Angela Thomas rounds up all the latest news in regional and touring theatre in the UK and Ireland.
Tag Archives | Tom Jackson Greaves
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry – Theatre Royal Haymarket
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry continues at Theatre Royal Haymarket, London until 18 April 2026. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Some shows are too frivolous, some shows are too serious, but some find a perfect middle ground.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry – Minerva Theatre, Chichester
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry continues at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester until 14 June 2025. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★★ “Flawless” isn’t an adjective I find cause to use very often in reviews. This time, however, it expresses my reaction perfectly.
The Creakers Musical – Southbank Centre
‘Wow’ is not a word I have ever attributed to a musical aimed at children. Creakers is the first stage show I’ve seen which ticks all the boxes of musical theatre excellence. Combining bounce and bright, spectacular fun with an important message, it’s clever and cutting edge.
Head Over Heels – Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Head Over Heels continues at the Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester until 4 March 2023. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Here the passion of Rent meets the quirkiness of Pippin, and with such a great ensemble of triple-threat performers it makes the floor shake with its energy.
World premiere production of The Book Thief to play Coventry and Leicester
The stage musical adaptation of Markus Zusak’s much-loved novel The Book Thief will follow its well-received Bolton Octagon world premiere run by playing Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre and Leicester’s Curve Theatre this autumn.
Cast for European premiere of Head Over Heels
Luke Bayer will return to Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre to head the cast of the European premiere of Head Over Heels later this month.
The Book Thief – Octagon Theatre, Bolton
The Book Thief continues at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton until 15 October 2022. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Adapting lengthy and well-loved literary classics into musical theatre has almost become a competitive sport, and one in which the outcome is usually either a smash hit or a resounding flop. This retelling of […]
Creatives for world premiere of The Book Thief musical
Bolton’s Octagon Theatre has unveiled the high-powered creative team transforming Markus Zusak’s much-loved novel The Book Thief into a stage musical. Featuring a script by award-winning author Jodi Picoult (My Sister’s Keeper) and Timothy Allen McDonald (adaptor of Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka and James and the Giant Peach) and music and lyrics by Elyssa Samsel […]
Cast and creatives for Watermill’s Whistle Down The Wind
The full cast and creative team have been unveiled for the first major UK revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman’s Whistle Down The Wind at Newbury’s Watermill Theatre. Directed and choreographed by Tom Jackson Greaves, the production which features a company of actor-musicians alongside a cast of young people drawn from the local […]
Watermill new season to include revival of Whistle Down the Wind
The first major UK revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman’s Whistle Down the Wind in over a decade will be part of the 2022 season at Newbury’s Watermill Theatre. Directed by Tom Jackson Greaves, the production which will feature a company of actor-musicians alongside a cast of young people drawn from the local […]
The Jungle Book – Watermill Theatre, Bagnor
The Jungle Book continues at the Watermill Theatre, Bagnor until 31 December 2021. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Recently, themes of acceptance and finding one’s place in society have never been more discussed, dissected and dramatised. When Jamie Campbell invited a production crew to film his attendance at his school prom […]
Special pyjama performances announced for Watermill’s festive The Jungle Book
The Watermill Theatre, Bagnor has unveiled plans for a series of family-friendly ‘pyjama performances’ this Christmas during the festive run of Tom Jackson Greaves’ musical version of The Jungle Book. Due to play the distinctive Berkshire venue from 18 November until 31 December 2021, the musical adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s much-loved classic story of Mowgli […]
Rent – Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Rent continues at Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester until 19 September 2021. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Rent has always been a show about triumphing over adversity. From the tragedy that marked its early development – with creator Jonathan Larson passing away just before the show’s Off-Broadway premiere in 1996 – to its […]
Disenchanted! – stream.theatre
Disenchanted! is available on stream.theatre until 11 April 2021. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Disney princesses are intrinsic to modern pup culture. From Snow White to Rapunzel, the fairytales of Grimm and Perrault have been pummelled into capitalist submission, the dark edges of their morality tales chamfered away into tales that […]
West End stars to feature in Disenchanted digital production
A group of the West End’s rising stars will play fairytale princesses with a difference in a new digital production of Off-Broadway hit Disenchanted. Jodie Steele (Six The Musical, Heathers: The Musical) will play Snow White with Sophie Isaacs (Six The Musical, Heathers: The Musical) featuring as Cinderella, Grace Mouat (& Juliet, Six The Musical) […]
New dates and new look for West End Musical Celebration – Live At The Palace Theatre
The postponed festive show West End Musical Christmas – Live at London’s Palace Theatre has been re-scheduled and re-branded after the show was shelved due to the December Covid-closedown. Now re-titled West End Musical Celebration – Live At The Palace Theatre, the star packed celebration of musical theatre will now play the Palace Theatre from […]
Rent – Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Rent at the Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester (Although Rent has been closed by the national Covid lockdown, it was recorded live and is available as an online streamed performance from 27 November to 20 December 2020). Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The creator of Rent, Jonathan Larson, saw parallels between Puccini’s […]
Cast announced for Hope Mill Theatre’s rescheduled Rent
West End favourites and 2020 graduates will feature in the 12-strong cast for Hope Mill Theatre’s highly-anticipated new production of Jonathan Larson’s Rent. Jocasta Almgill (& Juliet, Shaftesbury Theatre, Dreamgirls, Savoy Theatre) will play Joanne with Blake Patrick Anderson (Be More Chill, The Other Palace, Closer to Heaven, Above The Stag) as Mark, Ahmed Hamad […]
Autumn dates announced for Hope Mill Theatre’s rescheduled Rent
Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre has announced rescheduled dates and the full creative team for its new production of Jonathan Larson’s innovative musical Rent. Originally due to play a limited season from 31 July 2020, with rehearsals scheduled to begin a month earlier, the venue has taken the decision to announce new dates (from 30 October […]
High Fidelity – Turbine Theatre
High Fidelity continues at the Turbine Theatre, London until 7 December 2019. Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩ Nick Hornby’s 1995 novel High Fidelity has had a circuitous route in its various adaptations. Five years later, the story of slacker record shop workers discussing music and failing at relationships moved from North London to […]
Oliver Ormson leads the cast of Turbine Theatre’s High Fidelity
Oliver Ormson will take on the central role in the musical version of Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity when it receives its UK premiere at the newly opened London venue, The Turbine Theatre next month. Recently seen in the Kilworth House Theatre’s production of Cats and on tour in The Addams Family, Ormson will take the […]
High Fidelity will be the first musical to play new venue the Turbine Theatre
The musical version of Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity will receive its UK premiere at the newly opened London venue, the Turbine Theatre next month. Following on from the successful launch production of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song (due to end its run on 13 October 2019), High Fidelity will be the second production in award-winning director […]
Billionaire Boy The Musical – NST City, Southampton and Touring
Billionaire Boy The Musical continues at NST City, Southampton until 6 January 2019 and then on tour. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ David Walliams’ children’s stories are familiar to many of us. Recently dominating the BBC’s family Christmas programming with highly popular screen adaptations, Walliams’ third book for children, Billionaire Boy, has […]
Teddy – The Vaults
Teddy continues at The Vaults, London until 3 June 2018. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Contrasts and culture clashes lie at the heart of all the best dramas. And you can’t get much more of a contrast than the world of the 1950s Teddy Boy, as brought to life in Tristan […]
Rock ‘n’ roll musical Teddy opens at Watermill before national tour
Tristan Bernays and Dougal Irvine’s award-winning musical Teddy will open at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury in January 2018, ahead of a national tour and a London season at The Vaults. Teddy will run at the Watermill from 11 January to 10 February 2018 (press night is 15 January), while the season at The Vaults will […]
