Not To Be Missed: Aladdin With A Tyneside Twist
Thrills and spills galore are promised as the countdown hurtles relentlessly towards this year’s panto extravaganza of Aladdin at Newcastle Theatre Royal. Set in the Royal the Royal Kingdom of Pantomania – oh yes it is! – a host of fairytale characters promise to serve up a seasonal feast of fun to brighten the gloomiest of winter days.
Opera North’s La bohème
The much-loved Phyllida Lloyd production of Puccini's La bohème returns to the stage with Opera North under Revival Director James Hurley. In freezing Paris we meet penniless poet Rodolfo. One night, his neighbour, the seamstress Mimì, knocks on the door of his garret, looking to relight her extinguished candle.
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ mission has been “Art with a point.
York Theatre Royal Launches Trustee Recruitment Campaign To Help Shape Future Of The Theatre
Roll Up, Roll Up - Cirque Éloize C’est Magnifique!
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No words are spoken and yet Cirque Éloize’s ‘crew’ have the audience whooping, jeering and clapping along as thumping rap and heavy beats bring a modern-day West Side Story to the stage…..with a magnifique difference.
Through The Wardrobe And Into The Blitz: A Darker, Deeper Narnia
Seventy-five years after C.S. Lewis first transported readers through that magical wardrobe, Michael Fentiman's stage adaptation arrives with remarkable theatrical ambition. This production doesn't simply retell a beloved children's story—it unearths the wartime anxieties at its heart, creating something far darker and more resonant than you might reasonably expect from a children’s book.
Cleese on Fawlty's triumph: "The English do love farce"
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John Cleese is talking about the runaway success of Fawlty Towers – The Play, having had two sold out West End seasons and a 10 month UK tour which began in September. “To be honest, I was more confident about it than almost anything I’ve ever done. I remember reading the finished script and thinking it was really funny. And the English do love farce. Think Ben Travers.
Emma - A Wonderfully Witty Adapation Of A Well Loved Novel
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Our eponymous heroine believes herself to be a clever and astute lady who, using her powers of observation and her perceived extensive understanding of human nature, guides those around her in their affairs of the heart.
Polish-Born Performer Margot Przymierska In Conversation
Margot Przymierska is a Polish-born performer, writer and creative producer now living in the UK. She brings Monument, a powerful theatrical piece that explores the cyclical nature of power, ideology, and human displacement, to West Yorkshire. Can you tell us about Monument? The show consists of two separate stories.
Kitchen-Sink Drama With Very Sharp Teeth: Karis Kelly's 'Consumed' Bites Deep
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Karis Kelly’s Consumed, winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2022, is a kitchen-sink drama with very sharp teeth. What begins as a comic family gathering for a grandmother’s 90th birthday slowly mutates into something much darker and far more unsettling.
The Midnight Bell
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Inspired by Patrick Hamilton’s novels, The Midnight Bell, set in London in the inter-war period is a fabulous work of dance which portrays the all too familiar hopes and fears of ordinary men and women who leave their dilapidated accommodation each evening for the bars and pubs of fog-bound Soho and Fitzrovia. It is a work of full of pathos, rejection, deceit and thwarted romance.
Tom Chambers In Conversation
When Tom Chambers was cast as one of television’s most iconic detectives in a stage play, he knew that his toughest critics would be fans of Inspector Morse and actor John Thaw who portrayed the character on TV. “The first thing that comes to mind is how wonderfully relaxed John Thaw was as Morse.
Our Freedom Then And Now
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Lawrence Batley Theatre announces a new community-led project Our Freedom, as part of Future Arts Centres’ national campaign, Our Freedom: Then and Now.
Hush Hush!
Hush Hush! Whisper, 'Who dares?' Mikron's in town with secrets to share… Mikron’s second pop-up play of 2025 is a tribute to the codebreakers of Bletchley Park during World War II and cleverly blends personal stories with the high-stakes work of intelligence gathering.
Our Performances Change The Way People See Dating Forever.
Educational theatre education company Soundproof Box will deliver an eye-opening interactive performance during Freshers Week in Headingley next month. The award-winning Red Flags show explores social issues affecting communities and workplaces, mixing theatre and real stories. Its work has now reached over 17,500 people and 13,000 are under 18.
Kynren’s Volunteer Cast And Crew Receive Standing Ovation After 2025 Season Finale
Kynren’s 2025 season came to an end on Saturday evening, with the show’s 1,000-strong volunteer cast and crew receiving a standing ovation from the audience. The award-winning live action night show’s finale concluded Kynren’s nine-show run, with its 2025 season welcoming the highest number of visitors since 2019.
Heartbeat Reunion: Jason Durr Teams Up With Co-Star For Murder Mystery Tour
Heartbeat actor Jason Durr is reunited with one of his co-stars from the Yorkshire set ITV series in a new stage play. The director of the Original Theatre production Murder at Midnight – which comes to York Theatre Royal from 21-25 October – is Philip Franks.
To Kill a Mockingbird As Relevant Today As It Ever Was
Harper Lee’s 1960 story of racism and prejudice in America’s Deep South was brought to the cinema so vividly in the classic 1962 film starring Gregory Peck, that bringing it to the stage 40 years later was always going to be fraught with danger.
Military Wives The Musical
We were lucky enough to be at the premiere of Military Wives the Musical at the York Theatre Royal last night. The evening got off to a brilliant start with the original military wives choir from Catterick singing live in the foyer pre-show. The choir was formed 15 years ago to keep the wives and partners of servicemen deployed to Afghanistan busy.
Earth Angel Lands In Scarborough
Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Britain’s most prolific playwright, has taken the fusion of mirth, melancholy, nostalgia and modernity to a new level in his array of endlessly innovative plays. This, his 91st, shows he has lost none of his authorial impassivity and humanity and, above all, his capacity to simultaneously amuse and amaze.
Musicals In The Multiverse 2025
Oh my goodness, those creative minds behind the original Musicals in the Multiverse 2023 have been buzzing; Helen 'Bells' Spencer and Matthew Clare have devised and co-created a highly anticipated Wharfemede Productions sequel presented in a short recent run at Theatre @41, Monkgate, York.
The Last Laugh: Remembering The Greats
I was looking forward to an evening of nostalgia watching three of the comedy heroes of my youth recreated onstage in an imagined dressing room before a show. Looking round the auditorium, I wasn’t the only one, it was packed with people of a certain age wanting to have another chance to see the comedy geniuses at work (albeit in the guise of top-class impressionists).
A Musical Tribute To A British Comic Genius Comes To Scarborough
Hal Cazalet, opera singer, international cabaret artist and raconteur, has performed his one-man musical tribute to one of this country’s best-loved humourists, in places as far apart as The National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai and The Crazy Coqs in London's West End. In October, Play On Words, A Musical Celebration of P.G.
Red Ladder Local’s Exciting Autumn Season In Yorkshire
Red Ladder Theatre Company presents a wide range of exciting touring shows at alternative theatre venues across Yorkshire this autumn. As the nights draw in, Red Ladder Local’s autumn programme has something for all ages, from high-octane family fun to a one-woman comedy drag show.
“We can't wait to highlight the East Yorkshire Coast in our new comedy.”
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Bondville Model Village in Sewerby and the Women's Institute Hall in Flamborough are the latest locations to be agreed for new Yorkshire comedy, Hot Flash. The film tells the story of an accidental entrepreneur who triumphs despite brutal menopause symptoms and the challenges of being a forty plus single mum.
Liza’s Earth Angel Delight
You can’t label Alan Ayckbourn and Liza Goddard as a double act but the acclaimed Scarborough-based playwright and the actress best known for her comedy roles do like working together. The pair are reunited at the seaside town’s Stephen Joseph Theatre for Ayckbourn’s 91st play Earth Angel, opening on 13 September.
Kynren Marks 200th Anniversary Of The Locomotion With Station Photo Point
All aboard the celebrations! Kynren – An Epic Tale of England – is marking the 200th anniversary of Locomotion No. 1’s first journey on the world’s first passenger railway with its own heritage-style station and replica steam engine – the perfect pre-show photo opportunity.
From Last-Minute Evita Hero To Military Wives Star: Jessica Daley's Musical Journey
When it comes to roles stage musicals star Jessica Daley likes “to ride the wave and see what comes up”. But she could never have anticipated what happened in 2024 when asked to take over the leading role in the musical Evita at just a few hours notice. She was at the family home in Middlesbrough when the call came.
Kynren’s Stunt Women Prepare For Their Final Daring Performances
Two female stunt performers are getting ready to perform one of Kynren’s most daring stunts in the final three shows for the 2025 season. Rebecca Fielding, 40, and Stephanie Roundsmith, 41, are both volunteer horsewomen and performers in the blockbuster production.
The Lightning Thief - A Thunderous Success
I have a BIG confession to make before embarking on this review. As flashes of electricity resounded throughout a theatre packed with excited pre-teens and parents in the opening countdown, I was oblivious of the enormity of the cult following of Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by author Rick Riordan.