Writers and Directors: Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman Horror theatre has become big business in the 21st century, with shows such as The Woman in Black, 2:22 A Ghost Story and Ghost Stories touring to national acclaim and the delighted screams of fans across the country. Writers and directors of the latter, Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, are back at it again with a new offering, The Psychic, which received its world premier in York, a city steeped in its own spooky history and famed for its ghosts. Following the success of their previous outing, The Psychic has a lot…
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.
Music: Claude-Michael Schönberg Lyrics: Richard Maltby, Jr and Alain Boublil Director: Jean-Pierre Van Der Spuy Does it take conflict to inspire great passion? Is there a well-known romance that is not born out of terrible strife? The canon of musical theatre is rife with stories of great love and great loss, people rent apart by war or by warring families and yet the appetite for feeling of this intensity is somehow irresistible – never more so than with Miss Saigon. Hidden behind the thinnest veil of gauze, onto which is projected images of paddy fields, slow boats and women in…
Book: Jessie Nelson Music and Lyrics: Sara Bareilles Director: Diane Paulus Waitress has never relied on grand gestures to win people over. Since its Broadway premiere in 2016, adapting Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 film with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, it has built its following on something more understated: a warmth that spreads from the cast and the narrative, baking into the audience almost as beautifully as the many tasty pies on show. Its journey through the West End and now across the UK has only reinforced that appeal, proving there’s a firm audience for musicals that favour intimacy over…
Writer: Olga Annenko Translator: Daria Moskvitina Directors: Philip Parr (English), Nazarij Paniv (Ukrainian) The York International Shakespeare Festival takes an unusual and daring approach: it treats Shakespeare not as a “domestic icon”, but as a “global citizen”. Thus the near-two-week festival, centred on York St John University, features productions from other countries alongside original approaches from Britain and places great emphasis on the fact that it is occurring in a University of Sanctuary in a City of Sanctuary. Thus it is hardly surprising to find Ukraine featuring largely in this year’s programme, with exhibitions as well as productions. The climax…
Leeds Playhouse have announced Tom Wright’s inaugural season of shows as Artistic Director, with new productions running from autumn 2026 to summer 2027 in the Quarry theatre and Courtyard theatre. “My first season begins with a simple idea – that theatre should entertain and challenge in equal measure, and speak directly to the world we’re living in. Across the programme are four new works – including two original stories and two bold adaptations – alongside landmark plays, reimagined classics and large-scale theatrical spectacle. This season brings together artists with deep connections to Leeds and the Playhouse, alongside acclaimed voices joining…
Book: Mark Bramble Music: Cy Coleman Lyrics: Michael Stewart Director: Jonathan O’Boyle This is a feel-good show with some amazing, awe-inspiring acrobatic work and choreography. Barnum is an American musical based on the life of showman and politician P.T. Barnum in America, from 1835 to 1880. Barnum created the Barnum and Bailey circus which became known as the Greatest Show on Earth. The production combines elements of traditional musical theatre with the spectacle of the circus. The performers include jugglers, trapeze artists, clowns and acrobats as well as real-life characters including Barnum and his wife Charity, the singer Jenny Lind…
Original Screenplay: Lawrence Kasdan Book: Alexander Dinelaris Director: Thea Sharrock The Bodyguard bounces and bangs, both figuratively and literally, onto the stage of the Sunderland Empire this week. This award winning musical is based on the 1992 film of the same name which starred Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. The show’s book is by Alexander Dinelaris, which brings the character Rachel Marron front and centre. The film is focussed more on the bodyguard. The story follows a famous singer Rachel Marron who is being threatened by a stalker. A professional bodyguard, Frank Farmer, is hired to protect her. The professional…
The cast has been announced for the upcoming touring production of Calendar Girls the Musical. The much-loved show about a group of Yorkshire women who create a fundraising calendar after the death of one of their husbands is by Gary Barlow and Tim Firth, based on the play written by Firth and the film of the same name written by Firth and Juliette Towhidi. The true story of the Calendar Girls launched a global phenomenon, a million copycat calendars, a record-breaking movie, a West End play and now an awarding-winning musical. This new touring production is a co-production between Stephen Joseph…