Mean Girls - A Handbook for Teenagers Everywhere
Mean Girls hit the ground running and never let up. Full of wit and humour with a fistful of catchy songs the cast never let up from beginning to end. Providing a glimpse of life as a teenager struggling to find their place whilst adding a cautionary tale of how trying to fit in can lead to unexpected consequences.
Christmas Musical Spectacular Announced For Manchester!
This Christmas, the lights go up, the music begins with Manchester becoming the stage of CHRISTMAS MUSICAL SPECTACULAR coming to the Manchester – AO Arena on Tuesday 22nd December and Wednesday 23rd December 2026. This December, Manchester steps into the spotlight.
The Perfect Schools Out Theatre Production
A play for family audiences based on a classic story by Oscar Wilde comes to Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre this October half-term. The Selfish Giant (26 and 27 October) invites audiences to step into the magical world of the Giant’s garden. It’s full of music, beauty, birdsong and stories. But the Giant is cross to find children – children!
Dum-Di-dum-di-dum-di-dum… Ambridge Comes To Harrogate
Group Editor Andrew Palmer surrenders an afternoon to Ambridge and emerges knowing far too much about yoghurt. Spoiler alert: this was a fabulous Sunday afternoon spent in the company of the people we are all, frankly, obsessed with.
A Watch Ticks Towards Dawn In A Devastating One-Man War Story
Michael Morpurgo's tale of loyalty, first love and the shot-at-dawn soldiers of the Great War is harrowing, humane and, surprisingly, funny. Group Editor Andrew Palmer was among the Harrogate audience on its feet at the end. Before a word is spoken, Tommo Peaceful is already there.
Leeds Heritage Theatres Welcomes Sophie-Jade Howell As New Youth Theatre Programme Director
A passionate youth theatre director and facilitator from Leeds, Sophie-Jade Howell (SJ) joins us from York Theatre Royal, bringing extensive experience working with young people across youth theatres, schools, community projects and professional theatre settings.
There Was No Worst Of Times!
When dialogue is seamlessly brilliant and every nuance is delivered with perfection, it is not difficult to conclude that you have just watched something superb...and last night I did. Marlowe Theatre’s production of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, originally adapted for stage by Terence Rattigan and John Gielgud, was gripping from start to finish: absolute quality.
A Deal With The Devil Comes To York This October With Pop Yer Clogs Theatre’s Faustus
Pop Yer Clogs Theatre will return to Theatre@41 in York this October with its latest production, Doctor Faustus, running from 1st to 3rd October.
Burlesque – The Borrowed Musical
Burlesque is one of those shows that lacks individuality, borrowing many of its component parts from everywhere else, before starting on a high and then, somehow, taking you on a slow route march to death.
The Anastasia File: Imperialism, Evil, Fact And Fiction
The Anastasia File is a disturbing drama and sober reminder of an horrific evil act which shook the world and ended the Russian monarchy - and three centuries of the Romanov Dynasty. ...or did it?
Mama Mia - Here I Go Again!!
I’m sure that everyone at some time or another has been to the theatre to see some show or other and left pondering the meaning of life, but with Mamma Mia the audience all must leave with smiles on their faces whilst humming the famous Abba tunes as they travel home.
The Sun Has Set On This Lloyd Webber Classic
I never got to see Glenn Close as Norman Desmond in Sunset Boulevard – my loss I fear – however, I did see her amazing understudy Ria Jones, leaving me with a huge sense of excitement and anticipation almost nine years on, for last night’s reincarnation of the Lloyd Webber classic: how disappointed I was.
The Car Man: Roaring With Sexuality, Lust, And Vengeance
Pre warnings of adult scenes of a sexual nature, depictions of violence and brief frontal male nudity left me in doubt that Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man is designed to provoke. Sparks fly from the outset - and not just from the welding in the mid-west greasy garage-diner, where mechanics with rippling muscles delight in bullying their sensitive co-worker, Angelo.
The Trial Of Romeo Oscar - Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough
There is a surprisingly strong vein of science fiction running through Sir Alan Ayckbourn’s extraordinary body of work, a strand easily overlooked amid his better-known domestic comedies. His interest in speculative futuristic drama dates back to Standing Room Only in 1961 and includes 1998’s much-praised Comic Potential.
Mcdiarmid's Lear: A King Undone, A Man Revealed
 and members of the company in King Lear. Photo by Johan Persson..jpg)
King Lear, probably the greatest of all the Shakespearean tragedies, is a play about power, family relationships, suffering and betrayal, but tonight, above all else, it became a deeply human story. Ian McDiarmid takes the title role and completely makes it his own, skilfully depicting Lear’s journey from a proud and powerful king and father to a compassionate, vulnerable and frail old man.
Brighton '84, A Devastating Hour In Room 102
Andrew Palmer finds a play that trades on nostalgia, then quietly detonates it, as two men's secrets collide on the eve of the Brighton bomb. There is a particular kind of dread that arrives dressed as nostalgia.
Gripping Postwar Thriller Heads To Yorkshire Venues
Philip Stokes’s acclaimed play, Shellshocked, is heading to Yorkshire next month as part of the Red Ladder Local programme.
Voice Of The Voiceless: Lee Bainbridge Brings Brighton '84 Home
Ahead of Brighton '84's arrival at Harrogate Theatre, King Brilliant co-founder Lee Bainbridge talks to Group Editor Andrew Palmer about class, comedy and a writing partnership a decade in the making. Mention the Brighton bombing and most people picture the same thing: Margaret Thatcher, the Grand Hotel, a nation holding its breath.
Tracy Borman On Tudors On Tour: Bringing History's Biggest Soap Opera To The Stage
Best-selling author, historian and broadcaster Professor Tracy Borman OBE chats to Sue Crawford about her forthcoming tour Tudors on Tour What do you find so fascinating about the Tudors? It’s the soap opera that keeps me coming back; the endless drama and the larger-than life personalities. So much happened during this 118-year period.
Dr Richard Shepherd Chats To Clair Woodward About His Theatre Tour Time Of Death – More Unnatural Causes
You toured with Unnatural Causes in 2022/3 and in 2025 with Time of Death - More Unnatural Causes which was so successful that you are taking it out again in autumn 2026 - what is it that you like about touring? I have always enjoyed talking to people and explaining what I do and why.
Gruesome, Grisly, Gory : The Silence Of The Lambs
I always like to digest theatre performances on a full stomach, my favourite pre-show meal being thinly sliced steak and frites at a local French bistro. However, due to the cannibalistic nature of The Silence of the Lambs I swapped red meat for fish pie and mashed potato to avoid bouts of nausea - or worse.
Harrogate Comedy Festival Celebrates 17 Years Of Bringing Britain's Biggest Laughs To Yorkshire
Harrogate Theatre is preparing to welcome some of the biggest names in comedy as Harrogate Comedy Festival returns this autumn with another outstanding programme of stand-up, improv, storytelling and family entertainment.
In That Pen There Is Great Power — Hannah Khalil On Writing The Farmer's Wife
Ahead of the world premiere of The Farmer's Wife at Theatre by the Lake, playwright Hannah Khalil talks to Andrew Palmer about writing three generations of Cumbrian farming women into being. When Theatre by the Lake asked Hannah Khalil whether she might make a stage version of Helen Rebanks' The Farmer's Wife, her first instinct was to say no.
Annie: Pinning Today’s Hopes And Dreams On A Brighter Tomorrow
Like the 1982 film, the current version of Annie is based on a feisty, eleven year old orphan with an unwavering belief that her parents will return for her – and her life will be transformed forever.
A Right Royal Handbagging In Scarborough
Moira Buffini's Olivier Award-winning Handbagged is a witty, intelligent and sharply-observed political comedy which imagines the private conversations between Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher during the latter's eleven years as Prime Minister.
Local Performing Arts Business Named Finalist In National Awards
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Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts (PQA) York, Scarborough, Beverley, and Hull has been named a finalist in the Scaling Business of the Year category at The Class Business Awards 2026. The Class Business Awards recognise businesses and individuals delivering outstanding experiences through classes, clubs and activities across the UK.
Gin, Ghosts And Greasepaint: Harrogate Theatre Uncorks A Bumper Autumn
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Andrew Palmer was among the guests toasting a sparkling season launch, complete with a bespoke theatre gin, mini cupcakes and a season ranging from Hitchcock and Michael Morpurgo to the surreal comic genius of Daniel Kitson There are worse ways to spend an evening than being handed a gin and prosecco cocktail and a mini cupcake before the house lights have even dimmed.
“I’ve Had To Step Back From Social Media For My Mental Health"
Hot Flash cast members Elios Douglas, Roz Gemma and Matt Jameson on acting, identity, and barriers to success. Elios: The biggest difficulty I’ve faced as a trans actor is simply that there aren’t many trans roles. They’re not being written, and when they are, loads of us go up for them, so the chances are tiny. Without an agent or a first credit, breaking in is even harder.
The Bodyguard: A High Energy, Musical Powerhouse
I spilt my drink and screamed in horror when a deafening shotgun blast reverberated from a screen with silhouettes immersed in smoke and engaged in conflict. An explosive opening set the pace for a high-octane musical - a fusion of genres creatively integrating gripping cinematic effects with a pop concert bursting with pizazz.
No Town Of Culture Title, But Ripon Already Knows What It's Worth
Ripon's theatre festival has earned more than applause — it has earned investment writes Andrew Palmer, Group Editor Somewhere between the deckchairs on the Market Place and this Friday's season finale — the Duke's Theatre Company's touring Romeo & Juliet at Ripon Racecourse, still to come — it has become clear that this year's Ripon Theatre Festival is no…