Doctor review – a repeat prescription for acute intellectual stimulation Robert Icke’s combative 2019 play about medical ethics, identity politics and antisemitism returns to the West End to divide and challenge audiences
The Guardian - UK · Oct 3, 2022 ‘Juliet Stevenson is incredible’: what audiences are saying about Robert Icke’s The Doctor The arresting contemporary adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s 1912 drama makes its way to London’s West End this autumn. Here, those who were lucky enough to see it before the pandemic share their thoughts
The Guardian - UK · Oct 3, 2022 ‘Should you tell a dying child the truth?’ The agonising dilemma at the heart of The Doctor Robert Icke’s latest play turns on a question that lays bare the tensions between science, religion and identity
The Guardian - UK · Oct 2, 2022 The week in theatre: John Gabriel Borkman; Eureka Day – review Simon Russell Beale is doubly commanding as Ibsen’s charismatic banker in a problem-raising revival, while a new anti-vax satire needs more than a shot of Helen Hunt’s star power