Writer: Peter Shaffer Director: Ned Bennett Reviewer: Sam Lowe The late Peter Shaffer’s psychological thriller, Equus, is still a notable play. It resonates with a modern audience, even though it was written in 1973. An English Touring Theatre and Theatre Royal Stratford East production, Equus is reinterpreted by award-winning theatre director, Ned Bennett. This is exceedingly visual, physical theatre combined with ...

Writer: Laura Wade Director: Tamara Harvery Reviewer: Jay Nuttall Co-produced by Theatr Clwyd and The National Theatre, Laura Wade's Home, I'm Darling is on tour before a rejoiceful home-coming at the theatre in north Wales where it began life before transferring to London and beyond. It is a commentary on the way we live our lives in a modern world, feminism, ...

 Writer: Jules Verne Adaptor: Laura Eason Director: Theresa Heskins Reviewer: Tate James With mathematical precision, Phileas Fogg winds his way about the world, hopping from train to boat to elephant in Jules Verne’s 1873 novel; and it is with the same mathematical precision that this exceptional adaptation by Laura Eason bounds across the stage, dragging its willing audience across continents ...

Music & Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: Hugh Wheeler Director: Nick Bagnall Reviewer: John Roberts If you attend this tale of Sweeney Todd, be prepared to see a version of the Sondheim musical which sees director Nick Bagnall strip back the piece and focus on the fundamental and important elements of music, lyrics and storytelling – this condensing brings an unrivalled ...

Writer: Joseph Conrad Adaptor: Andrew Quick and Pete Brooks Director: Pete Brooks Reviewer: Jim Gillespie This is not Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, although it would be improper not to give him a writer’s credit. It is also inaccurate to describe it as an adaptation, although much is made of the difficulties of adapting a Victorian novel about events in Africa ...

Writer: Simon Foster Director: Chantelle Nolan Reviewer: John Roberts Theatre Royal St Helens and Regal Entertainment have an undeniable reputation of producing pantomimes of the highest standard, in fact they were one of the first venues in the country to produce an Easter pantomime, this year the present a new version of The Wizard of Ozand it’s just as spellbinding ...

Reviewer: Jay Nuttall The mark of a great comedian is, when leaving a gig, not remembering any of the jokes. It helps to write a couple down before they become ephemeral. Gary Delaney’s Gagster’s Paradise is so cram packed full that most comedians would hope to write as many funny lines in ten years that he puts into one hour. If ...

Director: Nicolas Kent Reviewer: Matt Forrest This must be the first time I’ve attended a comedy show where half way through there is a projected video of a stomach operation, whilst a laid-back jazz track plays out, with Thomas bellowing “staple, cut, staple”. But then again, this no normal show; this is a show about an institution that has impacted ...