Writers: John Cleese and Connie Booth Adapter: John Cleese Director: Caroline Jay Ranger This week at Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre, audiences can check in for a stay at Fawlty Towers to meet their eccentric staff and guests and most certainly have a laugh or two. John Cleese has adapted his and Connie Booth’s hit TV show for the stage, bringing together the ‘best bits’ into one coherent two act narrative. Unlike some other screen to stage adaptations, Fawlty Towers doesn’t particularly offer anything different to the TV show – there are no musical numbers or different plotlines – but it is still an entertaining evening…
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.
Writer: Jacob Dunne Adapter: James Graham Director: Adam Penford In Nottingham in July 2011, James Hodgkinson aged 28, was killed by a single punch. His only crime was having a drink in fancy dress, when a drunken altercation over an accessory turned fatal. Jacob Dunne, aged 19, pled guilty to Manslaughter, and served half of a 30-month sentence for the death. Punch tells the story of how Dunne came to be in such a position, the childhood that led up to it and the life that he lived afterwards, thanks to a restorative justice program which put him in touch…
Writer: Tina Fey Music: Jeff Richmond Lyrics: Nell Benjamin Director: Casey Nicholaw For better and for worse, the plot of Mean Girls has become increasingly relevant since the film was released in 2004. On the negative side, in the past 22 years, the world has got a lot meaner. However, the themes of female empowerment and celebrating individuality also resonate more today than ever before. This musical adaptation by the ever-excellent Tina Fey of her own movie screenplay manages to subtly incorporate newer technology such as smartphones and social media while retaining the original’s spirit (both mean and otherwise). Teenager Cady Heron moves to Chicago…
Writers: Ben Ward and Claire Wetton Music: Richie Webb Director: Neal Foster History has rarely felt this alive – or this cheeky. Horrible Histories Live (and Dead)!: The Concert storms the stage with a swagger that feels less like a traditional theatre outing and more like being dropped into a brilliantly chaotic history lesson where the teachers have completely lost control (in the best way possible). Framed around a flustered William Shakespeare attempting to assemble the “greatest show on earth,” the production quickly spirals into delightful anarchy as famous figures hijack proceedings. Before long, the likes of Henry VIII, Elizabeth…
Writer/Lyricist: Maeve Larkin Composer: Robert Cooper Director: Marianne McNamara In its 54th year of touring Mikron Theatre Company took the first of their two plays into the company’s headquarters, a packed Marsden Mechanics Hall. This year both its productions have a distinctly regional flavour, Top of the Wold being a tribute to the East Riding Mobile Library, the culmination of a four-year relationship. The mix was the same as punters have grown to love with Mikron: a fictional contemporary story with bits of history, often comically told, breaking in at every opportunity, the whole thing interspersed with comically pointed songs expertly…
As family outings go, this was something a bit different. Newcastle Racecourse celebrated the All-Weather Championships Finals Day with a family fun day. Top-class racing on the track, and a wealth of child-friendly entertainment alongside. It seemed odds-on for a good day out. Admittedly, there were some question marks. In pre-parenting days, trips to the races revolved around drinking and gambling. Not the most child-friendly activities. And dropping into the crowded Grandstand Hall for an early meet-and-greet with Spiderman, Rapunzel and a free Easter Egg meant coping with a large and noisy crowd thronging the bars and bookies. For a…
Tickets are now on general sale for The Pantomime Awards 2026 which will take place on Sunday 19 April at 5pm at Wycombe Swan in High Wycombe, staged in partnership with Trafalgar Entertainment and ATG Entertainment. In addition to celebrating the winners, The Pantomime Awards 2026 will feature special guest performances from some of pantomime’s biggest stars, alongside other exceptional talent from across the industry. The line-up includes Steve Royle, the stand-up comedian, ITV Britain’s Got Talent finalist and presenter who last year won Best Comic for his performance in Cinderella at Blackpool Grand Theatre, pantomime dame Michael J Bachelor…
Book/Music: Joe Kinosian Book/Lyrics: Kellen Blair Director: Caroline Leslie Murder for Two has become an international phenomenon in the last decade and a half, but it’s doubtful if any production has been as totally crazy (or as long) as this or witnessed such gloriously virtuosic (not to say, over the top) acting. The decision by director Caroline Leslie and designer Jess Curtis to set the whole thing in a BBC studio in 1959, with a live broadcast scheduled at the last minute, explains why two hapless actors are faced with the problem of doing the play with minimum preparation. It also…