astonishing to observe the enthusiastic reception and by how much both men and women were equally loving this play.

The set of Kim's Convenience at Derby Theatre, Match 2025 Photograph Debra Hall Kim's Convenience Written by Ins Choi Directed by Esther Jun ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Overview Appa has been running his local convenience store in a Toronto neighbourhood for many years, he has become set in his ways and he fixates over small matters and enjoys stereotyping his clientele to make his day more interesting. He's a family man but carries a heavy heart mainly because of enstrangement; his wife Umma thin

Luke Thallon (Hamlet) HAMLET RSC 2025 Photography by Marc Brenner ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ HAMLET   Directed by Rupert Goold Overview It's 1912 and on the deck of an ocean liner a Danish King lies dead under a draped flag of his country. Dignified respects are delivered before his body is cast into the dark and squally ocean waters.  Prince Hamlet, while in mourning for his father feels bitter that his mother, Gertrude had hastily married his father's successor, uncle Claudius. Hamlet's gasp

Sayyid Aki (Khalil) in the play Community at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Feb 2025 Photography Graeme Braidwood Writer, Farrah Chaudry Directed by Alice Chambers With her suitcase and designer bags in tow, Zoya loiters near a Birmingham bus route south of the centre. She is secretly relieved when her plan succeeds and she comes across an old acquaintance, the benevolent Leyla. Zoya remembered that Leyla lived locally (somewhere between Cannon Hill Park and Moseley) and th

Actor, Adeel Ali. A one-man play 10 Nights . Production Image  play by Shahid Iqb 10 Nights ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Stage Review10 Nights Writer Shahid Iqbal Khan Director Sâmir Bhamra Actor Adeel Ali It is the last ten days of Ramadan and Yasser is apprehensive about participating in  itikaf  for this duration inside the Mosque. This Islamic practice of seclusion and devotion to:  prayer, the recitation of the Quran  and to ibadah (worship); is not an easy prospect for Yasser as he will have

Demetri Goritsas (Sir Andrew) Joplin Sibtain (Sir Toby) Daniel Millar (Fabian) and forefront, Samuel West (Malvolio) The Royal Shakespeare Theatre Twelfth Night 2024/2025 Photograph by Helen Murray ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Directed by Prasanna Puwanarajah. A mid-twentieth century setting for this version and though always a challenge to our contemporary culture Twelfth Night  still endures as a performance piece. The play's key themes include disguise, cross dressing, concealment and mistaken

Minal Patel (Hugh Pickering) David Seadon-Young (Henry Higgins) Molly Lynch (Eliza Doolittle). My Fair Lady at the Curve, Leicester (2024) Photography Marc Brenner Overview Professor of Phonetics, Henry Higgins, claims that he can geographically pinpoint where people originate from (especially in London boroughs) by the colloquial speech used and the quirks of language that a person has adopted. In London, Higgins meets up with Hugh Pickering as they share an interest in lin

Rachel Wilson (Mary Brenham) Kate Stuart (Dabby Bryant) Huw Randall (officer Ralph Clark). An amateur theatre production of Our Country's Good by Chatsworth Players (2024) Directed by Maggie Ford ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Background  Our Country’s Good by contemporary playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker is based on the 1987 published novel  The Playmaker by Australian novelist, Thomas Keneally, which tells of a group of convicted criminals, soldiers and marine officers transported from Britain

John Douglas Thompson as Othello and Juliet Rylance as Desdemona Othello  Royal Shakespeare Theatre 2024 Directed by Tim Carroll Photograph by Rohan Persson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Partially set in Venice and in Cypress this authentic version of Othello  - directed by Tim Carroll is a genius RSC production. The male contingents of the play are mainly officers or noblemen/religious representatives. The Venetian senator, Brabantio cannot bear the idea of daughter, Desdemona being married to the

Lauren Foster,  Aimee Berwick, Rebecca Holmes Bright Places at Birmingham Repertory Theatre (The Rep) Photography by Graeme Braidwood ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Peggy Ramsay Foundation helps dramatists in direct ways, a winning recipient of a bursary fund from this organisation is writer, Rae Mainwaring, for this play:  Bright Places,  which is at Birmingham's Repertory Theatre this week and kicks off a UK tour. Mainwaring was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at the age of 24 and so this pla

Jayden Hanley (Luther) Revealed at B2 The Belgrade Theatre Photograph by Nicola Young 'This is an honest, passionate and gritty play' ⭐⭐⭐⭐ In the summer of 2011 cities in England saw a spate of copycat riots happening. Revealed is therefore a contemporary play and the riots are a theme; it is set inside a Caribbean restaurant in Birmingham with violence and unrest occurring in the street(s).  The tone of instability outside is mirrored inside when tensions rise and boil over

Chris Harper (Serge), Seann Walsh (Yvan) and Aden Gillett (Marc)  ART at The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry Photograph by Geraint Lewis ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ART is a one-act play written by French dramatist, Yasmina Reza. Translated from French to English by Christopher Hampton (1996), this production of ART  is touring - directed by Iqbal Khan. Marc, Serge and Yvan are close friends, however the true state of their friendship has altered and the respect they once held for one another, without

Ivan Stott (Bingo Bob) Welfare  play at Derby Theatre, Oct 2024 Photograph by Pamela Raith 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Welfare is a new, full length play by Derby born writer, Abi Zakarian. As one might quite rightly anticipate the subject and topics of the play are down-to-earth and this wonderful, stylised interpretation for stage; directed by Sarah Brigham the CEO and Artistic Director at Derby Theatre, complements Zakarian's script and intention. Five generations of one family are tracked

A classic by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) written during the Restoration Period of English history, The School For Scandal premiered at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 08 May 1777.

Samantha Spiro (Mistress Meg Page) and Siubhan Harrison (Mistress Alice Ford)  The Merry Wives of Windsor The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Summer 2024 Photograph : Manuel Harlan 'So many superlatives can be used to describe the company's coming together to deliver this fine production of The Merry Wives of Windsor .' Debra Hall, critic (2024) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ We must agree with the director when she says that: “ The Merry Wives of Windsor is one of Shakespeare's most underrated plays [..

Adonis Siddique (and 'I' - Marwood) and Robert Sheehan (Withnail) in the stage premiere of Withnail and I The Birmingham Repertory Theatre May 2024 Photograph by Manuel Harlan Writer, Bruce Robinson’s Withnail and I  has finally been brought to stage. This totally British cult tale made famous by the film version by Handmade Films  (1987), is about two, jobbing actors seeking work and has premiered at the Birmingham Rep this month, directed by Sean Foley.  Overview It is Camd

Tristan Sturrock (Blue Beard) and Katy Owen (Mother Superior) Blue Beard a new play by Wise Children Written and Directed by Emma Rice Photographer Steve Tanner ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Led by writer and director, Emma Rice for touring theatre company Wise Children , this new play Blue Beard  is a co-production that is flaunty, explicit, amusing and serious and, pretty much, all at the same time. Based on Charles Perrault's  Blue Beard (published 1697) there have been many retellings of the Fre

Spring 2024 My Fair Lady CHATSWORTH PLAYERS Background Professor Higgins of Walpole Street, London, teaches phonetics. He claims that he can identify where people are from and where the influences originate in regard to the quirks of speech and language they have adopted. Therefore, when Higgins meets the young, Eliza Doolittle, a flower seller with a strong Cockney accent, he treats her like a social experiment. He believes that he can raise her position in London society if

Jodie McNee as Julia  Minority Report live on stage ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A play based on the 1956 sci-fi novella publication of The Minority Report  by American author, Philip K. Dick (1928-1982), and adapted for stage by English actor and writer, David Haig; this production is a fantastic achievement - from early conception to its live performance...a monumental undertaking! Setting is mid 21st-century, futuristic London. The first scene opens with a tenth anniversary event marking the sta

THE GLASS MENAGERIE UK TOUR 2024 Natalie Kimmerling (Laura) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Overview Director, Atri Banerjee gives a bold interpretation of this  memory play, one which actor, Kasper Hilton-Hille as Tom Wingfield explains in his first scene narration. It is Tom's unfolding memories that relays the story of family dysfunction; the p sychology is  so intriguing.   Amanda provided a  safe, conventional, but restrictive life for Tom and his sister, Laura; nothing was spontaneous and everyt