North West

Writer:  Robert Louis Stevenson Adaptor: Kate Ferguson Music and lyrics: Susannah Pearse Director: Tim Jackson Reviewer: Jay Nuttall The still temporary homeless Octagon Theatre in Bolton set sail down the road to The University of Bolton football stadium to deliver their new family musical Treasure Island. As much a staple in the festive Christmas show fold as rum on board ...

Writer: Alan McHugh Director: Guy Unsworth Reviewer: Kate Goerner Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the Opera House Manchester’s panto – this year sees Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs being brought to life with a Strictly big-name baddie in Craig Revel Horwood. Last year’s near-perfect production of Cinderella saw producers Qudos really find their feet in Manchester – so there ...

Writer: Andrew Ryan Director: Andrew Margerison Reviewer: Alisha McCracken  UK Productions have been producing the most lavish pantomime on the Wirral for the past decade. This year’s production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs doesn’t quite land as well as it should and that’s not down to the hard-working cast but mainly down to a mediocre script by Andrew ...

Director: Anthony Williams Reviewer: Rebecca Cohen It’s second star to the right and straight on till Blackpool as Peter Pan flies into the Grand Theatre for the festive season. Featuring familiar faces and packed full of storytelling and silliness, this is a pantomime that has plenty for both adults and children alike. Unlike many pantos, the classic story of the ...

Book: Arthur Laurents  Music: Jule Styne Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Director: Jo Davies Reviewer: Dave Cunningham How times have changed. Being a theatre-in-the round The Royal Exchange once struggled to stage musicals; now such shows are the high point of the season. Their storming production of West Side Story returns in the New Year and, in the meantime, we have Gypsy. ...

Music and Lyrics: Andre Catrini Book: Allan Knee Director: Johnathan O’Boyle Designer: Gregor Donnelly Reviewer: Dave Cunningham Author Allan Knee takes a surprising approach to the daunting challenge of devising a sequel to one of the most-loved festive stories ever- Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. In The Astonishing Times of Timothy Cratchit the title character, the former Tiny Tim, is ...

Writer: Kevin Fearon Director: Chris Mellor Reviewer: John Roberts As Christmas draws ever closer and regional venues up and down the country start presenting their festive offerings of family-friendly productions. Here in Liverpool, the Royal Court buck the annual trend by offering a production more fit for adult audiences. It would be fair to say that over the past few ...

Writers: Sarah A Nixon and Mark Chatterton Director: Mark Chatterton Reviewer: John Roberts One thing for certain, Sleeping Beauty at the Everyman is as bold and bright as it always has been. While Dinah England’s sparkly set has an uncanny air of familiarity about it, the cast have undergone a little face-lift, familiar and long term favourites such as Francis ...