On Sunday 19 April, the winners of The Pantomime Awards 2026, staged in partnership with Trafalgar Entertainment and ATG Entertainment (ATGE), were announced by the UK Pantomime Association at a star-studded ceremony at Wycombe Swan, presented by Vernon Kay. The Special Recognition Awards, which celebrate productions and individuals representing the values that the Association seeks to promote, were presented to: Terry Parsons who received the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Pantomime. Terry is a designer whose imaginative and iconic work, from Cinderella with Stanley Baxter to Mother Goose with Danny La Rue and Dick Whittington with Barbara Windsor, has shaped…
Author: The Reviews Hub - Yorkshire & North East
The Reviews Hub - Yorkshire & North East
The Yorkshire & North East team is under the editorship of Jacob Bush. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. Our mission is to provide the most in-depth, nationwide arts coverage online.
Harrogate International Festivals’ Sunday Series finished on a high note with a superb concert by Anastasia Feruleva, a cellist who marries technical excellence with intensity of interpretation and richness of tone, and Frank van de Laar, a pianist who is as capable in flamboyant extravagance as he is in a more self-effacing role as accompanist. They gave a programme with no fewer than nine pieces, only one of which, a highpoint of the concert, could be designated a substantial work: Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata, not far off 30 minutes. This received a suitably sunny treatment from Feruleva and Van de Laar,…
Writer and Director: Tom Foreman Fine frocks and panelled dining rooms are usually essential to any portrayal of the tragedy of the Titanic. In this compelling production, however, one man and a bench are all that’s needed to capture the drama and horror of the 1912 sinking. Charlie Sheepshanks plays brave leading fireman Frederick Barrett, a real survivor of that fateful night, whose team battled to keep the ship’s power on while thousands of passengers fled. Sheepshanks plays all the roles, conjuring new characters with apparent ease – from the chief engineer to a teenage boy, and a variety of rough and…
“No, you grow up” quips Rob Rouse halfway through his show immediately following a very lengthy recreation of releasing wind during a prostate examination. Rob Rouse does, indeed, have funny bones. A veteran of the comedy circuit, his career has skirted on the verge of mainstream. The occasional TV comedy panelist, he is more widely known for playing Bottom in Ben Elton’s Shakespearean BBC sitcom Upstart Crow opposite David Mitchell. His current tour, Funny Bones, sells out the cellar space of the Lawrence Batley Theatre with much of his audience repeat customers. Rouse delivers a full-length show. His billed forty-five minutes per half easily surpasses sixty minutes as he struggles…
Based on the books by Terry Deary Writers: Ben Ward and Claire Wetton Music and Lyrics: Richie Webb Director: Neal Foster There’s a slightly frantic edge as the crowd fills the stalls. The last days of the Easter holidays bring frazzled parents to the Sunderland Empire for a whirlwind tour through time. Horrible Histories Live (and Dead) is in town, and it feels like every primary school in the area is represented in the audience. Word perfect in the songs, excited to see familiar TV faces in the flesh, the kids know what to expect. The show absolutely leans into…
Director and Choreographer: Yukiko Masuri Music: Ruth Chan Supporting Writing: Si Rawlinson A woman sits in the rain in a projected bamboo forest, a katana at her side. She is a Ronin, a freelance mercenary, under the direction of no government or master, only herself. As the audience follow her journey, they see her fight (literally) against a male dominated world, in an anime inspired dance piece about forging your own path. Or that’s the vision from creator Yukiki Masuri anyway. What is lovely about RONiN is that the audience can read many different variations on that story. Three characters…
Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Rupert Goold ‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark’. Opening on a military burial at sea and set pointedly in 1912, the foreboding tone is set for this thrilling revival of Shakespeare’s ultimate revenge tragedy. With no land in sight, the titular prince Hamlet (Ralph Davis) must reckon with his father’s death, his mother Gertrude’s marriage and his uncle Claudius’s betrayal. Clearly more than this ship is ill fated. The bare set (designed by Es Devlin) and video projection (by Akhila Krishnan) work seamlessly together to create the upper and lower decks of the ship,…
Book: Jessie Nelson Music and Lyrics: Sara Bareilles Director: Diane Paulus Waitress is a compelling musical featuring music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, with the book written by Jessie Nelson. It is an adaptation of the 2007 indie film of the same name, originally written and directed by Adrienne Shelly. The narrative centres on Jenna Hunterson (Carrie Hope Fletcher), a waitress and gifted baker trapped in an abusive marriage. Upon discovering she is unexpectedly pregnant with her husband Earl’s child, Jenna embarks on an affair with her obstetrician, Jim Pomatter (Dan Partridge). Seeking an escape from her hardships and encouraged…